Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders

Hi, and welcome to another international YouTube club. Please watch and find out where in the world we are this month.   Join Milwaukee Chefs Go International at Eldr+Rime in Milwaukee, where Chef Jose Gonzalez and Chef David Cook showcase Swedish-inspired dishes: a smoky whitefish and trout dip with Scandinavian chips and pickled vegetables.    The fire part of the Swedish recipe includes wood-fi...

On Munching Around Milwaukee, Capt. Rhianna Macon hosts Charlie at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, Station Milwaukee. They discuss the Coast Guard's missions on the Great Lakes, search and rescue and ice-rescue training, jurisdictional coordination, and her career path from Hawaii to command after 9/11.   The episode also highlights daily life aboard the station with a galley lunch prepared...

On Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, Angela Adams joins host Charlie to discuss her journey from Gary, Indiana, through Florida A&M and corporate roles to founding Sage Business Advisors and leading AALAM.   They explore leadership, family, and community service, then prepare a simple one-pan sweet-and-spicy roasted salmon with sweet potatoes and asparagus.   The episode combines perso...

On Munching Around Milwaukee, host Charlie visits Bayview to celebrate Lulu Cafe & Bar’s 25th anniversary with co-owners Sarah Jonas and Cam Roberts, tracing their start as a catering business to becoming a neighborhood anchor.   The episode covers their early $200-a-month lease, the evolution of their menu and space, community building in Bayview, and upcoming anniversary events, including a...

On Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders,  host Charlie sits down with Vincent Lyles, Executive Director of Milwaukee Succeeds. They discuss his Milwaukee roots, varied career, and the organization’s focus on improving early childhood education across the city.   The episode ends in the kitchen as Vincent prepares a vegan-friendly arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas), sharing cooking tips...

On Munching Around Milwaukee, host Charlie visits West Allis to meet Mark Lutz, the owner behind a cluster of connected food businesses on Becher Street. Known as the Blocks of Becher, they include West Allis Cheese & Sausage, Becher Meats, Archie's Flat Top, Scratch Ice Cream, The Bake Sale, and Station No. 6.   The episode follows how childhood memories grew into an integrated food destinati...

Join Charlie and guest Julia Child as they take you through coq au vin, a classic French chicken braised in red wine. This episode of International YouTube Club highlights France and walks viewers through a comforting, flavorful recipe.   The hosts season and brown the chicken in bacon fat, sauté the pearl onions and mushrooms, flame the cognac, then add red wine, beef stock, thyme, bay leaves, an...

On Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, host Charlie talks with Marian Jimenez, a BMO Harris treasury consultant and Latino community advocate. Marian shares her journey from the Dominican Republic to Canada and Milwaukee, and discusses her work advancing diversity, mentoring employees, and supporting small businesses. That work earned her a spot on the Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40...

On this episode of Munching Around Milwaukee, host Charlie chats with Sam Wisneski, co-owner of Chillwaukee, a Milwaukee-based bicycle-powered popsicle and shaved ice business. They discuss Sam’s entrepreneurial beginnings, how he and his wife bought Chillwaukee, and the company’s community-focused, vegan-friendly menu.    The episode features a lively Riverwalk pop-up where they give away free po...

On Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, host Charlie sits down with Terrell Morgan, aka Ego the Artist, to discuss his journey from Milwaukee's 53206 neighborhood to becoming a renowned community artist and mentor. They cover his murals, work with local festivals and schools, and explore the creative drive behind his activism.   Joined by Ego in the studio kitchen, they cook Tuscan lamb chops...

On Munching Around Milwaukee, host Charlie visits Bayview’s Heirloom Restaurant to talk with co-owners Jess and chef Pete Ignatiev. They discuss their farm-to-table restaurant and popular food truck. They discuss seasonal menus, local farm partnerships, and their signature house-made burrata.   In the kitchen, Chef Pete shows step-by-step how he makes Heirloom's signature burrata from scratch. Fre...

Live from Studio D, host Charlie chats with Shary Pérez, Community Health and Research Director at United Community Center, and Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree. They discuss Shary’s journey from Puerto Rico to a public health career in Milwaukee and her community-engaged research work at UCC.   In the kitchen, Shary prepares Puerto Rican party favorites: sandwichitos de mezcla (Spam...

In this episode of Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, Host Charlie sits down with Luis Hernandez, Associate Athletic Director and Head of Strategic Communications at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to discuss his journey from the southeast side of Chicago to leadership in sports communications. They talk about his career path, community work, and stories from Madison and Milwaukee.   Y...

Join host Charlie at Thai-namite in Milwaukee as co-owner Kim shares the restaurant’s history and expansion plans while Chef Jimmy demonstrates their signature beef Massaman curry.   Watch the kitchen demo, learn cooking tips and ingredient choices, and get a preview of Thainamite’s new upscale-casual concept opening in Milwaukee's Third Ward.   You can watch the YouTube video here - https://youtu...

In this episode of Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, host Charlie interviews Oscar Sanchez, founder and CEO of Ambrosia Events, about his journey from Mexico to Milwaukee, his culinary training and entrepreneurial ventures, and being honored on the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list.   They then head to the kitchen, where Oscar demonstrates how to make traditional-style birria t...

Munching Around Milwaukee Host Charlie visits Twisted Plants on Brady Street to talk with co-owner Brandon Hawthorne about how a food truck turned into two brick-and-mortar vegan restaurants.    Brandon and his wife Arielle built the business after a health scare and focused on plant-based comfort food that looks and tastes like traditional favorites.   The episode highlights the menu favorites li...

In this episode of Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, Mary McCormick, outgoing Executive Director of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, reflects on 25 years of community projects, scholarships, and international service while preparing to retire in June.    She discusses major local initiatives like Live at the Lakefront, the Centennial Arboretum, MKE Urban Stables, and Rotary’s work in Guatemal...

Host Charlie sits down with Sophie Bollich, Urban Milwaukee’s dining writer, to discuss Milwaukee’s growing food scene, local favorites, and the city’s new inclusion in the Michelin Guide. They cover Sophie’s background, James Beard nominations, rising restaurant concepts, food trucks, hidden gems, and what’s driving Milwaukee’s culinary momentum. “Munching Around Milwaukee” is part of the “Milwau...

Welcome to another International YouTube Club episode of Local Chefs Go International. Host Charlie visits Kegel's Inn in Milwaukee to explore Austrian/Bavarian cuisine with co-owner Stephanie Kegel. Stephanie shares her background and the restaurant's history, then demonstrates how to make a classic Wiener Schnitzel—veal pounded thin, breaded, and fried in clarified butter—offering serving tips a...

Hi, and welcome to another episode of Local Chefs Go International. This monthly podcast showcases a different country each month. This month, we are in Japan, and we visit Kawa Ramen & Sushi in Milwaukee to explore Japanese sushi making.   Master Sushi Chef Mars demonstrates how to make California rolls, dragon rolls with eel, and nigiri like salmon and yellowtail, sharing tips on rice, knife...

On Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, host Charlie interviews Joseph Addison, President of 100 Black Men of Greater Milwaukee. They talk about his Pensacola, FL roots, military family values, and his pathway to Milwaukee.   Joseph explains how his chapter of 100 Black Men focuses on mentoring youth, promoting education, health and wellness, and economic empowerment for the African-American...

On Munching Around Milwaukee, host Charlie sits down with Josh Mendiola, chef de cuisine at Sanford in downtown Milwaukee, to explore his culinary journey from the Philippines to leading the kitchen at one of the city’s top restaurants.   The episode highlights Josh’s signature dishes (a beef kofta and Filipino okoy), his mentors and influences, Sanford’s menus and dining experience, and his work...

On this episode of Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, Frank Cumberbatch shares his journey from Trinidad to Milwaukee and his decades-long career in public, private, and nonprofit sectors.  Frank talks about his work as VP of Engagement at Bader Philanthropies, focusing on community-driven development and inclusive decision-making. The episode closes with a lighthearted kitchen segment wher...

On Munching Around Milwaukee, Host Charlie talks with Chef Heskeith "Kess" Flavien, (you can see the YouTube video here - https://youtu.be/7KLr_mz8aBE ), executive chef at St. Kate the Arts Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. Kess discusses his journey from St. Lucia to Louisiana culinary school and through local restaurants to his role leading multiple dining outlets at St. Kate, including a new sushi p...

On this episode of Munching Around Milwaukee, Host Charlie visits Maxie's on Milwaukee's west side to meet chef-owner Joe Muench and sample newly updated appetizers — including hush-puppy-style cheese bites, popcorn crayfish, and a crab-topped deviled egg — following a renovation and menu refresh. The episode also highlights Black Shoe Hospitality's other concepts (Blue's Egg, Story Hill BKC), Joe...