Culinary Characters Unlocked

Chef Christina Theofilos on opening a Greek restaurant and bakery with no culinary background at all and then being singled out for a Michelin Guide award

Christina Theofilos was raised in a Greek-American family in Tampa, learning to cook Greek specialties from her mother and her yiayia (Greek for grandmother). After graduating from Notre Dame and spending some time in California, she returned home and, disappointed by the Greek restaurants there, decided to open one of her own, even though she had never even worked in a restaurant before. She called it Psomi, Greek for bread. It quickly became a big success, earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and she was named a Michelin Guide Young Chef award winner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Double Episode – Third generation owner Dino Figaretti on his James Beard award winning Italian restaurant and importer Nate Bradley answers every question about olive oil

Dino Figaretti’s nearly 80-year-old Italian restaurant in West Virginia was born from his great grandmother’s homemade pasta sauce. Now it’s been named a 2026 James Beard America’s Classics award winner. And he’s burnishing the legacy and grooming his son to take over. Plus, the next generation of another family business, olive oil importer Nate Bradley, tells all about the ingredient nearly everyone uses and few know much about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Husband and wife Johnny and Kasie Curiel on building a Michelin-star-winning restaurant empire in the blink of an eye

Johnny and Kasie Curiel met working in the restaurant business, got married, and opened a restaurant of their own. Then, they quickly began opening a series of restaurants, winning Michelin stars at two that don’t fit the Michelin mold within their first year-and-a-half. Johnny also won Michelin’s 2024 Colorado Young Chef award. Most of the couple’s restaurants feature regional cuisines from Mexico, where Chef was born, but they’ve now opened a Spanish restaurant, and they are expanding beyond Colorado as well, to Charleston and Austin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Chef Kevin O’Donnell on cooking in Italy and France, then coming home to create “Freestyle Italian” cuisine in Rhode Island

Chef Kevin O’Donnell cooked his way through high school at mom-n-pop joints in Rhode Island, then began a career that took him to Italy and France, with a stint at New York’s Michelin-starred Del Posto in between. In France, the restaurant where he was Executive Chef was named Best Bistro in Paris. Now back in his native Rhode Island, he owns two restaurants, one featuring what he calls Freestyle Italian cuisine and one offering an inventive array of pizzas. He is currently a 2026 semifinalist for the James Beard award as Best Chef Northeast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

BONUS EPISODE FROM OUR FRIENDS AT THE REAL ORGANIC PODCAST

With the recent commemoration of Earth Day, check out the Real Organic Podcast hosted by Linley Dixon and Dave Chapman. This episode features James Beard Award-winning author Nancy Matsumoto, who discusses her new book Reaping What She Sows: How Women Are Rebuilding Our Broken Food System Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]