The Zest (WUSF Public Media)

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

You might call it the most magical food blog on earth. Disney Food Blog, along with its accompanying YouTube and social media channels, is the uber-popular destination for Disney food news. Want to know the best Disney World restaurant for vegetarians, or how to get a birthday cake delivered to your room at a Disney hotel? DFB’s got you covered. In fact, the blog offers news, reviews and photos of anything food-related at Disney’s parks, resorts, events, cruise ships and even movies. Dalia recently spoke with Disney Food Blog’s owner and executive editor, AJ Wolfe, for her best Dis ney World dining tips. AJ’s blog has no official affiliation with the Disney company, so she’s not afraid to tell you which dining experiences are beauties and which are beasts.

Related episodes:

• Chef Art Smith Talks Politics: “Fried Chicken Takes No Sides”
• Season 2 Finale: Disney Dining Tips and an Announcement from Robin
• Vegan Food Boom at Florida’s Theme Parks

Dalia chats with Donnie Gallagher, founder of Florida Craft Beer Day and co-host of the podcast Craft Brews and Geek News. Donnie explains what makes Florida’s craft beer scene unique, offers advice for aspiring home brewers and shares why he believes the craft beer craze is just getting started. Then Dalia quizzes Donnie on ridiculous craft beer names to see if he can guess which ones are fake.

Thirsty for more? Check out these other beer-related episodes:

• History of Beer with Rodney Kite-Powell 
• Craft Beer Tasting Explained

If you've ever dreamed of starting a community garden, then you'll want to take notes on this episode.

Just north of the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus is an urban oasis: Harvest Hope Park. The 7-acre park is a sanctuary for residents, with a playground, sports fields, fitness stations, walking trail, tilapia fishing pond and more. It all started eight years ago with the park’s first feature: Harvest Hope Community Garden.

Sarah Combs is executive director/CEO of the University Area Community Development Corporation, which oversees the garden. Derek Laracuente and Harvest Hope Community Garden volunteer.

Dalia recently visited with them to learn how to garden got up  and running, challenges along the way and advice for anyone looking to start and sustain a community garden.

Let’s start with a classic: The Cuban sandwich. A soon-to-be-released book will explore its history and popularity around the world. University of South Florida Professor Barbara Cruz is one of the book’s co-authors. She was born in Cuba. And she says the sandwich has always been part of her life. 

Besides the Cuban sandwich, what other foods did Tampa’s early Cuban residents bring with them? For answers, we turn to Andy Huse. He’s a librarian and archivist at the University of South Florida and an expert on Tampa food history. 

Huse, Cruz and food writer Jeff Houck are co-authors of the upcoming book The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers.

Related episodes:

• A Gasparilla Primer (featuring USF librarian Andy Huse)
• Singing Praises for Neighborhood Stores (featuring the hilarious Jeff Houck)
• The Cuban Sandwich: Our National Treasure
• Food Memories of Latin America
• Café con Leche: Tampa History in a Cup

When most people think of Florida, their mind conjures up images of beaches or Disney World—maybe alligators or the latest Florida Man headline. But there was a time when Florida was synonymous with one thing: citrus. Florida was the country’s leading citrus producer, outranking even California. 

So, what happened? Yes, citrus greening is partly to blame. But that’s not the whole story. 

For answers, today we’ll be hearing from The Zest’s web and social media guru, Chandler Balkcom. He’s a second-year grad student studying history at the University of South Florida. He’s also a former student of Dr. Gary Mormino, who is an author, historian and Professor Emeritus in the USF Florida Studies program. 

Chandler asked Dr. Mormino to walk us through some of the key moments for Florida citrus, including its origins, how World War 2 led to the development of orange juice concentrate and Dr. Mormino’s predictions for the future of Florida’s citrus industry.

Related episodes:

• Florida Fruit & Vegetable Gardening 101
• Food Memories of Latin America
• The Man Behind the Robert Is Here Fruit Stand
• Students Dish on Dorm Food, Meal Prep and Cooking in College

Wintertime is when many Florida fruits and vegetables are at their peak. So we think it’s the perfect time to catch up with Gail Eggeman. She’s co-founder and manager of the St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market, where each week thousands of visitors shop for produce, craft items and a lot more. Gail chats about the market's early days, her food heroes and why bargain hunters like myself should stop haggling at farmers markets.

Related episodes:

• Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin on Her Cookbook, “St. Pete Eats”
• The Man Behind the Robert Is Here Fruit Stand
• Hacks to Help You Eat More Veggies
• Tips for Grocery Service Delivery Success

As the war in Ukraine continues, meet a Ukrainian couple bringing a taste of their homeland to Florida. Oksana Petrova and her husband, Sergiy Petrov, own Oksa Cakes Bakery & Bistro in Flagler Beach. Oksana discusses her favorite Ukrainian delicacies and how the war has affected their business. 

Related episodes:

• Talking Seoul Food with Miami’s 2 Korean Girls
• Halal Food 101 with Florida’s Halal Food Guru
• Chef Alain Lemaire on Florida’s Haitian Cuisine
• Lamb, Baklava & Family: Going Greek in Tarpon Springs
• Chef Joe Isidori Wants You to Explore Florida’s Ethnic Food Markets

Mamey, which opened in August 2020, is an island-inspired eatery, with menu items like Jamaican short rib empanadas, Key West pink shrimp taquitos and key lime cheesecake flan. Orno, which opened in October 2021, focuses on New American cuisine; think wood-roasted summer squash, grass-fed ribeye and Alaskan halibut.

The seemingly disparate menus have something in common. Both feature ingredients from Niven’s two-acre Homestead farm, Rancho Patel.

In this conversation, Niven and his business partner Mohamed Alkassar chat with Dalia about which vegetables are worth growing yourself and which are better to buy, how to create a restaurant that appeals to both locals and tourists, and why okra is underrated. The guys also lament a precious menu item that's gone missing, and Dalia speculates that their clam dealer may be up to no good.

Related episodes:

• Florida Fruit & Vegetable Gardening 101
• Talking Seoul Food with Miami’s 2 Korean Girls
• Halal Food 101 with Florida’s Halal Food Guru
• Zak the Baker Keeps It Kosher

Florida’s official hurricane season is June 1 to Nov. 30. But things really ramp up during peak season, which is between mid-August and late-October, according to the Florida State University’s Florida Climate Center.

So if your hurricane kit isn’t quite ready for a major storm, fear not. There’s still time to stock up on supplies. And when it comes to food, this week’s guest can help you think outside of the soup can.

Friend of the pod Janet Keeler is the former longtime food editor for the Tampa Bay Times and current current freelance editor for the personal finance website The Penny Hoarder. So she knows a thing or two about prepping your hurricane food kit on a budget. Here’s the cheat sheet:

1. Take this seriously.
2. Assess your household’s needs.
3. Start now.
4. Do some reconnaissance.
5. Ban together.
6. Buy what you’ll actually eat.
7. Lower the bar.
8. Prepare for a power outage.
9. Think like a camper.
10. Grill what you've got.
11. Figure out where you’ll get your protein.
12. Beware of salty-sweet snacks.
13. Buy more water than you think you’ll need.
14. Shop the aisles.
15. Buy some last-minute produce.
16. Respect the power of comfort foods.
17. Remember non-food items.
18. Preserve hand-written recipes.
19. Prep for the worst.
20. Hope for the best.

Related episodes:

• Cocktails for Hurricane Season
• How to Photograph Food Like a Pro
• Chef Judy Gallagher on the Lost Art of Hand-Written Recipes
• Summertime Grilling Tips for Your Best Barbecue Season Yet
• No Recipe? No Problem: How to Cook Using Your Intuition

Winter is prime growing season in Florida. And each February, thousands of folks from across descend upon the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum to celebrate one crop in particular: collard greens. This year’s Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival is set for Saturday, Feb. 19 at the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg. There’ll be plant giveaways, nutrition seminars, a collard green cook-off and more. But the significance of the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival goes far beyond the leafy vegetables. The event attracts around 3,000 people of all ages and races to the historically Black neighborhood of South St. Petersburg, making it a celebration of diversity. Heading into the festival’s fifth year, Dalia chatted with festival cofounders Boyzell Hosey and Samantha Harris. Boyzell starts by explaining how the event came to be. Listen to the end to learn who this year’s headliner will be.

Related episodes:

• Toni Tipton-Martin Celebrates African-American Chefs in “Jubilee”
• How Chef Edouardo Jordan’s St. Pete Roots Gave Him a “Chitlins State of Mind”
• Documentary Explores Tampa Bay’s Black-Owned Restaurants
• It’s Always Sunny at St. Petersburg’s Brick Street Farms
• Hacks to Help You Eat More Veggies

It’s our season 3 finale, and unlike most of this season’s conversations, today’s episode was not recorded from Dalia’s bedroom closet. We bring you a fascinating look into the role food played in Salvador Dalí’s life and work. We’re sharing a recording of a presentation by Peter Tush, who is curator of education of the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg. Peter gave the talk in April via Zoom as part of the Epicurean Delights series presented by Florida CraftArt.

Peter’s talk covers: eating, how food became symbolic for Dalí, cannibalism, edible architecture, digestion/excretion and the Dalí cookbook/dining. The Dalí cookbook Les dîners de Gala is available for purchase in the Dalí Museum store. 

Related episodes:

• Zora Neale Hurston’s Foodie Life
• A Feast for the Eyes at Café Gala

For many of us, summer is reading season. Whether you’re indulging in a beach read or delving into something meatier on a plane ride, a good book goes great with a drink.

So to kick off season 6, we're chatting with Terra Dunham, who owns Book + Bottle. It's a combination bookstore/wine bar in downtown St. Petersburg. The shop’s Readers and Drinkers Circle is a quarterly book and wine pairing subscription. So Terra knows just what to drink with a good beach read.

Related episodes:

• Mermosa Founder Desiree Noisette Makes Wine – and History
• Journalist Judith Smelser on Zoom Wine Tastings, Disney Sommeliers and How to Find Your Next Favorite Bottle of Wine
• Conscious Cuisine: Husband-and-Wife Master Sommeliers Andrew McNamara and Emily Pickral on How Climate Change Affects Wine

Chef Art Smith has cooked for presidents and governors, the Dalai Lama and the royal family. He also spent a decade as personal chef to Oprah Winfrey; frequent appearances on her show made him a household name. Regardless of celebrity status or political party, Smith says nearly everybody has one thing in common: a love of Southern cuisine. He says comfort food helps us let down our guard and find common ground. 

The two-time James Beard Award winner showcases his appreciation for Southern food at his Disney Springs restaurant, Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' Florida Kitchen. He also developed the menu for Splitsville, an upscale bowling alley in Tampa. Smith spoke to The Zest’s Dalia Colón from his home in Jasper, North Florida, where he lives with his husband, Jesús, and their four children.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Over his career, Greg Baker worked his way up from teenage dishwasher to a six-time James Beard Award nominated chef. Greg is perhaps best known as the chef behind The Refinery, a popular farm-to-table restaurant in Tampa’s Seminole Heights neighborhood that he owned from 2010 to 2019 with his wife, Michelle Baker. He loves how a plate of food can make someone happy. 

But for Greg and countless others in the restaurant industry, the work often has the opposite effect. Greg says it’s no coincidence that his industry is a breeding ground for serious issues, like mental health struggles, substance abuse and even suicide. In our conversation, Greg opens up about his own struggles and suggests ways to make things a little better, whether you’re a restaurant worker or customer. 

If you enjoyed this conversation with Greg, then you may also enjoy these episodes:

•  Taco Bus Founder Rene Valenzuela on Cinco de Mayo, His Life-Changing Accident & What’s Next
• Beer Kulture Raises the Bar for Diversity in Craft Beverage Industry
• Chef Judi Gallagher on the Lost Art of Hand-Written Recipes

When you picture a farm, what comes to mind? Acres of crops? Wide open spaces? Well, you’re about to meet a farmer who’s updating that image for the 21st century. 

Shannon O’Malley is the co-founder and CEO of Brick Street Farms in St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District. It’s a hydroponic farm that uses climate-controlled shipping containers to grow produce. In our conversation, Shannon shares why she and her husband Brad Doyle started Brick Street Farms, why many chefs prefer their kale to other brands and how Brick Street 5vegetables ended up in hundreds of Publix supermarkets.

Check out these related episodes:

• Hacks to Help You Eat More Veggies
• Florida Fruit & Vegetable Gardening 101
• Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin on Her Cookbook, “St. Pete Eats”

If you’re a longtime Florida foodie, then you can probably rattle off the names of some James Beard Award winners from the Sunshine State. The James Beard Awards started in 1990, to recognize the country’s best restaurants, chefs, food writers and others in the culinary world. A sprinkling of Floridians have been honored recently. But in the big categories like Best New Restaurant and Outstanding Chef, it’s been crickets. At least one food writer says that’s no coincidence. 

Eric Barton is a Miami-based freelance journalist who writes about food for Flamingo, a Florida lifestyle magazine. He’s also a former James Beard Awards judge. In a Flamingo article, Eric cites a few reasons for the supposed snubs.

Eric is here to break down how the judging works, why winning this award is so important for restaurants in the first place and what can be done to make the contest more fair. He’ll also offer his picks for the best Florida restaurants that he says deserve a second look.

In 2019, Alexandria Jones set out on a mission: to interview owners of a handful of black-owned eateries across Tampa Bay. She turned those interviews into a half-hour documentary called A Soulful Taste: Exploring Tampa Bay's Black-Owned Food Scene. In February of this year, Alex uploaded the video to YouTube, where you can watch the film in its entirety. Alex often writes about food on her blog, The Frugalista Life. She’s also a freelance food writer for Creative Loafing. Those connections came in handy when it came time to select restaurant owners to interview for the film, as Alex explained to The Zest’s Dalia Colón.

Plus, lots of us have rediscovered the art of home cooking lately. Along with that, we've been reading a lot of recipes. The Zest's correspondent Janet Keeler offers some advice.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from  Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

For young athletes who are serious about their sport, granola bars and orange slices just won’t do. Bradenton is home to IMG Academy, a boarding school where elite middle and high school athletes live, study, train and of course eat. The campus also welcomes college athletes, pros and amateur adults. Jackie Barcal is IMG’s head of nutrition. She spoke with The Zest’s Dalia Colón about how to fuel young athletes and offered tips for the rest of us.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Majorie Kinnan Rawlings’ memoir Cross Creek reads like a time capsule of life in rural Florida. Published in 1942, the book became an instant classic for its descriptions of natural beauty, farm life and 1930s race relations in the hamlet of Cross Creek, located between Gainesville and Ocala. Much of the book centered around food, so a natural follow-up that same year was Cross Creek Cookery.  

To mark the cookbook’s 80th anniversary, food journalist Jeff Houck wrote about Cross Creek Cookery for the summer 2022 issue of Edible Tampa Bay. He recently visited our Tampa studio to offer his reflections.

Related interviews:

• Zora Neale Hurston’s Foodie Life
• James Weldon Johnson’s Foodie Life
• Grits, Gravy and Pie: Florida Cracker Cooking
• Singing Praises for Neighborhood Stores

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

Congratulations. You saw the title of this episode. You know it’s all about how to eat more vegetables. And you’re still here! We promise, it’s worth it. 

Today we'll hear from two experts from the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, better known as UF/IFAS. IFAS has county extension offices across the state, and they’re a great resource for growing and cooking healthy foods. Carol Leffler and Anne Yasalonis share meal-prep tips and even gardening hacks to help you eat—and actually enjoy—more vegetables. We’ll also talk about how to get kids on board with eating veggies and how to never throw away another bag of soggy salad greens.

For details on the hacks discussed in this episode, check out these conversations:

• Florida Fruit & Vegetable Gardening 101
• Pantry Staples to Help You Cook More Often

In the last couple of years, the harvest of wild caught oysters has gone down by half.  But the amount of farmed oysters has doubled in that time. And there’s definitely a market demand for the shellfish, so aqua farmers are trying out more areas of Florida to grow oysters – outside of Apalachicola, which is where you usually think of oysters growing.

Brian Rosseger is one of these pioneering oyster farmers. Last year, He and his wife started their small business, Lost Coast Oyster Company,  in Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve at the mouth of Tampa Bay. It’s a very labor-intensive process. Reporter Jessica Meszaros recently took a ride with Brian deep into the mangroves as he worked on his floating farm.  

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from  Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Dayanny de la Cruz is the executive chef of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens—the site of this year's Super Bowl on February 2nd. As the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs prepare for a showdown on the football field, Chef D, as she's known, is busy prepping for her own role on Super Bowl Sunday: feeding everyone in the building, from fans and media to halftime entertainers and the athletes themselves. De La Cruz is employed by Centerplate, a company that handles food and beverages for hundreds of venues across North America and the UK. The Dominican-born chef is the first female to lead a Super Bowl's food program. She spoke to The Zest's producer, Dalia Colón, about what's on the menu for game day and how you can score a touchdown with your own Super Bowl party food.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

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

For many of us, saving money at the supermarket is top of mind. So we reached out to Dr. Maria Portelos-Rometo, who teaches a variety of food-related classes at the UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, including Grocery Shopping for Your Health. She has also written a series of blog posts titled Saving Money at the Grocery Store. In this conversation, Portelos-Rometo, offers advice for saving money on groceries.

Related episodes:

• Tips for Grocery Service Delivery Success
• Conscious Cuisine: Chef Justin Timineri of Fresh From Florida Offers Ideas for Eating What’s in Season
• Conscious Cuisine: Rob Greenfield on How to Live without Grocery Stores and Restaurants

Kevin Godbee and Lori Brown are the force behind StPetersburgFoodies.com. They’re the hosts of the St. Petersburg Foodies podcast; they’ve got lots of dedicated fans on social media; and their Facebook group, St. Petersburg Foodies Restaurant Reviews, boasts more than 14 thousand followers. Kevin and Lori are respected in the food scene because they get out into the community, they frequent the restaurants that they write about, and they eat with gusto! They gave us their personal recommendations for their favorite St. Petersburg downtown and beachside restaurants, plus revealed the winners of this year’s St. Petersburg Foodies Restaurant awards, chosen by their readers and listeners.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from  Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Have you found yourself wanting to bake bread while you’re quarantining? Christina Cann, owner of Gulf Coast Sourdough, says it’s a real thing. Hundreds of people have asked her for some sourdough starter over the last several weeks. Part of the reason is that so many people are baking bread that there’s been a run on instant yeast at the stores, and it’s hard to find right now. But sourdough uses wild yeast for leavening, and wild yeast are all around us. Christina says eating sourdough bread is like taking a bite of history.

You’ll find Christina’s recipe for sourdough bread on our website, thezestpodcast.com.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from  Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

There may be a lot to dislike about 2020, but on the positive side,  lots of people have taken up gardening!  This includes The Zest’s producer, Dalia Colón, who’s had her share of gardening fails in the past. But she’s ready to give it another try, with advice from Robert Bowden. He’s the executive director of Harry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando. It’s a 50-acre botanical garden that's home to thousands of ornamental flowers, fruit and vegetable plants. Bowden is also the author of Florida Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles. He spoke to Dalia about gardening do’s and don’ts, the best plants for beginners and what’s unique about gardening in Florida.

Seafood is big business in Florida, with an annual economic impact of more than $400 million. That’s according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. So how do we make sure all this valuable seafood is sustainable? What are the best and worst fish to choose? The short answer is: It’s complicated. Here to offer guidance is Angela Collins. She’s a Florida Sea Grant Agent with the University of Florida IFAS Extension.

Bryon White is a self-professed “plant nerd.” Growing up in New Smyrna Beach on Florida’s east coast, he got curious about the grove of yaupon holly bushes across the street from his family’s home. So about a decade ago, Bryon did what any plant nerd would do: He turned to books. He learned that yaupon is native to the American Southeast, and that indigenous cultures have been brewing it for thousands of years. So Bryon got his younger brother, Kyle, on board—and the two got cookin’. 

Today, Bryon and Kyle White are the cofounders of Yaupon Brothers American Tea Co. Their tea comes in flavors like lavender coconut, citrus spice and Florida chai. Yaupon Brothers is one of a small handful of businesses marketing the caffeinated plant to folks who want an energy boost without the jitters that coffee sometimes brings. Bryon and Kyle have also worked with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Science to develop yaupon as a supplemental crop for farmers struggling with citrus greening. The brothers and their small staff operate out of Edgewater, just a few miles from where they grew up—and thousands of miles from Asia and Africa, where the majority of the world’s tea originates. 

Bryon and Kyle chat with host Dalia Colón about the benefits of drinking yaupon, what it tastes like and how their company gives back to Yaupon’s Native American roots. You may hear some wine when Brian is speaking. That’s because he was calling in from a field in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he’s working on a yaupon-related project. More on that later.

If you enjoyed this conversation, then check out these related interviews:

• Café con Leche: Tampa History in a Cup (season 1, episode 12)
• Get Local with an Indigenous Cookbook (season 1, episode 25)

The Orlando area has been experiencing an explosion of great restaurants. When there are so many choices, the Orlando Sentinel's Foodie Awards can point you toward some interesting local places to try. Amy Drew Thompson  is the Orlando Sentinel's multimedia food reporter, and 2020 was her first year of taking on the gargantuan task of singling out restaurants in 50 different categories.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from  Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Judi Gallagher has a passion for preserving her family’s hand-written recipes. The Sarasota chef says cooking and baking have been therapeutic during some of the most challenging times in her life, including a tough childhood with her father who suffered from mental illness, a contentious divorce and her adult son’s debilitating health condition. So for Judi, her family’s hand-written recipes are more valuable than a pound of saffron or the rarest white truffles. 

Judi is a chef, TV personality, entrepreneur and the author of Reflections & Recipes of Chef Judi. In our conversation, Judi shared the story of how she started baking as a young girl and advice for preserving your own treasured recipes.

You can read much more of Judi’s incredible life story in Dalia's profile of her. It appears in the summer issue of FORUM, the magazine of Florida Humanities.

Hungry for more? Check out these related episodes:

• Zora Neale Hurston’s Foodie Life
• Genie Milgrom: Recipes of My 15 Grandmothers
• La Dolce Vita: Peach Cobbler, The New Pie & Edible Cookie Dough

Miami has Little Haiti and Little Havana. Orlando has Little Vietnam. And in Northern Pinellas County, you’ll find an ethnic enclave like no other: Tarpon Springs. In the late 1800s, Greek immigrants established the town’s sponge-diving industry. Today, visitors flock to Tarpon Springs not only to buy sponges but also to sample the authentic Greek food. Mykonos restaurant has been a Tarpon Springs institution since 1992. The Zest's Dalia Colón chats with the restaurant's founder, Andreas Salivaras, and his granddaughter, Nichole Pastis, about Greek food and being in business as a family.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from  Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

This week on the Zest, we get our families involved in showing off some holiday traditions. Dalia's daughter, Norah Colón,  helps us make reindeer cookies; I'm following my father around as he makes smoked mullet; and WUSF reporters let us in on some treasured recipes.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Listen right here or at TheZestPodcast.com.

Jeff Houck is a former newspaper reporter and food writer at the  old Tampa Tribune,  and is now the marketing and public relations director for Columbia Restaurant Group in Tampa. Jeff has lately become enamored of local, mom and pop convenience stores around the Tampa Bay area, and has been documenting them in his own pithy, humorous style.

Isabel Laessig is the creator of  Sunday Supper Media, a network that connects social media influencers with food and wine companies seeking publicity. Brands like Certified Angus Beef, Cabot Cheese and the Florida Strawberry Growers Association have enlisted Isabel’s team to promote their products. Her own  Instagram page, @FamilyFoodie, has tens of thousands of followers. Getting paid to eat and post pictures of food sounds like a sweet gig—but aspiring food influencers should steer clear of the pitfalls, as Isabel explained to our producer, Dalia Colón.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Dr. Steven Masley lives a pretty good life. He lives half the year in St. Petersburg, and then spends the rest of his time cruising the Mediterranean in his sailboat. He sails from port to port exploring the local outdoor markets, shopping for the freshest ingredients, and asking the experts -- the fishmongers and produce vendors -- about family recipes and the best ways to prepare the seafood, lean meat, vegetable or bean dishes. He compiled his research into his new book, The Mediterranean Method: Your Complete Plan to Harness the Power of the Healthiest Diet on the Planet.

Dr. Masley shared his recipes for White Fish Ceviche with Avocado, Mango, and Tomato; and for Pears Poached with Wine and Cinnamon. You can find them on our website, thezestpodcast.com.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Long before the Ritz-Carlton or the Four Seasons, there was the Tampa Bay Hotel. Railroad giant Henry Plant founded the hotel, which operated from 1891 to 1932 and served as a playground for the rich and famous. Today, the former Tampa Bay Hotel is home of the Henry B. Plant Museum on the University of Tampa campus. I stopped by the museum to learn who stayed there, what they ate and lessons their fancy-schmancy meals can teach us today. In this conversation, you'll hear from Lindsay Huban, Susan Carter and Melissa Sullebarger of the Henry B. Plant Museum.

Related episodes:

• How Plant City Became the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World
• James Weldon Johnson’s Foodie Life
• Grits, Gravy and Pie: Florida Cracker Cooking

When you’re in Miami, it’s easy to find a Cuban sandwich… and wash it down with a cup of Cuban coffee. But Jennifer and Michele Kaminski were craving something different— more along the lines of the Korean food they grew up eating. So the sisters started a ghost kitchen. That’s a restaurant that’s available only for delivery and takeout. They called in 2 Korean Girls, and it’s generating big buzz in South Florida. I recently spoke with Jennifer and Michele about the foods that remind them of childhood and the role 2 Korean Girls plays in the movement to stop Asian hate. 

Related episodes:

• Chef Allen Susser Brings Good Mango Mojo
• Chef Joe Isidori Wants You to Explore Florida’s Ethnic Food Markets

For some of us, eating halal food is about discovering our new favorite falafel cart. But for the nearly 2 billion Muslims around the world, halal food is a way of life. Regardless of which camp you fall into, the restaurant reviewer known as the Halal Food Guru wants you to have a place at the table.  The Orlando-based blogger and YouTuber chatted about which foods qualify as halal, his picks for Florida’s best halal restaurants and how food can help create cultural allies.

Related episodes:

• Food Blogger Ricky Ly on Orlando’s “Tasty Chomps”
• Miami's Spice Guru on Flavors of the Middle East
• Chef Joe Isidori Wants You to Explore Florida’s Ethnic Food Markets

And she always looks fabulous. Her Instagram account, @OutdoorsyDiva, is worth a follow for the outfits alone. We  figured someone so glam probably enjoys some pretty amazing meals, even while she’s roughing it. So we recently spoke with Lauren about how she got into adventure blogging and how we can all eat better in the great outdoors.

Related episodes:

• Fresh Florida Oysters
• The Ultimate Beach House Menu
• Summertime Grilling Tips for Your Best Barbecue Season Yet

There’s no shortage of key lime pie joints in Key West—but we're pretty sure only Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Shoppe has been name-checked on Jeopardy! Dalia chats with the owner, Kermit Carpenter, about how he got into the business, what distinguishes his pies from the rest of the pack, what’s so special about key limes and his celebrity customers.

If you liked our conversation with Kermit Carpenter, then check out these other sweet interviews:

• La Dolce Vita: Peach Cobbler, The New Pie & Edible Cookie Dough (season 1, episode 8)
• Author Lucy Burdette Mixes Mystery & Key West Cuisine (season 1, episode 21)

There's an official-looking decal on the fridge at work. It says: "Hurricane Evacuation Plan: Grab beer. Run like hell."

It's true! Before a hurricane hits, people do tend to stock up on alcohol. (Also strawberry Pop-Tarts, according to Walmart.) So this hurricane season, while we're out picking up batteries and bottled water, let's plan ahead and gather supplies for some festive-feeling, stress-reducing, storm-themed cocktails. For recipes, Robin spoke to Jeannie Weaver, owner and chief mixologist at Revival, a craft cocktail bar in downtown Lakeland.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from  Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

There’s an old Jewish joke with a kernel of truth that’s supposed to sum up the Jewish holidays: “They tried to kill us; we won; let’s eat.” It’s an oversimplification of the very real connection between Jewish history, culture and tradition, and food.

Genie Milgrom of Miami had a life that was changed and shaped by that connection – even before she was aware of it. Her family escaped from Fidel Castro’s Cuba to Miami in 1960, and she was raised a devout Catholic. But as she recounts in her memoir “My 15 Grandmothers,” she always felt a mysterious pull toward Judaism.  After much study and searching, her genealogical research led her back hundreds of years to her Jewish ancestors from a village in western Spain. She learned that although the terror of the Inquisition forced her family to practice Catholicism in the open, they carried their Judaism with them in secret, including their dietary customs.

If you can’t stand the heat… then grab a glass of milk. We’re spicing things up with Michele Northrup, better known as the Saucy Queen.

Whether you love spicy food, or you feel your mouth burning when you hear a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I think you’ll enjoy today’s conversation. Michele Northrup owns Intensity Academy hot sauce company and co-produces the annual I Like It Hot! Festival. 

This year’s event takes place Sept. 10 and 11 at the Largo Event Center. I visited Michele at her home in Tampa’s Northdale neighborhood to discuss her favorite ways to spice up a meal. She also also offered advice for introducing spicy foods to kids and for cooling down your mouth if things get a bit too intense. Speaking of intense, stick around for the taste test at the end of the episode. Thanks to Michele’s husband, Atlas Cortecero, for assisting with that.

Related episodes:

• “Burger Beast” Sef Gonzalez on Florida’s Best Hamburgers
• Real-Life Willy Wonka: Meet Peter Behringer of Sweet Pete’s in Jacksonville
• Come Fry With Me: Florida State Fair Funnel Cake Queen “Mama Jane” Harris

For Deborah Keller of Tallahassee, the world is her oyster. After a 29-year career with The Nature Conservancy, Deborah turned her attention to sustainable shellfish. Nicknamed the OysterMom, she has been farming and selling fresh oysters for nearly a decade.

In this interview, the conservationist describes the impact of climate change and hurricanes on oystering. She also explains the far-reaching economic impact of Florida’s oyster industry, recounts the bureaucratic red tape she encountered along the way and describes the serenity and stress she experiences on oyster harvesting day.

And of course, we had to ask Deborah about her favorite way to eat oysters.

Related episodes:

• Conscious Cuisine: How to Choose Sustainable Seafood
• Dive into Florida’s Spiny Lobster Season
• Conscious Cuisine: Chef Justin Timineri of Fresh From Florida Offers Ideas for Eating What’s in Season
• Chef Tenney Flynn’s Love Affair with The Deep End of Flavor

We had a great turnout for last weekend’s event at Sweetwater Organic Community Farm! We appreciate everyone who joined us to sample local honey, taste mead and participate in a live taping of The Zest podcast. To cap off our series on honey bees, Robin Sussingham interviewed apiary inspector Becky Dineen and urban beekeeper Josh Harris in front of a live audience.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Alain Lamaire is executive chef and co-owner of Sensory Delights Catering in Pembroke Pines. You may also recognize him from Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen and Chopped. In this conversation, he discusses foods that reminds him of home, why Haitians eat pumpkin soup on New Year's Day and how to be a better ally to Florida's Haitian community.

Related episodes:

• Talking Seoul Food with Miami’s 2 Korean Girls
• How Florida Become “the Birthplace of Fusion Cuisine”
• Chef Joe Isidori Wants You to Explore Florida’s Ethnic Food Markets
• Food Blogger Ricky Ly on Orlando’s “Tasty Chomps”
• Halal Food 101 with Florida’s Halal Food Guru

Season two of the Zest starts in mid April. But community is what we're all about -- and we're all craving some community right now.  

So, I wanted to check in with you. Let you know we're here. We're cooking for our families, we're trying to keep our immunity up, we're trying to support our local restaurants. And food is still and always a huge part of our lives.

Today, I'm bringing you a conversation with Michelle Stark, the food and lifestyle editor of the Tampa Bay Times. Michelle's been writing about how to eat well, even when we're eating emergency supplies. She tells us the number one things we need to remember when we're stocking up on non-perishables.

We'll be back with more stories in the coming days -- stories that connect us. Because food brings us together. By the way, if you do have canned chickpeas in supply, we've got Michael Solomonov's recipe for 5 minute hummus on our website, TheZestPodcast.com.

And we'd LOVE to hear how you're doing, and how you're feeding yourself and your loved ones during this crisis. Let us know at our Facebook page.  

The Florida State Fair will look a little different this year, due to the pandemic. But one thing remains the same: The food will be as over-the-top as ever. As usual, serving up your deep-fried favorites will be Jane Harris, better known as Mama Jane. She’s worked with The Best Around Concessions for more than 35 years. The Cape Coral-based company is owned by the McGrath family, and they have trailers selling everything from turkey legs to corn on the cob. But it’s Jane, who manages the funnel cake trailer, who’s become a media darling and fried dough virtuoso. Jane lives in Pensacola and travels to fairs across the U.S. and Canada about eight months out of the year. 

I spoke to Jane as she revved up to hit the Florida State Fair in Tampa. It kicks off today and runs through May 2. In our conversation, Mama Jane shares how to recreate fair food at home, she offers an approximate timeline for when some of your favorite fair foods were likely invented, and we’ll brainstorm names for her latest fried creation.

Hungry for more? Check out these conversations that celebrate guilty pleasures:

• “Burger Beast” Sef Gonzalez on Florida’s Best Hamburgers
• Real-Life Willy Wonka: Meet Peter Behringer of Sweet Pete’s in Jacksonville

He’s a little bit foodie, and a little bit rock ‘n roll. This week, we’re catching up with musician-turned-MasterChef contestant Derrick Fox.

The Fort Myers native graduated from Estero High School and went on to enjoy a career as a drummer with the Naples-based rock band Later Days. After years of touring, Derrick recently put away his drumsticks in favor of his other passion: cooking. He now works as a private chef, splitting his time between Dallas, Fort Myers and Los Angeles—where he competed twice on reality cooking competition show MasterChef. In season 6, he was a runner-up. And in season 12, he tied for seventh place. While Derrick didn’t bring home the trophy, he parlayed his stint on the show into a podcast called A Bunch of Losers with Derrick Fox.

On his podcast, Derrick interviews also-rans from reality TV competitions while they all drink from mugs with a FOX emoji. At the end of each episode, he puts guests through a blind taste test—because whether he’s making music, competing on a reality show or dreaming up new creations for his dessert brand, Epic Mega Cookie Company, Derrick is a foodie at heart.

Dalia recently chatted with Derrick Fox, a.k.a., Derrick Peltz, about how his music career prepared him to be a chef, and what home cooks can learn from the MasterChef kitchen.

As we head into Mother’s Day weekend, our guest is Derek Shaffer. And before you get all “What does a dude know about what moms like?!,” You should know that Derek is a bartender at CW’s Gin Joint in downtown Tampa. He’s seen plenty of moms order drinks, and he’s observed some trends about what they like. In our conversation, Derek shares ideas for treating Mom to a cocktail or mocktail hour that won’t leave her washing dishes on her special day. We also recognize that Mother’s Day can be painful for some people. If that’s your situation, then we hope this episode inspires you to honor someone else special, or just do something nice for yourself.

If you enjoyed this conversation, then we’d recommend these chasers:

• Cocktails for Hurricane Season
• Bourbon 101 with Nate Wilson
• Sipping Sunset Gin at St. Petersburg Distillery
• How to Make a Mocktail
• Rum Punch Rhyme: Your Recipe for ‘Happiness and Good Vibes in a Glass’

How do you become an expert on Florida food? Heather McPherson spent decades as food editor at the Orlando Sentinel. She’s an author and editor of several cookbooks showcasing Florida’s seafood and produce; she’s the publicist for the famous Floridian Chef Art Smith; and she lends her writing talent to the Florida Dairy Farmers, and to Edible Orlando magazine, among other venues. Plus, she’s an energetic advocate for Florida farmers.

If you want to eat healthier in the new year, you’ve gotta eat more home-cooked meals. So says Wendy Wesley. She’s a registered and licensed dietitian and nutritionist in St. Petersburg. Wendy says the more efficient you are in the kitchen, the more likely you are to actually cook. She shares her list of 14 tips to help us do just that.

If you enjoyed this conversation, then check out our previous interview with Wendy Wesley about how to eliminate barriers that keep us from cooking at home.

When you think of Florida foods, what comes to mind—maybe grouper sandwiches or key lime pie? What about the spices of Little Haiti or the Greek flavors of Tarpon Springs? 

Chef Joe Isidori wants us to experience it all. The Michelin Star chef hails from the Bronx, New York, where practically every cuisine on the planet is just a subway stop away. Joe also gives props to Florida for its diverse cuisine, and he says our state’s ethnic grocery stores are home to some of the freshest, most exciting foods anywhere. 

Joe’s love of global cooking is at the heart of his Mexican-inspired restaurant, Jotoro Kitchen + Tequila Bar. We spoke last fall, just days before the restaurant’s November opening in Tampa’s Sparkman Wharf dining and entertainment complex. If you listen closely, you can hear the crew bustling around during our interview. Joe reminisces about the foods of his New York Italian childhood, he shares why Florida’s food scene deserves respect, and he offers advice for navigating Florida’s ethnic food markets.

Want more international flavors in Florida? Check out these past episodes:

• Miami’s Spice Guru on Flavors of the Middle East
• Lamb, Baklava & Family: Going Greek in Tarpon Springs

Get ready to fill up your calendar with some foodie field trips, because this week’s guest is Kristen Hare. Her book "100 Things to Do in Tampa Bay Before You Die" is now in its third edition—and many of the entries are food-related. There’s something for everyone, whether you live in Tampa Bay r you’re starting a list of places to check out the next time you find yourself passing through. I recently visited Kristen at her home in Lithia, where she shared her favorites, from breakfast to burgers to what she called - quote - "the best Cuban sandwich of my life."

Related interviews:

• Singing Praises for Neighborhood Stores
• The Cuban Sandwich—Our National Treasure
• Rum Punch Rhyme: Your Recipe for ‘Happiness and Good Vibes in a Glass’

We always love digging into food history, so we’re excited to welcome back friend of the pod Dr. Frederick Douglass Opie. He’s an author and professor of history and foodways at Babson College outside of Boston. Among the courses he teaches is African History and Foodways. We always learn something from Dr. Opie, and he has the best stories. 

In this conversation, he explains the African roots of Southern staples like watermelon, beans and rice, and Coca-Cola. He also details how enslaved Africans brought their farming techniques and cooking methods to America, and how Reconstruction-era politics led to racist food stereotypes that persist today.

Related episodes:

• James Weldon Johnson’s Foodie Life
• Zora Neale Hurston’s Foodie Life
• Toni Tipton-Martin Celebrates African-American Chefs in ‘Jubilee’
• Two USF Professors Offer a Crash Course in American Food History

What's the perfect beach house menu? Nothing fancy, nothing complicated. But you'd want it to be good enough to share with friends. 

For ideas, Robin talked to Mary Kay Andrews, a prolific novelist who grew up in St. Petersburg and whose more recent books have names like Summer Rental, Beach Town and Sunset Beach. Last year, she came out with The Beach House Cookbook: Easy, Breezy Recipes with a Southern Accent.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Michelle Bernstein started cooking fusion food dishes long before “fusion” was a buzzword. The Miami chef, restaurant owner and TV personality made a name for herself combining flavors and techniques from her Latin-Jewish heritage. And it works. In 2008, the James Beard Foundation recognized her as the best chef in the South. In this conversation with The Zest producer Dalia Colón, Bernstein discusses how her Latin-Jewish heritage influences how she cooks, her favorite South Florida food trends and the restaurant meals she's missing during the pandemic.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from  Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more ,available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

4 Rivers Smokehouse regional manager Nick West recounts the touching origin story, shares the latest barbecue trends and offers tips for your next cookout.

Related episodes:

• New Ways to Barbecue
• Bern’s Steak House All-Access Tour
• Get to Know Pitmaster Lee Ann Whippen
• Roll Up Your Sleeves for Some SERIOUS BBQ at DR. BBQ!
• Summertime Grilling Tips for Your Best Barbecue Season Yet
• The Art and Legacy of the Local Butcher Shop

Avera Wynne spent 30 years as an urban planner—a good job that paid for his barbecue habit. This certified barbecue judge now has his own line of seasoning blends called Zest Coast. Avera talks about when to use gas and when to use charcoal, plus he gives us his number one tip for grilling like a pro. Robin also asked him where the name Avera comes from, and it turns out there’s a connection to North Carolina and the Civil War.

Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit gummies for the kids, organic coffee and more. Available in supermarkets, health food stores or online at Seitenbacher.com.

Here’s something you may not have learned in history class: The original Underground Railroad traveled from North to South. For reasons our guest will explain, during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Spanish Florida offered refuge to people fleeing enslavement from British colonies. 

So what does this have to do with food? Well, the mingling of Spanish settlers, free Blacks and indigenous people in St. Augustine led to some pretty unique ways of eating whose influence shows up on our plates even today. That’s why our guest, historian Andrew Batten of Florida Living History, says Florida is the birthplace of fusion cuisine.

For more Florida food history, check out these previous episodes of The Zest:

• The Real First Thanksgiving
• Zora Neale Hurston's Foodie Life
• Toni Tipton-Martin Celebrates African-American  Chefs in "Jubilee"