Chef's PSA

About Hanalei Souza Hanalei Souza is a line cook turned sous chef, the creator of Lady Line Cook, one of the most widely followed culinary community accounts on Instagram, and the author of the self-published memoir “Nice Work, Boys!” She started cooking professionally in 2018 and built her career in restaurant kitchens while simultaneously creating […]

About RJ Yoakum RJ Yoakum is an Orange County, California native who grew up watching his aunt cook and discovered professional kitchens at 19 as a dishwasher. Within months his ability stood out and he earned a recommendation to the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park. While at the CIA he traveled extensively through […]

About Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher are the husband-and-wife chef team behind Lenoir, the celebrated South First Street restaurant they opened in Austin in 2012 that has become one of the city’s most enduring and critically recognized dining destinations. The two met while working in adjoining David Bouley kitchens in […]

About Brian Lewis Brian Lewis is the chef and owner of Full House Hospitality Group, one of the most recognized independent restaurant groups in the Northeast. He grew up in Somers, New York, and discovered cooking at thirteen after a football injury ended his athletic career and sent him to the kitchen of Mona Trattoria, […]

About Jason Dady Jason Dady is a Kearney, Nebraska native, Texas Tech University BA graduate in Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management, and California Culinary Academy alum who has been one of San Antonio’s defining culinary forces since 2001. After staging at Stars Bar and Dining in San Francisco and honing his skills at Beringer Wine […]

About Matt Peters Matt Peters is a Meadville, Pennsylvania native, Le Cordon Bleu Pittsburgh graduate, and the first American chef in history to win gold at the Bocuse d’Or. He built his classical foundation at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida before moving to New York City to cook at Alain Ducasse’s Adour. In 2009 he […]

Evan LeRoy is the co-owner and pitmaster of LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue in Austin, Texas. A Michelin star recipient in the MICHELIN Guide Texas 2024, number two on Texas Monthly’s Top 50 BBQ Joints in 2025, and 2025 James Beard Award Semifinalist for Best Chef Texas, LeRoy has spent nearly a decade redefining Texas barbecue […]

About Phillip Frankland Lee Phillip Frankland Lee is the co-owner and executive chef of Scratch Restaurants Group, the Michelin-starred hospitality company he operates with his wife and executive pastry chef Margarita Kallas-Lee. The group includes Sushi by Scratch Restaurants, Pasta|Bar, NADC Burger, and Shokunin, with locations across California and a growing national footprint. Lee is […]

Chef Josh Sutcliff is the Corporate Executive Chef and Partner at 55 Seventy, a private members club for wine lovers with locations in Dallas and Houston. A Le Cordon Bleu graduate, CultureMap Dallas Rising Star Chef of the Year, and Zagat 30 Under 30 honoree, his career includes chef de cuisine at FT33, executive chef […]

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 […]