Hidden Apron Radio

This is the second installment in a special series of conversations with fellow authors of the recently published cookbook and anthology, "The New Filipino Kitchen" (available on Amazon) that features Filipino cooks, writers, and thinkers all across the globe.  We take a peek into how they view the world and their cuisine.

For this East Coast edition, we feature: 

• Katrina and Kristina Villavicencio, co-creators of the Washington DC Supper Club Timpla along with their friends Aniceto and Paolo. Their simple vision of introducing modern Filipino cuisine to the city has grown to incorporate storytelling, design, and art to educate others about Filipino culture. Their combined experiences in food service (Kristina) and art (Katrina) make them a versatile team that is able to explore multiple facets of the Filipino culture.

• Alexa Alfaro, an Alaska-born Milwaukeean who, after a 10-week trip to the Philippines, was inspired to open her city’s first Filipino Food Truck “Meat on the Street” with her younger brother in 2014. This involved dropping out of her Engineering degree but weeks from graduation. Since then, the pair have opened a brick-and-mortar slinging their famous BBQ sticks and pork adobo to the masses.

If I had to pick a single word for today’s show, it would be: Expectations.  Be it: 

• Expectations around Filipino food (looks, tastes, methods, and costs).  

• Expectations around our age and the need to balance respectful obedience and forging our own path.

• Expectations around the immigrant experience and the constant theme of sacrifice.

• Expectations around gender; something we don’t get to cover much on this show. I’m glad we talked about this topic in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the fortuity that a majority of the co-authors I’ve been touring with and are getting the much-deserved spotlight (seeing as immigrant women are the keepers of cuisine) are female.

Of note to me was how we can think about our relationships with women in and out of the kitchen and where we draw the line between demanding excellence at work and abuse.  

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For more information including notes to the show, please visit hiddenapron.com/podcast.

This is a special episode that is the first in a series of conversations with fellow authors of the recently published cookbook and anthology, "The New Filipino Kitchen" (available on Amazon) that features Filipino cooks, writers, and thinkers all across the globe.  We take a peek into how they view the world and their cuisine.

For this West Coast edition, we feature: 

• Joanne Boston (previously featured in Episode 2!), the founder of JBKollaborations, a company that creates events promoting Filipino Food at the local and national level.  Joanne has been a part of the local food scene in the Bay Area for years and has written for places like CBS San Francisco and the San Francisco Chronicle.  She’s also a full-time student and works as a medical reimbursement specialist during the day.
• Robert Menor, aka Adobo Loko.  Born in Montana and raised in Little Manila, Stockton, CA, Chef Rob is a mestizo (half Filipino and Mexican).  He’s cooked in restaurants in places like Chicago, Ohio, and all over California, bringing his unique take on Filipino food.  He’s also quite the hip hop head and “remixes” his foods to straddle the diverse experiences he’s had throughout his life.
• Rodelio Aglibot, aka the Food Buddha.  A true industry vet.  Besides opening, working in, and with several critically-acclaimed restaurants from California to Chicago to Rome, Chef Rod has hosted his own TV Show also called the Food Buddha (he talks and looks like one…if Buddha was a boisterous Filipino).  He’s been featured in the Today Show, Good Morning America, Ellen DeGeneres, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Chicago Tribune…the list goes on forever!  Chef Rod is truly a foodie’s foodie.  

We explore views that span the culinary gamut and proved again just how diverse our cuisine is.  While we spend a good amount of time on Filipino Cuisine and Culture and what this book means to us, we also take a broader look at things:

• How to inspire others, pass on knowledge, and organize communities, all while staying sane and,
• How knowing your own history empowers you to break through subconscious barriers. 

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For more information including notes to the show, please visit hiddenapron.com/podcast.

Today’s guest - in our own backyard here in NYC - is Mary Cleaver, founder of the Cleaver Co. and proprietor of the just recently reincarnated Green Table Restaurant in Chelsea Market and Table Green in Battery Park.  Mary has been living and breathing Local Food since the 80s long before it was cool at a time when it was even scoffed at for being “dirty”.  Her restaurant, the Green Table has thrived since 2003 and just this past summer has relocated to a different space (now known as Cleaver Counter) within the Chelsea Market.  Many describe her company, which also provides catering and event services as one of the most - if not the most - rigorous of its kind as a B Corporation, i.e. a business that adheres to higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.  She’s one of the most influential people not just in the local food movement but in the entire food industry as someone who’s effects you’ve probably felt, even if you aren’t familiar with her name as she hasn’t pursued what many others do: a fancy Instagrammable space, a cooking show, or a loud, male chef.     In this episode, we talk about the many facets of Local Food.  Not just why it’s important but why and how did we get to where we are today where we’re even discussing Local Food.  We talk about the history of American Agriculture and how the industry has evolved throughout the years.  This isn’t a rant against Industrial Ag but rather a clear look at why things may be the way they are and where we can go from here:    - What should we be asking of our producers?   - How can we as individuals shop better?   - How do we cut through the noise of food marketing?   - How can we leverage our (under)used power as Consumers and what are the quickest wins we can achieve today?   We also talk about her business seeing as it’s been a stalwart despite being in such a challenging industry in an equally challenging city:    - Staying relevant through the good (and bad) times - Recognizing the God of Big but also worshipping the Goddess of Smaller by taking a Values-driven approach to Growth    Bonus, we also talk about that time she took a weekend trip to New Orleans to get married.  If there was ever someone today I would listen to when it comes to what it would take for us to eat in a way that’s good for us, our communities, our planet, AND our businesses…it’s Mary.  Please enjoy this conversation with Mary Cleaver.  

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For more information including notes to the show, please visit hiddenapron.com/podcast.

Today, I talk with Isabel Moura (full disclosure: she is also my Portuguese professor), who, during my visit to Brazil, introduced me to foods beyond the stereotypical açai bowl and grilled meats.  She's a popular teacher on the Language Learning Community Platform iTalki where I met her and has over ten years of experience teaching and learning languages.  We:

- Demystify some of the misconceptions around language-learning (no you don’t have to rely on memorization),
- The systems one can use to make language learning not only efficient and effective but also personal,
- How one can create environments to learn a language even if they don’t have the resources to travel often or take intensive courses, and
- How they can apply their newfound skills abroad

Portuguese may have been the language I have dedicated the most time on but I cannot overstate just how much more delicious my experiences in food have been abroad just by learning some essential phrases.  That’s because the real food of a place is often in the homes and markets, hidden in plain sight in front of us tourists and I’m really excited to be taking this rather different look at food in today’s episode.  Então, senhoras e senhores, por favor, aproveite minha conversação com Isabel. 

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For more information including notes to the show, please visit hiddenapron.com/podcast.

Today’s guest is Cynthia Glanzberg who I first met behind the counter of a tea house on a cold, snowy New York night. We chatted tea and travel for hours and I learned about how she left a solid marketing job to hop from country to country learning about the world of tea for more than a year. She has since returned and started her company, One Tea, that sources unique teas from all over the world and creates experiences akin to a roaming tea house. She’s worked with yoga instructors, sculptors, candle makers, and yes, yours truly in an attempt to create more connections between people through the humble tea leaf while also educating them about a beverage that has deep cultural ties in many countries.

We first talk about Traveling: how to pull off long-term international travel, checking your privilege and traveling responsibly, working abroad, the value of relationships on the road, and getting comfortable with discomfort. We then do a deep dive into tea: what is it, how does one navigate the sometimes confusing terminology, and the questions to ask when buying it. We also talk about how tea can really bridge the gaps between people and their tribes by creating shared spaces. Tea can be as varied and rich as wine, even if it comes from the same plot of land and so if you’re looking for something that fuels a good conversation or Netflix binge session that isn’t alcoholic and is shared by more people around the world as the #1 consumed beverage, this episode is for you.

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For more information including notes to the show, please visit hiddenapron.com/podcast.

Today’s episode may seem like an oxymoron: Filipino Vegan Food. There’s no way around it, today’s topic can be a bit touchy to some. There’s a lot to unpack with the “V" word and I’ve seen conversations range from moralizing, purely economical, to downright bizarre. One things for sure though, the words “Vegan" and “Filipino", at first glance, seem like they’d be about as good a match as unripe mango and shrimp paste. Then you realize that shit’s actually really good! Today we have on the show RG Enriquez, the creative mind and cook behind “Astig Vegan”, one of the coolest Vegan Filipino resources online. Astig, by the way, is Filipino slang for kickass, and RG definitely lives up to the name. A former newsroom correspondent, RG’s road to a plant-based cuisine, which she’s been on for 12 years now, was a surprising one as there was no magic moment where she saw pictures of dying baby cows and swore off meat forever. She describes it as a gradual shift in palate and today, she’s helping many others taste the Filipino food they love - but made with plants - through her YouTube channel, blog, and live cooking demos.

We talk about her transition to a vegan lifestyle and why it’s actually given her more room to be creative with her cooking while exposing her to new flavors, her surprising sources of support and pushback, and some of her strategies for how to tell the story of your food, especially one that has so much cultural meaning to it that proposing a vegan version sometimes invites a violent reaction. RG is passionate about keeping the Filipino soul in Filipino Food and her inviting and compassionate nature embodied in her tagline “Kain na, Let’s eat”, is why I think she’s as successful and well-loved today. This one’s for everyone who's always wondered what it’s like to be transition into a plant-based lifestyle but also for those looking to invite more people to their dining tables.

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For more information including notes to the show, please visit hiddenapron.com/podcast.

Chef Lenny Russo is a forty year veteran of the food & beverage industry, a member of the U.S. Department of State American Chef Corps, participating chef at World Expo Milan 2015, author of "Heartland: Farm Forward Dishes of the Great Midwest", founder and owner of the seminal Heartland Restaurant in St Paul, MN, six time James Beard Award finalist nominee for Best Chef Midwest, and is currently the Executive Chef at The Commodore Bar & Restaurant in St. Paul, MN.

Chef Lenny's name has become synonymous with the local food movement in the Midwest and he has spent a majority of his career championing issues important to our food by contributing the remaining time he has when not in the kitchen to the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, the MN Organic Advisory Task Force, the Ramsey County Food and Nutrition Commission, and many other organizations tackling the biggest challenges our food systems face.  Chef Lenny's philosophy was evident in his cooking as he would change his menu every day at Heartland based on what the farmers brought him that morning, ensuring only the best possible ingredients were used. 

For the most part, Chef Lenny’s accomplishments as a chef have been widely covered internationally and a quick Google search will show he’s been written up numerous times in various food publications.  However, most don’t get to hear about his other experiences and interests.  He studied Philosophy and Literature in college, worked at an architecture firm, and was even a clinical psychologist before heading to the kitchen for good and so for this episode, we delve into the other aspects of his multi-faceted life.  We definitely talk about his early days in the kitchen and his approach to food but we also talk about:

• Food and Family as non-monetary “Wealth”
• The need to have a healthy sense of skepticism but also an open mind when trying to leave the world a better place
• The challenges but necessity of finding common ground especially during these polarized times
• Relinquishing control and having the a sense of confidence that in turn allows others to pursue their best selves
• Evolution as a Choice

It’s very easy to pigeonhole Chef Lenny into the "Chef Box" but as he once mentioned, he’s not JUST “The Local Food Guy”.  Give this one a listen all the way to the end if you’re serious about helping heal this world because I guarantee you this episode will leave you inspired, thought-provoked, or at the very least, just a little bit more inquisitive.  

Our guest is Jabber Al-Bihani who started his journey as an engineer and during a trip to Barcelona, took part in a commonplace but nevertheless transformational experience of breaking bread with complete strangers. He’s sought to recreate that experience since then through Komeeda (based on the Spanish word for “Food"), where he gathers people of varying backgrounds to share stories and food at pop-up dinners at local restaurants. The particular dinner where I met Jabber was part of a series called “Displaced Kitchens” which featured newly settled refugees who cooked recipes of their homeland while sharing the struggles they’ve faced. With immigration being a very relevant topic, these dinners - Jabber’s form of “activism” as he calls it - have served to humanize the refugee and connect Americans to people they would normally only hear about on TV.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode and many of these topics are definitely hard to discuss without getting too political. Jabber talks:

- Starting Komeeda and how food has helped heal our deeply divided society,
*Listen in particular to his story of the time a Black Lives Matter Activist sat down to share a meal with a Trump Supporter.
- Giving back and helping when things seem overwhelming; how to channel your energy and create change if marching in the streets isn’t your cup of tea,
- His experiences balancing between a conservative upbringing and a rapidly changing world,
- And the importance of questioning your own beliefs.

Most importantly we talk about just being and doing “you”, which is all we can really strive to do. Listen up and we hope you enjoy this episode!

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

OH SNAP!  We just hit our TWENTIETH episode!  Didn’t think we’d make it this far?  Well neither did we!  To the hundreds of you who have been downloading our episodes, thank you so much for tuning in.  We hope that these episodes are at the very least, educational, and hopefully, as inspirational to you as they were to us. 

This week’s episode highlights the many things that characterize Hidden Apron: tangents and twisting paths, serendipity and “success”, and not entirely being sure where the delicious roads of our lives will lead.  Our guest for today is Seth Syberg, who caught my attention at a Food Tech Connect event here in NYC with his story of how he founded, ran with, and grew his company Cocoburg.  Cocoburg produces what they call the world’s only raw, vegan, paleo, gluten-free, soy-free, Coconut Jerky, which by the way, is sourced, handled, and produced in the Philippines!  They operate under the motto: “Just Eat Real Food".  Now, you may be thinking: "OK, Seth’s probably some hipster, warrior vegan who bikes everywhere and wears Vibrams, hellbent on changing how people eat.  Well, there’s some truth to that.  He does describe his diet as "vegan-ish", bike competitively, and wants to use Cocoburg to offer people healthier snacking options BUT, he also spent two decades in the world of tech doing everything from app/database development, programming, and even teaching.  He describes himself as a complete dilettante having done things like become a car mechanic, a woodworker’s apprentice, a CTO for an e-commerce platform for small farms, and with this current venture, an entrepreneur, a label he himself did NOT realize applied to him until a year into running his company.  Now his product is in Whole Foods, retailing nationwide, and is creating lasting change for his partners in the Philippines.  

It’s a longer episode filled with a lot of unexpected turns.  We talk about:

- A programmer’s approach to recipe testing and building a business,
- How testing for failure actually led to massive success,
- The dilemma of educating consumers a product they’ve never heard of,
- Product development and the challenges of operating in the Philippines,
- Using business for good,
- And just what the hell even is Coconut Jerky?  

Seth is a great example of how there are many, many roads to your destination and you don’t have to fit the textbook formula for your given field.  Play a little!  Give this one a listen, and again, thank you for keeping us rollin' on this unexpected ride of a podcast.

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

This episode is a very special, timely, and quite unique one as rather than talking about the consumption of food, we’ll do a full 180 and talk about the abstinence from it! Many of you might be aware that we are nearing the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, and so we are joined not by one, but TWO guests!

First, we have Doha Salem, a clinical dietitian currently with North Memorial Medical Ctr., MN. She’ll cover many oft-overlooked parts of Ramadan specifically around the nutritional components of fasting:

- The physiology during a fast
- The benefits and risks
- Preparing, observing, and exiting a fast safely
- Mental preparation

If you are very familiar with Ramadan but never thought about its effects on your health or perhaps you’re thinking of going into a similar type fast, give this deeper dive a go.

Right after her is a friend of mine James Anunciacion, a husband, father, currently working in the field of Planning/Logistics for General Mills, and who actually began observing Ramadan well into his adult years. James also accomplished the amazing feat of getting himself through a lifestyle transformation program a few years back, losing over 50 lbs. in just 6 months. We talked about:

- Ramadan's cultural, mental, and spiritual meaning for him
- Balancing it with the demands of a job and a growing family
- Physical fitness
- Ramadan as a teachable moment

For those who think that Ramadan is a time to be lazy and eat a ton of greasy food when the sun sets, definitely give his talk a listen. Listening to both Doha and James’s stories will give you a unique and varied perspective on Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak!

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

If this is the first time you’re tuning in, you might want to check out the previous episode as this is part two of a two-part series with the ever-impressive Aileen Suzara, farmer, writer, collaborator, educator, and natural chef. Aileen has been recognized many times for her work not only in addressing some of the most pressing food issues affecting us today but also for strengthening relationships in her community in the process. She founded Sariwa - which means “fresh” in Tagalog - to gather community and celebrate Filipino cuisine through pop-ups, catering, and workshops. In the last episode, we covered her background and how she’s managed to integrate the many parts of her life into one cohesive story. We also covered some basic techniques to become a self-sufficient cook and her mindsets in both growing and cooking food.

In this episode, we delve a bit deeper into Sariwa and Aileen's dream to integrate food into the healthcare space. We also take a philosophical look into the theme of “Resistance” (resistance to healthy food, “inauthentic” food, etc.), maintaining presence and sanity, and the things that keep us from achieving our dreams. Like I said, this was one of my most enjoyable episodes to record and edit and I highly suggest you listen to the end as Aileen has some pretty sage advice that applies not just to food but to life itself.

Our guest for this two-part series is Aileen Suzara. Aileen is an eco-educator, writer, and natural chef who’s dabbled in everything from Pre-Med, to Environmental Work, to Food and founded Sariwa Kitchen (Sariwa = “fresh” in Tagalog), which gathers community and celebrates vibrant Filipino cuisine through pop-ups, catering, and workshops. Aileen’s backstory is wonderfully “random” being born in the Mojave Desert, spending time in the Big Island of Hawai’i, and now in California eating, in her words, “everything from Spam, bibimbap, poi, spaghetti, poke, Pop Tarts, to the plastic wrapped foods of the microwave generation”. This was an incredibly fun episode to work on as it encapsulates the multi-faceted nature of our food and the people who love it. Hidden Apron loves tangents!

This first part covers the twisting path Aileen took and I’d wager that for many of us for whom the question “what am I going to do after college or my life?” sent cold sweats down our spine, this is going to be an enlightening conversation on “tying the strings together”. We also talk about her 80/20 Rules on cooking - the things that make the biggest impact on preparing a meal - and the differences in mindset between growing food and making it. Give this one a listen and keep on the lookout for the next episode on the theme of Resistance.

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram/Twitter @hidden_apron.

Justin Garrido is the Co-Founder and CEO of Social Products, which sources organic food products from Philippine cooperative smallholder farmer partners that empower rural farmers, women, and indigenous peoples with a more sustainable way to eradicate poverty.

Justin began his journey down the road of social entrepreneurship where his interest was piqued after volunteering at a soup kitchen while still working as a director of purchasing for Aldi, a german supermarket chain. Justin made the jump from corporate, went back to school - getting an MBA at the U. of Melbourne and going on exchange to the Asian Institute of Managment, and visited the Philippines, the land of his family, with a fresh perspective. Using his experiences in school and his early forays into the space with SocialProjects.Ph, a crowdfunding platform, Justin co-founded Social Products.

This episode covers the unique space when passion and profit blend in positive ways. We talk about Justin’s multiple transitions, the big challenges in using business to “give back”, the power of storytelling especially when selling what could be considered a “commodity product”, and other often misaligned business terms that everyone…including conscious lovers of food should know: strategy, networking, margins, etc. Oftentimes many a good idea has floundered simply because the people behind it lacked the business acumen and skills required to execute the idea. If you think that “business” is a bad word that only belongs on Wall Street, give this episode a listen. It might just be the thing that makes sure the world-shaking ideas you dream up...will survive and thrive.

Isang Smith is a Licensed Massage Therapist, multi-sport athlete and coach from running (she’s won the Silver for the 800 m. and Gold for the 1500 m. during the Philippine National Open in 2015), Muay Thai, strength training, and all around badass.  She earned a BA in Psychology from Columbia University where she also competed in their Division 1 Track & Field Team.  

Her interest in Integrative Medicine came immediately after Massage Therapy and Acupuncture resolved a troublesome calf injury during her senior year track season. Inspired to learn more about these therapeutic modalities, she attended and graduated from the Swedish Institute for Massage Therapy in 2012.  She is currently attending the Tri-State College of Acupuncture for my Masters in Oriental Medicine on her journey to help athletes of all levels recover from injuries and prevent future ones. 

Paolo's been going through training lately from weights, gymnastic strength, and dance while Ricky's made the gym his second home so we wanted to get folks from the fitness and health side of things into the show this year. This is definitely an episode where you’ll hear about how food literally fuels the body and a professional athlete’s take on it.  We talk a little bit about Isang’s work, common misconceptions about health…especially around recovery, her approach to nutrition, questions you should ask before you build your nutrition plan, and how she uses sports as a way not just to empower herself but also build communities around her.  

It’s important to note that while we focus on some tactics (many quite simple and far less overwhelming than the internet makes it seem), there are some big takeaways in what Isang has to say about the mindset and approach one takes.  Also featured on the show is Lee Scantalides, also an accomplished athlete and trainer, who managed to pop in for a question or two. 

Chef Sharwin Tee is the chef and host of Curiosity Got the Chef, The Philippines’ Lifestyle Network’s first locally-produced cooking show. The show features Sharwin traveling to international and domestic locations in order to find new ingredients, techniques and inspirations for new dishes. It’s also in its sixth season, making it the longest running Filipino cooking show on cable television broadcast all over the world.

Sharwin graduated from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver, Canada and came into prominence after winning a reality cooking competition called “The Clash of the Toque-en Ones” back in 2010. Sharwin is extremely prolific and has done far more than just host a TV show. He’s taught English, cooked for celebrities and dignitaries all over the world from Abu Dhabi to Moscow, Chicago to San Francisco, owned a restaurant, and published a book.

This episode peels the curtains back on an aspect of the food industry that many of us equate with glamor and ease when it’s really a lot of work. If it came down to one thing…this episode is really about the value of curiosity and understanding “why" and how it aids in pursuing your dreams, coming up with new ideas, cultivating humility, and creating commitment.

We also talk about:
- His experiences on the road and the difficulties of being “on set”
- The responsibility of the chefs/writers/diners in the food ecosystem…especially given the rise of social media where everyone feels like they’re a critic now
- The surprising similarities between Filipino and Senegalese cuisine
- His menu creation process
- What he'd cook for President Rodrigo Duterte

Arun Motillal is an entrepreneur who helps run his family business, Galaxy Foods in Richfield, MN which has been operating for the last 28 years. They serve about 60,000 families a year and sell everything West Indian/Indo-Caribbean from actual food (jerk seasoning, ginger beer, fresh meats, etc.) to lifestyle products and religious items. Prior to that, Arun worked for Securian Financial Group as a Field Marketer for seven years and Target as a Business Process Consultant for another three-plus years

Arun has the perfect combination of economist, marketer, salesman, and philosopher in a market that we wouldn't normally consider as “perfect” yet he and his family run their business “perfectly”.

He provides a laser-like focus on how to market and present your business or passion given specific constraints and presents business complexities as simple “truths”. If you feel like the term “customer service” or a “customer-centric” approach is getting too…clichéd…definitely give this episode a listen. We also dissect the rarely questioned belief that all businesses MUST grow. It almost seems un-American to question whether your business should grow and it’s more surprising to hear someone say they’d rather focus on one location vs. figure out multi-year scaling plans. Arun provides a great answer to the question: “When is enough, enough”?

We cover:
- His background as a Guayanese and how that shaped his business.
- How the little things like product placement, packaging, down to how you stand in your store affect the customer experience.
- How to approach different demographics with the same products and services while still providing a unique experience.
- And of course more of his…”human-centric” approach to business.

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

Amy Besa is a writer, speaker, and veteran restaurateur. Together with her husband Romy, she has led her restaurants - Cendrillon in the mid-90s and Purple Yam today - into critical acclaim long before Filipino food became the latest "food trend".

Her book, Memories of Philippine Kitchens, was the first Filipino cookbook I've read and along with her many posts on social media, formed the basis for a lot of what I know about Filipino food today.

In this inspiring and heartfelt conversation recorded right in Purple Yam, Amy talks about heady and philosophical concepts such as authenticity, romance, cultural appropriation/preservation, and our responsibility to understand our food, in a simple yet profound way.

Give this episode a listen for a glimpse into one of the most hopeful and wise takes on our food today!

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

It's been a minute since I've done a solo commentary (other people are more awesome!) so switching things up a bit this time around. I recently spoke at my day job about my work around food: why people should cook and how we can start cooking. I cover the things I've done to make cooking easier, more fun, and more effective personally and during our Hidden Apron dinners. A lot of the ideas here are not original at all but I think many of them often get overlooked for flashier "cooking show" content that isn't designed to set up beginners and busy folk for success in their kitchens. If you've always wanted to start cooking but find it too daunting/difficult/unnecessary, listen on as I touch on everything from:

- Why we eat the way we eat in America
- The bare minimum kitchen essentials (emphasis on minimum)
- The problem with how recipes are written today and the ONE recipe you need
- A different (read: more fundamental) way to look at cooking
- Tackling the weekly dinner

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

Most people know Josh as the long-haired wunderkind who captured hearts while competing as a finalist on Season 2 of Master Chef Junior. What most people are unaware of is Josh's near-obsessive love for food and wisdom that's beyond his years.

Gracing us with his presence on our 10th episode, Josh shares with us how he found opportunities to chase his dreams, his unique approach to cooking and eating food, why we all need to cook, and why adults' perceptions of kids are the very thing keeping kids from having a truly healthy (and delicious!) relationship with food and their kitchens.

When not doing homework, Josh is working in some of the most prestigious kitchens across the nation (and even in Paris!), throwing down at various food & wine festivals (NYC, SoBe, Hawaii, etc.), and cooking the family dinner 4x a week. Want a mind-blowing look at how kids can transform the way we eat? Listen on!

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

Eric is a fourth-generation back-to-the-land farmer. Eric grows hops under his company Mighty Axe Hops and is selling to top breweries in Minnesota from Fulton Beer, Day Block Brewing, and more.

Inspired by the ideas of educators/farmers Eduard Lindeman & Wendell Berry, he designed a first of its kind cooking and food systems course and contributed to a Food Systems Major, among the first in the country while he was studying at the University of MN. During these experiences at University, Eric was a founding member of Urban Oasis, a sustainable food center, which won a competitive $1 million grant award to bring cooking classes, an incubator kitchen, and locally-sourced catering to Saint Paul's East Side communities. He then started Sandbox Center for Regenerative Entrepreneurship, a beginning farmer incubator to address America's need for new farmers. He currently serves as a Vice Curator of the Minneapolis Hub of the Global Shapers, facilitator of Minnesota Young Food Professionals, and board member at Environmental Initiative. He is a TEDx Speaker, Minneapolis Saint Paul Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honoree.

His first book, "A Collection of Sorts", which explores the complex beauty in the life of a young farmer, is in progress.

We cover: his current operations in hops, how he got started in farming, creating a major while he was in college, the need for there to be more (and younger farmers), and much more.

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

We're back in business and sharing this conversation that's been years in the making! I first reached out to Hillary back when I was looking to start my own blog and we've just recently re-connected to talk about her experiences both in blogging and her current day hustle as Chicory's Marketing Manager.

It's a double whammy of an episode as we cover the basics of blogging - what are the biggest drivers of "success" (it's the little things!), and some things to consider before you enter the fray - as well as how data can change the way we buy food, cook, and eat via Chicory's technology that allows people to shop their favorite recipes online.

This is a must listen for bloggers who are struggling to find a consistent practice (ie. me) as well as data geeks (ie. also me) out there who want to see how data-driven insights can revolutionize everything from recipe development to how brands create food products.

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron.

 

 

 

I met Chelsey during a happy hour full of us run-of-the-mill accountants but it was clear she was anything but ordinary. Starting out with little more than a blog, Instagram account, and her tiny New York kitchen, she now fields dozens of orders for her insane specialty cakes, has thousands of Instagram followers, and has been featured on Food Network's Snapchat account. Aside from a day job and baking, Chelsey somehow manages to find the time (and energy) to train and compete in half marathons and Ironman competitions. This was a really refreshing episode to record due to Chelsey's simple and easygoing approach to baking (and life in general). If you've always been intimated by the deadly combination of flour, salt, water, and your oven...not to mention never having enough time...this episode is a must!

We talk about:
- how she taught herself how to bake
- what the most important baking skill is
- growing an social media presence
- on balance, taking breaks, and maintaining the love for a side hustle without wanting it to be your full time gig

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Ayesha Vera-Yu, social entrepreneur and nerd farmer. Check out our first episode that covers her forays into organic farming but if you don't mind jumping into the middle of the action, listen on!

We talk about:
- what to consider when buying "organic"
- the poverty mindset and why education is key to lifting rural farmers out of poverty
- a more equitable, compassionate, and healthy way to shop/cook/eat
- staying centered and sane while doing emotional and back-breaking work

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast, contact us at hiddenapron@gmail.com, or catch us on Instagram @hidden_apron

This the first of our Commentary Episodes which we'll alternate releases with our usual interviews. Our hope is that through these shorter, commute-friendly episodes, we can bring the latest news in the food world to you without you having to sift through the deluge out there. After all, information overload is just as big, if not bigger, a problem than the lack thereof!

For this first one, I'm sharing my experiences at the Just Food Conference which covered a range of topics aimed at finding ways to make healthy, local food available to underserved communities, thus helping create more just societies. Needless to say the day was inspiring, thought-provoking, and forced me to confront some of the most pressing issues facing food today at the local level.

Listen on for a short recap on how changemakers are preventing burnout, youth are addressing food deserts, farmers are using food to end racism, and what the "local food movement" should really mean.  Be sure to check out the show notes for links to the groundbreaking work these folks are doing!

Lola Rosa’s MN is comprised of two sets of brothers - Mike & Erick Ervas + Ryan & Randy Limbag - who also happen to be cousins to each other who decided to get into the catering/pop-up food scene shortly after their lola (grandmother) passed away. Almost overnight, they were slingin’ their fusion Filipino street food (think chicken adobo baos, pork belly “Cebuanos” [a twist on Cubanos]) at large-scale events and was just recently named as one of the most surprising things that happened in the Twin Cities food scene by Eater. Sold out event on top of their day gigs in banking, teaching, hospitality, and music!

We talk about:
- what aspects of the food business they had to learn on their own and what they had to ask for help for
- balancing their many obligations including newborns, graduating college, and day jobs
- how they became successful despite their “un-traditional” approach to cultural food
- their advice in finding people to support your dreams...even if they aren't family

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast.

Joanne Boston is a born connector of people especially when it involves food. She started out like most bloggers covering her own dining adventures but moved on to banding people together and providing chefs with the necessary market to test out the menus they’ve always wanted to cook. She’s helped organize massive food festivals in the Bay Area and is now the force behind the Filipino Food Movement and Savor Filipino Instagram accounts which have grown exponentially over a short period of time. No matter the channel, Joanne’s found a way to band people together in the shared art of feasting.

We talk about:
- how to start and grow communities whether online or in-person
- having the confidence to practice your craft despite all the noise on the internet and the dreaded “Comments” section
- leveraging writing and social media to cultivate and democratize dialog
- what Filipino food looks like all around the world

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast.

My first guest on the show was one of my earliest collaborators and really stretches the boundaries of what a “moveable feast” means. Yana Gilbuena, who calls herself a “gypsy chef” of sorts, completed 50 pop-up dinners in all 50 states within a year. A task that most would consider completely insane since at times she didn’t even know where she would be sleeping at night. Through her critically-acclaimed “SALO Series”, she’s now bringing regional Filipino cuisine around the world.

We cover:
- transitioning from her job as a designer into the world of cooking (with little professional training at that!)
- the minimum skills and equipment you’d need to learn to cook for yourself and others
- what the concept of “dining” really means
- introducing new flavors to people who have never tasted them before and doing it successfully

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast.

This is the first episode for Hidden Apron Radio and is the result of many attempts to try and tell the rich stories that people have shared with us since we've begun our food-filled journey. Rather than attempting to summarize it into the written word, we wanted to let them speak directly to you via this podcast. You'll get the chance to hear from a broad range of people: grizzled veterans, caterers, bloggers, farmers, restaurateurs, and regular home cooks. They'll cover everything from quick kitchen tips and tricks, advice on running a side hustle, the cultural aspects of food, behind-the-scenes (or kitchen?) sentiments on how our food gets to our plate, and many more gustatory topics.

For this first episode, I’ll quickly summarize why we decide to start this podcast and what we’d like to see out of it: more appreciation for the food we eat and for everyone in the world to feel confident in becoming chefs in their own right. Think of this as setting the stage and guiding all our future episodes.

More information can be found at hiddenapron.com/podcast.