The Zest – Details, episodes & analysis

Summer means graduation season, pool parties and backyard barbecues. In other words… we’re gonna need more drinks! So today we'll hear from Justin Gray, Tampa Bay chapter president of the United States Bartenders' Guild. Justin makes a case for why punch is the perfect beverage for your summer get-together. Justin makes a case for why punch is the perfect beverage for your summer get-together. He explains how punch made its way from India to the rest of the world. You’ll also learn tips for incorporating fresh Florida produce into your punch, how to keep beverages cold without them getting watered down—and the secret to a better nonalcoholic punch.

Related episodes:

• How to Make a Mocktail
• The Ultimate Beach House Menu
• T-Pain and Maxwell Britten Want to Mix You a Drink
• Chef Joe Isidori Wants You to Explore Florida’s Ethnic Food Markets
• Rum Punch Rhyme: Your Recipe for ‘Happiness and Good Vibes in a Glass’

Albert's small front and backyards are like a modern-day Garden of Eden, lush with fruit and vegetable plants, 10 bee hives for honey and an impressive composting setup. Albert even grows plants to make his own medicines. His sustainability efforts earned him the title of Gulfportian of the Year from the local newspaper, The Gabber.

Today on The Zest, Risemberg shares his journey from "miserable" aircraft mechanic to self-sustaining gardener, composter, beekeeper and yoga instructor.  He also offers tips for planting your own edible garden and advice for going green later in life.
 

Related episodes:

• Conscious Cuisine: Rob Greenfield on How to Live without Grocery Stores and Restaurants
• Florida Fruit & Vegetable Gardening 101
• Hacks to Help You Eat More Veggies
• An Urban Garden Oasis – St. Petersburg EcoVillage Farm
• It’s Always Sunny at St. Petersburg’s Brick Street Farms

Dharma Southern Kitchen is a plant-based comfort food restaurant chain with locations in Orlando, Sanford and Tampa. Founder Shaun chatted with The Zest's Andrew Lucas about how his Army-brat childhood influenced his career as a chef, the growth of vegan food in mainstream culture and why vegetable-forward options have always had a place at the Southern dinner table. 

Related Episodes:

• Vegan Boom at Florida's Theme Parks
• (I Can't Believe It's) Vegan Baking
• Hacks to Help You Eat More Veggies

Palm Beach County has a reputation for being swanky: high-end boutiques in Delray Beach, fancy restaurants along Worth Avenue in West Palm and the like.

But Lori J. Durante wanted to showcase a different side of Palm Beach County—one that featured history with an emphasis on the contributions of underrepresented groups.

So in 2004, Lori began conducting bus tours in her hometown of Delray Beach, highlighting the area’s multicultural influences.

“At the conclusion of the tour, the guests would often ask, “Where can we go to eat?” Lori recalls.

So in 2011, she launched Taste History Culinary Tours to showcase the lesser-known culinary histories of Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach and Lantana. To date, more than 10,000 people have embarked on her off-the-beaten-path excursions. Today, Lori offers an abbreviated version of the Taste History bus tour.

Related episodes:

• How Florida Became “the Birthplace of Fusion Cuisine”
• Summertime Grilling Tips for Your Best Barbecue Season Yet
• Chef Allen Susser Brings Good Mango Mojo
• How “Food Led the Way” for Cuban Influence in Tampa

In this conversation, Yacovazzi and Irwin share how food helped early Americans shape the country's identity, the role of food during wartime and what food can tell us about America's labor force.  We'll also learn the origin of Meatless Monday, why canned food is underrated and which food gets their vote for the most American of all. 

Related episodes:

• Here’s What Was Served at the *Real* First Thanksgiving
• How Florida Became "the Birthplace of Fusion Cuisine"
• Toni Tipton-Martin Celebrates African-American Chefs in ‘Jubilee’
• Rural Florida Pioneers’ Holiday Cooking
• Celebrating Grande Dame Chef Edna Lewis
• How “Food Led the Way” for Cuban Influence in Tampa
• Chef Judi Gallagher on the Lost Art of Hand-Written Recipes
• Writer Heather McPherson on What You Don’t Know About Florida Food

In our conversation, the Tampa couple share how climate change and the pandemic changed consumers' drinking habits, their favorite local restaurants for wine and advice for aspiring sommeliers.

Related episodes:

• Talking and Tasting Florida Wines
• Bern’s Steak House All-Access Tour
• Journalist Judith Smelser on Zoom Wine Tastings, Disney Sommeliers and How to Find Your Next Favorite Bottle of Wine
• Cocktails for Mom, or Anyone Who Could Use a Drink
• Meet Your New Favorite Holiday: Florida Craft Beer Day
• Bourbon 101 with Nate Wilson

This week, we’re bringing you something a bit different. Collards After Dark is an intimate evening of food and conversation that precedes the annual Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival. 

At this year’s event, Dalia facilitated a discussion between Gabrielle E. W. Carter and Dr. LaDonna Butler about the healing power of African-American culinary traditions. We also discussed seed-keeping as a form of resistance, the ritual of drinking potlikker and much more.

Ms. Carter is a cultural preservationist and co-founder of Tall Grass Food Box. It’s a community-supported agriculture model that sources produce from Black farmers in her home state of North Carolina. She also hosts community meals on her family’s homestead in Apex, N.C. You may have seen in the Netflix docuseries High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. 

Dr. Butler is founder and executive director of The Well for Life, a St. Petersburg space dedicated to mental wellness and self-care. She’s also a therapist and licensed mental health counselor.

The event was recorded on the evening of Feb. 18, 2022, in the garden of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg, before a diverse audience. The evening began with a screening of The Seeds We Keep, Carter’s short film about seed preservation and African-American land ownership.

Related episodes:

• Behind the Scenes of the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival
• Toni Tipton-Martin Celebrates African-American Chefs in ‘Jubilee’
• Zora Neale Hurston’s Foodie Life
• James Weldon Johnson’s Foodie Life