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PODCAST

The Perfect Bite

Your fusion of food and entrepreneurship, The Perfect Bite brings you inspiring conversations with chefs, restaurateurs, CPG brand founders, food tech founders, and more in the food and beverage industry, highlighting their experiences and how they"ve cooked up something new. From emerging brands to established business owners, you"ll learn from the best entrepreneurs in food, beverage, hospitality, and agriculture about how they started their businesses, what problems they"re solving, the tough

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All Episodes

1:06:23

How Dominique Leach Brought Fine Dining to Chicago BBQ

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/10/08

Chef Dominique Leach is a pit master, fine dining veteran, food entrepreneur, community builder, and the woman behind one of Chicago's most celebrated barbecue restaurants: Lexington Betty Smokehouse. And if you think you know what a pit master looks like, Dom is here to expand your imagination.In this episode, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Dominique at the brand-new Lexington Betty location inside the University of Chicago's Hutchinson Dining Commons, just days before students arrived. Dom

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55:34

Black Lagoon's Erin Hayes and Kelsey Ramage on Spooky...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/10/01

They rented a cursed venue in Toronto with a leak and a fire alarm. They put everything they had into it. And by the end of the first week, there was a line around the block.Erin Hayes and Kelsey Ramage are the co-founders of Black Lagoon, now in its sixth year, a Halloween-themed immersive cocktail pop-up experience running across 34 locations in North America every October. Erin came from the Chicago cocktail scene, where she led the programs at J. Parker, Three Dots and a Dash, and Lost Lake as

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58:29

In the Mood to Bake with Alex George of Lily P Crumbs

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/09/24

She named her brand after her geriatric dog. She started her Instagram account while in chemotherapy and called it Cooking with Cancer. She photographed her own cookbook in her parents' basement with the help of her mom's mahjong friend Karen, a hobby photographer in her 70s who ended up with photos on the back cover of the finished book. And she has never once paywalled a recipe because she learned to bake from bloggers who were generous enough to share everything for free.Alex George is the

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1:03:16

Chef Kevin O'Donnell on Freestyle Italian Cuisine in...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/09/17

He was sixteen years old, court-ordered to an alternative school in Rhode Island, looking for a way to pass the time. A retired Johnson & Wales chef named Andy ran a vocational culinary program there. Kevin signed up. Chef Andy saw something in him. And that was the beginning of everything.Chef Kevin O'Donnell is a multi-time James Beard Award nominee and the owner of Giusto and Mother Pizzeria in Newport, Rhode Island. Giusto is his flagship restaurant at Hammett's Hotel on the Newport

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1:01:26

Ashok Selvam on Ravenous and the Food Media Renaissance

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/09/10

About six weeks after winning the James Beard Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award, Ashok Selvam was laid off from Eater Chicago. He had been there for over a decade. He was the only full-time staff member. His fingerprints were on every single story, every headline, every post. And then his supervisor sent a message asking him to check his email.What happened next is one of the most genuinely exciting food media stories of the past year.Ashok Selvam is a co-founder of Ravenous, a worker-owned

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58:25

Jaju Pierogi: 10 Years of Polish American Pride and...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/09/03

Their grandfather worked at his Polish deli until he was 87. Their uncle is 75 and still running it. Nobody in the family told them the business was a good idea. And that didn’t stop Vanessa and Casey White from building one of the most beloved Polish American food brands in the country.Vanessa and Casey White are the co-founders of Jaju Pierogi, a Polish American frozen pierogi brand they started in 2016 from their grandfather's handwritten deli recipes, scaled through New England farmers markets

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54:02

Avishar Barua on Agni, Joya's and Honoring Columbus

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/08/27

Just because a dish is well executed does not mean it has to feel stuffy. And just because you have culinary school training and a Michelin-starred kitchen on your resume does not mean you cannot dedicate your career to making dining the most fun part of someone's day. That is exactly what Avishar Barua is doing in Columbus, Ohio. And Columbus has never tasted better.Avishar Barua is a two-time James Beard Award semifinalist and the founder of Agni and Joya's, the two Columbus restaurants that make

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51:56

Mira's Manny and Gina Ocasio Are Putting Buffalo on...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/08/20

Some things feel like fate. Manny Ocasio was working at Zahav during a rare lunch service when Gina walked in looking for her friend. They barely spoke. Months later Gina walked into a bar and Manny was sitting there. Everything unfolded from that moment. And now they run one of Buffalo's most exciting new restaurants together, as partners in life and in business.Manny and Gina Ocasio are the executive chefs and partners of Mira, a Mediterranean restaurant that opened in Buffalo's in November 2025,

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1:00:20

Takeaways: The Savory Protein Bar the World Needed |...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/08/13

She spent six years evaluating CPG founders from the other side of the table, sitting in boardrooms at TRUFF and Erewhon-backing growth firms while secretly thinking she would never be the one to jump. And then she ate one too many chocolate flavored protein bars at midnight in a finance office and finally said enough.Ash Baxter is the founder of Takeaways, a savory puffed protein snack bar that she spent two and a half years developing, launched for pre-order on June 10th, started shipping June

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48:33

Yama Seafood: 50 Years of World Class Seafood | Nobu...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/08/06

Kingo Yamanashi bought his first bluefin tuna for a dollar from a recreational fisherman. He did not have a refrigerated van. He did not speak English. He did not know how to break down a tuna or even have a scale to weigh it. He just put it in a van with some ice, drove it back to New York, and let the chefs cut whatever they wanted while he calculated the weight by feel.That was 1977. Today, Yama Seafood is the purveyor behind the seafood programs at Le Bernardin, Masa, and more of the most

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54:29

James Beard Winner Chef Sarah Thompson Brings Coastal...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/07/30

She didn't want to move to Las Vegas. She moved anyway for a restaurant that was supposed to open March 16th, 2020. And then she stayed, kept pushing through two years of pandemic uncertainty, and built something so extraordinary that just the other month she became the 2026 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Southwest, the first time Las Vegas had been recognized on the James Beard platform in 15 years.Chef Sarah Thompson is the executive chef of Casa Playa at Wynn Las Vegas, a coastal Mexican

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45:47

Zingerman's Bob Bennett on Culture and 22 Years of...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/07/23

Some people spend their careers looking for the right place. Bob Bennett found his 22 years ago and never looked back.Bob Bennett is the head chef of Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan, one of the most beloved and respected restaurant institutions in the Midwest. He started as a line cook before The Roadhouse even opened its doors, helped paint the outside of the building that summer, survived a soft opening of 300 people with one day of training, and has been there every day since. What

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55:41

BLiS Gourmet on Great Lakes Caviar, Wild Flavors, and...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/07/16

Because life is short. That is what BLiS stands for. And after 23 years of bourbon barrel aged maple syrup, wild Great Lakes caviar, smoked soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegars, and tamari built from a single forager's obsession with wild flavor and zero waste, it is hard to argue with the philosophy.Chef Steve Stallard and Sarah Sherman are the co-owners of BLiS Gourmet, a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based artisan pantry brand that started with a bucket of live brook trout, a handful of barrels sourced from

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39:46

Rita Sodi and Jody Williams: Iconic Food, Life and an...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/07/09

Some restaurants feel like places. Via Carota feels like a person. Warm, unhurried, deeply intelligent, and completely unconcerned with trends. That’s not an accident. It is the direct result of two women who have spent decades building exactly the places they wanted to eat in, and refusing to compromise on a single detail along the way.Rita Sodi and Jody Williams are the co-owners of I Sodi, Via Carota, Buvette, Bar Pisellino, Commerce Inn, Officina 1397, and Officina del Bere, among the most

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1:03:16

Norman Fenton's Cariño is a Love Letter to Mexico,...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/07/02

You can taste the love someone puts into their cooking. And the opposite is true too.Norman Fenton is the Michelin starred, James Beard nominated chef and co-owner of Cariño, a modern Mexican restaurant in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood that is, in every sense, a love letter. A love letter to his wife Karina and their sons. A love letter to her family in Quintana Roo. A love letter to Mexican cuisine, culture, and the Latino community that has shaped his entire career and life.In this episode, host

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1:40:18

BONUS EPISODE: LIVE! From the 2026 James Beard Awards...

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/06/29

On June 15th, 2026, The Perfect Bite went live from the red carpet of the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. As an official press credential holder, host Sarah Perkins spent two hours on the carpet meeting, interviewing, and asking the world's best and hardest question to some of the most celebrated names in food, hospitality, and beyond.From the Humanitarian of the Year to lifetime achievement legends, from a chef putting Anchorage, Alaska on the map, to a

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1:00:04

Foodbevy: Building a Community of 5,000 CPG Founders

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/06/25

Some people learn about the food industry from the outside. Jordan Buckner learned it from all sides at once, and then built the community he wished had existed while he was figuring it out.Jordan Buckner is the founder of Foodbevy, a community and resource platform now reaching over 5,000 CPG founders and food and beverage professionals, and of Joyful Co., a corporate gifting company built around emerging CPG brands. But before all of that, he was a fifth grade entrepreneur selling Airhead candies

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51:56

Laura Scherb: Food Photography, Cookbooks and Community

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/06/18

In a world full of AI generated images, there is still nothing quite like a photo that makes you stop scrolling and say: Is that for real?Laura Scherb is the founder of Page and Plate Studio, a food photography and styling business that brings CPG brands, cookbook authors, and editorial projects to life through imagery so textural and rich it practically pops off the page. She is also the co-founder of Kitchen Sink Studio alongside pastry chef Emily Spurlin, a board member of Les Dames d'Escoffier

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1:07:19

Adrienne Cheatham: From Top Chef to Top Food Podcaster

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/06/11

Some people spend their entire careers supporting others before they finally step into the light themselves. Adrienne Cheatham spent eight years at Le Bernardin, years supporting Marcus Samuelsson at Red Rooster and Street Bird, and a lifetime believing she was meant to be the operational person behind the scenes. And then a call to Top Chef and a family gumbo challenge changed everything.Adrienne Cheatham is a Michelin-starred chef, James Beard Media Award nominated cookbook author, Food Network

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1:00:23

From Broken Back to MasterChef: The Chef Out West Story

The Perfect Bite ·

2026/06/04

He broke his back snowboarding, got stuck on his couch, and found the Food Network. Thirteen minutes after submitting his MasterChef application, a producer called him. And he never slowed down from there.Josh Gale is the founder and private chef behind The Chef Out West, a Canadian food creator and MasterChef and Beat Bobby Flay veteran whose bold, unapologetic, in-your-face food philosophy has taken the internet by storm. After years of corporate tech sales, a decade running restaurants in

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