Chef's PSA

About David Bull David Bull is a Culinary Institute of America graduate, Food & Wine Best New Chef 2003, two-time James Beard Foundation nominee, Austin’s first Iron Chef America competitor, and the Regional Vice President of Food and Beverage at La Corsha Hospitality Group. He grew up in his grandparents’ Italian-American restaurant in upstate New […]

About Brandon Harpster Brandon Harpster is a Certified Executive Chef (CEC) and the National Corporate Chef for Training and Events at Rational USA, where he designs and oversees culinary training programs, runs Rational’s culinary academies, and leads demonstrations and events across the country. He came up through country clubs, restaurant kitchens, and culinary education, earning […]

About Chad Welch Chad Welch is an American Culinary Federation Certified Executive Chef (CEC) and Certified Culinary Administrator (CCA), a Jacques Pépin Foundation ambassador, and the executive chef behind The Urban Stillhouse, an elevated dining concept with locations in St. Petersburg, Florida and Somerset, Kentucky. He did not plan to become a chef. A Navy […]

About Emmanuel Chavez Emmanuel Chavez is the Mexico City-born, Houston-raised chef-owner of Tatemó, the Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant in Spring Branch that has become one of the most celebrated in the country. Chavez immigrated to Houston with his family around age nine and spent his formative years working in his parents’ Tex-Mex restaurant, washing dishes at […]

Episode Overview In this episode, André Natera sits down with Emmanuel Laroche, host of the Flavors Unknown podcast and author of A Taste of Madagascar, to explore the global story behind vanilla and what it actually takes to write a serious food book. Laroche traveled to Madagascar, which produces roughly 80 percent of the world’s […]

Chef Dan Kennedy spent over 20 years in high end kitchens, most recently as head chef at Pasta|Bar Austin before the concept closed in February 2026. He is now working on Morri, his own concept in Austin. In this episode, Andre Natera and Dan Kennedy argue that social media has replaced technical skill with aesthetic […]

About Brandon & Jonathan Dearden Brandon Dearden is the executive chef and co-owner of Ember and Grano in Hamilton, Montana — two restaurants built around live-fire cooking and local ingredients. He trained at Alinea and Saison and was recently named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Mountains. Jonathan Dearden is corporate chef at […]

Josh Sutcliff is executive chef at 55 Seventy in Dallas, a restaurant that has built a loyal following by putting delicious food and full dining rooms ahead of accolades. Drew Stephenson — known online as Drew the Food Guy — is a Dallas-based food commentator whose Instagram post about the city’s dining scene went viral, […]

Jam Sanitchat is the chef and owner of Thai Fresh in Austin, Texas — a restaurant, cooking school, and gluten-free bakery rooted in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood of South Austin. Born and raised in Bangkok, she has been cooking since the age of five and moved to Austin in 2001 as a graduate student at […]

About Chef James Trees James Trees is a Las Vegas-based chef, restaurateur, and James Beard Award nominee who built his career under legends including Eric Ripert, Michael Mina, Heston Blumenthal, and Gordon Ramsay. He spent several seasons behind the scenes on Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen before returning to Las Vegas to open Esther’s Kitchen […]

About Chef Jake Rojas Jake Rojas is a classically trained chef who built his career in some of the most demanding kitchens in the country, including working alongside Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas. He was the chef and co-owner of Tallulah on Thames and Tallulah’s Taqueria in Providence, Rhode Island — award-winning restaurants that earned […]