Burnt Woman

Michael Irish is the second part to the Emmy's Spaghetti Shack story, as he carries forth the business as its new owner. As a former bartender, he has plenty of romanticized views on the industry, but he also provides sound, practical ways to think about making the financials of a business work. Hint: the path to customer acquisition may not always be what it appears. One recommendation from Micha...

Meet Emmy Kaplan: founder of Emmy's Spaghetti Shack in San Francisco. 26 years ago, she opened this iconic neighborhood spot with no money, no permits, and a baby on the way. With grit and a sense of punk rock and fun, she brought the restaurant to life and ushered it into its next phase. And after surviving the Dot Com Bubble, Housing Bubble, and COVID, her biggest advice: keep your accounting ti...

Carla Marina Marchese is the founder of Red Bee Honey and The American Honey Tasting Society, as well as the author of 4 books. She has made a career out of being a foremost honey sommelier, having a deep understanding about the plants, regions and bees that define the diverse flavors of honey. If you've ever had a question about honey – from flavor, to health benefits, to edibility – consult Mari...

Malyna Si is Florida's first female chef with a Michelin Star, and the road to getting it wasn't simple or easy. But somehow, at the end of an 16-hour shift, she'd still manage to make herself a 3-course dinner at home. And she's never yet had boxed mac and cheese... In this conversation, she tells us what keeps her in the industry, what makes it hard to stay, and how she climbed her way from clea...

In this episode excerpt, Chef Gabrielle lets us know that working in an all-female kitchen is no Planet Gazorpazorp... in fact... it's pretty great! Listen to how they prioritize honest communication to get ahead of any management pitfalls.

In this episode of Burnt Woman, I chat with Gabrielle Smith. Personally, I love hearing about other cultures and grand adventures of moving to new places, so I loved hearing about Chef Gabrielle's experiences moving from the U.S. to Norway, back to the U.S., and then going from fine dining kitchens to a country club, and then male-dominated kitchens to female-dominated kitchens. Talk about cultura...

In this episode excerpt Luke Bowanko, former NFL player turned farmer. talks about how he hopes to inspire his neighbors to become growers themselves. And from there... who knows? Maybe he can help inspire a movement of community growing. Throughout the interview, Luke mentioned different documentaries and books he found inspiring. I'm listing them below. I'm also putting a link for Farmshare Aust...

In this episode I chat with Luke Bowanko, former NFL player turned farmer. Luke isn't trying to build out a massive farm to make millions – as he points out, no one is trying to get rich from farming anyway – but rather build out a small farm in the middle of his Denver community. From there, he hopes to inspire his neighbors to become growers themselves. And from there... who knows? Maybe he can...

In this episode, I chat with Ali Cohane, co-owner of Persephone Bakery, Picnic, and Persephone West Bank here in Jackson, Wyoming. I pulled out this excerpt because it felt rather applicable to all of us: how does it feel managing a new generation? Looking at you, Gen Z. And how can we be more open to new perspectives to make a stronger workforce? Looking at you, Millennials. Ali gives a grounding...

In this episode, I chat with Ali Cohane, co-owner of Persephone Bakery, Picnic, and Persephone West Bank here in Jackson, Wyoming. What I love about about Ali is that she explains what it feels like to be in the grind of starting a new business - and then a couple other businesses - without dramatizing it. And have you ever wondered if having kids actually does change your perspective? Spoiler ale...

If you want some wild parenting advice, here comes some stories from Abigail Olson's childhood (not shared in the main episode). Trigger alert: small children holding rats for slaughter.

This is a shorter (not short) cut of my chat with Abigail Abby Olson, during which she gets into her thoughts on management. Not only was this where she really lit up, but she had so many good words of advice, that it deserved to be pulled out into its own edit. Management isn't easy, but it is an ever-changing, ever-challenging art form.

In this episode, I chat with Abigail (Abby) Olson about working in bakeries versus restaurants, the grind at Alinea, and most importantly, the lessons she's learned about management. I have not stopped quoting Abby's words of wisdom, and I'm sure you'll get just as much out of it.

In this episode, I talk to Nate Keller, one of the first 11 employees of Google's campus kitchens. A gluten for big projects and stress, Nate helped open Google kitchens around the world, eventually serving over 50K people. This excerpt is his take on ADHD in the kitchen and respecting kitchen workers. "There is no such thing as unskilled labor."

In this episode, I talk to Nate Keller, one of the first 11 employees of Google's campus kitchens. A gluten for big projects and stress, Nate helped open Google kitchens around the world, eventually serving over 50K people. He then went on to open a catering company called Gastronaut for Silicon Valley companies and running the culinary functions of Sprig, a start up that vertically integrated coo...

Kaitlyn Anderson has worked everywhere from 2-Michelin restaurants, dessert-forward restaurants, hotels, and ice cream shoppes (JK, just shops, this isn't 1950). She has lived and worked in Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, and now Jackson, WY. In other words, she's seen a lot. Although she has been in the industry since graduating high school, being a chef had never really been her plan. But once s...

Kaitlyn Anderson has worked everywhere from 2-Michelin restaurants, dessert-forward restaurants, hotels, and ice cream shoppes (JK, just shops, this isn't 1950). She has lived and worked in Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, and now Jackson, WY. In other words, she's seen a lot. Although she has been in the industry since graduating high school, being a chef had never really been her plan. But once s...

This minisode compiles Cait's comments on the women who grow, roast, and brew our coffee. Did you know that women can lift heavy things? Apparently, not everyone does.

Meet Cait Rifkin: head roaster for Snake River Roasting in Jackson, WY. Passionate but not snobby about coffee – she's not here to yuck your Folger's yum – Cait has found how to intersect her social work background with getting people the best cup of coffee she can. Oh, and ever notice how coffee is portrayed in movies and TV? Cait sure has. Check out Cait's podcast on coffee: tiny sidecar.