The Dish

You won’t find soy beans, corn and mango in the dishes at Unco Chad’s Hawaiian Flavaz . The bright blue food truck pops up around southeast Michigan, and offers something different than other local poke restaurants, owner Chad Kubo said. Unco Chad’s menu — poke bowls, kalua pork, kalbi chicken and more — is authentically Hawaiian. Unco Chad’s has become a statew...

Protein is  having a moment , with powders available in a variety of flavors and base ingredients.  The Green Leap , a family-owned business based in Grand Rapids derives their protein powder from a source you probably won’t find at Meijer: crickets. We visited Montse Rosales Osoria at her cricket farm in West Michigan, plus the kitchen where she roasts and packs the final product....

Manuel De Paz created his Guatemalan diner, Encuentro Latino, with community in mind. The name translates to “Latin Gathering.” It’s been in the same location in downtown Ypsilanti since 2015. Many other shops have struggled to stick around, but a loyal customer base has kept Encuentro Latino in business. Today, chef-owner De Paz talks about building something distinctly Guatemal...

The Cottage Bagel , a home bakery in Grand Rapids owned by Angela and Tony Ochoa, has developed a loyal following, with weekly bagel and scone pre-order “drops” often selling out within hours. Orders are placed on their website , and then picked up from the Ochoas’ home on Fridays. The Ochoas highlighted the culture of community-building and supporting local businesses in th...

A sober bar manager in Ann Arbor is redefining what zero‑proof cocktails can be. In this episode, my colleague April Baer talks with Max Schikora of Echelon Kitchen and Bar about his path to sobriety, the pressures of bar culture, and how he’s crafting some of Michigan’s most thoughtful spirit‑free drinks.  Max’s story is also a window into a broader shift. More people in th...

We spent some time with Yumna Jawad, better known as Feel Good Foodie, in her Grand Rapids home. She shared her must-have holiday dish and some super practical tips to help us all survive the holiday season in the kitchen. Find Yumna's stuffed grape leaves recipe here Find the landing page for Yumna's episode here Find The Dish's suggestion form here , or email us at TheDish@MichiganPublic.org Sup...

British-born and Michelin-starred chef Kieron Hales has cooked for presidents and royalty across 27 countries.  He's Executive Chef at Zingerman's Cornman Farms in Dexter, Michigan, a farmhouse and event space with a restored red barn on the property. He works with couples to create custom menus—crafting farm-to-table meals or recreating family favorites—and provides them with the...

In Boyne City, a little lakeside town in Northern Michigan, there’s a bakery offering crepes of a quality that you'd expect to find in France. It’s owned by a classically trained French baker, Gildas Berrou. The shop offers a variety of savory and sweet fresh-baked goods, including traditional crepes made to order. Just don’t ask Gildas to add American cheese. HELPFUL LINKS:...

Milkweed Inn is a unique culinary getaway hidden deep in the Upper Penninsula's Hiawatha National Forest. Chef Lane Regan works to craft menus that are foraged and locally sourced. We learned about what it takes to craft and execute such a remote experience, and the ways the environment shape Chef Regan's food philosophy. HELPFUL LINKS: Read about Lane's work at Elizabeth The website for Milkweed...

Brothers Patrick and Ryan Evans fell in love with Sichuanese cuisine while working in San Francisco's fine dining industry. When they returned to Michigan, they teamed up with Ryan Corbin, a fellow chef, to bring those flavors to Traverse City. We talked to the trio about Crocodile Palace, their takeout-only Sichuan restaurant, the appeal of the Sichuan region's mala flavor profile, and the ingred...

Tanya and Wasinade Raphael are the mother-daughter team behind Raphael Foods. You’ll find their food truck drawing long lines at powwows and other tribal events across northern Michigan. Most of their dishes are built on hot, pillowy fry bread – a Native American flat bread with a complex history. Find operating hours for Raphael Foods here . Find bonus footage from our trip here . Wan...

We’d love for you to fill out  this listener survey . It will only take a few minutes, and it will help us know what you want to hear!  Brittany March, the owner of a culinary pop-up called It’s Food Detroit, has a deep love for pizza that goes all the way back to childhood. Now, she's cooking her own pies, offering a vegan-first take on Detroit-style. She has plans to o...

We’d love for you to fill out  this listener survey . It will only take a few minutes, and it will help us know what you want to hear!  The Maple Grille in Hemlock, Michigan, offers a rotating farm-to-table menu. Everything is cooked on a wood-fired grill or pizza oven. The business sits on 6 acres of land, including the restaurant, a brewery housed in a repurposed shipping contain...

It's Season 2 of The Dish!  Today’s story takes us back to 2014, Ann Arbor. That’s when Eric Holloway started making cheesecake with his mom. Before that, Eric was in a bad place. But he’s come a long way from growing pot for a living to baking cheesecakes. EK’s Cheesecakes offers custom orders that are available for delivery or pickup at  Stadium Market in Ann Ar...

A brand new season of  The Dish is here, and we’re kicking things off with a Michigan favorite – pączki. We’ll take you inside a popular Hamtramck bakery known as "Pączki Headquarters," to see what it takes to make thousands of these rich jelly donuts ahead of Fat Tuesday, plus we’ll talk to a food writer about why this Polish tradition is so beloved, and how the pączk...

Chef Eddie Vargas has a long history with birria — a flavorful stew that is slow cooked until the meat of choice is fall-apart tender. Filled with dried chiles, garlic, and spices, the stew is traditionally made with large cuts of goat or lamb. However, in the U.S., it is most often made with beef. In the past decade, birra tacos, quesabirria, and even birra ramen have taken off. Listen to h...

For Chef Prej Iroegbu, Detroit is home base for both his family and his business: a series of well-loved food trucks called Fork in Nigeria. But his culinary talent was born and nurtured in Nigeria. The Fork in Nigeria menu offers savory meat dishes made with goat, lamb or oxtail, and equally hearty but less heavy veggie-based dishes, like cassava leaf stew and spinach and kale soup. Many of his i...

A couple in Grand Rapids is cooking up homemade corn masa that’s garnered the attention of true tortilla lovers from all over the country. Madre Masa is one of the few Michigan businesses utilizing a process called nixtamalization in creating the dough for their corn tortillas. Click here to see photos of the blue and yellow corn tortillas and the milling process with Renata Fernández Domínguez an...

Every week, the display case at Q Bakehouse features an array of pastries that blend European form with East-Asian flavor. Owner Rachel Liu Martindale's current bestseller is a chili crisp scone. Rachel walked us through the recipe, and offered some tips for experimenting with new flavors in baked goods. Looking for more conversations from  The Dish ? Right this way . If you like what you hear on...

After attending culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu, and then cooking at a two Michelin-star restaurant in Chicago, Chef Ken Miller brought his skills back to Michigan. His most recent culinary experiments, including his accidental everything-bagel miso, incorporate fermentation, preservation, and zero-waste strategies. Chef Ken let us into his creative process within Michigan's fine dining world. L...

The Marasigan family is bringing all the flavors and fun of a Filipino house party to West Michigan via their restaurant, Adobo Boy. Chef Jackie Marasigan shared why she's excited to share her culture with a community that might know nothing about Filipino food. We also learned what makes the restaurant such a warm welcome for Filipinos far from home. Looking for more conversations from  The Dish...

The Dish , hosted by Mercedes Mejia, brings you behind the scenes with Michigan’s most inspiring chefs and culinary talents. Learn how food connects these chefs to their cultures, and strengthens our communities, one dish at a time. The first three episodes drop Tuesday, November 26, with one new episode each Tuesday through December 17. Support our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund Support our wor...