Repertoire with Chef Sammy Monsour

In this episode of Repertoire , I travel to South Boston, Massachusetts to sit down with Nick Dixon —chef, restaurateur, and one of the creative forces behind several beloved neighborhood restaurants that have helped shape the dining culture of Southie . Nick’s cooking is rooted in live-fire technique and honest ingredients , drawing inspiration from wood-fired ovens, open grills, and the kind of...

In this episode of Repertoire , I travel to Hollywood, California to sit down with Charbel Hayek —Lebanese-born chef, Top Chef Middle East & North Africa winner, and the creative force behind LAYR, a restaurant that channels the hospitality, flavor, and spirit of the Levant through a distinctly Los Angeles lens. Charbel began cooking in Beirut at just 14 years old, working alongside his mother...

In this episode of Repertoire , I travel to Redondo Beach, California to sit down with Jason Fullilove —chef, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and one of the most community-minded forces quietly shaping Los Angeles hospitality. Jason’s path spans more than two decades and multiple worlds. A Culinary Institute of America alum, he climbed the ranks from high-volume New York kitchens to the Ritz-Carlton i...

In this episode of Repertoire , I travel to Santa Monica, California to sit down with Susan Feniger —chef, restaurateur, television pioneer, and one of the architects of modern Southern California food culture. Susan’s story stretches across more than four decades of American dining. After early years cooking in Chicago, France, and Los Angeles , she and longtime partner Mary Sue Milliken opened C...

In this episode of Repertoire , I boogy down to street to James Island, South Carolina to sit down with Shaun Brian —chef, operator, community builder, and one of the most quietly influential figures shaping how seafood, hospitality, and leadership intersect in the Lowcountry. Shaun’s story begins far from restaurant kitchens. Raised on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands , he grew up foraging, fi...

In this episode of Repertoire , I travel to Black Rock City , the temporary desert city that rises each year for Burning Man , to sit down with Chef Sammy Jackson —one of my closest friends and a chef whose life and career have unfolded across continents, cultures, and extreme conditions. This episode is a little different—and that’s the point. Recorded live on the playa during Burning Man 2025, t...

In this episode of Repertoire , I travel to Boston’s Back Bay to sit down with Chris Coombs —James Beard Award–nominated chef, restaurateur, and co-founder of Boston Urban Hospitality , known for shaping some of the city’s most defining dining rooms, including Deuxave , dbar , and Boston Chops . Chris’s journey is rooted in precision, discipline, and an almost obsessive commitment to the craft. Fr...

In this episode of Repertoire , I travel to Los Angeles, California to sit down with Mei Lin —James Beard Award–winning chef, Top Chef champion, and the creative mind behind Daybird , the first fast-casual Szechuan hot chicken spot in the U.S. Born in China and raised in Detroit, Mei’s path through food is a story of balance—between precision and intuition, heat and harmony, tradition and reinvent...

In this episode of Repertoire , I continue my conversation with James Beard Award–winning chef and Saltbox Seafood Joint founder Ricky Moore —a man who’s turned frying fish into an act of storytelling, mentorship, and self-discovery. In Part 2, we dig even deeper into Ricky’s philosophy on leadership, culture, and the craft of cooking. What begins as a conversation about building better kitchens e...

In this episode of Repertoire , I’m in Durham, North Carolina , where the scent of hot oil, vinegar, and fresh herbs drifts down the block from Saltbox Seafood Joint —a place that’s redefined what it means to serve North Carolina seafood with soul. My guest, Chef Ricky Moore , is a James Beard Award–winning chef, cookbook author, Army veteran, and proud North Carolina native . His journey spans fi...

In this episode of Repertoire , I’m in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood , where oyster shells clink and the tide meets the bar, sitting down with Renée Erickson —James Beard Award–winning chef, restaurateur, author, and the creative force behind The Walrus and the Carpenter and her celebrated restaurant group, Sea Creatures . Renée’s food has always carried a quiet confidence—briny, romantic, and ro...

In this episode of Repertoire with Chef Sammy Monsour , I travel to Saint Louis Park, Minnesota —just outside Minneapolis—to sit down with Andrew Zimmern , the Emmy and four-time James Beard Award–winning chef, writer, television host, and global advocate whose work has redefined how we talk about food. Andrew’s career spans continents and decades: creator and host of Bizarre Foods , What’s Eating...

In this episode of Repertoire , I travel to the Eastlake neighborhood of Seattle to sit down with J. Kenji López-Alt —New York Times bestselling author of The Food Lab and The Wok , James Beard Award winner, YouTube creator, dad, knife nerd, and one of the most influential food writers of our time. Kenji’s impact on the way home cooks and chefs approach food is unmatched. From reverse-searing stea...

In this episode of Repertoire , I head to Deep Run, North Carolina to sit down with the legendary Vivian Howard —chef, restaurateur, television host, cookbook author, and one of the most celebrated culinary voices of the South. Vivian first captured national attention with her Emmy Award–winning PBS series A Chef’s Life , which spotlighted the food traditions of eastern North Carolina. The show no...

In this episode of Repertoire , I head to Washington, D.C.’s U Street Corridor — once known as Black Broadway — to sit down with Chef Eric Adjepong , a first-generation Ghanaian American whose cooking bridges West African traditions with Southern foodways and modern fine dining. Eric’s journey is remarkable: from graduating Johnson & Wales and the University of Westminster with degrees in Culi...