The Food For ThoughtCast: Call Me Chef

Hey there food fans! Welcome back to The Food For Thoughtcast! It's time for Episode 107. We are honored to be joined today by Angelo Carotenuto from LivTours. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to learn how to cook authentic Italian food from somebody's Nonna right in her own kitchen? Today's guest tells us all about the real deal Italian food, how to find the best food travel opportuni...

Hey there food fans! Have you ever wondered about the snacks and meals available in Walt Disney World? Us too, apparently! It's time for a travel recap. Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast- you're just in time for episode 106. Thanks so much for listening! Stephen patiently tolerates this as Melissa drones on and on and on about her magical trip to Disney World. We're talking hot dogs, corn d...

Hey there food fans! Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast- today is a travel recap episode. Melissa and Stephen catch up with each other and then discuss the most amazing things they ate. He just visited Hawaii recently and had an incredible culinary journey. There was tuna poke , sushi, amazing donuts, fruit, and all sorts of drinks. With a food landscape as beautiful as the actual landscape,...

Hey there food fans! Today we are talking to Aaron Shapiro of Grillicious. Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast. Melissa and Stephen are celebrating 104 episodes today, and we are chatting about what it takes to make an idea a reality. Aaron tells us the story of Grillicious. From the evolution of an idea about not only how to flavor the grill, but also to help keep it nonstick- all the way to...

Today we have the honor of talking to Shawn Walchef, the owner and founder of Cali BBQ restaurants and Cali BBQ Media. It's time for Episode 103 of The Food For ThoughtCast; welcome back! Steve and Melissa want to know what California BBQ looks like , and how the whole thing started, and Shawn challenges us to go find our whales for this podcast (surprise and hint: it happens!). We talk about how...

Hey there food fans! It's time for Episode 102 of The Food For ThoughtCast! Today Steve and Melissa are talking to Veeda Bybee, an accomplished author of both fiction and nonfiction and a food enthusiast - not to mention the mastermind behind the cookbook A Few of My Favorite Things: Recipes Inspired by Family Friendly Musicals . We talk about the stories to be told through our families and the wa...

Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast- We are excited to be joined today for Episode 101 by Dennis Turcinovic of Delmonico's, Tucci, and Boogie Lab USA. Yes THAT Delmonico's, in Manhattan! Delmonico's is credited with being the first restaurant in America to offer individual dishes à la carte, rather than a set menu, a concept that revolutionized the dining experience. We talk about the food he...

This is it folks, we've reached 100 Episodes! The Food For ThoughtCast proudly welcomes back Chef Hawkes- the incredible culinary educator and all around food hero- the master chef of Great Britain and foodie extraordinaire, and just an amazing guy. You first met Chef Hawkes in Episode 67 and he is back to give us an update on what is happening in the world of culinary education, studying to use f...

Welcome back to a very special episode of The Food For ThoughtCast. In Episode 99, Stephen and Melissa are talking about mental health in kitchens and the hospitality industry. We discuss what we do to cope, some of the better and worse experiences we've had in the business, and what we hope the future holds for the people in this business. We usually bring you some tasty recipe ideas or tales of...

Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast, it's time for Episode 98 and life just got a little sweeter. Today we are talking to the Willy Wonka of The Midwest, Dan Abel! He is the Chief Chocolate Officer at Bissinger's in St. Louis, Missouri- not only is he an incredible podcast guest and natural conversationalist, this guy really knows chocolate- and he should, after all- this chocolate-making tra...

Today we have the pleasure of talking to Carolyn Haeler, the Executive Baker and mastermind behind Mightylicious. Their mission is to create flavor packed, gluten-free cookies made for everyone. Melissa and Stephen dive into the chemistry of gluten-free baking and hear all about how Carolyn created the brand and the amazing products after her own experience with Celiac Disease and the sad offering...

Get ready for Season 3 , ya'll! Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast. It's time for Episode 96- the culinary trends of 2025. Today Stephen and Melissa are looking at the lists that the experts compile of what is going to be big in food for the rest of 2025. We talk about flavors, sweets, savories, movements, popular snacks, and so much more. We agree with some of this stuff and end up heavily...

Hey there food fans! Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast, it's time for the Season 2 finale of this podcast, can you believe we have been podcasting for two years?! Thank you so much for listening and watching every week. It means so much to us. During these last two years we have talked to all sort of guests: chefs, home cooks, professionals, bakers, fans, other podcasters, and then there's...

Welcome back to Episode 94 of The Food For ThoughtCast! Today, Steve and Melissa are tackling all of the questions you never asked about eating leftovers, reheating togo food, and using the air fryer for fried stuff. Melissa doesn't know how to record a podcast today and has a fight with the computer in the middle of the pod. Meanwhile, Steve is crushing life by smoking three meats at once, no rol...

Hey there food fans, we're back! It's a Friday release of your favorite food(ie) podcast.   Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast, it's time for episode 93! Today it's a tale of three cities as we explore the culinary delights of Kansas City, Philadelphia, and New Orleans-- just in time for Super Bowl Sunday! Thanks for joining us, random microphone issues and all. Melissa is a monster who like...

This week is a bit of a wildcard on The Food For ThoughtCast. It's time for Episode 92! When you hear this episode, Melissa is in Disney World and Stephen is probably at work, womp womp. We're chatting today about New Year's Eve, what we've eaten, and what we're cooking. We're talking ostrich wings, pork chops, and birria. Please put down the sweet chili sauce, for the love of everything. Thanks s...

Hey there food fans, we're back from the holidays and we missed you so much! It's time for Episode 91 of The Food For ThoughtCast. We couldn't wait to catch up with each other and see what happened over Christmas- and since we recorded this during the Christmas Season ( celebrate all twelve days, you cowards!) - we decided to take a look at Christmas dinners from around the world. Melissa is gefil...

Hey there food fans, this is a snack-sized episode of your favorite food podcast- It's episode 90 of the Food For ThoughtCast! Today Steve and Melissa are checking in with each other and doing a little review of brines and cures. What makes a turkey into a pastrami? Listen in to find out! If you like what you hear don't forget to rate, review, or subscribe and tell a friend! Thanks for listening a...

When the dog bites, run. And when the bee stings, you should probably get it looked at. But anyway, welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast- today we are pulling an Oprah ( and a bit of the Grinch!) to tell you about our favorite things! This episode probably has enough rabbit trails to qualify it for national park status. Episode 89 is all about gifts for food fans and chefs alike, and also thin...

Don't let the title fool you, we talked about both of these things for no good reason, but not served together. Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast- Steve and Melissa are catching up today on Episode 88 and talking all about what we made for those non-Thanksgiving events we attended and hosted last week. Thanks so much for listening and don't forget to watch us on YouTube!

It's that time again, it's Turkey Day! (or Thursday for those who celebrate it) Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast, episode 87! Melissa and Stephen are ready for the big day, and both feeling ready for pie and all the things. Today we are talking about retro and vintage Thanksgiving dishes, and tackling the important issues- like where celery doesn't belong. Thanks so much for listening and...

What is the one convenience item you always have in the house? For me, it's cream of chicken soup. At any time, I always have at least two cans in the pantry. No shame in my game! It's time for episode 86 of The Food For ThoughtCast- today Melissa and Stephen are talking about conveneince items. Chefs use them too! From jarred pesto, to rotisserie chicken, there are all sorts of things we like to...

Are you content with your content? See that? It works two ways- just like our conversations! Lol! Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast, it's time for Episode 85! Today, Steve and Melissa are pondering what it takes to make amazing food content- whether audio or video , or both. We discuss how we decide what we will cook or post and we also chat about how we get ahead of the algorithm, as it we...

What's the difference between a shallot and a scallion? Are red or yellow onions better for burgers? These questions and lots more answered on today's episode-Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast! It's Episode 84, where we talk about onions and their uses (and their flavors, and their names). Melissa and Steve are excited to peel back all the layers of this topic, leaving no allium unturned. W...

This week's episode of The Food For ThoughtCast is a thought-provoking look into the world of bartending and its connections to food and the service industry. We are joined by Chef Stephen's pal Phil, for Episode 83. Coming to us from St Louis, he clues us in to the musician- to-service industry pipeline. We talk about why he hates the word "mixologist", a little bit of the science behind choosing...