In the Weeds Podcast with Chef Spike Mendelsohn

Nycci Nellis has interviewed everyone from Thomas Keller to Anthony Bourdain — and today, Spike flips the script. The founder of The List, co-host of the 18-year-running Foodie and the Beast , and one of DC's most wired-in food media voices pulls no punches on the state of the industry: rents are too high, spaces are too big, and the labor pool never fully came back. Along the way: the inside stor...

Victor Albisu — the operator behind Taco Bamba (now 16 locations across four states) — sits back down with Spike to talk Electric Bull, his new all-day South American steakhouse built as the antidote to the stuffy, overpriced classic. Along the way, the two old friends get into the realities of opening restaurants (and the endless delays that come with them), the rise of food influencers and what...

Chef Amanda Freitag didn’t just survive the old-school New York restaurant gauntlet — she thrived in it. From chaotic Jersey banquet halls to the CIA to butchering fish in the Florida Keys, she built her craft the hard way: station by station, burn by burn. She came up through Verbena, Vong, Gusto, and the legendary Harrison, shaping a cooking voice pulled from Thai flavors, Mediterranean markets,...

Restaurateur, chef, and experience-architect Rose Previte doesn’t just run restaurants—she builds worlds. The creative force behind Compass Rose, Maydān, and the new Maydān Market in LA joins Spike to talk about crafting spaces that connect people through fire, flavor, and story. From convincing Georgian ambassadors she wasn’t a spy to fighting neighborhood boards for her liquor license, Rose shar...

Today we're not just plating one powerhouse chef — we’ve got two. The Voltaggio Brothers sit down with Spike for an episode layered like a perfect terrine: humble beginnings, razor-sharp sibling banter, Michelin-level intensity, and true DMV loyalty. From banging pans in a Holiday Inn kitchen at 14 to chasing greatness across New York, West Virginia, California & back home, Bryan and Michael break...

From slinging ribs in the Philly suburbs to beating Bobby Flay on national TV, Chef Chad Rosenthal has built a career on smoke, soul, and a stubborn refusal to take himself too seriously. In this episode of In The Weeds , Spike and Chad trade stories about the unglamorous grind behind the grill—barbecue battles, burnt ends, kosher competitions gone sideways, and why Chad finally walked away from t...

This week on In The Weeds Podcast , Spike sits down with Gísli Grímsson — chef, storyteller, and sustainable saltmaker from the wild Westfjords of Iceland. From a childhood spent on remote puffin islands to hand-harvesting geothermal sea salt, Gísli’s journey is one part island resilience, one part culinary innovation, and entirely fascinating. They dive deep into Icelandic traditions — puffin hun...

Spike sits down with Shawn Townsend, President and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington — aka the guy making sure the DMV’s food scene doesn’t burn out under pressure. Shawn has seen DC from every side of the line — behind the bar, behind the badge, and now behind the movement keeping restaurants alive. From his early days crushing grapes in Sicily to becoming DC’s first “N...

Chef David Guas brings the soul of New Orleans wherever he goes—and in this episode, he brings it straight into the In The Weeds studio. From washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant to leading one of D.C.’s most beloved kitchens (Bayou Bakery), Chef David Guas’ journey is as rich and layered as a bowl of gumbo.   In this episode, Spike Mendelsohn sits down with his longtime friend to talk about wha...

In this episode of In The Weeds Podcast , Spike goes deep with Chef Marcus Samuelsson — James Beard Award winner, author, activist, and the force behind Red Rooster, Hav & Mar, Streetbird, and Marcus DC. What you’ll hear in this episode: Marcus on walking into DC Central Kitchen and why programs like this are the future of food justice. His journey from being born in Ethiopia and adopted into a Sw...

This week on In The Weeds Podcast , Spike sits down with Chef Katarina Petonito —the force behind The Duck & The Peach, La Collina, and The Wells . Kat gets real about: Growing up in Germantown, Maryland with a Filipino mom and Italian dad, and how food was always part of the family hustle. The path from CIA to Nantucket summers, DC kitchens, and finally running her own teams. Why she believes in...

Spike sits down with Chef Juan Manuel Barrientos–better known as Juanma—to trace his wild rise from running a hot dog cart kitchen to leading Elcielo, the first Colombian restaurant to earn a Michelin star. Juanma opens up about hustling through failures and all-night shifts, the lessons in humility he picked up scrubbing kitchens in Argentina, and how that grind shaped his global culinary empire....

What do fried pepperoni with rice, crunchy instant noodles “cooked” on a dorm-room hot plate, and accidentally eating a whole artichoke leaf have in common? They’re all part of Chef Roy Yamaguchi’s origin story. In this episode, Spike Mendelsohn sits down with the godfather of Hawaiian Regional Cuisine to talk about growing up on a military base in Japan, finding his way to the CIA, getting fired...

On episode 17 of  In the Weeds Podcast with Chef Spike Mendelsohn, we’re joined by Chef John Mooney—a true chef’s chef who has worked alongside some of the most renowned names in the restaurant world. From the streets of Chicago to working the line in top kitchens, Mooney has built an extraordinary career opening restaurants for luxury brands across the globe. As the chef-owner of Bell Book & Cand...

On episode 16, chef and food equity advocate, Michel Nischan gets In The Weeds with Spike Mendelsohn. From truck stop cook to James Beard Award-winning chef, Michel Nischan’s journey to the kitchen was anything but planned. He sits down with Spike Mendelsohn to talk about his unexpected path, cooking for the Dalai Lama, partnering with Paul Newman, and his dedication to food equity. Tune in as he...

On episode 15 of In The Weeds, Chef Grace Ramirez takes us on a journey—from working behind the camera at Nickelodeon to interviewing celebrities for TRL, to quitting her directing job on Bobby Flay’s show to pursuing culinary school and creating her own recipe for success as a celebrated chef, author, and advocate for women. Tune in for some good laughs, fun stories and to learn how Chef Grace us...

On episode 14 of In The Weeds, we sit down with the legendary Andrew Zimmern—chef, storyteller, and the man who introduced the world to bizarre foods. But this conversation goes much deeper than what’s on the plate. Andrew opens up about his battle with addiction, his journey to sobriety, and how those struggles shaped his career. He reflects on his friendship with Anthony Bourdain, sharing person...

On episode 13, Chef Scott Drewno gets In The Weeds with Chef Spike Mendelsohn to talk about his journey through the culinary world. From his humble beginnings on the fry station at Applebee’s to working with Wolfgang Puck in Las Vegas, Scott shares how he found his passion for Asian cuisine. He also dishes out his hot take on buffalo wings, debates the pros and cons of sous vide cooking, gives us...

On episode 12, Daniella Senior (CEO& Founder of Colada Shop) gets In The Weeds with Chef Spike Mendelsohn.  In this episode, Daniella shares how cooking for her family shaped her passion for the culinary world and how food was more than just a meal, it was a way of life. She opens up about her journey as a woman leader and entrepreneur in the restaurant industry, the challenges she has faced, and...

On episode 11, Chef Rocco DiSpirito goes In The Weeds with Chef Spike Mendelsohn, sharing how his early life shaped his passion for the culinary world. From studying at The Culinary Institute of America to taking a leap of faith in Paris—only to find out the restaurant he traveled for had no position for him—Rocco’s journey is one of resilience and determination. Tune in to hear how he navigated t...

On episode 10, Seth Goldman gets In The Weeds with Chef Spike Mendelsohn. These two friends and co-founders dive into Seth’s childhood, his political and social advocacy work, and how he discovered that private sector could be a source of positive and impactful change. Seth lends listeners many nuggets of wisdom about taking leaps of faith, perseverance and using your platform and business to enac...

On episode 9, Chef Victor Albisu—the mastermind behind Taco Bamba—gets In The Weeds with Chef Spike Mendelsohn, one of his first friends in the DC food scene. From their early days of hustling in kitchens to building their own culinary empires, this episode is packed with a whole lot of flavor and even more mezcal. Chef Victor Albisu is an award-winning American chef and restaurateur known for his...

On episode 8, Chef Doron Petersan gets In The Weeds with Chef Spike Mendelsohn. The two chefs dive into how Doron got into veganism, her time in the restaurant industry and how those led her to opening up her vegan bakery, Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats. We also learn how these two both dislike sprinkles but like the word 'moist'. What's up with that chefs? How do you think they feel about Yelp? Tun...

On episode 7, Chef Erik Bruner-Yang gets In The Weeds with Chef Spike Mendelsohn. The two dive headfirst into the highs, lows, and madness of the restaurant industry. Erik is culinary rebel who shook up the industry with his bold flavors and unfiltered opinions. From his unconventional rise in the food world to redefining what it means to cook with heart, Erik doesn't hold back. We talk about his...

On episode 6, Violeta Edelman and Robb Duncan get In The Weeds with Chef Spike Mendelsohn. This visionary husband and wife team gives us the scoop on meeting in the Brazilian jungle to co-founding Dolcezza Gelato in Washington DC and making the most delicious small-batch, handcrafted gelato. Oh, and there may be some conversation around the power of Ayahuasca. Buckle up for this epic trip of an ep...