To Dine For

Deepak Chopra – Author and Spiritual Teacher   Location: ABC Kitchen in New York City   New York Times best-selling author Deepak Chopra is a medical doctor by trade but he is best known for his work to get people to live a life of greater consciousness. His devotion to mental wellness and well-being is at the center of his work, his teachings and his speaking engagements. Over sustainable, organi...

Michelle and Hunter Norwood – Founders – A Little Something Extra Ice Cream   Michelle and Hunter Norwood created a business with a vision beyond themselves, and it centers around ice cream. When you see their whimsical ice cream truck coming around the corner, you're in for something more than just a cone with sprinkles. The name of the business says it all. It's called A Little Something Extra....

Blake Mycoskie – Founder of TOMS   Location: Snake River Grill in Jackson, Wyoming   From the majestic Teton Mountains, we hear the story of the man who defined what it means to be a “social entrepreneur”. Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS Shoes because of a need he saw in impoverished neighborhoods around the world: shoes. His “one for one” business model of donating a pair of shoes for every pair sold...

Natalie Guo – Founder – Off Their Plate   Natalie Guo was born in China, raised in Sweden and now calls Boston home. She is currently a medical student at Harvard Medical School, and at the beginning of the pandemic saw firsthand how devastating the toll on first line medical workers really was. So she had an idea: with so many workers out of work and so many healthcare workers needing warm meals,...

Dan Harris – Journalist and Author of 10% Happier   Dan Harris is a veteran news reporter for ABC News. He's covered every imaginable story including multiple war zones, mass shootings and natural disasters. The intense and brutal pace of the news cycle caught up to him when he suffered a panic attack on air in 2004. It was that moment that changed his life forever and led him on a path that even...

Ibram X. Kendi – Author of Four Hundred Souls and How To Be An Antiracist   Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is a leading advocate for antiracism in America. His book How To Be An Antiracist flew off the shelves as the Black Lives Matter movement had an impassioned resurgence in 2020. He is using his voice to put an end to racial injustice, and people are listening. Dr. Kendi has a National Book Award, and thre...

Scott Goldshine – Zabar's   Location: Katz's Delicatessen in New York City   Scott Goldshine has been working the cash register at Zabar's for nearly 40 years. Mind you - his title and job description has changed many times over and he now runs the store, but one thing he's learned is that he's always expected at the register if someone is waiting. For those of you who aren't familiar, Zabar's is...

Danny Meyer – Restaurateur   Location: Union Square Cafe in New York City   Danny Meyer has owned and operated restaurants in New York City for more than 3 and a half decades. He opened his favorite restaurant, the Union Square Cafe, in 1985. Since then he has opened the famed Gramercy Tavern, Tabla, Blue Smoke and so many others. His latest venture Shake Shack - a modern twist on a simple burger...

Anne Devereux-Mills – Founder & Chief Instigator - Parlay House   Anne Devereux-Mills is not a fan of small talk. She founded the Parlay House, that allows women from all over the world to engage in meaningful conversation and form lasting relationships. This desire for innovation and positive change has spanned her whole career, from working her way to the top as the CEO of multiple companies to...

Kathryn Minshew – CEO & Founder - TheMuse.com   Location: Izakaya NoMad in New York City At 29 years old, this young tech dynamo has done something thousands of others twice her age have tried and failed. Her website, TheMuse.com, helps people find the perfect job. She started with one person in her living room and she has grown the company to 50 million visitors every month. In this episode of To...

Leila Janah – Social Entrepreneur - Samasource   Location: Samovar Tea House in San Francisco, CA   She has been named to Forbes' “30 under 30”, Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” and Fortune Magazine’s “Most Promising Entrepreneurs”. Leila Janah started a non-profit with $14,000 she won in a business plan competition. Her goal was to reduce global poverty by putting people into job...

M. Night Shyamalan – Writer/Director   Location: Vetri Cucina in Philadelphia, PA   As Writer and Director of blockbuster hit movies such as “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable,” Night has been able to hone the craft of "scaring the living daylights” out of moviegoers with his suspenseful and often terrifying flicks. His career has undoubtedly reached soaring highs and dramatic lows. At his favorit...

Farnoosh Torabi – Personal Finance Expert   Location: Bijan's in Brooklyn, NY   Farnoosh Torabi is a financial expert, author and host of the financial podcast So Money. Her books include  You're So Money: Live Rich Even When You're Not and  When She Makes More: 10 Rules for Breadwinning Women , which tackle real-life money issues that people face every day. Over a delicious chopped salad with sal...

Kavita Shukla – Inventor of FreshPaper   Location: Great Sage in Clarksville, MD   Kavita Shukla holds four patents for a world changing invention that does one simple thing: extend the life of produce. After a trip to visit her grandmother in her native India, she developed a recipe for a paper that would stop the spoilage of food.  Her work is revolutionizing the world’s food supply especially i...

Gitanjali Rao – Inventor & TIME's 2020 Kid of the Year   Location: Hacienda Colorado in Lone Tree, CO   At the age of just 11 years old, Gitanjali dreamed up a solution to a problem many had overlooked. Inspired by watching the news coverage of the Flint, Michigan water crisis, Gitanjali invented a water treatment device that Flint residents could use in their homes to see if their water is safe....

Erin Gleeson – Creator, The Forest Feast   Erin Gleeson is an artist, author, photographer and creator of the extremely popular lifestyle brand "The Forest Feast." She has written four New York Times Best Selling cookbooks under the "The Forest Feast" brand. Her story of going from the frenetic pace of New York City to the quiet and tranquil woods of Northern California is a study in re-invention...

Seamus Mullen – Chef & Restaurateur   Location: Gjusta in Venica, CA   Seamus Mullen is a New York City Chef turned health and wellness expert.  He burst on to the NYC culinary scene at Boqueria, and then later Tertulia with his deep passion for Spanish cuisine.  Originally from Vermont, Seamus shares the health scare that forever changed what and how he cooks.  From his favorite restaurant in Ven...

Jason Mayden – Designer, Nike   Location: Giordano's in Chicago, IL   When Jason Mayden grew up on the South Side of Chicago, he dreamed of being like Michael Jordan. Instead, he went on to design shoes for him. His Nike Air Monarch became the highest grossing shoe of all time. Jason takes us to Giordano’s Deep Dish pizza to tell us why this Chicago comfort food staple is also symbolic of why he l...

Jim McIngvale – Philanthropist & Owner of Gallery Furniture   Location: Lopez Mexican Restaurant in Houston, TX   When Jim started his mattress business in Houston, Texas he had just $5,000 and a pickup truck.  Now, he has amassed a furniture empire through his “wacky ads” and gregarious personality.  It was, however, a single act of kindness that thrust him into the international spotlight.  Duri...

Kate reflects on this most difficult year and what makes this Thanksgiving so unique for all of us.   Follow To Dine For: Official Website: ToDineForTV.com Facebook: Facebook.com/ToDineForTV Instagram: @ToDineForTV Twitter: @KateSullivanTV Email: ToDineForTV@gmail.com   Thank You to our Sponsors! American National Insurance Spiritless - Use promo code TODINEFOR for free shipping     Hosted on Acas...

Suzanne Muchin – Co-Founder Bonfire   Location: Milt's Barbecue For The Perplexed in Chicago, IL   Suzanne Muchin is the Co-Founder of Bonfire: a talent accelerator for a new generation of women in the workplace.  A serial entrepreneur, Suzanne co-founded a company to help women excel in corporate America. A marathon runner and mom of 5, Suzanne also teaches the class "Selling Yourself and Your Id...

Sara Blakely – Inventor, CEO, Founder of Spanx   Location: Umi in Atlanta, GA   With 5,000 dollars and a simple idea, Sara Blakely invented a product that would change the fashion industry forever. As the Inventor and CEO of Spanx, Sara became the youngest self-made Billionaire in the world. With no fashion experience and no business degree, her story of grit, persistence, and problem-solving is o...

Katori Hall – Playwright  Location: Miss Lily's in New York City   Columbia, Harvard and Juilliard educated, Katori Hall planned to be an actress until a fateful assignment at Harvard changed her direction. Instead, she became a playwright. Her play, The Mountaintop, about the final night before Martin Luther King’s assassination, won critical acclaim making her the first black woman to win the Ol...

Robert Pasin – Chief Wagon Officer of Radio Flyer  Location: Hemmingway's Bistro in Chicago, IL   Robert Pasin is the Chief Wagon Officer of Radio Flyer.  Pasin's grandfather started the iconic company that created "the little red wagon" more than 100 years ago on the West side of Chicago.  When Pasin started working at Radio Flyer, he inherited a company that had a lot of nostalgia, but little pr...

Lauren Chitwood – Co-Founder & CEO of Spiritless  Location: Proof on Main in Louisville, KY   Lauren Chitwood is the CEO and Founder of Spiritless.  A serial entrepreneur, Lauren and her two female co-founders have created a non-alcoholic version of Bourbon called Spiritless. Her hilarious and inspiring journey to create a new cocktail is delicious “food for thought” for any would-be entrepreneur...