Eat It, Virginia!

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To say Daquan and Nicole Woodberry have a lot of irons in the fire would be an understatement. The chef and entrepreneur power couple hopes to transform the way Richmond orders food with both the LoCo food delivery app and virtual restaurants. "A virtual restaurant is essentially a restaurant within a restaurant. It thrives and operates solely off of delivery platforms," Dequan, who goes by Chef D...

Evrim and Evin Dogu are the brother and sister team behind some of the country's best bread. Their Richmond bakery, Sub Rosa, has become a favorite of locals and a tourist destination for traveling foodies. Five years after opening Sub Rosa Bakery in Church Hill, Evrim and Evin were named James Beard Award Semi-Finalists outstanding bakers in the country. A feat the duo repeated in 2018, 2019, and...

Bobo Catoe is a self-described nerd on topics such as beer, vinyl, and superheroes. But what Bo knows best is food. The past Elby's nominee for the best rising chef in Richmond, Catoe can be found creating award-winning dishes in the open kitchen at Alewife in Richmond's Church Hill neighborhood. Listen to the podcast to get some pointers on what to talk with Bobo about before striking up a conver...

Richmond native Libby Lewis left the familiar confines of office and city life for the family's Shenandoah Valley farm. But don't call her a cow farmer. "Maybe a steward of the land," Lewis said when asked about her new job title. "Someone dedicating their life now to bringing healthy meat to families in Virginia." As the CEO of Lewis Cattle Company, her mission is to get high-quality beef onto ki...

When Chef Ida Mamusu fled Liberia after a coup d'état in 1980, she landed in New York City alone and without a plan. A stranger approached Mamusu, crying at the airport, and took her back to her apartment to help get her on her feet.  After connecting with family in the states, Mamusu made her way to Richmond where she opened businesses to earn money to bring her family over from Afric...

One of Richmond's newest food brands came to life after a dark period for Danny Sterling. It was 2016 and the chef was shocked to learn he had cancer. The surgeries and recovery that followed (along with the support of his wife) convinced Danny to take better care of himself by making better food choices. "It doesn't hurt to look at holistic health and see how food can play a role in that. And it'...

The world's best tomatoes come from Hanover County, Virginia. And some of Hanover's best tomatoes are grown at Village Garden Farm . "Amazing soil here," founding farmer David Hunsaker said about his Hanover farm tucked away on 10 acres near Kersey Creek. "We are east of the fall line in Hanover County. There's plenty of Hanover County that really does not have our soil. If you're west of I-95, yo...

On July 1, 2021, Virginia's marijuana laws changed making it legal in Virginia to grow up to four marijuana plants per household and possess up to an ounce of the drug. While smoking may be the most well-known way to experience marijuana, it is not the only way. Chefs Nikki Gregory and Paul Polk, who own Charlotte's Southern Deli and Tapas in downtown Richmond, appeared on the Eat It, Virginia pod...

When Joe and Emilia Sparatta arrived in Richmond about a decade ago, they hit the ground running. From helping Jason Alley open Pasture, to opening their wildly successful Richmond restaurant Heritage, to opening a second successful Richmond restaurant Southbound, to expanding from a couple to a family of four, there has not been much downtime for the Sparattas. That all changed in March 2020 when...

Drive just about 15 miles east of downtown Richmond on Route 5 you are in another world. The Lilly Pad, which dubs itself Richmond's only waterfront bar and restaurant, sits at Kingsland Marina along the James River in Varina. While the Lilly Pad has been around for decades, it has a new owner and a new menu which has created a new vibe in the old spot. "I've been in Richmond long enough to know t...

Can you keep a secret? Chef Steve Glenn sure can. The Chesterfield native is about a make his national television debut on Hell's Kitchen Young Guns  with Gordon Ramsay. A secret the 23-year-old Manchester High School graduate had to sit on throughout the pandemic. The competition, which begins its television run at the end of May, was actually filmed in 2019. The pandemic pushed back the sta...

Adam Musselman and Joshua Franklin, two of the forces behind Cobra Burger in Church Hill, come on the podcast to discuss the Cobra Burger name, the importance of local ingredients, and how their past experiences as a "meat guy" and "cheese guy" melted into one of Richmond's hottest new spots. Cobra Burger 400 N. 27th Street Richmond, Va. 23223   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Life is good for Donnie Glass . The husband and father of a baby boy spent the last 13 months successfully guiding his Richmond restaurant Grisette through pandemic-related shutdowns and restrictions. A challenging time, for sure, but not the most challenging time in the restaurateur's life. The Northern Virginia native was in high school on 9/11. An experience that led him to enroll at Virginia M...

Carlos Ordaz-Nunez went from working on his parents' Virginia farm, to managing a series of successful pop-up events, to opening his dream restaurant TBT El Gallo in Richmond in one year. A pandemic year in which he learned a lot about his food and himself. "What I've learned [during the last year] is to love who I am and what I cook and to really embrace that and not pigeonhole myself or put myse...

David Dunlap was at the top of his game in March 2020. The executive chef, who gained experience in notable restaurants like  The Inn at Little Washington  and  The Ashby , was running Maple and Pine at the  Quirk Hotel  in downtown Richmond and had just opened a second location in Charlottesville when the pandemic closed restaurants statewide. "Fifteen days of 'slow sprea...

When Sequoia Ross enters the room, everyone knows she has arrived. Ross, known to viewers of Virginia This Morning as Chef Coco, is the force behind Favour Cookie Company. She credited divine intervention for her vegan cookies business that is now expanding across Central Virginia. "Jesus. I have to tell you that it was Jesus. I started really at Unbound RVA and they were trying to help me figure...

When it comes to sandwiches, bigger is often better. Now some of Richmond's biggest sandwiches are being created at Hatch Kitchen in South Richmond. Fat Kid Sandwiches launched last year during the pandemic as a to-go concept. Later this year, Fat Kid will be one of the restaurants opening in the now-under-construction  Hatch Local food hal l. Liz Clifford and Jon Martin, the couple behind th...

It did not take Ja'Mia Brooks long to make a big impact on TikTok. While relatively new to the app, the Virginia State University graduate uses the app to create TikTok tours of can't miss Richmond-area restaurants and small businesses. One of her recent videos went super viral, increasing business for the restaurant and Ja'Mia 's fan base.  Ja'Mia took some time to Zoom with Robey and S...

If you've seen their viral Instagram posts , you might think Coco + Hazel is just an over-the-top dessert spot known for putting cakes, cookies, and candy atop their over-sized milkshakes. But it is so much more than meets the eye. Owner Chelle Bravo shares her story about the friends, family, and the Mexican coffee beans that make the West End spot (and soon-to-open Bon Air location) a success ev...

In an effort to start 2021 on a sunny note, Eat It, Virginia! asked listeners to nominate the chefs, restaurant owners, and food industry people who seem to remain positive, even during the darkest days. Chef Evan Campbell was one name that appeared over and over again in the nominations. As chef at both The Stables and The Franklin Inn , Campbell has had to navigate a most difficult time in the r...

After years of working together as part of Richmond's powerful EAT Restaurant Partners group, the husband and wife duo of Mike Lindsey and Kimberly Love-Lindsey decided it was their time to open up a new restaurant of their own.  The opening of Lillie Pearl on Grace Street in downtown Richmond coincided with the birth of the couple's son and during a time when restaurants face strict COVID-19...

Jason Alley has had a notable career in Richmond restaurants. When it opened, his restaurant comfort was credited with breathing new life into downtown Richmond and helping put the city on the country's culinary map. So when Richmond went looking for a person to help map a road to recovery for Richmond restaurants, both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, Alley answered the call. On this week'...

Richmond is home to many craft breweries. So many, in fact, it can sometimes be overwhelming to not only decide where to go but also what to try when you get there. Fortunately, there are people like Eric Jackson around to help. Jackson is a beer experience curator. He uses his social platforms Uncap Everything and Capsoul to demystify Richmond's craft brew scene for anyone who wants to learn more...

Do you believe in love at first sight? Scott fell hard when Sarah Tocco , the head chef at Fine Creek Brewing Company, posted a photo of Peach Pizza on Instagram . He knew he had to know more about the pizza and its creator, so he and Robey drove out to the Powhatan brewery to meet Sarah, hear her story, and learn more about her fantastic looking food.  This episode of Eat It, Virginia is bro...