In the Weeds Podcast with Chef Spike Mendelsohn

Chef Amanda Freitag: From Burning Out to Leveling Up, She's Resilient AF

Chef Amanda Freitag didn’t just survive the old-school New York restaurant gauntlet — she thrived in it. From chaotic Jersey banquet halls to the CIA to butchering fish in the Florida Keys, she built her craft the hard way: station by station, burn by burn. She came up through Verbena, Vong, Gusto, and the legendary Harrison, shaping a cooking voice pulled from Thai flavors, Mediterranean markets, and a whole lot of late-night chef culture. In this episode, Amanda and Spike trade stories from their Tribeca days — duck-fat fries through the back door, mushroom guys showing up mid-service, saffron hustlers with dreads, and kitchens that ran on adrenaline and a thousand covers. She talks burnout, reinvention, Iron Chef prep disasters, female leadership before it had a label, why chaos feels like home, and how TV became the unexpected next act. It’s a deep dive into the craft, the grind, the heartbreak, and the strange comedy of becoming a chef in a city that never lets you coast. On The Menu This Episode: * Growing up in a loud, food-centric Jersey family where the answer to everything was “you should probably eat something.”  * Falling in love with restaurant chaos at 15: banquet halls, bar menus, and surviving the subculture. * Discovering the CIA thanks to her home-ec teacher, and entering a male-dominated kitchen world as one of the few women in her class. * Early NYC grind: Vong with Jean-Georges — French technique meets Thai flavors and a fish sauce education. * Butchering fish in the Florida Keys, getting hazed out of her chef whites, and realizing shorts were mandatory. * Verbena and Diane Forley: six years of seasonal cooking, Union Square Greenmarket runs, making bread, ice cream, everything from scratch. * A life-changing stage at L’Arpège in Paris — empty walk-ins, live frogs, and purveyors knocking at the back door. * Building the Harrison back to a two-star restaurant and creating cult classics like duck-fat fries and octopus with feta. * Chef-world nightlife: Blue Ribbon at 3AM, saffron dealers interrupting service, chefs hopping between each other’s doors. * Burnout, Brooklyn, hiding out, and learning what kind of chef she actually wanted to be. * The Empire Diner rollercoaster: red flags, Americana dreams, chaos magnets, and walking away on her own terms. * How Iron Chef America really worked — the practice, the last-minute sous chef disaster, and the chaos the producers never warned you about. * Why TV became the unexpected “restaurant after restaurants” — and why Easy AF is her true love letter to home cooks. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://linktr.ee/intheweeds.pod  🎙️🎙️ In The Weeds Podcast is proudly sponsored by:  Events DC is the official convention and sports authority for the District and a key player in making some of DC’s most exciting events and experiences happen. From world-class sports to cultural festivals and everything in between, they help power the energy of the city. Visit eventsdc.com to see what they are cooking up! DC Central Kitchen is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. The organization provides hands-on culinary job training for individuals facing high barriers to employment while creating living wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed. To learn more, please visit dccentralkitchen.org

Chef Rose Previte: No White Plates, No Rules, All Heart

Restaurateur, chef, and experience-architect Rose Previte doesn’t just run restaurants—she builds worlds. The creative force behind Compass Rose, Maydān, and the new Maydān Market in LA joins Spike to talk about crafting spaces that connect people through fire, flavor, and story. From convincing Georgian ambassadors she wasn’t a spy to fighting neighborhood boards for her liquor license, Rose shares how she turned her Sicilian-Lebanese heritage and global travels into one of DC’s most distinctive culinary voices. This episode dives into identity, hospitality, and the art of creating places that feel like home—filled with the warmth of oak smoke and za’atar. On The Menu This Episode: – The small Sicilian village where everyone shares Rose’s last name – Growing up Lebanese and Sicilian in small-town Ohio with homemade sausage in the basement – Convincing a Georgian ambassador she wasn’t a spy while trying to import cheese – Why Compass Rose was born on a Trans-Siberian train ride – The fight to open her first restaurant (and win a liquor license battle with angry neighbors) – Building Maydān around live fire and learning to let the flames lead – Why she’s reclaiming the word “chef” for the women who taught her to cook – The origin of “No White Plates” and designing experiences instead of perfect plating – Opening Maydān Market in LA and bringing her gathering-place philosophy west – Finding connection, identity, and purpose through food, travel, and story Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://linktr.ee/intheweeds.pod  🎙️🎙️ In The Weeds Podcast is proudly sponsored by:  Events DC is the official convention and sports authority for the District and a key player in making some of DC’s most exciting events and experiences happen. From world-class sports to cultural festivals and everything in between, they help power the energy of the city. Visit eventsdc.com to see what they are cooking up! DC Central Kitchen is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. The organization provides hands-on culinary job training for individuals facing high barriers to employment while creating living wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed. To learn more, please visit dccentralkitchen.org

Chefs Bryan and Michael Voltaggio: Two Brothers, One Grind, Zero Shortcuts

Today we're not just plating one powerhouse chef — we’ve got two. The Voltaggio Brothers sit down with Spike for an episode layered like a perfect terrine: humble beginnings, razor-sharp sibling banter, Michelin-level intensity, and true DMV loyalty. From banging pans in a Holiday Inn kitchen at 14 to chasing greatness across New York, West Virginia, California & back home, Bryan and Michael break down what it really takes to rise from busboy to industry icon. They talk family dinners as religion, working 100-hour weeks, learning luxury through hospitality, fabricating deer on porches to pay rent, Michelin highs, leadership lessons from Charlie Palmer, and why home — and mom’s meatballs — still matter. If you love chef origin stories with grit, humor, and brotherly smoke, tuck in. This one cooks. WHAT’S ON THE MENU THIS EPISODE: Origins & Upbringing * Grew up in Frederick, Maryland — blue-collar roots, tight family table * First jobs in a Holiday Inn kitchen — busboys turned cooks by necessity * Dinner at home was sacred — mom in the apron, family around the table Two Paths, One Hunger * Bryan heads to Culinary Institute of America * Michael earns stripes at the Greenbrier apprenticeship * One chasing prestige, the other chasing survival — same fire either way New York Grind * Sleep-deprived, broke, bunk beds in Chinatown * Early mornings, late nights, learning luxury by cooking for it * Burn the fingertips, bruise the ego, sharpen the knives Craft, Competition & Michelin Moments * California kitchens & Napa stage work * Michael earns a Michelin star at 26 * Bryan opens Charlie Palmer Steak DC and lays foundation for his own empire * Sibling support with a side of rivalry — iron sharpens iron Roots + Return * Coming home to the DMV * Dinner with mom still brings critiques and joy * Proof you can build the world and still know where you came from Life Beyond the Line * From chefs to operators, mentors, fathers, founders * Entrepreneurs who learned the hard parts: payroll, ice machines, broken dreams, rebuilt visions * Respect for hustle, respect for struggle, respect for each other Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://linktr.ee/intheweeds.pod  🎙️🎙️ In The Weeds Podcast is proudly sponsored by:  Events DC is the official convention and sports authority for the District and a key player in making some of DC’s most exciting events and experiences happen. From world-class sports to cultural festivals and everything in between, they help power the energy of the city. Visit eventsdc.com to see what they are cooking up! DC Central Kitchen is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. The organization provides hands-on culinary job training for individuals facing high barriers to employment while creating living wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed. To learn more, please visit dccentralkitchen.org

Chef Chad Rosenthal: The Smoke, The Strip & The Story In Between (plus a side of warm nuts)

From slinging ribs in the Philly suburbs to beating Bobby Flay on national TV, Chef Chad Rosenthal has built a career on smoke, soul, and a stubborn refusal to take himself too seriously. In this episode of In The Weeds, Spike and Chad trade stories about the unglamorous grind behind the grill—barbecue battles, burnt ends, kosher competitions gone sideways, and why Chad finally walked away from the pit. They talk about art school detours, the Memphis rub that changed his life, and the fine line between “hospitality nerd” and “fried-chicken lord.” It’s chef-world honesty at its funniest and most unfiltered—equal parts heart, hustle, and humor. Episode Notes -Chef Chad Rosenthal is a self-taught Philly native whose barbecue roots run deep—from backyard experiments to Beat Bobby Flay champion. -Spike and Chad swap stories about The Bear, Iron Chef, and culinary TV chaos. -Chad explains how fine-arts school (and a giant papier-mâché sperm) somehow led him to opening restaurants like The Lucky Well and Mary in Ardmore. -A deep dive into Memphis-style ribs, dry rubs, and why “room-temperature nuts” belong in culinary history. -Barbecue purism, kosher cook-offs, and the “Chicken Strip Club” at Mary—yes, that’s a thing. -Reflections on burnout, fun in the kitchen, and why good food should always come with a good laugh. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://linktr.ee/intheweeds.pod  🎙️🎙️ In The Weeds Podcast is proudly sponsored by:  Events DC is the official convention and sports authority for the District and a key player in making some of DC’s most exciting events and experiences happen. From world-class sports to cultural festivals and everything in between, they help power the energy of the city. Visit eventsdc.com to see what they are cooking up! DC Central Kitchen is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. The organization provides hands-on culinary job training for individuals facing high barriers to employment while creating living wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed. To learn more, please visit dccentralkitchen.org

Salt of the Earth: From Puffins to Pure Flakes with Gísli Grímsson of Saltverk

This week on In The Weeds Podcast, Spike sits down with Gísli Grímsson — chef, storyteller, and sustainable saltmaker from the wild Westfjords of Iceland. From a childhood spent on remote puffin islands to hand-harvesting geothermal sea salt, Gísli’s journey is one part island resilience, one part culinary innovation, and entirely fascinating. They dive deep into Icelandic traditions — puffin hunting with lacrosse-like sticks, fermented fries in Copenhagen, and how geothermal power fuels both homes and Saltverk’s evaporation tanks. Gísli explains how Iceland’s untouched nature and ancient energy sources shape the cleanest, most sustainable sea salt on earth — salt so pure, it’s found on plates at NOMA  and the best home kitchens from Reykjavík to D.C. Spike and Gísli swap stories from back-of-house chaos to volcanic landscapes, talk about how kitchens have changed from “violent” to “visionary,” and laugh through tales of lava salts and late-night Icelandic hot dogs. It’s a masterclass in craftsmanship, sustainability, and staying salty — in all the right ways. On This Episode, You Will Hear: -Puffin hunting traditions and generational Icelandic food culture -The birth of Saltverk: using geothermal energy to make pure, sustainable sea salt -How Iceland’s natural energy sources drive food innovation -Saltverk Salt and why purity matters -How the culinary world shifted from “rage kitchens” to “mentorship kitchens” -Working with top restaurants like NOMA -Using flavored salts like birch-smoked and Arctic thyme in cooking -How Icelandic food culture blends nature, preservation, and creativity Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://linktr.ee/intheweeds.pod  🎙️🎙️ In The Weeds Podcast is proudly sponsored by:  Events DC is the official convention and sports authority for the District and a key player in making some of DC’s most exciting events and experiences happen. From world-class sports to cultural festivals and everything in between, they help power the energy of the city. Visit eventsdc.com to see what they are cooking up! DC Central Kitchen is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. The organization provides hands-on culinary job training for individuals facing high barriers to employment while creating living wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed. To learn more, please visit dccentralkitchen.org