Culinary Characters Unlocked

33:02

Chef Matthew Timoszyk on his year-long quest to cook...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/05/26

Chef Matthew Timoszyk first encountered global flavors while serving in the Air Force. He went on to cook in restaurants and as a personal chef before beginning a massive project he calls The Culinary Expedition. For the past year he’s been compiling and cooking recipes from as many countries as he can fit into twelve months, which he will be compiling into his third cookbook. He shares a few of them here, along with a fascinating life story that includes his personal commitment to taking the

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36:27

Chef Christina Theofilos on opening a Greek...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/05/19

Christina Theofilos was raised in a Greek-American family in Tampa, learning to cook Greek specialties from her mother and her yiayia (Greek for grandmother). After graduating from Notre Dame and spending some time in California, she returned home and, disappointed by the Greek restaurants there, decided to open one of her own, even though she had never even worked in a restaurant before. She called it Psomi, Greek for bread. It quickly became a big success, earning a MichelinBib Gourmand, and she

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42:58

Double Episode – Third generation owner Dino...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/05/12

Dino Figaretti’s nearly 80-year-old Italian restaurant in West Virginia was born from his great grandmother’s homemade pasta sauce. Now it’s been named a 2026 James Beard America’s Classics award winner. And he’s burnishing the legacy and grooming his son to take over. Plus, the next generation of another family business, olive oil importer Nate Bradley, tells all about the ingredient nearly everyone uses and few know much about.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

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38:45

Husband and wife Johnny and Kasie Curiel on building...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/05/05

Johnny and Kasie Curiel met working in the restaurant business,got married, and opened a restaurant of their own. Then, they quickly began opening a series of restaurants, winning Michelin stars at two that don’t fit the Michelin mold within their first year-and-a-half. Johnny also won Michelin’s 2024 Colorado Young Chef award. Most of the couple’s restaurants feature regional cuisines from Mexico, where Chef was born, but they’ve now opened a Spanish restaurant, and they are expanding beyond

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45:40

Chef Kevin O’Donnell on cooking in Italy and France,...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/04/28

Chef Kevin O’Donnell cooked his way through high school at mom-n-pop joints in Rhode Island, then began a career that took him to Italy and France, with a stint at New York’s Michelin-starred Del Posto in between. In France, the restaurant where he was Executive Chef was named Best Bistro in Paris. Now back in his native Rhode Island, he owns two restaurants, one featuring what he calls Freestyle Italian cuisine and one offering an inventive array of pizzas. He is currently a 2026 semifinalist for

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62:14

BONUS EPISODE FROM OUR FRIENDS AT THE REAL ORGANIC...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/04/24

With the recent commemoration of Earth Day, check out the Real Organic Podcast hosted by Linley Dixon and Dave Chapman. This episode features James Beard Award-winning author Nancy Matsumoto, who discusses her new book Reaping What She Sows: How Women Are Rebuilding Our Broken Food SystemLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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35:27

Sisters Sally Kawa and Kari Kawa Harding on the...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/04/21

Sisters Sally Kawa and Kari Kawa Harding are keeping a glorious past alive as the third generation in their family to own an Omaha, Nebraska legend, Johnny’s Cafe. The beloved local landmark, now 104 years old and famous for steak and prime rib, recently won a 2026 James Beard America’s Classics award. And no, their grandfather’s name wasn’t Johnny, but when he first bought what was then a bar, he didn’t have the money to paint over the name on the building. Learn more about your ad choices

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33:04

Chef Aaron Bludorn on building a restaurant empire in...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/04/14

Raised in Washington state, trained at the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Aaron Bludorn held a Michelin star for five years as Executive Chef of Daniel Boulud’s Café Boulud in New York. Now he’s running a growing group of his own restaurants in Houston, Texas. His latest, Perseid, was named a Bon Appétit Best New Restaurant for 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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35:52

Chef Katarina Petonito on juggling the menus for...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/04/07

Chef Katarina Petonito grew up in the food biz. Her parents had a grocery store and catering company and as a child she would hang out with them and play while they worked. When she got a little older, she helped out in the business. Then, she decided that she wanted to cook for a living, and now is the executive chef for a unique culinary hybrid—cooking for three different Washington, D.C. restaurants from the same kitchen. The cuisines include New American and Italian and often feature the

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37:30

Chefs Eric Patterson and Jennifer Blakeslee on...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/03/31

Chefs Eric Patterson and Jennifer Blakeslee met in the kitchen of an hautecuisine landmark in Las Vegas. After winning a Michelin star there, the friends decided to move on to open a place of their own. They chose the town Jennifer grew up in, Traverse City, Michigan where Eric says the bounty of local ingredients is second only to California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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40:23

Drinks experts Sother Teague and Greg Benson with...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/03/24

Sother Teague and Greg Benson have boundless knowledge ofall kinds of alcohol. Between them, they have experience bartending; brewing; and owning bars, restaurants, and an agave importing company. They host their own podcast, The Speakeasy, and here on Culinary Characters Unlocked they discuss everything in the booze universe, including what’s trendy right now, drinks you’ve probably never heard of, and what’s behind the rise of PBR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

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33:16

Chef Bricia Lopez on her family’s legendary James...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/03/17

Chef Bricia Lopez and her siblings are carrying on a Los Angeles tradition, the Oaxacan restaurant Guelaguetza founded decades ago by their parents, rescuing it from financial disaster and serving up theunique cuisine of that southern Mexican state, including moles, the special topped tortillas called tlayudas, and the fried grasshoppers called chapulines. The late legendary food critic Jonathan Gold called it the best Oaxacan restaurant in America, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

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35:18

Chef Sam Hart on his recent Michelin star, the unique...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/03/10

When Michelin recently awarded its first stars in the American South region, Chef Sam Hart’s Counter- was the only North Carolina restaurant to receive one. Hart got into the food world later than most after a career in advertising, but he has made up for lost time. His first job out of culinary school was at the legendary Alinea in Chicago. Now, at Counter- he is forging a unique culinary path, with menus based on a wide range of themes such as modern art, fast food, and even mental health. And he

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38:28

“Scone Queen” Danielle Sepsy on starting a baking and...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/03/03

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

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45:06

Married chefs Andy Doubrava and Tiffani Ortiz on...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/02/24

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

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46:27

Michelin star winning chef Dave Beran on redefining...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/02/17

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

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40:41

BONUS EPISODE! David Page guests on the Tubby podcast

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/02/13

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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44:23

Chef Sarah Thompson on learning Mexican cooking at...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/02/10

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

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38:03

Chef Ashwin Vilkhu on merging New Orleans cooking...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/02/03

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

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37:01

Chef Sue Zemanick on recently winning a Michelin...

Culinary Characters Unlocked ·

2026/01/27

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 multiplevariations of the pierogies her grandmother used to make. The night Zasu won a Michelin

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