Kitchen Chat with Margaret McSweeney

Chefs are today’s rockstars.  In Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll, ( https://amzn.to/2FDRUKQ) the prolific and award winning chef writer, Andrew Friedman, ( http://toqueland.com/andrew-friedman/) chronicles the compelling story of the first generation of American chefs set in the 1970’s and 1980’s before “fame and fortune” was on their horizons.  He interviewed more than 210 people over the span of fi...

  ( http://kitchenchat.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Merchandise_Mart-750x516.jpg) Blair Loftspring, Managing Director, Leasing & Marketing – Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.   “The Merchandise Mart was built in the 1930s by Marshall Field, sold to the Kennedy family in 1945 and is now owned by Vornado Realty Trust. The Mart is the largest commercial building in the country and is the second bi...

( http://kitchenchat.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NatalieMcAller_KitchenChat-750x394.jpg )Let’s spice things up in 2019!   Natasha MacAller, author of Vanilla Table: The Essence of Exquisite Cooking from the World’s Best Chefs along with Healthy Spice Heroes shares the benefits of spices. She is a fellow member of Les Dames d’Escoffier and we had a fun Kitchen Chat at one of the conferences. Di...

  Thank you foodie friends for making 2018 a great year for Kitchen Chat!  And thank you, Chef Jaime Laurita ( https://www.instagram.com/jaimelaurita/?hl=en ) for co-hosting Kitchen Chat with me in the award winning Viking and La Cornue Showroom ( http://vikingrange.com ) at the Merchandise Mart ( http://themart.com ) Luxe Home ( http://www.luxehome.com ). You and the Middleby Residential team des...

  ( http://kitchenchat.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/KitchenChat-Jack-Bishop-750x667.jpg) “Italian food isn’t the result of a single culinary style, it’s a mosaic of many cooking traditions that stem from each province’s geography and climate, agriculture history and culture.”  Jack Bishop, Chief Creative Officer at America’s Test Kitchen on PBS Come on a culinary journey with  America’s Test Ki...

( http://kitchenchat.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Abe_Conlon.jpg)   “Fat Rice is a symbol of abundance, generosity and hospitality.”   Chef Abe Conlon’s intense passion for food began at an early age.  Growing up in Lowell, Massachusetts, Conlon developed an international palate influenced by his multicultural suburb with a vibrant Southeast Asian community along with his family’s Portuguese he...

( http://kitchenchat.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Cooking_With_Scraps.jpg) Each year over 133 billion pounds of food goes wasted in the United States, with 40% of all food going into the garbage. Lindsay-Jean Hard ( https://www.workman.com/authors/lindsay-jean-hard) is on a passionate mission to share ways to reduce this waste and increase sustainability by writing a cookbook called Cooking wit...

Mindy Segal ( http://www.hotchocolatechicago.com/mindysegal/) is a successful entrepreneur, restaurateur, and an award winning pastry chef.  (In 2012, she won a James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef ( https://www.jamesbeard.org/chef/mindy-segal)) . As a student at University of Wisconsin, she skipped school to cook for everyone.  It was then that she realized her real passion in life was t...

( http://kitchenchat.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/IMG_5823-3-750x532.jpg) Dorie Greenspan is an inspiration.  I am so grateful to have met her early in my culinary journey.  Her genuine kindness and encouragement along with her passion for cooking brings out the best in others and in her recipes.  What a delight to recently have a Kitchen Chat with her in the Viking and La Cornue Showroom ( htt...

  ( http://kitchenchat.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ROYAL_CHEF_cvr-copy-255x300.jpg)   Are you ready to cook, eat and entertain royalty?  The Royal Chef Darren McGrady shares recipes from Buckingham Palace and his home in Dallas.   ( http://theroyalchef.com )As personal chef to Queen Elizabeth and the royal family for eleven years and to Princess Diana for four years, Chef McGrady has prepared...

Chef Diana Davila, Executive Chef and Owner of Mi Tocaya Antojeria ( http://www.mitocaya.com ),  was recently named one of the Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine magazine ( https://www.foodandwine.com/chefs/food-wine-best-new-chefs-2018#jonathan-yao-kato-los-angeles) .   Her neighborhood Mexican restaurant is located in Logan Square in Chicago, and the meaning of its name even evokes the emo...

Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa ( https://barefootcontessa.com ), has taught millions of people how to cook.  Her gracious hospitality welcomes Food Network viewers into her kitchen each week to experience comfort and a taste of home.  In her most recent book, Cook Like A Pro ( https://amzn.to/2AMQ3jc) , Ina provides great tips and recipes for the home chefs to elevate their skills. And each rec...

  ( http://kitchenchat.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_2027-300x295.jpg) “Bollywood is Hollywood in Mumbai,” Sri Rao ( http://www.newyorksri.com ), writer-director-producer and author of Bollywood Kitchen ( http://amzn.to/2EcN0jM)explains .  Everyone should experience a Bollywood movie!  The music, the dancing and the colorful array of fashion are unforgettable!  And I will never forget my Bol...

Chef Carla Hall ( http://www.carlahall.com ) is on a Soul Food journey to “redefine soul food, to reclaim it.”  Her new cookbook Carla Hall’s Soul Food ( https://amzn.to/2RNm014) shares her passion from the past and her plan for the present to make Soul Food an official cuisine.  What a delightful honor to visit with Carla in her New York City apartment for a Kitchen Chat and to learn how to make...

( http://kitchenchat.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/IMG_2290-300x300.jpg) Recently I had the honor of meeting and interviewing Clare Reichenbach, the new CEO of the James Beard Foundation ( http://www.jamesbeard.org/ ) (JBF). It was my first ever visit to the historic James Beard House, located in New York City. James Beard was “America’s First Foodie” and his legacy continues to impact generatio...

Ready to bite into some Chicago pizza? Steve Dolinsky ( http://www.stevedolinsky.com/about) , an award winning culinary media personality known for his weekly Hungry Hound segment on  ABC  7 News Chicago ( https://abc7chicago.com/tag/hungry-hound/) and his podcast The Feed ( http://www.thefeedpodcast.com ) with Chef Rick Bayless ( https://www.rickbayless.com ), has a new book called Pizza City, U....