The Zest

Seafood is big business in Florida, with an annual economic impact of more than $400 million. That’s according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services . So how do we make sure all this valuable seafood is sustainable? What are the best and worst fish to choose? The short answer is: It’s complicated. Here to offer guidance is Angela Collins . She’s a Florida Sea Grant Agent w...

It’s spring break season—the perfect time to slow down and teach the kids in our life a thing or two in the kitchen. But first, Wendy Wesley is here to teach us adults a thing or two about cooking with kids. Wendy is a registered and licensed dietician and nutritionist based in St. Petersburg. In addition, Wendy is a mom, and she teaches classes for home cooks of all ages. Foodie friends in Tampa...

Plant City, in Hillsborough County, has bragging rights as the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World. Its farms produce millions of berries each year. In fact, Hillsborough County, where Plant City is located, produces about 15 percent of the nation’s strawberries and nearly all of its winter strawberries, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. But this wasn’t a...

You could call Chris and Kiona Wagner trendsetters. In 2019, before the COVID pandemic forced all of us to reevaluate our priorities, the couple decided to make a big change. They moved from bustling South Florida to the sleepy town of Monticello, just outside of Tallahassee. That’s where the Wagners run Rocky Soil Family Farm .  They sell their fruits, vegetables, herbs and eggs at local farmers...

Winter is prime growing season in Florida. And each February, thousands of folks from across descend upon the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum to celebrate one crop in particular: collard greens. This year’s Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival is set for Saturday, Feb. 19 at the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg. There’ll be plant giveaways, nutrition seminars, a co...

Real talk—today’s episode won’t make you hungry. But it will make you think—about where your food comes from, and where it goes after you’ve eaten your fill. The eggshells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable scraps… to us, it’s trash. But with the help of Mother Nature, you can turn your trash into compost treasure. You’ll reduce waste and have rich soil to grow your own food. Quinn Metoyer is th...

If you’re gonna do an episode about Valentine's Day chocolates in Florida , then there’s just one man for the job—and not because his last name happens to be Love. Norman Love is the founder of Norman Love Confections , a Fort Myers-based candy company that specializes in chocolates that look as good as they taste. I chatted with Norman about how to choose chocolates for that special someone, some...

If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then that makes First Watch one of the most important restaurant chains in Florida. The Bradenton-based company has more than 430 restaurants in 28 states, and they’re all open for breakfast and lunch only. Eleni Kouvatsos is director of communications for First Watch Restaurant Group. She’s here with advice for how we can step up our at-home bre...

For many of us, eating sustainably means remembering to bring our reusable bags to the grocery store. But Rob Greenfield wanted to go further. Much further. The sustainability, equity and justice activist has garnered a huge social media following with self-imposed challenges to raise awareness. Awhile back, he simplified his life down to just 44 possessions. Then there’s the time he rode his bike...

New episodes drop on Thursdays, right here in your podcast feed. You can find previous episodes, recipes and more at TheZestPodcast.com .

Wintertime is when many Florida fruits and vegetables are at their peak. So we think it’s the perfect time to catch up with Gail Eggeman. She’s co-founder and manager of the St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market , where each week thousands of visitors shop for produce, craft items and a lot more. Gail chats about the market's early days, her food heroes and why bargain hunters like myself should...

Florida is home to more Puerto Ricans than any other state. This week, we’re exploring how many of Florida's Puerto Rican communities celebrate the winter holidays. From pig roasts to all-night parties to Puerto Rico's answer to eggnog, you'll want to incorporate these traditions into your next holiday gathering, if you don’t already.  Our guide is Yanira “Yaya” Cardona of Jacksonville.  She owns...

When most people think of Florida, their mind conjures up images of beaches or Disney World—maybe alligators or the latest Florida Man headline. But there was a time when Florida was synonymous with one thing: citrus. Florida was the country’s leading citrus producer, outranking even California.  So, what happened? Yes, citrus greening is partly to blame. But that’s not the whole story.  For answe...

These days, it’s widely recognized that the real first Thanksgiving took place in St. Augustine in 1565—a full 56 years before the Plymouth, Massachusetts, event that you probably learned about in school.  That first Thanksgiving banquet in Florida consisted of foods like venison, bean stew and hard biscuits. And while corn and pumpkin had their place on the table, they hardly resembled the cornbr...

Mamey , which opened in August 2020, is an island-inspired eatery, with menu items like Jamaican short rib empanadas, Key West pink shrimp taquitos and key lime cheesecake flan. Orno , which opened in October 2021, focuses on New American cuisine; think wood-roasted summer squash, grass-fed ribeye and Alaskan halibut. The seemingly disparate menus have something in common. Both feature ingredients...

Here’s all you need to know about today’s show: On our website, one of the recipes that goes with this episode is titled Instant Ramen Upgrade Tips. Yep, today we’re exploring what it’s like to cook for yourself during college, or whenever you’re living on your own for the first time. Our talented and sweet intern, Lily Theisen, recently sat down with her fellow University of South Florida student...

Let’s start with a classic: The Cuban sandwich. A soon-to-be-released book will explore its history and popularity around the world. University of South Florida Professor Barbara Cruz is one of the book’s co-authors. She was born in Cuba. And she says the sandwich has always been part of her life.  Besides the Cuban sandwich, what other foods did Tampa’s early Cuban residents bring with them? For...

Grammy winner and Tallahassee native T-Pain is known for his collaborations, like All I Do Is Win with DJ Khaled, Good Life with Kanye West and Low with his fellow Floridian Flo Rida.  But T-Pain’s latest collab takes him out of the music studio and into the kitchen. It’s a book of cocktail recipes called… wait for it... Can I Mix You a Drink? 50 Cocktails from My Life and Career. T-Pain’s co-auth...

In season 3 of The Zest, we spoke with Dr. Frederick Douglass Opie about his book Zora Neale Hurston on Florida Food. In this week’s episode, Dr. Opie is back to shed light on the role food played in the life of another Harlem Renaissance-era Floridian, James Weldon Johnson . The Jacksonville native lived from 1871 to 1938. Dr.  Opie is an author and professor at Babson College outside of Boston....

Alain Lamaire is executive chef and co-owner of Sensory Delights Catering in Pembroke Pines. You may also recognize him from Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen and Chopped. In this conversation, he discusses foods that reminds him of home, why Haitians eat pumpkin soup on New Year's Day and how to be a better ally to Florida's Haitian community. Related episodes: Talking Seoul Food with Miami’s 2 Ko...

Most of the colorful lunches on Jenny’s Lunchboxmafia Instagram account are for her 12-year-old daughter, Jazzy. For a long time, Jenny traveled for work and wasn’t at home to prepare Jazzy’s lunch. So three years ago when Jenny changed jobs, she started making up for lost time by lovingly preparing lunches for herself, her husband and Jazzy. In this episode, Jenny shares tips for packing a better...

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month , today we’re celebrating Florida’s Latin-American food cultures. We’re sharing an excerpt from a conversation titled Food Memories of Latin America. This Zoom discussion was part of Conversations in the Neighborhood: Let’s Talk about Food , a discussion series presented by Florida Humanities, the University of Florida’s Center for the Humanities and the Public...

If you’re a longtime Florida foodie, then you can probably rattle off the names of some James Beard Award winners from the Sunshine State. The James Beard Awards started in 1990, to recognize the country’s best restaurants, chefs, food writers and others in the culinary world. A sprinkling of Floridians have been honored recently. But in the big categories like Best New Restaurant and Outstanding...

When you’re in Miami, it’s easy to find a Cuban sandwich… and wash it down with a cup of Cuban coffee. But Jennifer and Michele Kaminski were craving something different— more along the lines of the Korean food they grew up eating. So the sisters started a ghost kitchen. That’s a restaurant that’s available only for delivery and takeout. They called in 2 Korean Girls , and it’s generating big buzz...

Over his career, Greg Baker worked his way up from teenage dishwasher to a six-time James Beard Award nominated chef. Greg is perhaps best known as the chef behind The Refinery, a popular farm-to-table restaurant in Tampa’s Seminole Heights neighborhood that he owned from 2010 to 2019 with his wife, Michelle Baker. He loves how a plate of food can make someone happy.  But for Greg and countless ot...