Chef's PSA Podcast

Phillip Frankland Lee is the co-owner and executive chef of Scratch Restaurants Group, the Michelin-starred hospitality company he operates with his wife and executive pastry chef Margarita Kallas-Lee. The group includes Sushi by Scratch Restaurants, Pasta|Bar, NADC Burger, and Shokunin. Lee is a Top Chef Season 13 competitor, San Pellegrino Young Chef 2015 finalist, Zagat 30 Under 30 honoree, and...

Chef Josh Sutcliff is the Corporate Executive Chef and Partner at 55 Seventy, a private members club for wine lovers with locations in Dallas and Houston. A Le Cordon Bleu graduate, CultureMap Dallas Rising Star Chef of the Year, and Zagat 30 Under 30 honoree, his career includes chef de cuisine at FT33, executive chef at Mirador, and stints at The Joule and Knox Bistro. He started washing dishes...

Chef David Bull is Austin's first Iron Chef America competitor, Food and Wine Best New Chef 2003, two-time James Beard Foundation nominee, and Regional Vice President of Food and Beverage at LaCorsha Hospitality Group. He led the Driskill Grill to three consecutive Austin American-Statesman number one restaurant awards, competed on Iron Chef America in 2006 as the first Austin chef to do so, and h...

Brandon Harpster is the National Corporate Chef for Training and Events at RATIONAL USA . He trains chefs across the country, runs RATIONAL's culinary academies, and develops cooking programs that translate connected kitchen technology into repeatable, scalable results for working operators. This episode starts with a brunch disaster. A steamship round failed overnight at a country club, no mo...

Chef Chad Welch is an American Culinary Federation Certified Executive Chef and Certified Culinary Administrator, a Jacques Pépin Foundation ambassador, and the executive chef with The Urban Stillhouse, an elevated dining concept with locations in St. Petersburg, Florida and Somerset, Kentucky. Horse Soldier bourbon bottles are formed with steel from the World Trade Center. He did not plan to beco...

Everyone wants the spotlight. Until it actually hits. Andre sits down with Emmanuel Chavez from Tatemo in Houston to talk about what happens when your restaurant gets attention before you’re ready for it. Tatemo went from a tortilla operation to a full tasting menu fast. Recognition came with it. So did pressure. This conversation gets into what it takes to run a tight kitchen with almost no space...

Chef Andre Natera sits down with Emmanuel Laroche, host of the Flavors Unknown podcast and author of A Taste of Madagascar , to explore the global story behind vanilla production and the process of writing a food book. Laroche shares his experience traveling to Madagascar, where roughly 80% of the world’s vanilla is produced, including the realities of hand pollination and the challenges of sourci...

Chef Dan Kennedy spent over 20 years in high end kitchens, most recently as head chef at Pasta|Bar Austin before the concept closed in February 2026. He is now working on Morri, his own concept in Austin. In this episode, Andre Natera and Dan Kennedy argue that social media has replaced technical skill with aesthetic performance, and duck is the clearest casualty. Why duck is almost always underco...

Chef Andre Natera sits down with identical twin chefs Brandon and Jonathan Dearden to discuss rivalry, restaurant leadership, culinary school value, and the realities of running profitable restaurants. Both twins competed on Top Chef and built careers in very different directions. Brandon pursued fine dining and stages at elite kitchens, while Jonathan focused on leadership roles and restaurant ma...

Chef Andre Natera sits down with Dallas chef Josh Sutcliff and food commentator Drew Stephenson to unpack the viral debate surrounding the Dallas dining scene. After Drew’s Instagram post sparked widespread reactions among chefs and diners, the conversation expanded into a deeper look at restaurant success, Michelin expectations, and the economic realities of running restaurants in Texas. They dis...

Chef Andre Natera sits down with Jam Sanichat, chef-owner of Thai Fresh in Austin, Texas, to explore how restaurant culture, wage models, and culinary traditions intersect. Jam explains why she eliminated tipping at Thai Fresh and replaced it with a transparent service fee designed to provide stable wages and reduce front-of-house and back-of-house pay disparities. The conversation also traces her...

Most chefs should not open a restaurant. James Trees explains why ownership is finance and leadership, not cooking. From prime cost and food cost velocity to EBITDA, triple net leases, and delivery app traps, this episode is a restaurant business masterclass. If you are thinking about opening your first restaurant, learn the numbers first. How prime cost actually works Why food cost velocity matte...

A Michelin-trained chef faces thyroid cancer and the real possibility of losing his taste. Chef Jake Rojas shares his diagnosis, treatment, feeding tube recovery, and how the experience reshaped his priorities around health and leadership. From El Paso competitions to three-star kitchens in Las Vegas, this is a conversation about discipline, identity, and why flavor is the only thing that truly ma...

She left finance to open two of Austin’s most talked-about restaurants. In this episode of Chefs PSA, Laila Bazahm explains how fine dining discipline, financial literacy, and cultural awareness shaped her path from Wall Street to restaurant ownership. This conversation is essential for chefs who want to open their first restaurant without guessing their way through funding. How to secure capital...

Restaurant kitchens are breaking chefs. Joey Chavez left the traditional kitchen path to build a private dining business that protects income, health, and time. In this episode of Chefs PSA, Andre Natera breaks down what chefs are never taught about money, pricing, and long-term sustainability. This is a reality check for cooks questioning their future. You will learn Why restaurant kitchens burn...

Chef Francis Pascal of Vendador joins André Natera to talk private dining, leadership, contracts, pricing, and the real business behind luxury events. From immigrant roots to building a high-end operation, this episode is packed with practical insight for chefs looking to go independent. If this episode helped you, leave a 5-star rating and follow Chef’s PSA. Francis Pascal on Instagram LINKS &amp...

Brent Weathers cuts through the 'Instagram Chef' BS to reveal the reality of cooking without recipes. In this episode, André Natera welcomes back chef and content creator Brent Weathers for a conversation that cuts through trends, gimmicks, and recycled food content. They break down cooking without recipes, the pressure of originality, content creation burnout, and the realities most chefs...

If this episode brings you value, leave a 5-star rating and follow Chef’s PSA. Great restaurants are designed, not improvised. Andre Natera sits down again with Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel of Birdie’s to break down menu structure, kitchen culture, mentorship, and leadership. They explore why Birdie’s moved to a prefixed format, how structure improved creativity, and what it really takes to build sustai...

If this episode helps you, leave a 5-star rating and follow Chef’s PSA so it reaches more working chefs. Chef Jorge Luis Hernández joins André Natera to break down how innovation actually works inside Michelin-recognized kitchens. From mentorship and iteration to recipe systems and collaboration, this episode focuses on process, not performance. Jorge on Instagram Subscribe on Substack → https://c...

Is the climb to "Executive Chef" actually worth the sacrifice? Chef and Hospitality Leader Franck Desplechin joins André Natera to dismantle the myth that a higher job title equals more happiness. They discuss the operational and emotional reality of running luxury hotel kitchens: The Title Trap: Why chasing the next promotion often leads to burnout, not fulfillment. Hotel Operations: Th...

What is the operational difference between a "good" restaurant and a Michelin-starred machine? Chef Philip Frankland Lee returns to Chef’s PSA to dismantle the romanticism of fine dining and replace it with systems, discipline, and math. We move past the hype to discuss the structural reality of modern kitchens: The Omakase Model: Why scaling "tasting menu" concepts is the smar...

Don't forget to leave a 5-star rating and follow Chef’s PSA if you want more conversations like this. Jess Pryles joins André Natera on Chef’s PSA for a deep dive into meat science, barbecue, and cooking beef the right way. They cover prime rib technique, dry aging, brisket methods, and what most cooks misunderstand about meat. Jess also shares insights from writing cookbooks, working in the m...

Barbecue is built on fire, discipline, and pressure. Leonard Botello IV, pitmaster and owner of Truth BBQ, joins Chef’s PSA to break down intuitive cooking with wood fire, managing pits, the science behind great barbecue, and the mental toll of operating at a high level. Leonard shares a near-disastrous fire incident, the realities of running a Texas barbecue operation, and why mental and physical...

Knife work is the foundation of cooking, but most chefs are ruining their edges without realizing it. In this episode, André Natera sits down with Don Smolik (Study The Blade) and custom knife maker Kolter Livengood for a technical deep dive into knife care. They strip away the myths to reveal the science behind a perfect edge: Blade Geometry: Why "thinness behind the edge" matters more...

Chef Benjamin Maides joins Chef’s PSA for a direct look at ingredient-driven cooking, seasonal discipline, and balancing restaurant life with running a farm. From his time cooking in northern Italy to building Au Courant in Omaha, Maides breaks down technique, menu development, cultural lessons, and the realities of operating multiple roles at once. This episode is for chefs who care about real cr...