The Connected Table Live

While studying in Italy as a college student, Paula Lambert first tasted local handmade mozzarella. The experience was an "Aha!" moment for the young Texan. She decided to apprentice with an Italian cheesemaker to learn the process, and established a production facility in Dallas, opening in 1982. Texas chefs appreciated the handmade cheeses and serve them at their restaurants, and Paula's busines...

Considered a trailblazer the beverage alcohol industry, Bouvier’s 20+ year career spans wholesale, marketing and business development. In May 2021, Bouvier was named President of Demeine Estates, a Napa Valley based fine wine importer and marketer. A staunch advocate for the advancement of women in the wine industry, Bouvier discusses Demeine Estates' Dream It, Live It initiative to foster collabo...

Professional race car driver Kevin Buckler shot to fame winning the world’s biggest endurance races and is Founder /CEO of The Racers Group (TRG), one of the most storied teams in motorsports. Buckler’s approach to team building and his hands-on focus also applies to Adobe Road Winery, which he and wife, Debra, founded in 2002. Based in Petaluma, Adobe Road Winery sources grapes from select vineya...

Award winning author and video producer, Grace Young, has been dubbed “the poet laureate of the wok" - the go-to expert on stir frying. Young is an ardent advocate for supporting Asian-American businesses, many which are mom and pop establishments. She created the campaigns #SaveChinese Restaurants and #LoveAAPI (with The James Beard Foundation)- in support of Asian-America/Pacific Island business...

Chef-Farmer Matthew Raiford is sixth generation in his family to run Gilliard Farms in Brunswick, GA, first purchased by his great-great-great grandfather Jupiter Gilliard more than 150 years ago. Raiford's ancestry is Gullah Geechee, descendants of slaves brought to America to work the plantations. Gullah Geechee food is an essential cuisine of American history as eloquently conveyed in Raiford's...

Chef David Guas is owner of Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery, a popular community gathering place in Arlington, Virginia. He grew up in New Orleans, and as a young boy cooked with his Aunt Boo. Guas shares his experience producing and hosting his docu-series, Forbidden Feasts, about visiting Cuba to trace his ancestry. With Mardi Gras season underway, Guas serves up some king cake history and how...

Explore Florida’s culinary diversity from the “First Coast” to the “Forgotten Coast” and Cedar Key to Key West as Melanie and David discuss their adventures on #theconnectedtableroadtrip. Joining the discussion is Chef-Restaurateur Norman Van Aken, who put Florida’s New World cuisine in the U.S. culinary lexicon. Van Aken is author of cookbooks: Feast of Sunlight, The Exotic Fruit Book, Norman’s N...

Chef & Environmental Activist Alejandra Schrader is a founding member of Chefs Manifesto and author of the Low-Carbon Cookbook, featuring tips on reducing food waste, taking simple steps to lower your carbon footprint and incorporating plant-based dishes into your cooking. Raised in a multi-cultural family in Venezuela, Schrader discusses growing up with food insecurity and learning to be resource...

If the graphic labels with names like Love Drunk, Knock on Wood and O.P.P. (Other People's Pinot) don't grab you, the burst of fresh fruit on your palate will do it for sure. Maison Noir Wines are the brainchild of André Hueston Mack, the first African American named Best Young Sommelier by a prestigious culinary group. Mack not only a crafts terrific terroir driven Oregon wines, but he also desig...

One of Chicago's most beloved chefs, Carrie Nahabedian is co-owner with her cousin, Michael, of Brindille, a stylish, Parisian-inspired restaurant in one of the city's great dining neighborhoods. Brindille is French for twig, and this theme is throughout the restaurant, which received a James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Design. Nahabedian talks about growing up Chicago, family, her care...

Scott Conant discusses his storied career as a chef and restaurateur, his mentors, cooking with his family, and his cookbook, "Peace, Love, and Pasta: Simple and Elegant Recipes from a Chef's Home Kitchen." A regular Chef-Host on Food Network, Conant lives in Phoenix and runs two restaurants, i Mora Italian, a modern osteria, and The Americano, an Italian-American restaurant in Scottsdale. He also...

Villa Maria is New Zealand’s most awarded winery, producing wine from every appellation of the country. Winemaker Tom Dixon shares Villa Maria’s 60-year (in 2021) history and legacy envisioned by its Founder, Sir George Fistonich, who was knighted for his contributions to the wine industry. Dixon discusses Villa Maria’s different wine production regions, its Four Pillars of sustainability and its...

Named among 2021's top new restaurants by The New York Times, Esquire Magazine and others, Contento NYC serves elevated Peruvian cooking in a relaxed setting designed with a focus on accessibility. Executive Chef Oscar Lorenzzi discusses Contento's menu and signature dishes such as Ceviche Clasico ,Salmon Tiradito and Octopus with Chimichurri. What to drink with these flavorful dishes? Consider a...

Ka'ana means "to share" in Hawaiian. At Ka'Ana Kitchen at the Andaz Maui at Wailea, Chef Chance Savell creates shareable dishes using ingredients from local farmers and fishermen. An Arkansas native, Chef Savell has his special version of buttermilk fried chicken with pineapple on the menu alongside delicious mains of Big Eye Ahi, Prime Sirloin Strip and fresh caught fish. Enjoy a spectacular Maui...

Top Hospitality Consultant Andrew Freeman, founder of af&co and cofounder of Carbonate Group, shares the latest trends for 2022 in hospitality and dining. Examples: 1. Hot dining destination is Nashville; 2. Trending cuisines are regional Asian food and drink from Singapore to India to Taiwan 3. Restaurants embrace robotics. 4. Motor lodges/ motels are popular thanks to people taking road trips. 5...

Mateja Gravner discusses her family's historic namesake winery in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and philosophy for making world-class biodynamically-farmed natural wines. Award-winning wine writer, Alice Feiring, is an advocate for minimal intervention (natural) wines which she covers in her newsletter, The Feiring Line. She is author of "The Dirty Guide to Wine," "Naked Wine," "For the Love of Wine: My J...

Israel has a rich culinary history and culture, from its street food to its traditional dishes inspired by the Mediterranean sea and the mountains. Chef/Restaurateurs Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook take you on a culinary journey in their book, "Israeli Soul" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) to spotlight the dishes that define traditional and modern Israeli food and key ingredients. Solomonov and Coo...

Founded in 2005 by Orange Country, CA, entrepreneur Steve Olson, ONX (pron. onyx) cultivates 18 different grape varieties to make its blended wines. The winery’s name is a nod to the onyx calcite in the mineral-rich vineyard soil on the 127-acre estate. Jeff Strekas, Director of Operations & Wine Growing has worked at ONX for almost a decade, and formerly as winemaker. He discusses ONX’s wines and...

Visit Eberle Winery one afternoon and chances are you'll find Gary Eberle sitting at a small table outside sipping a glass of his Eberle Cabernet Sauvignon and greeting people, his standard poodles, Sangiovese and Barbera, by his side. Eberle founded his namesake winery in 1979 and co-founded the Paso Robles Appellation in 1983. Eberle was the first producer to list the Paso Robles Appellation on...

Michael Whiteman is president of Baum+Whiteman International Restaurant Consultants, famed for creating and developing high-profile projects for the hospitality industry around the world. His company’s best known projects include master planning and operation of the magical Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center and all the restaurants in the New York World Trade Center. Whiteman discusses his stori...

The Cote d'Azur meets Northern California at Mentone. Chef David Kinch, also owner of 3-star Michelin Manresa, brings a creative twist to Mediterranean flavors with seasonal local ingredients. Wine Director Alyssa Papierneick recommends a classic pairing: Tarte de Mentone, a Provençal “pissaladière” of caramelized onions, anchovies and olives on house-made crust, with Domaine de Sulauze Pomponette...

An elevator sweeps you to Adorn, located on the 7th floor of The Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago. Chef de Cuisine Jonathon Sawyer delivers a menu inspired by his global travels in France, Italy and Japan with an embrace of local Midwest bounty. An example is Crispy Zucchini Blossom & Roasted Tomato paired with Whispering Angel Cave D’Esclans Rosé, Côtes de Provence. Not-to-be missed is Adorn Bar, wi...

Chef Christine Lau and Pastry Chef Clarice Lam are the dynamic duo behind the creative dishes blending tantalizing Italian and Japanese flavors at Kimika (40 Kenmare Street, New York City). Both chefs are daughters of parents who emigrated to the USA from Hong Kong. Both had prior careers before becoming full-time chefs- Lau in the corporate world and Lam as a fashion model. Lau and Lam discuss th...

Steven Kent Mirassou’s ancestors first planted grapes in what is now California’s Silicon Valley in the 1850s. Six generations later, Mirassou is still making wine in the Livermore Valley under the Steven Kent label and The Lineage Collection – his expert argument for Livermore’s ability to make outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon. Mirassou shares his life in wine, passion for viticulture and talent as...

Travelle is a casually elegant restaurant & bar/lounge on the second floor of the luxurious Langham hotel, one of Chicago’s iconic skyscrapers designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Chef de Cuisine Qi Ai discusses Travelle’s seasonal American menu and signature artisanal cheese board paired with AIX Vin de Provence Rosé, AOC Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence. Travelle was named Hemisphere’s magazine’s Read...