NC F&B Podcast

We take the show up a notch to the C-Suite level when we talk to the leader of Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti . This episode takes us beyond " Setting the Table ," for one restaurant, this is about establishing a hospitality and leadership culture that transcends all over the world. With strong leadership, a vivid idea of who you are and what you do, Shake Shack is able to re-create your neighborho...

It is as if Clark Griswold did a culinary tour of just France instead of a whole European Vacation . Thankfully no dogs were thrown off the Eiffel Tower and zero monuments were harmed in the recording of this podcast. Max and Felicia (plus les enfants) ate it all while traveling through France. Discover the wonder of a French Baguette, the beauty yet simplicity of French coffee, and also what to e...

Never Work A Day In Your Life That's what Tina Vaughn and Chef Chip Smith have accomplished by opening The Simone in the Upper East Side of NYC . Never before will you hear a story of such genuine dedication to hospitality. Tina left her career as a Rockette to work with Chip when she realized his talent and attention to detail, she knew she they would "Kick" it higher than ever imagined. The Simo...

In this episode, we speak to the Beverage Director of Giorgios Group, as well as many of Chef Matt Kelly's restaurants in Durham, Michael Maller. Micahel reveals his secrets of how to get hired at top restaurants, how he manages multiple properties while building one of the best wine programs in North Carolina, and the value of collecting aged wine and verticals. Later, Max brings up an embarrassi...

How to create a successful wine bar franchise? Lindsay Rice fused passion and education into a profession. As if achieving a masters degree in Art and Museum studies from Georgetown University wasn't enough, Lindsay went on to complete WSET Sommelier level 1 certification! Putting her formidable education into practical application, Ms. Rice created Vita Vite wine bar in downtown Raleigh. Vita Vit...

Want to start your own Vodka Company? You will find all the answers you need by listening to this episode with the founders and creators of Social House Vodka! We cover everything from how to create a Vodka recipe, to sourcing local corn and dealing with state and federal distribution laws. Social House isn't just a Vodka label, it's a brand new distillery located in Kinston, North Carolina. You w...

These two not only do , they teach too.   You would have to be out of your mind to convert a 1959 Airstream Tradewind trailer into a food truck, wouldn't you? Well, when Chef Paul Malcolm and Chef Brian Campbell are not instructing perspective chefs (at Johnson and Wales Charlotte ) they are retrofitting their historic RV into being one of the top food trucks in Charlotte, NC !   Hear how Chefs Pa...

#Golfanyone? Well, sort of. Max and Matthew ventured out to Pinehurst North Carolina to experience the Chef & Maker series. These two episodes paint a picture of an ideal Pinehurst weekend. The evenings and afternoons consist of serious culinary treats and seminars, Posh cocktails, beer and wine but before all that, in the morning you play golf. During this culinary extravaganza we were able to ca...

#Golfanyone? Well, sort of. Max and Matthew ventured out to Pinehurst North Carolina to experience the Chef & Maker series. These two episodes paint a picture of an ideal Pinehurst weekend. The evenings and afternoons consist of serious culinary treats and seminars, Posh cocktails, beer and wine but before all that, in the morning you play golf. During this culinary extravaganza we were able to ca...

Soft shell crabbing starts early in the morning. The alarm rang at 2:15am so Max and Matt could get to Colington, North Carolina and the Ablemarle sound (in the OBX NC) early enough that the water was still the right temperature. Additionally, crabbing is a very short season so you "gotta get while the gettin is good," in order to capitalize on the product.   In this episode Chefs Bill Hartley and...

"Be all you can be!" "Fort Bragg, North Carolina is a military installation of the United States Army and is the largest military installation in the world with more than 50,000 active duty personnel." After serving in the army many of the veterans stay in the Fayetteville area after serving, they see Fayetteville as an up and coming area. Fayetteville has growing job and thriving housing markets....

Thrive NC Ashley Christensen , Vivian Howard and Sam Jones were just a few of the many chefs to lend their time and efforts to Thrive NC. Thrive NC is a two day summit and food festival that "brings together more than 150 food system stakeholders from across North Carolina to discuss how we can impact our communities" most pressing issues through a focus on food as an economic development tool and...

You cannot miss this episode. Max and Matt ventured to the Windy City in order to bring you behind the scenes of the 2018 James Beard Awards ! This episode takes you into the press room in order to hear from the likes of Dominique Crenn (winner for best chef West region) and her love for North Carolina. Actress Zooey Deschanel chats about her efforts to end food waste with The Farm Project, oh and...

On the cusp of the James Beard Awards 2018 with Chef Katie Button. Katie Button went from being a PHD candidate in biomedical engineering to becoming a finalist for a James Beard Award as best Chef Southeast! In this episode we identify the "aha" moment when Katie decided it was time to enter the culinary world! We learn about what it's like to work with Jose Andres , and work at the best restaura...

We are celebrating North Carolina Beer Month by chatting with one of the top brewers in Charlotte Mr. Dan Wade of Wooden Robot . Dan is not just a brewer he has a master of science in brewing and distilling. Dan knew early on that he had a desire to brew and understand the ins and outs of beer making so he ventured to Scotland to study at the prestigious Heriot Watt School for Brewing and Distilli...

What can you do to eliminate food waste and hunger? Evan Lutz created Hungry Harvest . Literally, billions of pounds of food goes wasted annually while 50 million people are hungry in America. By the way, North Carolina wastes 1.2 million tons per year. Thankfully Hungry Harvest has set up shop in North Carolina. Listen in to our conversation about how CEO Evan Lutz and his company is revolutioniz...

Soup for Syria raises money for over 3.8 Million Syrian Refugees through culinary collaboration. Regan Stachler of Hull Foods resurrected the famed ChickenWire event in order to donate to the cause! Regan wrangled 18 top chefs in North Carolina to collaborate and create soups for Syria. We got the skinny from each chef about their inspiration for their soup, why they donate their time and creativi...

Get it on. Got to get it on. No choice but to get it on. Mandate, get it on. State of the Podcast Union In this episode Max and Matt step away from conventional guest driven show to update you the listener on recent events and future happenings.  Max, Matt and families ventured out to the outer banks to judge a few cooking competitions during taste of the beach . Max also let's us in to his though...

Listen to the science of farming, music, visual art and food, all in one episode. To say David McConnell is a renaissance man would be short changing him. David sees the world and his time on this planet as a blank canvas and seeks to make his mark on it. You wouldn't believe this story if I told you it, so let Dave tell it to you. In summary Mr. McConnell went from producing the music of legendar...

How to grow mushrooms. Fox Farm & Forage If you are ever concerned about living in a post apocalyptic world or you just want to know lots about much, listen to Amy Fox of Fox Farm & Forage. Mrs. Fox has figured out how to turn a degree in nursing into becoming a mushroom farmer. Not only is Amy a mushroom farmer, she is the darling mushroom grower/supplier to many of the elite chefs in the Raleigh...

The elite barkeep is just one of Shannon Healy's many monikers. Shannon is proud to be a barkeep but he is so much more. Mr. Healy helped put Durham on the map of the national culinary scene by creating one of the top cocktail bars in the triangle, in what was previously a deserted dark alley. Recently that cocktail bar Alley 26 has been expanded into one of the Triangle's top restaurants garnerin...

We dedicate this week of the NC F&B Podcast to a 2-part Series celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Triangle Wine Experience, benefiting The Frankie Lemmon School. TWE part 2 1:00 Jasmine Hirsch 35:56 OBX Taste of the Beach Festival 40:03 Rajat Parr We speak with General Manager of Hirsch Vineyards, Jasmine Hirsch and 3 time James Beard Award Winner: author, winemaker/sommelier Rajat Parr For m...

We dedicate this week of the NC F&B Podcast to a 2-part Series celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Triangle Wine Experience, benefiting The Frankie Lemmon School. In the early 1990's a group of friends gathered to celebrate their love of wine and to raise money for the Frankie Lemmon School. The gathering became a tradition that eventually resulted in the formation of The Frankie Lemmon Founda...

What do you do when you are not the man anymore? Chef Scott Howell had to learn the answer to that question after a 1,500lb grill fell on him and mangled his leg. Chef Scott is an 8 times James Beard Award semifinalist for best chef in America, Mr. Howell earned those nominations with elbow grease. This is not your typical story of how rockstar chefs work hard and get praise. More so, this is a ta...

Want to start your own distillery? The first step is to resolve to make at least one bottle of liquor, that's what the Pinetop Distillery team did. This is the story of how four neighbors with engineering backgrounds created a grain to glass distillery in Raleigh, NC.  In this episode Jon Keener and Grady Knight put the shine on Moonshine! They tell a classic story of, have you ever had one of tho...