The Ultimate Dish – Details, episodes & analysis

In today's episode, we chat with Dave Beran, chef and owner of Pasjoli, a James Beard Award Finalist for Best New Restaurant, celebrated for its classic French cuisine and fresh California produce. 

Chef Dave’s culinary rise began in Chicago, where he worked at MK, Tru, and Alinea, eventually becoming Chef de Cuisine. He later opened Next, earning 14 four-star Chicago Tribune ratings and a James Beard Award. In 2017, Dave moved to Los Angeles, opening Dialogue, which earned a Michelin star and was named one of America’s Best New Restaurants by GQ. By 2019, he launched Pasjoli, cementing his status as a leading culinary innovator.

Join us as we explore Chef Dave's experiences in launching world-class restaurants, how he develops cutting-edge menu items, and his involvement with the hit TV show, FX’s The Bear.

In today's episode, we sit down with Chef Kelly Whitaker, the owner of Id Est and a James Beard Award-Winner for Outstanding Restaurateur.

Chef Kelly shares how his travels abroad inspired him to launch Id Est and its acclaimed restaurants, including Basta and Denver’s Wolf's Tailor, named one of Bon Appétit’s top ten best new restaurants in the U.S. He also expanded his ventures with Dry Storage in Boulder, BRUTØ, and Hey Kiddo in Denver. Additionally, Chef Kelly founded the Noble Grain Alliance to promote domestically milled grains. He emphasizes that his driving force is using his “voice as a chef” to champion zero-waste cooking and sustainability practices.

Join us as we explore Chef Kelly's secrets to balancing a thriving career, his efforts to redefine the traditional kitchen environment, and the importance of keeping the "line cook mentality" alive

In today’s episode, we speak with Daphne Oz, Emmy Award-winning television host, New York Times-bestselling author, natural foods chef, and daughter of Dr. Oz.

As a previous co-host at The Good Dish and ABC’s The Chew, Daphne dives into what it takes to start a career in TV hosting and her best social media tips. With features in notable publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, Daphne shares more about her distinct culinary philosophy, advocating confidence-boosting recipes with healthy twists. This is reflected in her latest cookbook, Eat Your Heart Out: All-Fun, No-Fuss Food to Celebrate Eating Clean. 

Listen as Daphne talks about what she’s learned from being a judge on MasterChef Junior, auditioning to become a TV host, and managing life as a content creator. 

Chef Charles Carroll is an award winning-author, eight-time Culinary Olympian, speaker, producer, and Executive Chef of River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas.

Charles has traveled the world mentoring and speaking to chefs, students, and culinary professionals. He has received over ninety national and international awards, including chapter Chef of the Year in 1988, 2005 and the American Culinary Federation President’s Medallion four times.

In 2011 and 2013, Charles organized Operation Honoring Our Troops. With 21 celebrities and a support team, he raised $450,000, produced 8 shows and fed 8,000 troops a home-cooked meal in the middle of a war zone in Afghanistan. He later received the Honorable Order of Saint Martin Award from the US Army for his support of the soldiers based in the Middle East.

Listen as we chat with Chef Charles about mentorship, managing a country club kitchen, service, and the current state of the culinary industry.

Chef Curtis Duffy is the Executive Chef and owner of Ever, his latest two-Michelin star restaurant in Chicago. 

Chef Curtis has built several world-renowned restaurants. His previous restaurant, “Avenues at The Peninsula Hotel Chicago”, earned two Michelin stars, and “Grace” received two Michelin stars in its first year and three Michelin stars the next four years in a row. 

He won the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef, Great Lakes Award in 2016, as well as numerous accolades including the Forbes Travel Guide’s Five-Star rating and AAA’s Five-Diamond rating. At Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, a $25,000 scholarship in Chef Curtis's name is awarded.

Listen as we chat with Chef Curtis about his philosophy on cooking, running a Michelin star restaurant, charity, and his journey to the top of the culinary industry.

Chef Austin Yancey is the CEO and Founder of Elite Personal Chefs, a platform where high-level culinary professionals can offer their services to clients. 

Before founding his company, Chef Austin served as a culinary instructor at Le Cordon Bleu, Kendall College, and Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. He also held a chef role at the world-renowned 3-Michelin-star restaurant Alinea in Chicago. 

Listen as we chat with Chef Austin about working in a Michelin star restaurant, his experience teaching and mentoring young chefs, and the opportunities that exist for culinarians in the private chef world.

Lance McWhorter is the Executive Chef and Owner of Culture ETX restaurant in eastern Texas.

After leaving the military, Lance returned to his love of cooking where he found success as an entrepreneur and competitor. He was a contestant on the Food Network’s Chopped, and more recently the local winner of the prestigious Cochon 555 competition.

Listen as we chat with Lance about adjusting to life after the military, launching a restaurant, winning cooking competitions, and the importance of service.

Tiffany Moore is a U.S. Army Veteran, entrepreneur, and co-owner of the exquisite Event Hall @ Cascade, located in South West Atlanta.

While deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Tiffany suffered an injury downrange that required multiple cervical spine surgeries and rendered her unable to walk for a time. Doctors told her that due to the injury, she would never be able to open a restaurant or work in the culinary industry, since it demands significant physical labor.

However, through sheer grit and determination, Tiffany was able to graduate with honors from Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in 2019 and win multiple grants to start her very own restaurant, Lola Pecan.

Listen as we chat with Tiffany about starting a restaurant, culinary education, adjusting to civilian life after the military, and how to achieve your goals despite overwhelming setbacks.

Greg Bell is an author, motivational speaker, and founder of Water The Bamboo® Center For Leadership.

He is the author of the books Water The Bamboo: Unleashing The Potential Of Teams And Individuals and What's Going Well? The Question That Changes Everything, which outline his philosophy of patience in the process of growth.

Greg is also a Certified Speaking Professional - the highest earned designation from the National Speakers Association - in addition to being a TEDx Talk alum and an advisory board member for the Portland TEDx conference series.

He has worked with Fortune 500 companies like Nike, Disney, and Comcast, sports teams such as Oregon Ducks Football, Gonzaga Bulldogs Basketball, and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, as well as Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. 

Listen as we chat with Greg about the keys to success in relationships, leadership, and business.

Robert Danhi is a research chef, educator, TV show host, and award-winning cookbook author.

An expert in Southeast Asian cuisine, Chef Robert was the host of Taste of Vietnam, a globally-broadcast, 26-episode TV docuseries that highlighted culinary traditions throughout each of the provinces in Vietnam. He was also a judge on Top Chef Vietnam.

His book Southeast Asian Flavors: Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, & Singapore was also a finalist for a James Beard award. Currently, Robert's work is focused on Flavor360, a multimedia software platform for research chefs to capture the flavor experience of food.

Listen as we chat with Robert about traveling through Southeast Asia, eel soup, R&D, culinary education, and using technology to innovate in the culinary industry.