Setting The Table: The Chefs of Best Fest

In this episode of Setting The Table: The Chefs of Best Fest , Tay Westbury sits down with Chef Clayton Chapman for a conversation about hospitality, sacrifice, family, and the deeper purpose behind cooking. Raised between Omaha and the countryside outside Fort Calhoun, Chef Clayton grew up surrounded by backyard gardens, family dinners, and fresh ingredients long before food became his profession...

In this episode of Setting The Table: The Chefs of Best Fest , Tay Westbury sits down with Chef Diwesh Bhattarai of Saffron Urban Indian Kitchen for a conversation about migration, memory, hospitality, and the flavors that connect Nepal, India, and Omaha. Born in Nepal and raised around home-cooked meals filled with curry, rice, chutneys, and celebration, Chef Diwesh shares how food became tied to...

In this episode of Setting The Table: The Chefs of Best Fest , Tay Westbury sits down with Chef Mario Ochoa of Whispering Roots for a conversation about culture, community, and cooking with purpose. Born in Zacatecas, Mexico, and raised in Omaha, Chef Mario reflects on growing up between two worlds — learning from a father who farmed the land and a mother whose enchiladas still define comfort and...

In this episode of Setting The Table: The Chefs of Best Fest , Cameron Logsdon sits down with Chef Abraham Vidaurre of Cattle Call for a conversation about curiosity, creativity, and the journey from small-town Nebraska to Omaha’s evolving culinary scene. Raised in the village of Elmwood, Nebraska, Chef Abraham shares how cooking alongside his grandparents first sparked his love for food, from hom...

In this episode of Setting The Table: The Chefs of Best Fest , Tay Westbury sits down with Chef Joel Walsh of Le Bouillon for a conversation about seasonality, family, mentorship, and the journey that brought him back home to Nebraska. Raised on a farm in Fort Calhoun, Chef Joel learned to cook at an early age while helping feed a household of eight siblings. From harvesting produce straight from...

In this episode of Setting The Table: The Chefs of Best Fest , Tay Westbury sits down with In this episode of Setting The Table: The Chefs of Best Fest , Tay Westbury sits down with Chef Joel Hassanali of The Salted Edge for a conversation about culture, identity, and the flavors that shaped his life. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Chef Joel reflects on growing up around Caribbean cooking, learning...

Setting the Table: The Chefs of Best Fest is a storytelling podcast where food becomes the lens for culture, identity, and human connection. In each episode, host Tay Westbury sits down with the chefs behind Best Fest—exploring not just what they cook, but why they cook. These are conversations about origin, resilience, ambition, and the philosophies that turn a career into a legacy. In this episo...

Setting the Table: The Chefs of Best Fest is a storytelling podcast where food becomes the lens for culture, identity, and human connection. In each episode, host Tay Westbury sits down with the chefs behind Best Fest—exploring not just what they cook, but why they cook. These are conversations about origin, memory, discipline, and the values that shape a life in hospitality. In this episode, we m...

In this episode, we meet Djamil Djibril Bah-Traore , chef and founder of House of Bah. Born in Togo with roots in Mali, Djamil’s journey into food is deeply personal—shaped by family, loss, and a longing for home. His philosophy is simple but powerful: food should move people. Through his cooking, he invites others to experience culture not as something distant, but something felt one meal at a ti...

Today, Host Tay Westberry is sitting down with Chef Andrew Novak of All in Thyme. His story starts with a search for meaning, for craft, and for the kind of work that feels worth giving yourself to. What pulled him in wasn’t just cooking. It was the realization that food, when made with real care, can hold detail, integrity, and something deeply human. Here’s Chef Andrew Novak.