Tinfoil Swans

When chef Kylie Kwong announced that she was going to be shuttering her destination dining spot Lucky Kwong to take on a new role at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, working at the intersection of food, community, and education to honor the people and foods that have made Australian cuisine so distinctive and precious — it made sense. Kwong has always centered humanity in everything she does, including this raw and astonishing conversation about cooking for a first date, valuing the wisdom of elders, finding your way through grief, and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With her shows Pati's Mexican Table and La Frontera and cookbooks Treasures of the Mexican Table and Mexican Today, Pati Jinich uses her exceptional empathy, political science background, and fearless curiosity to share the stories of the people living, creating, and cooking all around Mexico, and celebrate our shared humanity. For the Season 2 finale, Jinich joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about learning English by watching Sesame Street, her comfort with being laughed at, cooking nopalitos with eggs, and why now more than ever, she wants to celebrate the beauty of the U.S.-Mexico border. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may know Joel McHale from his star turns on beloved shows like Community, The Soup, or Animal Control, his standup special Live From Pyongyang, or as host of House of Villains and Crime Scene Kitchen. Chefs know him from their nightmares — or rather as the menacing chef David Fields on The Bear. He's also a very talented cook, especially in the realm of meat. McHale joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about working at a coffee stand in his teens, crappy tippers, what he thinks about men who don't do their part in the kitchen, why Robert Smith of The Cure is a genius, and what a joy it was to terrorize Carmy on The Bear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Bobby Flay has been a fixture on Food Network since the beginning, written 18 cookbooks, and is pretty much a household name. But the thing that gets lost in the sauce is that he's a James Beard Award-winning restaurant chef who changed the restaurant scene in some bold and groundbreaking ways. He joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about his new book Chapter 1,  his rules for visitors, being competitive, and why a tiny chef coat made him cry. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Tom Holland's parents enrolled him in dance classes as a kid, no one could have dreamed he'd end up as an international superstar, internet icon, and entrepreneur — and he still has to pinch himself to believe it. The Spider-Man actor joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about some horrible lamb shanks he'd cooked, his favorite pizza place, getting sober, and his grand hopes for his new nonalcoholic brand, Bero. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dolly Parton is an American icon for all the right reasons. She's always been unabashedly herself, employing that authenticity, work ethic, humor, talent, and grace to make enduring art — and use her hard-earned platform and cash to support causes dear to her heart. She and her sister, Rachel Parton George, recently co-authored the cookbook Good Lookin' Cookin' and joined Tinfoil Swans for a rollicking chat about being proud of where you're from, eating bear and squirrel meat, feeling insecure in restaurants, taking care of cast-iron, and the joy of chosen family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chef and author Yotam Ottolenghi is internationally beloved for his joyful and accessible approach to fresh ingredients in his restaurants, and also in his recipes for home cooks. The self-described "greedy little boy" from Jerusalem shares how he found his way out of academia and into kitchens; the ways he's trying not to be a nervous parent; and why now more than ever, he believes everyone should find comfort in food — no matter where you come from. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When chef Kylie Kwong announced that she was going to be shuttering her destination dining spot Lucky Kwong to take on a new role at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, working at the intersection of food, community, and education to honor the people and foods that have made Australian cuisine so distinctive and precious — it made sense. Kwong has always centered humanity in everything she does, including this raw and astonishing conversation about cooking for a first date, valuing the wisdom of elders, finding your way through grief, and so much more. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nick Cho is beloved by millions for his empathetic and affirming "Your Korean Dad" videos on TikTok and Instagram, but the real-life coffee expert and entrepreneur is so much more than the character he plays online. Cho joined Tinfoil Swans for a robust conversation on growing up in a place you're not wanted, the fallacy of "good" people vs "bad" people, what American food actually IS, the role of authenticity, his brand-new coffee venture, and why bad Korean barbecue doesn't get a pass from him. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christine D'Ercole is a legendary competitive cyclist, compelling public speaker, and fan-favorite Peloton instructor. That's in part because of her intense and often New Wave and Goth-playlisted classes, but also because she loves to cook and savor incredible meals, and share frank talk about complicated emotions around bodies and aging and exercise. She joined Tinfoil Swans for an intimate and uplifting conversation about body image, life-changing restaurant meals, her wild career as a bike messenger, learning to cook, and what meal she'd make for her favorite musician. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Food & Wine's restaurant editor Raphael Brion talks about the tremendous impact that the Best New Chefs accolade has had on people's careers, why each member of the 2024 class was selected, his time working in New York City kitchens, the time Anthony Bourdain gave him a paper bag full of $100 dollar bills, and what it does to the human body when you spend months on the road eating nonstop. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ti Martin — along with her cousin and co-proprietor, Lally Brennan — is ensuring that the family's 131-year-old New Orleans restaurant Commander's Palace is living up to its legacy and moving into the future. At the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen this past June, Ti joined Tinfoil Swans for a spirited conversation about kicking down doors, the gift and responsibility that comes with running an iconic family business, why hospitality and service are NOT the same thing, and how to get people dancing in the dining room. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cheetie Kumar is — by pretty much everyone's accounts — one of the coolest people ever. At the 2024 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, the Raleigh-based chef, restaurateur, and Birds of Avalon guitarist made time for a quick chat about how she had to rethink restaurants through Covid, created the structure of her new restaurant to make sure it benefitted the neighborhood and the people who work there, the joy of introducing new flavors to a population that maybe hadn't experienced them before, and the bands she absolutely will not play in the dining room. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former NBA powerhouse turned winemaker Channing Frye nerds out about moving from slap the bag to the nuances of terroir, what it's really like to drink baller wine on the team jet, and how therapy got him out of his depression sweatpants For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Priya Krishna was a little kid — a blob, as she calls herself — she started traveling the whole world with her family because her mom worked in the airline industry. As it turns out, the wildly successful reporter, author, and video host had a truly wild and wonderful journey ahead. Though it wasn't public at the time this was recorded, she was also about to be tapped as interim restaurant critic at the New York Times. Right before going on tour for her brilliant new kids cookbook Priya's Kitchen Adventures, she opened up about her musical theater background, the importance of seeing yourself reflected in media, and why your weirdness is your greatest asset. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded live onstage at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen: David Chang Unfiltered — and with a face full of wasp stings. The notoriously opinionated chef shares some raw talk about the chili crunch controversy, failure, living life under a microscope, Guy Fieri (spoiler alert — they're BFFs now), and why people are so weird about microwaves. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Outgoing New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells gets personal with his longtime friend about his path from high school cheerleader to college dropout to the pages of Sassy magazine — all the way to the most prestigious critic's seat in the country. Plus, he's got a little challenge for Thomas Keller. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, executive features editor Kat Kinsman gets raw with Gregory Gourdet. You might know him from "Top Chef," "Iron Chef," or playing himself on "Portlandia." You might be a fan of his cookbook "Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health." Perhaps you've read Korsha Wilson's profile of him in the August issue of Food & Wine or spent months scheming to get into his James Beard Award-winning Portland restaurant Kann. Gregory Gourdet is — and should be — at the forefront of restaurant cuisine in America. And he's pretty surprised to be here and takes none of his life for granted. Gourdet didn't hold back about being a chef in recovery, learning to swim, his nerdy passions, and why De La Soul is so important. Note: This episode contains mentions of substance use disorder and suicide. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chef Asma Khan is a bolt of lightning to the senses. Born a second daughter, she felt dismissed by society, but Asma Khan has always known her worth. With her restaurant Darjeeling Express in London, she takes pride in her all-women staff, cooking food they'd serve at home. Her contributions to the culinary world were recognized on the Time 100 list of people who are deeply influential in the world and she was featured in an episode of Chef's Table. Khan spoke with Tinfoil Swans about how change happens in restaurants and the power of ganging up with good souls. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans This episode contains mentions of abuse. If you or someone you know needs help, please refer to the link for resources. https://www.foodandwine.com/fwpro/the-food-wine-pro-guide-to-mental-health-and-sobriety Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 of the smash hit FX/Hulu show “The Bear” roared to life just days ago, but Will Poulter (the actor who plays fan-favorite Luca) and 2014 F&W Best New Chef Dave Beran had been prepping for weeks. Poulter — like his co-star Jeremy Allen White — staged with Beran at his Santa Monica restaurant Pasjoli to learn how to accurately portray a professional chef onscreen. The lessons went so well, Beran says he'd hire Poulter as a cook — even despite a messy mishap with a pastry bag. The two dished all about getting kitchen culture right on and offscreen, what it takes to be at the top of your craft, and the pure magic of a great restaurant service. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1999, when Food & Wine named Rocco DiSpirito as one of its Best New Chefs he was only in his early 30s, but he'd already been in the industry for a couple decades. At 10 years old, Rocco started working at a local pizzeria – a natural fit for a kid whose Italian American family grew most of their own food and started talking about lunch before breakfast was over. His innovative cuisine at Union Pacific made him a darling of both industry peers and jaded New York diners, but it was his cookbooks and stints in front of the camera that made him a household name. In this episode of Tinfoil Swans, DiSpirito opens up about the pressures of being a public figure, what's changed in the restaurant world since he started, the dream restaurant he'd like to own, and what he'd tell that younger version of himself. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Say the name "Claudia Fleming" and those who know will probably deploy the word "legend." And if you don't recognize her name, you definitely have benefitted from her groundbreaking pastry creations and flavor combinations that plenty of people now just take for granted. Original copies of her cookbook "The Last Course," went for huge sums of money on eBay and cookbook stores until it was reissued in 2019, and her book "Delectable" made pretty much every "best cookbooks of 2022" roundup. Some of the most notable pastry chefs in the game cite her as a mentor and inspiration and she remains a huge force in the way we all eat sweets today. And if things go right — it's going be that way with sandwiches next. Fleming spoke about her days as a ballet dancer, the magic of Gramercy Tavern, getting through tough times, and the privilege of working with freaks.  For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the end of 2015, Dan Giusti shocked the culinary world by walking away from his position as head chef at Noma. Not for another restaurant job, but to feed school children, senior citizens, incarcerated people, and hospital patients through his new company, Brigaid. Food & Wine named Brigaid as one of its 2024 Game Changers for its goal of not only feeding some of the country's most vulnerable people — but also giving professional restaurant chefs a chance at a sustainable career. In this episode, Giusti explained why he made the radical move, how he deals with the haters, and why he believes everyone on earth deserves a good meal. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 10 years since Cody Rigsby joined Peloton as an instructor, the former McDonald's drive-thru worker, backup dancer, and cater waiter's life has changed in unimaginable ways. He's competed on Dancing with the Stars, written the bestselling memoir XOXO, Cody, and built a massive fanbase of indoor cyclists who are as invested in his hot takes on ranch dressing and snacks as they are in his cardio-challenging HIIT and hills rides. In this episode, Cody Rigsby goes deep on anxiety, working in the service industry, the power of brunch, and the correct sauce-to-chicken-finger ratio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When E.J. Lagasse was four years old, he made his debut appearance in Food & Wine in a feature called "How to Kick Healthy Cooking Up a Notch." He wasn't the one making the recipes — that was his dad Emeril Lagasse — but 17 years later, the father and son are comrades in the kitchen. Most notably at their flagship New Orleans restaurant Emeril's, where E.J. — and if you just did the math, yes, he's 21 — runs the kitchen. The two generations of Lagasse chefs talk about working together, the unique magic of sno-ball season, and watching people's faces react to a massive pyramid of butter. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Lee Anne Wong was starting out as a line cook, her nickname in the kitchen was The Little General — and she owns it. For her entire life, she's thrown herself full-force into anything she does, whether it's cooking, competing on TV shows, being a culinary producer on Top Chef, or mentoring young chefs, and it's led to a pretty extraordinary life — complete with running her own restaurants in Hawai'i. But then in August of 2023, suddenly, things were out of her control. Wildfires devastated large sections of Maui. Lee Anne sprang into action, tracking down her staff to make sure they were safe. She coordinated efforts to get her community housed and fed — and she admits, neglected her own wellbeing in the process. In a generous and emotional conversation, Lee Anne opened up about the barriers to rebuilding, the importance of mental healthcare for the industry, and what you can do to help Maui. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rodney Scott is having a good day. It's right there on the pit master's shirt — the slogan "every day is a good day." He's a James Beard Award-winning chef who rose to national prominence cooking the sumptuous whole-hog barbecue he grew up eating. He's been the subject of a documentary, won accolades for his cookbook, and has plans to expand his restaurant empire everywhere. But back when he was a music-loving kid in Hemingway, South Carolina, annoyed about spending his vacation days working in the fields, chopping wood, or flipping pigs for his family, he never dreamed that barbecue would become his legacy. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By the time Daniel Boulud was in Food & Wine's first class of Best New Chefs in 1988, he'd already been working in restaurant kitchens for almost two decades. At 14, he knew school wasn't for him and that despite his parents' concerns, he wanted to be a cook. Now with 20-plus restaurants and countless accolades in his knife roll, the world-famous chef looks back at the moments that made his legendary career, including grueling work in a windowless Lyon basement, creating the first viral burger, and the time he soaked 7,000 stamps off of envelopes so he wouldn't go broke. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswanspodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Food & Wine has led the conversation around food, drinks, and hospitality in America and around the world since 1978. Season Two of the Tinfoil Swans podcast continues that legacy with even more intimate, informative, surprising, and uplifting interviews with the biggest names in the culinary industry and beyond, sharing never-before-heard stories about the successes, struggles, and fork-in-the-road moments that made them who they are today. This season, you'll hear from icons and innovators like Daniel Boulud, Rodney Scott, Asma Khan, Lee Anne Wong, Emeril and EJ Lagasse, Cody Rigsby, and others going deep on the moments that made them, their joys, inspirations, doubts, and dreams, and what's still on the menu for them. Tune in every Tuesday for a feast that'll feed your brain and soul. New episodes starting May 7. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswanspodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our season one finale, Food & Wine's executive features editor Kat Kinsman catches up with her brilliant friend and colleague, Ray Isle, a few weeks before his debut book "The World in a Wineglass" arrives in stores. Growing up in Texas, the self-described "word-drunk kid" was years away from discovering the pleasures of fermented grapes, but he was clearly a born storyteller — and even ended up as a character in a famous novel. The executive wine editor shared his winding, wonderful path to becoming one of the most trusted and beloved writers and educators in the business, the bottle that changed his life, why Morrissey is such a disappointment, and how fast food tacos can help you feel more confident when you're learning about wine. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswanspodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Madhur Jaffrey published "An Invitation to Indian Cooking" in 1973, she had no idea that half a century later, the book would not only still be in print, but also get an anniversary reissue that will welcome future generations in the vast and varied cuisine of her homeland. In the twelfth episode of Tinfoil Swans, Food & Wine's executive features editor Kat Kinsman finally meets her lifelong culinary hero and gets some sage advice from the writer, teacher, and actress about self worth, righteous anger, perfectionism, and what actually matters to you when you turn 90.  For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswanspodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1999, when Food & Wine named Rocco DiSpirito as one of its Best New Chefs he was only in his early 30s, but he'd already been in the industry for a couple decades. At 10 years old, Rocco started working at a local pizzeria – a natural fit for a kid whose Italian American family grew most of their own food and started talking about lunch before breakfast was over. His innovative cuisine at Union Pacific made him a darling of both industry peers and jaded New York diners, but it was his cookbooks and stints in front of the camera that made him a household name. In this episode of Tinfoil Swans, DiSpirito opens up about the pressures of being a public figure, what's changed in the restaurant world since he started, the dream restaurant he'd like to own, and what he'd tell that younger version of himself. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswanspodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our tenth episode, executive features editor Kat Kinsman managed to find chef Stephanie Izard in a rare quiet moment when she wasn't fussing over the final details of opening a new restaurant (or two), in front of a camera on "Tournament of Champions" or "Hell's Kitchen", testing a new sauce for her This Little Goat line of products, or at work on one of the billion other projects she has going on at any given time. If you'd shared a snapshot of this future with Izard back in the days before her groundbreaking "Top Chef" win, James Beard Awards, and F&W Best New Chef accolades, back when she was playing "restaurant" with her childhood friends or working the host stand at The Olive Garden, she might have fainted — and it wouldn't be the first time. Izard reflected on her trajectory from competitive swimming, to owning a restaurant in her twenties, to becoming one of the busiest chef-restaurateur-author-entrepreneurs in the food world while still trying to find time for pickleball. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswanspodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our ninth episode, executive features editor Kat Kinsman gets raw with Gregory Gourdet. You might know him from "Top Chef," "Iron Chef," or playing himself on "Portlandia." You might be a fan of his cookbook "Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health." Perhaps you've read Korsha Wilson's profile of him in the August issue of Food & Wine or spent months scheming to get into his James Beard Award-winning Portland restaurant Kann. Gregory Gourdet is — and should be — at the forefront of restaurant cuisine in America. And he's pretty surprised to be here and takes none of his life for granted. Gourdet didn't hold back about being a chef in recovery, learning to swim, his nerdy passions, and why De La Soul is so important. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswanspodcast Note: This episode contains mentions of substance use disorder and suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to connect with a trained crisis counselor 24/7. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our eighth episode, executive features editor Kat Kinsman checks in with Enrique Olvera as he's on the verge of expanding his international restaurant empire. There's a good chance you're picturing him in a "Chef's Table" glow, making the mole and tostadas and other dishes that has made his Mexico City restaurant Pujol into a global destination since 2000. That flagship was followed by New York outposts Cosme in 2014 and Atla in 2017, then Los Angeles in 2020 with Damian, and he's now adding more to the roster with Atla in Venice Beach, and Tacos Atla in Brooklyn. Fans and fellow chefs plan trips to Mexico City around their Pujol reservations and flock to his restaurants on America's coasts because he's got so much to teach them about the beauty and bounty of a cuisine that has long been undervalued outside of its country of origin. Olvera delves into what keeps him going, how he shares this motivation and passion and energy with the people he trusts to keep such a big empire alive, and the beauty of taking some time to sweat — in a good way. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswanspodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our seventh episode, executive features editor Kat Kinsman gets personal with Padma Lakshmi. The author and TV personality had a stunning 17-season run as a host, judge, and executive producer on "Top Chef," has written multiple bestselling cookbooks and a memoir, and won both James Beard Awards and Emmys. Just days after this recording, it was announced that she was leaving the show, and will be diving full force into "Taste The Nation" – a show that she created for Hulu, focusing on the food culture of immigrant groups from across the nation. In this intimate conversation, Lakshmi opens up about her experience as an immigrant to America, the fear and bravery in calling herself a writer, the onesies she gives to guests, identifying as a dork, and how she's found purpose in using her hard-won platform to amplify marginalized voices. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our sixth episode, Food & Wine's executive features editor Kat Kinsman sits down with the multifaceted David Chang. In 2006, Food & Wine named him as one its Best New Chefs, but no one could have predicted the impact that his restaurants, books, consumer products, TV shows, podcasts, magazine, and more would have on food culture — least of all Chang, who didn't expect to live past 35. Ten years past that self-predicted end, the chef who was once as well-known for his volatile temper as his groundbreaking food is finding himself more comfortable in his own skin, but it's a work in progress. Chang opened up about anger, aging, letting go of being cool, being kinder to himself, and an unexpected apology he'd like to make.  For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our fifth episode, Food & Wine's executive features editor Kat Kinsman catches up with Maneet Chauhan, the chef and restaurateur behind Chauhan Ale and Masala House, and other excellent Nashville spots, as well as the author of "Chaat: Recipes from the Kitchens, Markets, and Railways of India". These days, Maneet is a force on shows like "Chopped", "Iron Chef America", and "Tournament of Champions", but before all that, she was a self-admitted "complete brat" as a kid, running from house to house in her small community in India, bugging the aunties to teach her to cook, and dreaming of the day she'd get to call herself a chef. Maneet shares her journey to the Culinary Institute of America, the art of running a restaurant empire with her husband, and how making mistakes is the best thing that ever happened to her. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our fourth episode, Food & Wine's executive features editor Kat Kinsman catches up with the eternally optimistic Shota Nakajima. Many people may know him from his incredible run on Top Chef Season 18, his appearances on Food Network shows like Tournament of Champions, his array of Seattle restaurants, or his extremely entertaining and educational Instagram feed. But before his rise to fame, Shota was a "punky looking" high school drop-out with his head deep in a sketchbook, or wandering into the woods looking for mushrooms and bugs, hoping to find his place in the world. Shota opened up about motivation, anime, moving a couch with his friends, never making a Plan B, and always valuing hospitality over food. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our third episode, Food & Wine's executive features editor Kat Kinsman speaks with her friend Antoni Porowski. His rise to fame may seem meteoric, with a star-making role as Queer Eye's food and drinks expert leading to bestselling cookbooks and tours, and a Netflix competition show of his own. But Porowski has been preparing for this moment since he was a multilingual, food-fixated, Martha Stewart-loving kid in Canada with his eye on the silver screen and beyond. Antoni and Kat chatted about panic attacks, Red Lobster, meeting his idol, and the beautiful, dog-and-chicken-filled future he's finally daring to dream. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our second episode, Food & Wine's executive features editor Kat Kinsman speaks with the inimitable Mashama Bailey. You may know her from Chef's Table. her James Beard Awards for Best Chef, Southeast and Outstanding Chef, or her book Black, White and the Grey, which she co-authored with her business partner Johno Morisano. You may have caught her on a screen on the back of an airplane seat, sharing the secrets of Southern cooking. Mashama Bailey is everywhere — as she should be! But before all that, she was going to cooking school and getting a degree in social work, but not quite feeling like she had found her place. And then a fateful trip came along that set her on the path to superstardom. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our debut episode, Food & Wine's executive features editor Kat Kinsman speaks with the one and only chef Guy Fieri. He's become a household name as a restaurateur, cookbook author, host of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Guy's Grocery Games, Tournament of Champions and more smash-hit shows — and in recent years, as a mega-philanthropist who has raised millions for first responders and hospitality workers. But before all that, Guy was just a kid with big dreams and a Kool-Aid stand in a small town in California. Kat and Guy chatted about how he hustled enough cash to send himself to high school in France, the thing Emeril Lagasse said that gave him chills, his adventures as a flambé captain, and the most defining moment of his career so far. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Food & Wine has led the conversation around food, drinks, and hospitality in America and around the world since 1978. Tinfoil Swans continues that legacy with a new series of intimate, informative, surprising, and uplifting interviews with the biggest names in the culinary industry, sharing never-before-heard stories about the successes, struggles, and fork-in-the-road moments that made them who they are today. Each week, you'll hear from icons and innovators like Guy Fieri, David Chang, Mashama Bailey, and Maneet Chauhan, going deep on their formative experiences, the dishes and meals that made them, their joys, doubts and dreams, and what's still on the menu for them. Tune in for a feast that'll feed your brain and soul — and plenty of wisdom and quotable morsels to savor later. New episodes every Tuesday starting June 13. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices