The Zest

When it comes to baking cakes, most of us reach for the same ingredients—milk, eggs, butter… But Sira Garib says you can have all of the flavor with none of the animal products—good news for her customers, many of whom are vegan or have dairy allergies.  Sira is the founder and CEO of Pure Vegan Cakes , which specializes in custom plant-based cakes, cupcakes and cookies. Originally from South Flor...

She’s a podcast host, the child of immigrants and a self-described picky eater. Today we’re getting to know Malaika Hollist.  As brand manager of WUSF’s Arts Axis Florida , Malaika creates content to promote local artists and arts organizations. While she doesn’t call herself a foodie, Malaika recognizes commonalities between what she does at Arts Axis and what we do here at The Zest. Malaika sat...

Many Florida restaurants have received nods from some pretty prestigious organizations. At the same time, there’s a whole other culinary scene that’s equally popular—one that, sadly, will likely never be the radar of the prestigious Michelin Guide or James Beard Foundation. We’re talking about food served in convenience stores, gas stations and other mom-and-pop eateries. Maybe you’ve eaten some a...

Is Florida's new signature scent... vanilla? A few weeks ago here on the pod, Chef Justin Timineri of Fresh From Florida told us about some of his favorite trending agricultural products coming out of the Sunshine State. One in particular caught our attention: vanilla. You can almost smell it, can’t you? That warm, sweet, comforting scent that reminds you of baking chocolate chip cookies or lighti...

No fish story here. If you eat seafood, then Chef Steve Phelps wants you to know something—like, actually know something —about what you’re consuming. That striped bass at the grocery store seafood counter—where did it come from? The tuna melt you ordered for lunch from your favorite diner—how was that fish caught? Steve is co-owner and head chef of Indigenous . Since he opened the restaurant in 2...

Nice work, if you can get it. Today we’re catching up with friend of the pod Justin Timineri . As executive chef for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service’s Fresh From Florida program, he is the state’s official culinary ambassador. Sounds like a sweet gig, right? It is. But as you’ll hear, it’s also a lot of work. Dalia recently caught up with Chef Justin. In their conversati...

Today we’re getting to know dietitian Deanna Wolfe . But she needs no introduction if you’re among her hundreds of thousands of social media followers. On Instagram and TikTok, Deanna is an open book. She chronicles her journey recovering from an eating disorder, what she eats in a day as postpartum mom (including dessert every night!) and even her income, for the scores of other dietitians she me...

By Dalia Colón Spring is upon us, so it’s time to tackle all those projects we’ve been putting off. Maybe you need to organize the garage, file your taxes or flip your mattress. While you’re making that checklist, remember to prep for spring cooking—planting warm-weather vegetables, gearing up your grill and, yes, cleaning out the pantry. But resetting for spring doesn’t have to be intimidating. H...

At Solid Rock Community School in Tarpon Springs, every item that comes out of the cafeteria is 100 percent plant-based. Families can even order vegan to-go meals to take home and eat for dinner. That puts Solid Rock in a pretty small group of K-12 schools in the U.S. that are completely plant-based.  The idea for a plant-based cafeteria came from Solid Rock’s founder and executive director, Miche...

This week, we’re getting real about what we feed kids. Whether or not you have children of your own, we all have a role to play in helping the next generation make healthier choices. Dr. David Berger isn’t here to shame anyone. But as a pediatrician and the face of Wholistic Pediatrics & Family Care in Tampa, he sees every day how nutrition—or lack thereof—affects kids’ health and behavior.  D...

Prof. William Schanbacher, Ph. D., breaks it down.

If you've ever dreamed of hosting a food TV show, being a private chef or working in a high-end restaurant, then this conversation is for you—because today's guest has done all of that, plus a lot more, in his young career. Get to know Chef Terrell Manning . The St. Pete native has experience as a private chef, food TV host, restaurant co-owner, host of the roadshow America’s Best Restaurants and...

Super Bowl Sunday is a big day for football—and guacamole. But how much do you know about avocados—specifically the green variety, also called Florida avocados ? Today we’re doing a deep dive with Tom Siddons. He and his wife own Sleepy Lizard Avocado Farm in the Everglades, where they grow and ship avocados, mangos and other tropical fruits. Tom also hosts the popular Sleepy Lizard YouTube podcas...

Kiera Wright-Ruiz has an impressive resume: food writer with creds in The New York Times and Bon Appétit. Photographer for big-name brands including Taco Bell. Recipe developer for the Japan Times, The Kitchn and Food52. Picture book author. We could go on. But perhaps most impressive is the vulnerability Kiera displays in her latest work, My (Half) Latinx Kitchen . Part cookbook, part memoir, the...

This week on The Zest Podcast, revisit Dalia's conversation with Toni Tipton-Martin . The renowned food journalist won James Beard Awards for her books The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks and Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking. Martin also serves as editor-in-chief of the Cook’s Country magazine and television show. This conversation was record...

This season we're talking avocados, food sovereignty, Latinx identity and a whole lot more. New episodes are released on Thursdays. Listen wherever you're hearing this or at thezestpodcast.com .

Today, we’re dishing up a second helping of a conversion we enjoyed so much that we wanted to make sure you got a chance to listen, in case you missed it the first time around. If you’re a longtime Zestie and you remember this classic episode, we hope you’ll enjoy it even more the second time and of course share it with a friend. Zest editor Andrew Lucas has such a fondness for key lime pie that h...

Today we’re getting to know Ana Quincoces. Long before she was a cast member on The Real Housewives of Miami, she was an attorney and avid foodie . The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Ana chats with Dalia about the latest of her four cookbooks, Modern Cuban: A Contemporary Approach to Classic Recipes . Related episodes: ​​Miami Herald’s Carlos Frías on Cuban Coffee, Edible Iguanas & Winning the...

New year, same us. We could resolve to eat more kale, do 100 burpees a day or rein in our online shopping. But let’s be real… we’re not going to stick to any of that. Here at The Zest, we’re about adding joy to our life—especially if that joy comes in the form of food. In that spirit, we’re kicking off 2025 by sharing some of our favorite gastronomic splurges—foods, restaurant meals, kitchen appli...

‘Tis the season for lofty resolutions. Maybe you’ve vowed to stop drinking alcohol, run a daily 5k or cut your takeout budget to zero and cook every meal at home. Whatever your goals for the new year, Jo Bakal says to start small. Jo is a Tampa-based wellness coach and cookbook author who’s sworn off meat, dairy products and cane sugar. She even makes her own oat milk. We can feel your eyes rollin...

Head to Lakeland to hang out with Kadean and Laures Dockery. They're the husband-and-wife team behind Our Noire Kitchen . Noire is French for black, and yes, they are a proud Black-owned company. Kadean is the chef; Laures runs the business side and takes all the great photos you see on Instagram . The pair run Our Noire Kitchen out of the business incubator Catapult Lakeland , and they travel wit...

For many chefs, the road to running a kitchen starts with culinary school. But Hart Lowry forged his own path, working in restaurants across the United States, Europe and Asia, convincing chefs to take him under his wing. It worked. Today, Hart is culinary director for Hi Hospitality Group , where he oversees five Sarasota-area restaurants: Speaks Clam Bar, Kojo, Bar Hana, Palm Avenue Deli and Cen...

Surviving breast cancer gave Rujel Buggs the motivation to eat right and exercise. It also gave her a new appreciation for comfort food—in moderation. Moderation is the name of the game for Rujel, who shares healthy recipes and fitness inspiration on social media. But for holidays and Sunday dinners with family, she goes all out preparing Southern favorites like mac and cheese and peach cobbler po...

This week, we’re dishing up excerpts from conversations related to Thanksgiving and the holiday season. First up, historian Andrew Batten discusses some of the food that might’ve been on the table at that first Thanksgiving meal in St. Augustine, and he explains why Florida is the birthplace of fusion cuisine. Then, Jacksonville media personality Yanira “Yaya” Cardona shares Puerto Rican holiday t...

Whether you’re eating rack of lamb or chicken wings, make it beautiful. So says Debbie Wilson-Berment, better known as Chef Sagajo . (The nickname is a mashup of her kids’ names.)  Based in Delray Beach, the private chef is the author of the cookbook The Sagajo Experience: Recipes for Lifestyle & Entertaining, which came out earlier this year. Dalia chatted with Chef Sagajo. In this conversat...