The Zest

In the last couple of years, the harvest of wild caught oysters has gone down by half.  But the amount of farmed oysters has doubled in that time. And there’s definitely a market demand for the shellfish, so aqua farmers are trying out more areas of Florida to grow oysters – outside of Apalachicola, which is where you usually think of oysters growing. Brian Rosseger is one of these pioneering oyst...

On this bonus episode of The Zest , we speak to Chef Marcos Fernandez of Nineteen61 in downtown Lakeland.   Chef Marcos tells us why he thinks he's been able to keep busy while many of his fellow restaurant owners have had to close.

Season two of the Zest starts in mid April. But community is what we're all about -- and we're all craving some community right now.   So, I wanted to check in with you. Let you know we're here. We're cooking for our families, we're trying to keep our immunity up, we're trying to support our local restaurants. And food is still and always a huge part of our lives. Today, I'm bringing you a convers...

Programming Note: From the kitchen to the field to the hive, The Zest Podcast has taken you north, south, east and west in Florida and the southern states. We’re going to take a break while we prepare our second season showcasing food and communities in the Sunshine State. We’ll return with completely fresh episodes just in time for WUSF’s Longest Table in St. Petersburg on April 16th. In the mean...

Dr. Steven Masley lives a pretty good life. He lives half the year in St. Petersburg, and then spends the rest of his time cruising the Mediterranean in his sailboat. He sails from port to port exploring the local outdoor markets, shopping for the freshest ingredients, and asking the experts -- the fishmongers and produce vendors -- about family recipes and the best ways to prepare the seafood, le...

Dayanny de la Cruz is the executive chef of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens—the site of this year's Super Bowl on February 2nd. As the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs prepare for a showdown on the football field, Chef D, as she's known, is busy prepping for her own role on Super Bowl Sunday: feeding everyone in the building, from fans and media to halftime entertainers and the athlet...

Gasparilla started out at the turn of the 20th century as a sedate little music program. Then, organizers decided to throw in a pirate invasion to spice things up -- and boy, did they!  Our guest says Gasparilla is like Mardi Gras without the Catholicism! Andrew Huse is an associate librarian at the University of South Florida in special collections and he also chronicles Florida food history. Whe...

Jeff Houck is a former newspaper reporter and food writer at the  old Tampa Tribune ,  and is now the marketing and public relations director for Columbia Restaurant Group in Tampa. Jeff has lately become enamored of local, mom and pop convenience stores around the Tampa Bay area, and has been documenting them in his own pithy, humorous style.   Isabel Laessig is the creator of  Sunday Supper Medi...

  Winter is citrus season here in Florida, and anybody with a Meyer lemon tree is looking for a way to use them all.  One great use for lemons is the Italian liqueur Limoncello, and The Zest producer Dalia Colón got the scoop on that from Danielle Rose, who writes the Florida food blog Suwannee Rose.  You can find Danielle’s recipe for Meyer limoncello on our website, TheZestPodcast.com . Have you...

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more.  Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com . Best-selling author Rick Bragg was in town earlier this year to talk about his most recent memoir about his family, and about growing...

This week on the Zest, we get our families involved in showing off some holiday traditions. Dalia's daughter, Norah Colón,  helps us make reindeer cookies; I'm following my father around as he makes smoked mullet; and WUSF reporters let us in on some treasured recipes. Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten...

For Yaniv Cohen, his passion for teaching people about spices all started when his daughter was born nine years ago,. and he found himself wanting to give her a feeling for the tastes and aromas of his childhood in Israel. The Miami-based chef and caterer is spreading his knowledge online, where he blogs as "The Spice Detective," through classes on cooking with spices, and through his culinary out...

This week, we take a tour of Cracker Country rural living history museum, where we explore the way pioneer Floridians cooked, and the kinds of dishes they made to celebrate the holidays  more than a hundred years ago. Then, the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa is a huge operation, with five theaters, an arts conservatory and several restaurants. We talk to the chef who manages the cul...

It's time to think about holiday gifts -- and of course, we're turning to cookbooks! Our correspondent and cookbook collector Janet Keeler offers gift ideas for cookbooks that can be enjoyed all year long. Then, from Walt Disney World to Sea World Orlando to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Florida’s biggest tourist attractions are rolling out hundreds of menu items that are meat-, egg- and dairy-free. We...

You know how people are always complaining about how "buggy" it is in Florida? Well, if you can't beat them...eat them! We're stretching our palate to include some edible insects. Plus, we're taking another look at this country's first Thanksgiving. Historians say there's a good argument to be made that it happened here in Florida!   Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natur...

We had a great turnout for last weekend’s event at Sweetwater Organic Community Farm! We appreciate everyone who joined us to sample local honey, taste mead and participate in a live taping of The Zest podcast. To cap off our series on honey bees, Robin Sussingham interviewed apiary inspector Becky Dineen and urban beekeeper Josh Harris in front of a live audience.   Support for The Zest Podcast c...

Before they opened their renowned and upscale Bern’s Steak House in 1956, Gert and Bern Laxer dreamed about having an ice cream shop. More than a half-century later, the couple’s vision has come to life. We take you on a visit to Little Midway. Then, we get a little taste of Spain at the Dali Museum's cafe. Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cerea...

When Natalia Lima went vegan eight years ago, she assumed she was destined for a lifetime of dull desserts. But soon, the St. Petersburg baker learned to whip up her favorite confections—minus the animal products. She now sells them at her Curious Cat Bakery. Natalia is even veganizing recipes featured on The Great British Baking Show and posting the delicious results on Instagram. Her version of...

When it comes to the threats to honey bees, environmental activists say pesticides are public enemy number one. But scientists say...it's complicated. Our special honey bee reporting project continues with a look at the many dangers faced by honey bees. Plus -- this pitmaster champ and food show veteran brings her star power to Tampa. We meet Lee Ann Whippen of the Deviled Pig restaurant.   Suppor...

This week, our honey bee reporting collaboration with WUSF News has us tasting the honey-based alcoholic beverage, mead! The brewer says it's about the most ‘local’ thing you can drink. And speaking of local foods, host Robin Sussingham talks to a Native American chef who says we should be able to identify, and cook with, all those indigenous plants growing right outside our kitchen door. Just don...

We're continuing our special reporting collaboration on honey bees with WUSF news. This week we head to Lakeland's Born and Bread Bakehouse to try some honey-based pastries, and take a tour of an apiary at Florida Bee Farm in Clearwater. Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids,...

Honey bees are in the national zeitgeist. They're a necessary part of our food supply, and they are under a lot of stress. In a special reporting collaboration between The Zest and WUSF Public Media news, for the next several weeks we're going to be taking a closer look at Florida's honey bees. Honey bees are in the news a lot. But the news is mixed. It's hard to know how they're doing, exactly. T...

We're taking a tour of the Tambuzzo Sausage Company!  The family-owned enterprise has long provided housemade sausage to some of Tampa Bay’s most popular restaurants. And now its Tampa cafe, The Boozy Pig, serves up cut-to-order meats, bacons and sausages alongside sandwiches and other prepared foods. Go behind the scenes with Andrew Tambuzzo to learn how the sausage is made… literally.   Support...

There’s something cooking in Key West, and we’re not just talking about the key lime pie! We’ll hear from the author of some murder mysteries for foodies. Plus, the executive chef of Tampa's Oxford Exchange restaurant tells us how to celebrate fall foods while it’s still hot outside. It might be 95 degrees, but it's almost fall, ya'll!   Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand N...

Fall is almost here, but as usual, Florida didn’t get the memo. As the Sunshine State continues living up to its name, we’ve got ideas to get you through the seemingly endless heatwave, when you really don’t feel like cooking: Chef Tenney Flynn's smoked fish dip, Florida blogger Danielle Rose's easy mango ice cream and colorful mocktails from entertaining expert Krayl Funch. This week --- simple r...