Speaking Broadly

What happens when two food industry people meet, fall in love over Michelin starred meals, then come back to earth, launch separate, ambitious restaurant businesses and get married? Listen in to hear Jen Pelka of The Riddler and Charles Bililies of Souvla discuss their romance, finances, egos and opportunities. Plus, learn why Bililies calls BS on being excluded from certain women-only events. Wan...

In light of the onslaught of articles calling for cutting back on meat consumption, host Dana Cowin talks to one of the country's pre-eminent butchers, Philadelphia-based Heather Thomason of Primal Supply Meats about her chosen career. Thomason describes her transition from dancer to designer and finally to butcher in a way that makes this windy path seem inevitable. She also explains the importan...

The exquisite variety of pasta today is because of the ingenuity of women in Italy who experimented with semolina and water every day, according to Evan Funke , renowned chef-owner of Felix and author of “ American Sfoglino ”. Listen in to hear how this master learned from a meastra in Bologna and found his life’s work rolling dough and preserving centuries of tradition. Want to stay up to date on...

What is it like to be one of the most beloved pastry chefs in America, to step away from the spotlight to prioritize your new husband's dream of opening a seaside table and inn, and to have that dream unexpectedly and devastatingly shattered? In this episode, host Dana Cowin speaks to Claudia Fleming about her life since leaving Gramercy Tavern, the reissue of her landmark book, " The Last Course...

Mega stars Dave Chang , Rene Redzepi and Richard Hart all rely on her expertise in making dream bespoke tea blends. But more remarkable than her clients are “Tea Lady” Henrietta Lovell's adventures visiting plantations from Fujian to Malawi. Listen in to hear about how Lovell's father's death led her to life-affirming work sourcing tea directly from sustainable growers around the world. And also a...

Honest, direct, real. Clay Williams and Colleen Vincent of Black Food Folks sit down with Speaking Broadly host Dana Cowin to talk about their collaboration with each other and their powerful relationship with the large, varied and prospering black food community. Tune in to hear their vision for how to change media and embrace the deep and diverse stories of the African diaspora. Want to stay up...

At the moment of "peak Israeli food" in America, host Dana Cowin interviews one of the great American-born experts on the topic, Adeena Sussman . Sussman's just published cookbook includes delicious recipes inspired by the market of beachy, laid-back Tel Aviv. This book is Sussman's 12th and it’s the first one on her own, after co-authoring books with Chrissy Teigen and more. Listen in for a littl...

The elders had questions, the community was not entirely supportive, yet Native American winemaker Tara Gomez persisted. When her Santa Ynes Band of Chumash tribe bought land that included a parcel with a vineyard, Tara created Kita Wines . Listen in to episode #114 and hear about Tara's struggles with learning disabilities and distrust, as well as her love of Europe and its winemaking techniques....

With mentorship, the impossible miraculously become possible. Nice to say, but what does that really look like? On this episode of Speaking Broadly, Louisville chef Edward Lee talks about his employment empowerment project, The Lee Initiative. And award recipient, Emie Dunagan describes how the program facilitated her transformation from a socially-awkward wunderkind Southern baker to a confident...

For winemaker Carla Rza Betts , there's a pattern and a path to personal and professional change. It's uncomfortable and it's effective. On this episode of Speaking Broadly, Rza Betts describes the power of building "escape velocity,"—the energy that catapults you into the unknown—the hard parts of coming down from that crazy boost, as well as how she opened up her "brain box" to contemplate possi...

Culinary diplomacy is a form of cultural diplomacy. Reem Kassis, author of the Palestinian Table, shares stories of her people through their food and makes her case one delicious dish at a time. Her approach has won unlikely friends in the American-Israeli community, as well as detractors. On this episode, hear about the challenges of representing a culture, of selling a cookbook when you have no...

On this special edition of Speaking Broadly, host Dana Cowin interviews Missy Robbins and Sean Feeney, the team behind two of New York City's favorite spots, Lilia and Misi . Listen in to hear the touching story of how a burgeoning friendship between neighbors resulted in an inspiring collaboration between equals—one a "raging foodie lunatic" finance guy, and the other, a star chef. Want to stay u...

At Heritage Radio Network's live podcast taping at Haven's Kitchen in New York City, Kat Johnson interviewed Dana Cowin about her media career including 20 plus years at Food & Wine magazine, and how she willingly jumped into the complete unknown, determined to set a completely new path. Listen in to hear the host of Speaking Broadly become the interviewee rather than the interviewer! Speaking...

Danielle Nierenberg, co-founder of Food Tank , is a non-partisan food and ag activist—an anomaly in this hyper-divided political landscape. On this episode, Nierenberg shares the motivation for starting her business: a sense of desperation and urgency to share positive stories of agricultural development around the world. As well as a desire to get industry experts on opposing sides to talk to eac...

Chef and rock star Cheetie Kumar embraces duality in every area of her life. Immigrant/American, musician/chef, partner/wife—Cheetie is all these and more. In one Raleigh, NC project, she and her husband, Paul Siler fuse music and food: they run a restaurant, Garland , a music venue, Kings, and a downstairs bar, Neptune’s. On this episode, Kumar shares the seeds of her passions—from singing alone...

A fantastic podcast, The Lonely Hour; an upcoming, ground-breaking book on no-alcohol cocktails; a stellar writing career. These three accomplishments tell listeners something about Speaking Broadly guest, Julia Bainbridge. She is, by many measures, a huge success. But she doesn't always feel that way. "The truth is that I'm very much in the middle of it and there are lots of questions in the air....

As the first-ever CEO of the culinary brand Momofuku, visionary Dave Chang chose Marguerite Mariscal , a 30 year old woman who started at the company as an intern in 2011. Listen in to hear how Mariscal has helped the brand grow up, embrace change, expand and get ready for the future by fearlessly asking the big question: Why? Plus, learn about Mariscal's upbringing as the great grand daughter of...

"Executive chef Melissa Rodriguez talks in depth for the first time about what it feels like to work under the shadow of a parent company rocked by sexual assault and misconduct charges. Rodriguez is chef at Del Posto, which was founded by now-disgraced Mario Batali and his partner Joe Bastianich. Listen in to hear why Rodriguez stayed even after the allegations, how she manages her team now, and...

Kim Alter’s tasting menus at Nightbird in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley tell compelling stories, like the opening “Insight” menu that was all white until the last course, when there was a burst of color. That menu reflects the journey her mother took from descending into blindness—and seeing only blurry outlines of colors—to having an experimental surgery that allowed her to see again. Thus the bri...

Krystal Mack is a food artist who arrived at her calling by bike. After launching her first business, KarmaPop , Mack devoted herself to baked goods. She rode around her hometown of Baltimore delivering signature pies, attracting the attention of a developer who offered her a brick and mortar space. Mack grabbed it and then regretted it once she discovered she'd been handed a raw deal. On this epi...

Empathy is what makes Lauren Friel good at her job in the hospitality industry and it's what almost killed her. As founder of Rebel Rebel , a feminist wine bar in Boston, and a consultant on many great wine lists in Boston and beyond, Friel is sensitive to the needs of her customers and staff. This sensitivity to the needs of others is part of what kept her from leaving an abusive, suicidal partne...

With the help of tech, water farmers can listen to fish eat when they’re in the sea. A few sustainable fish farms are now branded in the same way that well-respected cattle ranches are. Host Dana Cowin learns about changes and improvements in aquaculture from expert Jen Bushman on this episode of Speaking Broadly. Bushman also shares her path to being an aqua specialist: her darkest moment seeing...

"If a horse is doing something contrary to what you want, likely it’s because you’re asking wrong,” explains Jackie Kecskes. Kecskes is the Equestrian Manager of The Resort at Paws Up in Greenough, Montana—she understands that honesty, patience, and flexibility are key to getting desired results. Using this powerful philosophy, Kecskes pioneered a program with adopted wild mustangs which she trans...

"Being alive is being worthy," says Mexico City-born restaurateur Gabriela Cámara. She was raised to believe that everyone is capable, and she puts that belief into practice at her two restaurants, Contramar in Mexico City and Cala in San Francisco where she actively hires people who've been previously incarcerated. On this episode of Speaking Broadly, host Dana Cowin talks to Camara about her upb...

An aperitif is a bitter, effervescent drink that eases the transition between daylight and dusk. On this episode of Speaking Broadly, Rebekah Peppler talks about this lovely French tradition. Peppler also shares some significant transitions in her life: from food stylist to author; from denizen of Brooklyn to Paris; from straight to queer. And she discusses her controversial, top-trending piece in...