Episodes

  • “Scone Queen” Danielle Sepsy on starting a baking and media empire at the age of 13

    “Scone Queen” Danielle Sepsy on starting a baking and media empire at the age of 13
    Mar 3 2026
    Classically trained chef Danielle Sepsy got the name The Scone Queen when she first began selling her home-made scones at the age of 13. And the recipe she created for them launched a baking and media empire. Her bakery, The Hungry Gnome, making scones, muffins, cookies, a Nutella infused banana bread, and more, now supplies more than 300 businesses including Jet Blue, as well as online customers nationwide, with more than 15,000 items per day. She has made numerous television appearances, her online videos have received millions of views, and she is eager to share the secrets of baking at home—she says anyone can do it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    38 mins
  • Married chefs Andy Doubrava and Tiffani Ortiz on driving the country cooking for whoever would have them and ending up with a Michelin star

    Married chefs Andy Doubrava and Tiffani Ortiz on driving the country cooking for whoever would have them and ending up with a Michelin star
    Feb 24 2026
    Andy Doubrava and Tiffani Ortiz do things their way, re-defining fine dining with a menu that ranges from antelope to candied seaweed to the ultimate chicken wing and a deep commitment to wasting nothing. They turn scraps and leftovers into key elements of remarkable dishes that have earned them a Michelin star and a tie for best restaurant in the country from “The Infatuation” for their cooking at Nashville’s The Catbird Seat. Before settling in there, they crisscrossed the country, hauling a trailer full of cooking supplies and staging pop-up dinners in more than thirty states. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • Michelin star winning chef Dave Beran on redefining perfection on the plate, coming up at the legendary Alinea in Chicago, and now running two restaurants of his own in Los Angeles

    Michelin star winning chef Dave Beran on redefining perfection on the plate, coming up at the legendary Alinea in Chicago, and now running two restaurants of his own in Los Angeles
    Feb 17 2026
    Unable to afford culinary school, Dave Beran finally got a break when a fine dining chef in Chicago took a chance on him. He quickly soared in that city, rising to Chef de Cuisine at Grant Achatz’s legendary Alinea, then becoming Executive Chef at Next when Achatz opened that restaurant. He went on to open two restaurants of his own in Los Angeles and over the course of his career has won two Michelin stars and two James Beard Awards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • BONUS EPISODE! David Page guests on the Tubby podcast

    BONUS EPISODE! David Page guests on the Tubby podcast
    Feb 13 2026
    The tables are turned on Culinary Characters Unlocked Host David Page. This time he is a guest on someone else’s podcast. He is interviewed by Tubby podcast host Alan Zweig about loving food but fighting the weight control battle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • Chef Sarah Thompson on learning Mexican cooking at America's most legendary Mexican restaurant, creating her own unique coastal Mexican menu in Las Vegas, and what it’s like to be a rarity on the Vegas strip—a female Executive Chef

    Chef Sarah Thompson on learning Mexican cooking at America's most legendary Mexican restaurant, creating her own unique coastal Mexican menu in Las Vegas, and what it’s like to be a rarity on the Vegas strip—a female Executive Chef
    Feb 10 2026
    Chef Sarah Thompson says cooking for others, even as a teenager, always brought her joy. When she was a sophomore in high school, she decided it would be her career. After the Culinary Institute of America and a stint at Michelin-starred Marea in New York, she learned Mexican cooking at Cosme, the most celebrated Mexican fine dining restaurant in America. Now she’s in Las Vegas, doing a unique coastal Mexican cuisine at Casa Playa, featuring seafood, an assortment of massive meals to be shared by the table, and a totally-from-scratch masa program, with tortillas made to order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    44 mins
  • Chef Ashwin Vilkhu on merging New Orleans cooking with the Indian cuisine he grew up with, and then with a variety of Asian flavors, at two Michelin-recommended restaurants at the same time

    Chef Ashwin Vilkhu on merging New Orleans cooking with the Indian cuisine he grew up with, and then with a variety of Asian flavors, at two Michelin-recommended restaurants at the same time
    Feb 3 2026
    Ashwin Vilkhu’s Master’s thesis was a roadmap to get his family into the restaurant business by opening Saffron in New Orleans. He and his father were named semi-finalists for the 2025 James Beard award as Best Chef South for their cooking there, marrying Indian cuisine with New Orleans favorites. And now they’ve added a second restaurant just down the street, The Kingsway, where as Executive Chef he’s combining New Orleans cooking with a range of other Asian cuisines. Both spots received recommendations in Michelin’s first guide to the American south. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    38 mins
  • Chef Sue Zemanick on recently winning a Michelin star, marrying fresh gulf seafood with her family’s Slovakian home cooking, and the wonders of caviar on pasta

    Chef Sue Zemanick on recently winning a Michelin star, marrying fresh gulf seafood with her family’s Slovakian home cooking, and the wonders of caviar on pasta
    Jan 27 2026
    Sue Zemanick decided she wanted to become a chef when she was fourteen and began cooking professionally at fifteen. Her love of seafood, nurtured at the Culinary Institute of America, brought her to New Orleans, where she worked at Commander’s palace and Gautreau’s, where she rose from line cook to Executive Chef, before opening her own place, Zasu, creating a menu featuring seafood, global flavors, and multiple variations of the pierogies her grandmother used to make. The night Zasu won a Michelin star she wasn’t at the ceremony—she was working, which she says was a good thing since diners immediately rushed in and the kitchen was slammed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    37 mins
  • Michelin star winning chef Perry Hoffman on returning to his family’s small-town hotel and restaurant where he worked after high school and building a culinary destination town around it

    Michelin star winning chef Perry Hoffman on returning to his family’s small-town hotel and restaurant where he worked after high school and building a culinary destination town around it
    Jan 20 2026
    Chef Perry Hoffman and his partners are turning the small northern California town of Boonville into a culinary destination. He grew up in the restaurant business, as a young child helping his grandmother in the kitchen of the French Laundry in Yountville, California, which his grandparents founded, and cooking in his uncle’s Boonville Hotel and Restaurant after high school. He went on to a high-level cooking career, winning a Michelin star, before returning to that hotel in Boonville, earning rave reviews and a Michelin recommendation for the tasting menu he’s offering there. And now he’s expanding, opening a more casual California/Italian restaurant across the street and an ice cream shop, where many of the home-made flavors are created with local fruit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins