Sweet'N Up with Jeff Spencer

Bob Florence is the founder and co-owner of Moromi a company based in beautiful, costal southeastern Connecticut creating handcrafted seasonings based on traditional fermentation techniques using koji and our natural microbiome to transform a variety of local ingredients into unique sauces, seasonings, and condiments. As a chemist, Bob has had a life-long passion for making stuff. Having lived and...

Andrew Dominick is a popular food journalist hailing from Norwalk, CT. His work can be seen on CTBites, Westchester Bites, Westchester Magazine, Hudson Valley Magazine, The Beverage Journal CT, Connecticut Magazine, Fairfield Magazine and more! When he’s not writing, he's honing his bartending skills, exploring restaurants, and practicing martial arts.

Andrew Dominick is a popular food journalist hailing from Norwalk, CT. His work can be seen on CTBites, Westchester Bites, Westchester Magazine, Hudson Valley Magazine, The Beverage Journal CT, Connecticut Magazine, Fairfield Magazine and more! When he’s not writing, he's honing his bartending skills, exploring restaurants, and practicing martial arts.

Iazamir "Zamir" Gotta is a producer, TV Personality, Independent Filmmaker, and Peacemaker. He is best known as the traveling companion of the late American chef Anthony Bourdain in his Travel Channel TV show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, when they traveled to Uzbekistan, Russia and Romania and later in the U.S. Rust Belt, Ukraine, and Kansas City. Gotta also accompanied Bourdain in Batumi, d...

When we last chatted with Mark back in 2020 (Season 1, Episode 7) he was manning the helm as the longest serving Mayor in Danbury, Connecticuts history, but shortly after he joined the show he was asked by Governor Ned Lamont to join his staff as the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. Mark Boughton was also recently appointed the States Infrastructure Czar and as usual...

Anne Grossman is the founder & owner of Rebel Daughter Cookies a gourmet cookie company located in Norwalk, Connecticut. After moving to the area from Brooklyn and frustrated she couldn’t find the “big, gooey” gourmet cookies like the ones she recalls at her favorite bakeries in Chicago and New York, and disappointed at how the ingredients in those beloved cookies had changed over time, she de...

Born and raised on the beautiful island of Ischia, Italy, Pierluigi Mazzella is the founder and owner of Fatto A Mano Bakery. His father is a professional fisherman on the island and showed their family what it really means to buy fresh and local. This passion for high quality food never left Pierluigi as he moved through his culinary-based high school and into the professional food industry. He w...

Kimberley Locke is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She has recorded in the dance and pop genres, and has targeted the adult contemporary radio format. She was the cohost of the daytime talk show, Dr. and the Diva, Second Runner up on Season 2 of American Idol behind Ruben Studdard & Clay Aiken, her music has been on Billboards top charts countless times, she’s been a...

Matthew Banever is the founder and owner of Bards Clothing and began his business based on two loves: storytelling and clothing. Matthew graduated from Marist College with a degree in history and after graduating began working at a national retail organization.  Over the next 5 years he moved to a few different stores, always positioned as manager, and finally landed in West Hartford, CT at a men’...

Matthew Banever is the founder and owner of Bards Clothing and began his business based on two loves: storytelling and clothing. Matthew graduated from Marist College with a degree in history and after graduating began working at a national retail organization.  Over the next 5 years he moved to a few different stores, always positioned as manager, and finally landed in West Hartford, CT at a men’...

John Watson is head brewer and owner of Watson Farmhouse Brewery located in Southbury, Connecticut and is also the head brewer at NewSylum Brewing Company on the Fairfield Hills Campus in Newtown, Connecticut. John started brewing beer as a hobby, after his wife Tracy gifted him a home-brewing kit, more than 25 years ago. He quickly became frequent with the home-brew competition circuit, medaling...

John Watson is head brewer, founder and owner of Watson Farmhouse Brewery located in Southbury, Connecticut and is also the head brewer at NewSylum Brewing Company located at the Fairfield Hills Campus in Newtown, Connecticut.  John started brewing beer as a hobby when his wife Tracy gifted him a home-brewing kit more than 25 years ago. He quickly became frequent with the home-brew competition cir...

Tina Zaccardi is a world class baker from Westchester County, NY. She is known on social media as The Italian Cookie and she has appeared on The Chew, The Today Show, The Rachael Ray Show, Hallmark Home + Family, Bridge Street TV, Daytime and was the Season 4 winner of ABC’s The Great American Baking Show making her one of the top bakers in America! I had a fantastic conversation with Tina via Zoo...

Jeff Schaller is an artist in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. His work has been featured on the hit tv show Friends and can be seen at local watering holes in Pennsylvania like Iron Hill Brewery. Jeff’s work is collected both nationally and internationally and it is also included in the Coca-Cola Museum and Lancaster Museum of Art. I had a fantastic chat with Jeff, talking about how he get started in t...

Matthew Kirshner is a pastry chef and the owner of Uncle Matt’s Bakery and Café located in Sandy Hook CT. He trained with master pastry chefs from around the world, at renowned establishments such as the Russian Tea Room and the Essex House Hotel in New York City, in addition to the Roger Sherman Inn and Bantam Bread Company in Connecticut. His love for baking can be traced back to his grandmother...

Matthew Kirshner is a pastry chef and the owner of Uncle Matt’s Bakery and Café located in Sandy Hook CT. He trained with master pastry chefs from around the world, at renowned establishments such as the Russian Tea Room and the Essex House Hotel in New York City, in addition to the Roger Sherman Inn and Bantam Bread Company in Connecticut. His love for baking can be traced back to his grandmother...

Kim Prada is the founder and owner of Tribe Power Bites located here in Connecticut. Tribe Power Bites is a convenient nut butter snack bite constructed to fit in todays busy society as well as a movement to bring people together. The name Tribe comes from the connections Kim made during her process of starting her business which took off during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Not only did her cust...

Neviana Zhgaba is the owner and founder of Aquilas Nest Vineyard in the Sandy Hook area of Newtown, Connecticut and returning guest to the show!  Neviana and her husband Ardian opened the vineyard a little over a year ago, and I am excited that Neviana could come back on the show to talk all about the first year with the Vineyard, her successes, all the new additions, updates, the wine making, and...

Charles Rosenay is a CT legend and may be best known in the state as the producer of the Connecticut Beatles conventions and festivals for over four decades and as a pro DJ/MC/Entertainer for as many years.  Along with musical events, he published a magazine on The Beatles called  Good Day Sunshine  for 25 years and, since 1983, he has organized and hosted the Beatles Tours to Liverpool for fans....

Nicky Zooks is a popular, up and coming Food Reviewer here in the state of Connecticut. Nicky began reviewing local Connecticut restaurants around his hometown of Bethel at the start of the pandemic, helping give restaurants his special Restaurant Boost as well as bringing awareness to places and foods people may not have heard of before. Since then he has amassed over 8 thousand followers on Inst...

Jim Himes is an American businessman and politician currently serving as the U.S. Representative for Connecticut's 4th congressional district since 2009. Himes's district includes most of the southwestern corner of the state and is largely coextensive with the  Connecticut  side of the  New York metropolitan area . It includes parts of  Fairfield County  and  New Haven County , including the citie...

Dimitrios Zahariadis is an award-winning bartender and pioneer in the craft cocktail movement here in the state of CT. In his free time Dimitrios is an avid competitor and in addition to winning many local competitions, he has been a multiple regional Finalist for Diageo World Class, Bacardi Legacy and Bombay Sapphire Most Imaginative Bartender competitions. Dimitrios is also Founder of The Cockta...

Dimitrios Zahariadis is an award-winning bartender and pioneer in the craft cocktail movement here in the state of CT. In his free time Dimitrios is an avid competitor and in addition to winning many local competitions, he has been a multiple regional Finalist for Diageo World Class, Bacardi Legacy and Bombay Sapphire Most Imaginative Bartender competitions. Dimitrios is also Founder of The Cockta...

Chef Adam Greenberg is a Connecticut Native, a 4x Chopped Champion, a Beat Bobby Flay winner, previous owner of the Coconut Club in Washington D.C, and spent a decade with the MAX hospitality group behind Barcelona & BarTaco. With all of his Food Network wins he has been crowned as the All Time Winningest Contestant the Food Network has ever had with a record of 5-0 and also is occasionally fe...

Chef Adam Greenberg is a Connecticut native, a Food Network judge, a 4x Chopped champion, a Beat Bobby Flay winner, a previous owner of the Coconut Club in Washington D.C, and spent a decade with the Barteca Restaurant Group behind Barcelona & BarTaco. With his 5-0 record, he has earned the title of “All-Time Winningest Food Network Competitor”. We had an incredible conversation live in the Sweet...