NC F&B Podcast

How does one fuse creative drive with practicality? How about be a ski bum for a few years then decide to go to culinary school?  Growing up, Sean's father made  Golden Corral  a successful national restaurant chain, but that didn't push Sean into restaurants. Sean worked restaurant jobs to support his skiing habit and after a few years realized he needed a steady job. He decided to go to the Culi...

Learn how to plan your life. Coleen Speaks has it all mapped out. Coleen knew that she wanted to live in New Orleans after high school so she found a university in New Orleans that would accept her and fit her needs. She knew accounting would be a major part of running a business so she decided to major in it in college. While in college she strategically decided that working front of the house at...

Blake Gotliffe doesn't stop. After Blake regained consciousness from a heroin overdose to find himself in his mother's arms and alive he regained control of his life. His near death experience was the catalyst for him to be able to juggle so many businesses and activities. Whether Blake is curing meat to end up at your next dinner party or perhaps on your sandwich order from Meats and Pickles , he...

"Cheap seafood ain't good & good seafood ain't cheap!" Listen to the silky tones of the Steward of North Carolina Aquaculture aka our original fan, Top Chef contestant Keith Rhodes explain that statement. Chef Keith walks the walk and talks the talk. He literally eats, breathes and sleeps (in that order by the way) the North Carolina food culture. Rare is it to find such humility, passion and sinc...

The future Mayor of Wilmington, North Carolina must be Billy Mellon. Billy is a driving force behind putting Wilmington on the culinary map. Manna is one of the culinary beacons of North Carolina, east of interstate 95. Thanks to his stick-to-itiveness, resiliency, innate sense of hospitality and his attention to detail, Manna is thriving. In addition to building a restaurant, Billy shakes hands,...

Walk up the down staircase a few times in your life. Going in the opposite direction will give you perspective and give you insight into the minds of Dean Neff and Lydia Clopton. Dean and Lydia's journey took them from Athens, GA to Atlanta through Asheville, NC to finally settle on the coast in Wilmington, NC. Some Chef's come in with pre-conceived notions of what a restaurant in going to be but...

Would you like to be wealthy? Listen closely to Chef Ben Barker's wisdom and you will be rich with stories of humility, North Carolina history and family values. Chef Ben Barker is literally a living legend of NC, he has won the James Beard award for best chef in the southeast and has been nominated six times. His restaurant Magnolia Grill was the epicenter of North Carolina Cuisine for decades. T...

Charlie is quite a big Deal! Learn how one man, who could at times be perceived as curmudgeonly, is in fact a gregarious restaurateur. Charlie Deal is a chef, sommelier and innovator all wrapped up into one. We covered everything in this episode. We learned why Charlie left the Golden State behind to move to North Carolina. Hear how he changes food to match the wine. Why there is too much sugar in...

Jordan Salcito is a woman possessed with success. Whether the task is staging at Restaurant Daniel for Daniel Boulud or working harvest in Burgundy for Alix de Montille she will achieve. Get this woman to a spin class in the morning and watch her run the world for the rest of the day.   Jordan joined us at Poole's Diner in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. Jordan was in NC to raise awareness for h...

Say yes, that is the motto that Sunny Lin lives by and how Sophia Woo gets her to join in on the Pho-King fun. These girls turned their lives upside down and literally took a wild ride in creating the Dump Pho (pronounced fuh) king food truck. Within a year of beginning the Vietnamese food truck they were approached by The Food Network to compete in The Great Food Truck Race television show . Desp...

Out to the coast we traveled, (that's right, Wilmington, North Carolina) to find out what's new with Co- Tar heel of the Year Mrs. Vivian "High Rent/Big Time/The Viver" Howard & her man at arms Mr. Ben aka Benny "Big Time" Knight. Max and Matt vetted Benny's Big Time Pizzeria and made sure the coast was clear for you to visit. https://www.facebook.com/bennysbigtime/ This Pizzeria is appropriately...

Creating with your hands is almost as sexy as that scene from Ghost with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze. Who knew that local North Carolina clay, a stove on steroids (aka a kiln) and one brain researcher could be so damn cool? I'll tell you who did, TV's John May and bad ass chef Mike Lee of M Sushi, M Koko and soon to be M Taco. Those two culinary titans recognized that the dinnerware of Matt Hall...

Rich molasses and sweet unrefined sugar is how you make rum, a new lifestyle and a fortune. Well, maybe not the fortune part at least not financially but spiritually, scientifically and flavorfully the Lassiter's are building a fortune! Rebecca and Gentry Lassiter have a fresh and intellectual spin on how to build a business and market a spirit. Artistic latitude, "Distill My Heart," from Redboot...

Fascinating is not often a word you associate with a butcher, but that's Meredith Leigh. http://www.mereleighfood.com Meredith is not only fascinating, she's a bad ass butcher, a writer and most importantly a thoughtful human being. This is the story of how a vegetarian ends up seeing the other side of meat, or in other words ethical meat. In this episode we learned how you can DIY butchering at h...

These spoken words will take you higher as you understand the inner thoughts from the host of https://orderfire.tv. Learn how chefs elevate and create, whether it's on television or in a kitchen, Marc Jacksina is always thinkin'.  Marc dishes on slam poetry, Charlotte and work life balance, with this man's work ethic, he could probably do as many push-ups as Jack Palance. The city slick is in him...

The secret to great bread making is fermentation. Master baker Lionel Vatinet of La Farm bakery in Cary divulged that secret and many others in the latest episode. We get the skinny on why and how Lionel became a master baker. Also, Matt finally gets a legitimate answer as to why French bread is superior to all others. Why does a French Master Baker end up in Cary, North Carolina? Lionel honed his...

Episode 66 - Birdsong Brewing with Chris Goulet Quit your job, open up a neighborhood brewery and completely geek out on beer! That's what Tara and Chris Goulet did. If you accept this mission and are as smart and enthusiastic as Chris, you too within 5 years will have a 17,000 square foot facility and 30 barrel brewhouse to make any damn beer you please! Especially beers named after the band Rush...

Episode 65 - Maximilian Kast of Broadbent Selections Journey from Montana to Pittsboro North Carolina with Advanced Sommelier Maximillian Kast. Max enlightens the NC F&B Pod on what it's like to work at the 5 diamond Forbes award winning property, the Fearrington House. Max also shared why he chose to leave the Fearrington house after 10 years and go to the "dark side," AKA sales and marketing sid...

Episode 67 - Grand Tasting TerraVita 2017 Were you unable to make it to Terra Vita this year? No worries, Max & Matt have you covered. We did everything, including eat for you. Take a listen to hear highlights from the "premier culinary event in the Southeast." We help "spread the gospel of sustainable food and drink," through the stories of award-winning chefs, authors, educators, producers and f...

We #GetSmashed with the gents from Smash Waffle! Justin Cox waffles biggest hero and Hunter Harrison waffles biggest "fanboi" are teeming with entrepreneurial enthusiasm. We riffed on the origin of the "Belgian Liege Waffle," and why their recipe is crisp on the outside and pleasantly doughy on the inside. Waffles are not just for breakfast anymore, they are for lunch, dinner, dessert and a late n...

Episode 62 - euphoria Greenville, SC 2017 Max & Matt hightailed it to euphoria in Greenvile, South Carolina to catch up with legends and rising stars of the culinary world. The conversations had there were not only euphoric, they were historic. Leading off was a 2009 James Beard Award nominee for best chef in the southeast, Mr. Bruce Moffett. Bruce has three restaurants in Charlotte, Barrington, G...

Episode 61 - Cappie Peete Chapman of www. ACRestaurants.com They call her "The Young Gun Somm," and this episode with Cappie Peete Chapman is a blaze of glory. We discuss her origins in the wine world all the way back to being a South Carolina Gamecock, to eventually learning how to run beverage programs for James Beard Award winning chef Sean Brock when she was at McCrady's in Charleston, SC. Cap...

Episode 60 - Sanctuary Vineyards with Inez Ribustello We took the show on the road to the Tarboro Brewing Company (tarborobrewingcompany.com) where renowned Sommelier Inez (AKA Inie) Ribustello introduced us to Sanctuary Vineyards (sanctuaryvineyards.com) of Currituck, John Wright the owner/vineyard manger and Casey Matthews the winemaker. We sat down, not only taste their wines, but to get school...

Episode 3 - Clark Barlowe & the KUDU Grills of Lambstock We brought the team to Border Springs Farm in Patrick Springs, VA for the 8th year of Lambstock; a chef-inspired, invite-only, event that happens every 2nd weekend of August. As a podcast that primarily focuses on the food & beverage industry of North Carolina, we traveled up to Virginia for a unique experience that is known to many in the r...

Episode 2 - The Liquification of Lambstock We focus on the drinks at Lambstock by starting with our GM of the NC F&Bar, Matthew Bettinger of C.Grace Raleigh, NC & Sidebar, Cary, NC. Later, we talk with the ladies from Virginia, Chef Brittanny Anderson (Metzger Bar + Butchery & Brenner Pass) & GM of the VA Bar Kristel Poole of Graffiato. Lastly, we finish up with former guest, Bartender of Dogwoods...