The Zest – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Earlier this month, The Splendid Table recorded a live episode all about Florida foods! Host Francis Lam and producer Erika Romero came to the New Tampa Performing Arts Center for an episode and meet-and-greet hosted by WUSF Public Media.

If you're in West Central Florida, catch the broadcast on Sunday, June 29, 2025 at 2 p.m. on WUSF 89.7 FM. Or listen anywhere, anytime at splendidtable.org.

Guests included:

• Dalia Colón of The Zest Podcast
• Andrea Gonzmart Williams of Columbia Restaurant Group
• Megan Sorby of Pine Island Redfish
• Anthony Gilbert of Call Anthony

In case you missed it, check out our convo with Francis when he was a Zest guest!

Juneteenth—June 19—commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It became a federal holiday in 2021, but early celebrations date back to the 1860s.

Today, Americans observe Juneteenth with festivals, family and of course, food. So we invited influencer Kiva Williams, a.k.a. the Fun Foodie Mama, to share some of her favorite Juneteenth culinary traditions.

In this conversation, the Wesley Chapel resident and founder of Mahogany Kids Fine Arts Foundation explains the origins of Juneteenth. She also shares her family’s favorite celebratory foods and drinks, and recommends Juneteenth events to attend and offers advice on how everyone can enjoy the holiday, regardless of race.

Kiva starts by explaining how she became a food influencer.

For more ways to celebrate Juneteenth, check out the WUSF events calendar.

Related episodes:

• Soul Food Scholar Adrian Miller Will Headline the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival

• Soul Food Inspires Artist Chris Friday’s Sarasota Art Museum Exhibition

• Gabrielle E.W. Carter & Dr. LaDonna Butler on Food as Rest & Resistance

• Second Helping: Toni Tipton-Martin Celebrates African-American Chefs in ‘Jubilee’

• Dr. Fred Opie on the “Fascinating” African Roots of Florida Foods

Many Florida restaurants have received nods from some pretty prestigious organizations.

At the same time, there’s a whole other culinary scene that’s equally popular—one that, sadly, will likely never be the radar of the prestigious Michelin Guide or James Beard Foundation. We’re talking about food served in convenience stores, gas stations and other mom-and-pop eateries. Maybe you’ve eaten some amazing food in these places. Maybe you’re even among the tens of thousands of people who follow our guest on social media.

Anthony Gilbert, better known online as Call Anthony, has garnered a cult-like following with his video reviews of Tampa Bay’s under-the-radar eateries. That standing-room-only barbecue joint? Anthony says it’s got the best smoked oxtails in town. The $5 chicken wings in the sketchy-looking corner store? There’s a reason why that place is always packed. If you’re feeling uneasy about going inside, Anthony will show you that there’s nothing to worry about.

Anthony grew up in the housing projects of East Tampa, and most of his reviews highlight food spots in underprivileged neighborhoods. But his fan base is wide-reaching, helping to bring a variety of customers to small, often Black-owned businesses.

Anthony stopped by the Zest studios at WUSF Public Media for a chat with Dalia Colón and Alexandria Ebron. In this conversation, he shares some of his favorite local eateries, why he believes his food reviews are resonating with the public and his plans to open a restaurant of his own. Warning: This conversation will make you hungry.

Today, we’re exploring vegetables native to China with Roland Yee. Roland is the third-generation co-owner of Yee Farms, which his grandparents started after they immigrated to New York City and eventually made their way down to Florida.

Today Yee Farms sits on 1,000 acres in Boynton Beach. The family supplies bok choy, Chinese broccoli, winter melon and other veggies to Florida’s Asian and mainstream markets, restaurants, cruise lines and theme parks.

In this conversation, Roland tells the story of Yee Farms and explains how the challenges of farming have changed over the years. Then Roland and Dalia brainstorm ways to enjoy all those fresh veggies.

Related episodes:

• EPCOT Culinary Director Albert Youngman Brings a World of Flavors to Florida

• Talking Seoul Food with Miami’s 2 Korean Girls

• Food Blogger Ricky Ly on Orlando’s “Tasty Chomps”

• “We Got Engaged up at the Milking Parlor”: Modern Dairy Farmers Sutton & Kris Rucks

• Conscious Cuisine: Rocky Soil Family Farm on How to Reconnect with Your Food

Toto, we’re not in Florida anymore. But we are talking about oranges—in the Sunshine State and across the Atlantic—with our guest Jamie Schler. Jamie grew up in Satellite Beach, on Florida’s Space Coast. After college, she moved to New York City before settling in France, where she and her husband own a small hotel.

Jamie balances hotel ownership with being a food writer and cookbook author. During the COVID 19 pandemic, she published the e-cookbook Isolation Baking. She’s also the author of Orange Appeal, a cookbook full of sweet and savory recipes showcasing the fruit that put her native Florida on the map.

Jamie chatted with Dalia from the hotel she owns, where she also lives. In our conversation, she shares her favorite ways to cook and bake with oranges, the differences between ingredients in the U.S. and France, and how the fantasy of running a French boutique hotel compares to the reality.

Related episodes:

• History of Citrus in the Sunshine State
• Natalia Lima Veganizes Recipes from The Great British Baking Show
• EPCOT Culinary Director Albert Youngman Brings a World of Flavors to Florida

In July 2019, Dave Matthews Band was coming to Tampa to perform a concert. Word got out that the band was searching for locally grown food to eat, as they do for every show. (They call it farm-to-stage.)

Nichole Dube worked a corporate job at the time, but she had recently attended a community gardening conference, so she set out to source the band’s food herself. She pulled it off.

That’s how the idea for Dube’s Mobile Market was born.

In this conversation, Nichole shares how a 2019 Dave Matthews Band concert led to her family’s business. She also explains the importance of eating locally, and she offers advice for encouraging kids to eat their veggies.

Related episodes:

• Hacks to Help You Eat More Veggies

• 360 Eats Takes Leftovers from Food Waste to Food Truck

• Why You Should Stop Haggling at Florida’s Farmers Markets

• Conscious Cuisine: Chef Justin Timineri of Fresh From Florida Offers Ideas for Eating What’s in Season

• It’s Always Sunny at St. Petersburg’s Brick Street Farms

• “Now Food Doesn’t Have to Travel”: Hyperlocal Agriculture with lemonGRAFT Founder Zach Correa7

Today we’re salivating over Mexican food and culture with Claudia Johnson. The Mexico City native is general manager of Grand Hacienda, a Mexican restaurant with a handful of Tampa Bay locations. Her latest project is Seaglass Tavern, which features elevated comfort food in Tampa’s Citrus Park neighborhood.

Dalia recently met up with Claudia inside Grand Hacienda’s 4th Street location in St. Petersburg. In our conversation, Claudia discusses the complexity of Mexican cuisine, including regional differences and the strong French influence—something I’d never really considered. She also shares how her business background influences her restaurants, and she explains how the minor Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo became such a big deal in the United States.

Related episodes:

• Taco Bus Founder Rene Valenzuela on Cinco de Mayo, His Life-Changing Accident & What’s Next

• Chef Joe Isidori Wants You to Explore Florida’s Ethnic Food Markets

• Michelle Bernstein’s Jewish-Latin ‘Mishmosh’ of a Life

Meet dairy farmers Sutton and Kris Rucks of Milking R Farm in Okeechobee. They discuss how the industry has evolved over the years, the challenges of being dairy farmers in a world full of milk alternatives, and how they got engaged in a milking parlor.

Related episodes:

• Writer Heather McPherson on What You Don’t Know About Florida Food

• Why You Should Stop Haggling at Florida’s Farmers Markets

• Conscious Cuisine: Rocky Soil Family Farm on How to Reconnect with Your Food

• History of Citrus in the Sunshine State

This week, Emmanuel Washington Jr. answers our burning questions about life as a firehouse chef. Better known as Chef Manny FD (for fire department), the Miami native works for the Orlando Fire Department. In addition to being district chief, he’s also the resident chef at station 8, near Orlando International Airport. He’s demonstrated his culinary skills on cooking competition shows including Cutthroat Kitchen, MasterChef and Food Network Star.

In this conversation, Manny shares how being a firefighter has made him a better chef, the advice Alton Brown gave him that helps him cook faster and the right way to put out a kitchen fire.

Related episodes:

• Punk Rock Foodie Derrick Fox Spills Secrets of the “MasterChef” Kitchen

• 14 Tips for Cooking Faster at Home

• How to Prepare Restaurant-Quality Meals at Home: Advice from Chef Dennis Littley

• “Epicurious One” Stephanie Love Is Disrupting the Wine Industry, One Chicken Wing at a Time

Get the buzz on beekeeping from St. Petersburg resident Derek Lewis. The South African native and third-generation beekeeper is active in the Pinellas Beekeepers Association. Derek explains the importance of bees as the world’s population increases, offers advice for new beekeepers and suggests ways to make any lawn more bee-friendly.

Related episodes:

• The Buzz on Florida’s Honey Bees

• What’s Threatening Honey Bees?

• Conscious Cuisine: Edible Gardening Tips from Albert Risemberg

• It’s Always Sunny at St. Petersburg’s Brick Street Farms