Next Great American Chef

Host Celeste Rogers, Chopped Winner, international chef and dynamic TV personality, and our local expert, restaurant entrepreneur, sommelier, author, and designer AndréHueston Mack, chat with the winning chef of NGAC/Brooklyn, Johann Cottier, executive chef at Red Hook Tavern. You’ll hear about Cottier’s origin story, Lyon experience, and the mentors who helped develop his style of cooking. Cottier also lifts the veil on the reality of running a restaurant during the pandemic and describes his favorite dining establishments in BKLN, including his go to pizza place (see if it’s yours as well). Celeste and Andre dish about OG establishments, food culture and trends in BKLN, can’t miss restaurants. up-and-coming venues, and restaurants with the best wine lists. Looking forward to a post-COVID world, they discuss popsicles with booze, no-waste restaurants, use of devices to limit interactions with servers, and what else may change—and yes, what may remain the same. The NGAC Brooklyn Honorable Mention Chef is Jean Adamson from Vinegar Hill House. The other NGAC nominees are Katie Jackson (Hart's); Jake Leiber and Aidan O’Neal (Le Crocodile); (An Chen Le Kahn, Bolero); Chris McDade (Popina); Garrett McMahan (Celestine); John Seymour (Sweet Chick);   Manadsanan Sutipayakul (Noods n’ Chill); and  JT Vuong (Rule of Thirds), This episode was sponsored by the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.    

In the second episode of the podcast, host John Rudolph and local expert Sarah Gelber, a blogger and owner of the 207 Foodie website, Instagram, and Twitter accounts, chat with the winner of NGAC/Portland, Thomas Takashi Cooke, executive chef and co-owner of Izakaya Minato in Portland. Among the topics — how Cooke and his wife made their way from the San Francisco Bay area to Portland; being a pioneer in Izakaya dining in seafood-blessed Maine; dealing with sea urchin purveyors; nuances of sake; Cape Elizabeth mackerel; and the secrets to success with his “life-changing” Japanese Fried Chicken. Gelber dishes on the food scene in Portland, including the rise of poke, proliferation of amazing new restaurants, most anticipated openings, and old standbys that still can’t be missed. The podcast also bestowed Next Great American Chef/Portland Honorable Mention awards on Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez, chefs and co-owners of Piccolo and Chaval, and Paolo Laboa, Executive Chef at Solo Italiano. This episode was sponsored by Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, https://cambridgeculinary.com; Feet in 2 Worlds, http://www.fi2w.org/; and Old Port Candy, https://oldportcandy.com.

In the inaugural episode of the podcast, host John Rudolph and local expert Brenda Nguyen, writer of the blog Wandering Boston Eater, chat with the winner of NGAC/Boston, Matthew Singer, Chef de Cuisine at Bar Mezzana. Among the topics — what it’s like to cook for Bostonians, Singer’s work ethic and his favorite restaurants. John and Brenda sample three “incredibly delicious” crudo dishes prepared especially for them by Signer. Bar Mezzana also features an excellent assortment of pasta dishes, which Singer says he could eat “every day.” Nguyen discusses food trends in Boston, including the rise in Vietnamese and other Asian cuisines and identifies a seafood restaurant that you won’t want to miss. In addition to announcing the Next Great American Chef/Boston, the episode reveals its two Honorable Mention chefs: Sarah Murphy, the owner and pastry chef at Vinal Bakery and Lucas Sousa, Chef de Cuisine at Menton. This episode was sponsored by Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, https://cambridgeculinary.com and Feet in 2 Worlds, http://www.fi2w.org/ .

The Next Great American Chef podcast selects and interviews rising chefs in cities across the United States who might become James Beard winners in the near future. If you love food, like to travel, dish about the food scene or just want to hear about what makes chefs and their restaurants truly stand out, you’ve arrived at your podcast destination.