Culinary Characters Unlocked

Chef Zach Midgett on why he left the legendary French Laundry to cook in Lincoln, Nebraska

When he was in his teens, Zach Midgett found a refuge from problems at home by working in a suburban Philadelphia restaurant. He started as a dishwasher, fell in love with kitchen life, soon was promoted to cook on the line, and rose to the top of the culinary world when he was hired at legendary chef Thomas Keller’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant in northern California, The French Laundry, where he worked his way up to sous chef.  Then, he made a move many in the food world might find inexplicable—he relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska where, as Executive Chef at Casa Bovina restaurant, he is bringing exquisite, elevated dining to a place where he says one of the challenges is convincing local diners to try something new. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

BONUS EPISODE—2026 James Beard Award Winning Chefs Sarah Thompson, Dave Baren, and Nok Suntaranon

On this special bonus episode, we revisit great conversations with three chefs who just won James Beard awards. Nok Suntaranon’s Thai restaurant Kalaya won 2026 Outstanding Restaurant. Alinea veteran Dave Beran was named Best Chef California for what he’s doing at his L.A. restaurant Seline, and Sarah Thompson won Best Chef Southwest for her cooking at coastal Mexican restaurant Casa Playa in Las Vegas.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Chef Lonie Murdock on reimagining Caribbean cooking with dishes like Oxtail Wagyu and feeding the Obamas

Chef Lonie Murdock learned to cook from her Jamaican grandmother. After years in other professions, she opened a Caribbean popup in Toronto, turned it into a highly successful restaurant with a menu of elevated Caribbean classics, then expanded to Washington D.C, where she’s doing Caribbean with a twist, and where the Obamas dined on date night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Foraging chef /owner David Jackman of a Bon Appétit 2025 Best New Restaurant

Canadian chef David Jackman faced hurdle after hurdle getting to cook in the U.S., from being unable to afford culinary school to problems getting a visa that would allow him to work in American restaurants. But he persevered, starting a pop up with his wife and building it into a brick and mortar, Wildweed. His menu features unique and creative dishes made from what he calls “wildcrafted” local ingredients sourced from local farmers and cheesemakers, even some he forages for. Wildweed has been named a 2025 Best New restaurant by Bon Appétit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Chef Ellie Parker on winning Hell’s Kitchen and her new job as an Executive Chef for Gordon Ramsey

Chef Ellie Parker grew up in Las Vegas where she’s had a meteoric culinary career—cooking on the strip at age 17, helping Martha Stewart open her first restaurant, Executive Chef of a celebrated steakhouse at 25, then Hell’s Kitchen champion, and now running one of Gordon Ramsey's kitchens. She talks about it all—and explains how to make the perfect steak at home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]