The Zest

Let's talk about some real Florida food!  We’ll learn to make the Columbia Restaurant's signature 1905 Salad, which was actually invented in the 1940s. Then, fast-forward to 1961, when the Junior League of Tampa debuted its Gasparilla Cookbook , which included its prize-winning Florida Orange Grove Pie. And, we’ve got a conversation with celebrity chef Lazarus Lynch, who’s spreading the word about...

August is nearly over, but there’s still time to plan one last end-of-summer blowout bash. Today, we get barbecue advice from barbecue Hall-Of-Famer Ray Lampe, a.k.a. Dr. BBQ. And what’s for dessert? Our contributor Janet Keeler offers ideas from the cookbook Food 52 Genius Desserts . We’re talking meats and sweets on The Zest!  

We’re talking to some of Tampa Bay’s favorite food personalities. Meet Helen Freund, the new restaurant critic for the Tampa Bay Times . Plus, blogger and social media sensation Isabel Laessig, a.k.a. Family Foodie, talks about her #SundaySupper movement, and offers advice for bringing the family together over a meal.

It’s been a South Florida icon since 1959. We’ll visit the legendary Robert Is Here fruit stand in Homestead. Plus: nice catch! Dive into the rules and recipes of Florida’s spiny lobster season.

We're taking Florida wines seriously! It might be one of the state's best kept secrets, but Florida wine-making is a billion dollar industry. There are dozens of wineries across the state, employing nearly a hundred thousand people, and Florida university research departments dedicated to viticulture. How can this hot, humid , fungus-friendly state support successful wine production? The Zest host...

This week -- summer in Florida means our choice of local produce is getting kind of thin.  We talk to the executive chef of Tampa’s Oxford Exchange and get his ideas on using summer fruits and veggies. Plus, we have a fascinating discussion with a philosophical mango expert, who explains why Floridians are enchanted with the fruit.

Edna Lewis helped define refined southern cooking for generations, and her cookbook from the 1970s,  The Taste of Country Cooking, is considered an American classic. We talk about one of her newly reissued cookbooks -- and her legacy. Plus, you've been invited to dinner, but you can't show up empty handed. We've got some ideas for food gifts that anybody would love.

This week, we’re indulging in some of our favorites. We’ll hear baking tips from the author of Sister Pie , we’ll learn about the history of Tampa’s love affair with café con leche, and to cool off in these relentlessly hot days of summer, we’ll taste Tampa Bay’s craft beer scene. Sweets, suds and a jolt of caffeine, this week on The Zest.

She's a James Beard Award winner, protégé of Emeril Lagasse and the culinary innovator behind one of Tampa’s most talked-about new restaurants. Today on The Zest, a conversation with Chef Anne Kearney.

Jenna Bell, a dietitian and triathlete with a PhD in exercise physiology, offers a primer on how to improve your gut microbiome, and why it even matters. Fermented drinks like kefir and kombucha are all the rage, and foods like yogurt, kimchi and sauerkraut are earning serious respect. In a conversation with host Robin Sussingham, Jenna explains the difference between pre- and probiotics, weighs i...

What’s the future of food? One prominent food writer says we’re heading to a time when we start seeing robots in the farm field and in the kitchen. A longtime wheat farmer says our future is our past...in the form of ancient grain.  Also coming up on today’s show, for a Florida Fourth of July, our all-American food isn’t apple pie -- it’s the Cuban sandwich! We’ll find out how it’s done at The Col...

This week, we’re living the sweet life. We’ll visit with the Junior League of Tampa to test out a peach cobbler recipe from The Gasparilla Cookbook . We’ll chat with the authors of The New Pie about ideas for updating the classic dessert. And edible cookie dough arrives in Tampa!

Barbecue season is in full swing, and we've got a fresh take on cooking with fire. Whether you're looking for a classic steak or an exciting vegetable dish,  Chef Josiah Citrin is here to help you step up your grill game. Then, to wash it all down, our mixology lesson at Tampa’s Epicurean Hotel is sure to put you in good spirits. Happy Father's Day!  It’s bourbon and barbecue, this week on The Zes...

Bern's Chef de Cuisine, Habteab "Hab" Hamde, guides us through the labyrinth that makes up the classic Tampa restaurant's back-of-house operation, from the massive kitchen to the pastry department -- and of course, the grill! Chef Hab even reveals his secret to grilling a great steak at home.

"Locally-grown” and “sustainable” are more than just catch phrases for our guests. Restaurateur Ed Chiles finds delicious uses for one of Florida’s invasive species, and Emmanuel Roux turned a vacant city lot into a productive—and educational—urban farm. We’ll also check in with Tampa’s new mayor, Jane Castor, to get the dish on her favorite local restaurants.

Jamal Wilson is the force behind the first food hall in Tampa, The Hall on Franklin, and he tells producer Dalia Colon that he was determined to do it differently. Plus, The Hall on Franklin is in an historic building, and the Tampa Bay History Center's Rodney Kite Powell  talks to host Robin Sussingham about how those spaces with a backstory can affect the whole eating experience. Also on the pod...

The Zest has international flavor this week! We take you to Hawke's Bay, the fruit basket of New Zealand, with an international cheese expert.  We’ll taste-test a recipe for 5-minute hummus from the Israeli Soul cookbook. And Bavaro’s Pizza brings Italy to Tampa Bay. It’s wheels up on The Zest. No passport required.

Southern storyteller Rick Bragg talks with host Robin Sussingham about food, family, and his new memoir, “The Best Cook In The World: Tales From My Momma’s Southern Table.” Food, Bragg says, represents “our finer nature.” And he tells us why he takes the cooking of grits so personally. Plus, o n a humid evening in April, The Zest attended WUSF's signature event, Longest Table, an outdoor foodie fe...

On today's podcast, producer Dalia Colón gets a lesson in mojito making from the fifth-generation owner of Florida oldest Spanish restaurant, the Columbia. We'll also hear from prominent food writer Laura Reiley about the Tampa Bay area's burgeoning food scene -- and how relatively cheap real estate makes it all possible. Plus, our cookbook reviewer, Janet Keeler, talks about the indispensable cha...

From food halls to fad diets, café con leche to coffee punch, host Robin Sussingham calls on Florida's experts to give us the dish. We get a lesson in making mojitos from a fifth-generation owner of Florida's oldest Cuban restaurant; and learn how to make the best peach cobbler from a Junior League president. And since we’re always hungry for more, we track down the best cookbook authors and culin...