Kitchen Chat® – Margaret McSweeney – Details, episodes & analysis

Join host Margaret McSweeney for a special Tea Themed episode of Kitchen Chat: A Taste of Luxury, History and Hospitality with the true American Masters of Tea and Hospitality Harney & Sons. Visit: https://www.harney.com/.

Margaret attended the prestigious Chicago Tea Festival, and into a world of refined elegance and storied heritage for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Michael Harney, the Master Tea Blender of the iconic Harney & Sons. Michael Harney is the author of the greatly respected book The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea, a compendium of the fifty-six teas every tea connoisseur should know. On this special episode, Margaret celebrates the journey of a family-led tea empire that has redefined the luxury of hospitality, exploring the perfect synergy between global sourcing and the art of welcoming with the perfect brew. In 1983, John Harney, Michael's father, officially launched Harney & Sons. Harney & Sons now reaches tea enthusiasts on all seven continents, including Antarctica. Harney & Sons masterfully blends the finest tea, artisanal quality with a legacy of impeccable service. Margaret's conversation with Michael Harney explores how the firm translates their family's philosophy of "mouth-filling umami" and timeless hospitality into every tin. She also discovers the brand's most celebrated blends, including the romantic Paris tea and the brisk, high-altitude Havakai Frost, while delving into the nuances of tea sourcing from the gardens of Japan and China. What is your favorite blend of Harney & Sons Tea?

Savor the day!

✅ Be sure and visit https://www.KitchenChat.info for more interviews and recipes. 

Subscribe to the KitchenChat audio podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kitchen-chat-margaret-mcsweeney/id447185040 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3PpcTPpvHEh8eOMfDUm8I9  or Webtalkradio: htps://www.Webtalkradio.com.  

This podcast is also available on Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire Stick streaming devices. Download the Experts and Authors App and go to the Kitchen Chat series page or visit: https://www.Expertsandauthors.tv 

Welcome to a special Kitchen Chat® featuring luxury home kitchens. Host Margaret McSweeney returns to one of her all-time favorite locations for this landmark episode: the historic The Brazilian Court in Palm Beach.  Joining Margaret is Stacy McCarthy, CMKBD. As a Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer and a Kitchen and Bath Magazine 2025 Innovator of the Year, Stacy's mastery lies in the "transition"—specializing in seamless interior renovations for families navigating significant life challenges. This episode offers a compelling look at the essential framework of modern design, moving beyond fleeting trends to discuss the resurgence of natural woods, the deliberate use of bold color, and the sophisticated evolution of 1970s-inspired aesthetics.

If you are "reimagining your kitchen," today's show will help provide some insights into working with a designer and making your dream into a reality.

Savor the day!

Welcome to a special edition of Kitchen Chat: A Taste of Luxury, History, and Hospitality. Host Margaret McSweeney takes you to the heart of London's Mayfair, a place synonymous with timeless elegance, to visit the incomparable Brown's Hotel, a Rocco Forte Property, https://www.roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/brown-s-hotel/

Brown's is more than just a hotel; it's a living piece of history, where the past whispers from every corner. Founded in 1837, this is London's very first hotel, and its legacy is rich with stories. It's where Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book, and where Alexander Graham Bell made Britain's first-ever telephone call. Today, this historic landmark has been impeccably reimagined, blending its iconic heritage with a modern culinary spirit.

This episode will feature highlights from Margaret's Kitchen Chat last summer with her friend, Chef Ross Sneddon, Regional Executive Pastry Chef for Rocco Forte (including The Balmoral and Brown's Hotel). During her visit to London this summer, Margaret and May Wong visited with Chef Ross to sample the popular Mayfair Bun which is now available at Brown's.

Inspired by centuries of British baking tradition yet entirely its own, the Mayfair Bun is a delicate balance of indulgence and restraint. Baked in beeswax, draped in honey, and dusted with floral bee pollen, it offers a subtle sweetness that lingers without overpowering. The honey used in the Mayfair Bun is sourced from the award-winning Rhug Estate in North Wales, where bees forage freely among wildflowers in the Dee Valley. The result is a naturally floral honey with subtle notes of citrus and heather.

This pastry is a tribute to the hotel's address at 33 Albemarle Street in Mayfair. Each Mayfair bun features 33 delicate layers of pastry and only 33 of these buns are baked and sold each day, with £1 from each sale benefiting Bees for Development, https://www.beesfordevelopment.org/about-us/ a charity dedicated to beekeeping and biodiversity. Get ready to experience the perfect blend of luxury, history, and hospitality as we celebrate a true London icon.

Remember, every episode of Kitchen Chat can be heard on all podcast platforms and NOW heard on The Great British Tea Party on Facebook., https://www.facebook.com/GreatBritishTeaParty/

Savor the day!

✅ Be sure and visit KitchenChat.info for more interviews and recipes.

Subscribe to the KitchenChat audio podcast:

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kitchen-chat-margaret-mcsweeney/id447185040
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3PpcTPpvHEh8eOMfDUm8I9
• Webtalkradio: Webtalkradio.com

This podcast is also available on Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire Stick streaming devices. Download the Experts and Authors App and go to the Kitchen Chat series page or visit: www.Expertsandauthors.tv 

Do you want more confidence at the grill? Today's guest, Chef Matthew Eads shares recipes and tips from his cookbook Grill Seeker: Basic Training for Everyday Grilling As a U.S. Marine for thirteen years, Chef Matt knows firsthand about basic training. He recently joined Chef Jaime Laurita and me in the Middleby Residential showroom at the Merchandise Mart for a Kitchen Chat.

"Hockey mimics life.  It's important to stay mentally focused no matter if the momentum changes." Daniel Carcillo, two time Stanley Cup winner, formerly with Chicago Blackhawks Unexpected blows in life can happen to us all.  However, unexpected blows in the hockey rink can change the course of one's life after the game.  

Daniel Carcillo shares how he is helping  athletes pave a new path to better assimilation in life after they stop playing.   Chef Jaime Laurita and I spoke with Carcillo during the National Restaurant Show where he was signing hockey pucks and taking photos with fans at the Middleby booth.

Food is sport, especially at the IKA/Culinary Olympics.  Chef Stafford DeCambra, President of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) has brought home 11 gold medals.  Recently, Chef Jaime Laurita and I had a pop-up Kitchen Chat with Chef DeCambra at Middleby's booth at the National Restaurant Show.  

ACF is celebrating its 90th birthday this year.  Founded in 1929 by  a group of chefs, ACF certifies the chefs at all levels, including Master Chefs.  In addition, ACF provides culinary schools with accreditation. Having grown up in Oahu, Chef DeCambra's key life ingredients are Ohana and Mana.  

Ohana is the special Hawaiian word for family and Mana means spiritual energy.  He truly exemplifies the Spirit of Aloha, which is hospitality and graciousness.

You never know where my Kitchen Chat journey will bring me.  Recently, I attended an incredible Mastermind Group in the South Florida TikiHut of Fred Fishback.  What was extra special about this meeting is that Fred's father and my father were both stationed in Nuremberg post World War II after Fred's father valiantly served our country during that war.  My brother sent a photo to me and it appears that Fred's father and my father are both in that picture! As you know, the reason I began my Kitchen Chat culinary journey is to honor my late father.  Meeting Fred is truly a hug from heaven.  And it was great to meet Fred's friend, Chris Gannon, founder of Bolay, who provided a delicious and most memorable meal to the Mastermind attendees.

During his visit to Chicago for National Restaurant Show, Chris Gannon filmed a Kitchen Chat with Chef Jaime and me at the Middleby booth.  If you are an entrepreneur, you will learn some great insights into growing your own business and if you are a foodie, you will discover Bolay, a great fast casual restaurant group that Chris Gannon created to be a healthier option with nutrient rich foods.

On today's Kitchen Chat®, we will learn about the technology and commercial equipment in the restaurants and how that impacts the way we cook at home.  

Chef Jaime Laurita and I did a pop-up Kitchen Chat in the Middleby Residential booth at the National Restaurant Show and interviewed Tim FitzGerald, CEO of Middleby Corporation and David Brewer, COO of Middleby Corporation.  Middleby is one of the largest commercial and kitchen residential equipment manufacturers in the world.

It's kitchen confession time..... I grew up in the South and never actually made biscuits. My dear friend Chef Carla Hall along with Chadwick Boyd recently brought Biscuit Time to Kitchen Chat!

How fun to learn how to make biscuits alongside Chef Jaime Laurita in the beautiful Viking and La Cornue Middleby Residential showroom at the Merchandise Mart.  Biting into a hot biscuit brought back tastes of my childhood and the delicious food that my father would make.

This is a Kitchen Chat you will want to keep as a tutorial on how to make the perfect biscuits every time.  And of course you have the best teachers ever with Chef Carla and Chadwick.  They are our biscuit buddies!

In 2012, Jen Hidinger-Kendrick's husband, Chef Ryan Hidinger was diagnosed with late stage terminal cancer of the gallbladder. Friends, family and the Atlanta community rallied behind her family and raised over $300,000.  Jen said that this outpouring gave Ryan a peace of mind and that the community's overwhelming response to the Hidingers' crisis set the intent, beliefs and values for the Giving Kitchen. "Tragedy hit and crisis hit for us.  But what happened after that really is what changed the trajectory we believe of the restaurant and food service industry of what we are seeing now with the work we are doing with Giving Kitchen."  

Giving Kitchen is an Atlanta based non-profit that offers stability including financial aid to food service workers in times of crisis such as sickness, injury, death of immediate family member, and national disaster in addition to other programs. And, Giving Kitchen is the 2019 James Beard Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year.