In the Weeds Podcast with Chef Spike Mendelsohn

The Marine Corps couldn't break her. A pandemic couldn't break her. No culinary school, no mentor, no safety net — just her mother's recipe and zero interest in quitting. Chef Patrice Cleary went from Navy Achievement Medals to building Purple Patch and Joya Burger with no restaurant training whatsoever — she found her first contractor by driving to Home Depot. Chef Spike gets into the grief, the grit, and the "burger dating" process behind DC's Filipino food renaissance, plus the real story of how a landlord's phone call turned into a restaurant empire. Then it's a round of Head Chef that gets very personal, very fast. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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 Anthony Jones grew up on the Chesapeake — crabbing, fishing, shucking corn with family — but there was one rule in the house: stay off the stove. Now he's running the kitchen at Marcus DC, serving up a crab rice that's become the stuff of local legend, and holding his own on Season 23 of Top Chef. Anthony sits down with Chef Spike Mendelsohn to talk about the mentor who shaped him, the dish that almost sent him home, and what it actually takes to build a career on your own terms. DMV proud, top to bottom. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

Zach Leonsis, EVP of Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Washington Capitals, Wizards, Mystics) and son of owner Ted Leonsis, joins Spike Mendelsohn at DC Central Kitchen for a rare look inside one of the biggest sports and hospitality operations in the country. Zach breaks down the massive Capital One Arena transformation — like going from 2 kitchens to 15 — and his path from aspiring architect to running the family business. Along the way: what it was like growing up starstruck around Capitals players as a kid, and the unwritten rules of being an owner, including why he's only flown on the team plane once, ever. Plus: Spike pressing Zach on Ovechkin's future, recorded weeks before the Capitals made it official. In this episode: Growing up around the Washington Capitals, Wizards & Mystics Inside the $800M+ Capital One Arena renovation Monumental Sports' approach to local DC chefs and food Zach Leonsis on family business, leadership, and community impact DC Central Kitchen's role in the DMV hospitality scene Order up! In The Weeds and Odd Chef teamed up for a banger of a merch collab. Visit Oddchef.shop to check out the drop. Enter code INTHEWEEDS10 for 10% off your order. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

Bobby Hicks — private chef, Next Level Chef semi-finalist, and the creator of Retro Recipes Kitchen — sits down with Spike to talk about his debut cookbook, Retro Recipes, and the theory that started it all: that nostalgia is what grounds people when everything else falls apart. What began as a COVID-era obsession with vintage cookbooks (he's now got 700-800 of them), eventually led to a mission to cook a century of American food — the good, the bad, and the aspic. Along the way: why he still can't eat a pork chop to this day, getting yelled at by an intimidating tattooed mentor chef for asking too many questions and the wild true history behind Country Captain (America's original fusion dish). Equal parts food history lesson and a genuinely fun hang. We have teamed up with Odd Chef for a banger of a merch collab! Visit Oddchef.shop to check out the drop. Enter code INTHEWEEDS10 for 10% off your order. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

Nycci Nellis has interviewed everyone from Thomas Keller to Anthony Bourdain — and today, Spike flips the script. The founder of The List, co-host of the 18-year-running Foodie and the Beast , and one of DC's most wired-in food media voices pulls no punches on the state of the industry: rents are too high, spaces are too big, and the labor pool never fully came back. Along the way: the inside story of how Michelin actually got to DC (and what happened when the city stopped paying), why the "build it and they will come" era is dead, a trip through Montreal's Jewish deli culture and smoked meat, and why the layperson needs to understand the restaurant business before there's nothing left to save. We have teamed up with Odd Chef for a banger of a merch collab! Visit Oddchef.shop to check out the drop and enter code INTHEWEEDS10 for 10% off! Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

Victor Albisu — the operator behind Taco Bamba (now 16 locations across four states) — sits back down with Spike to talk Electric Bull, his new all-day South American steakhouse built as the antidote to the stuffy, overpriced classic. Along the way, the two old friends get into the realities of opening restaurants (and the endless delays that come with them), the rise of food influencers and what they mean for working chefs, war stories from kitchens in Paris and a memorable run-in with a food critic at the zoo. Equal parts industry insight and old-friend banter. This episode is proudly presented by Toast! Thousands of the busiest restaurants in the world run on Toast. To learn more about how Toast can help you get busy, stay busy and run busy, visit pos.toasttab.com. Get ready for an In The Weeds merch collab drop with Odd Chef! Keep an eye out at www.oddchef.shop and enter code INTHEWEEDS10 for 10% off your purchase! Follow us on Instagram @intheweeds.pod Watch this episode and more on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InTheWeedsPod Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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 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://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

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://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

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://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

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://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

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://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

Spike sits down with Shawn Townsend, President and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington — aka the guy making sure the DMV’s food scene doesn’t burn out under pressure. Shawn has seen DC from every side of the line — behind the bar, behind the badge, and now behind the movement keeping restaurants alive. From his early days crushing grapes in Sicily to becoming DC’s first “Night Mayor,” Shawn breaks down what it really takes to keep a city eating — through politics, policy, and pandemic fallout. They dig into everything from third-party delivery fees and minimum wage battles to ICE raids, nightlife culture, and what “Together We Dine” really means for the future of dining out in DC. This one’s for anyone who’s ever fought to keep the lights on, the kitchen running, and the city’s flavor alive. What You'll Hear In This Episode: How a military kid from Charleston ended up shaping DC’s restaurant policy Lessons from working nightlife enforcement to advocating for restaurants The evolution of DC’s food scene — from Obama-era renaissance to post-COVID recovery Why third-party delivery apps became both a lifeline and a liability How ICE presence and federal optics are scaring off both workers and diners The reality of doing business across DC, Maryland, and Virginia “Together We Dine” — RAMW’s new campaign to bring people back into restaurants What local owners can do to adapt, innovate, and survive the new era of hospitality Why DC’s food scene is still on fire — in the best and worst ways Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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 David Guas brings the soul of New Orleans wherever he goes—and in this episode, he brings it straight into the In The Weeds studio. From washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant to leading one of D.C.’s most beloved kitchens (Bayou Bakery), Chef David Guas’ journey is as rich and layered as a bowl of gumbo. In this episode, Spike Mendelsohn sits down with his longtime friend to talk about what it really means to build a life in food—from New Orleans roots steeped in family, flavor, and fried dough, to shaping D.C.’s early restaurant scene at the legendary DC Coast. It’s a story about hustle, heritage, and the kind of “instant gratification” only the kitchen can give. Expect tales of Cuban-Creole mashups, mentorship from a German pastry tyrant, the unlikely path from pastry to po’ boys, and how a dishwasher’s humility can take you all the way to chef-owner. Pull up a chair, pour a café au lait, and let the good times roll. Some highlights from this episode with Chef David Guas include: -Growing up in New Orleans East with Cuban roots and family meals that sparked a lifelong love of food. -Washing dishes, flipping cheesesteaks, and learning the instant-gratification joy of feeding people. -The call to Justin Wilson that convinced him to chase the craft. -Getting schooled by Master Pastry Chef Kurt Ebert at Windsor Court—meringue, roux, and reality checks included. -Moving to D.C. with Jeff Tunks and the crew to open DC Coast , one of the restaurants that helped define a generation of chefs. -Building Bayou Bakery , finding community through food, and keeping that New Orleans heart beating strong in the nation’s capital. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

In this episode of In The Weeds Podcast , Spike goes deep with Chef Marcus Samuelsson — James Beard Award winner, author, activist, and the force behind Red Rooster, Hav & Mar, Streetbird, and Marcus DC. What you’ll hear in this episode: Marcus on walking into DC Central Kitchen and why programs like this are the future of food justice. His journey from being born in Ethiopia and adopted into a Swedish family — and the goosebump story of the nurse who changed his life. Experiencing snow for the first time as a kid and adjusting to life in Sweden. Learning flavor from his grandmother’s Swedish meatballs and how food became his language. The brutal but brilliant lessons of French kitchens — from scallop mishaps to finding mentors. Taking over Aquavit at just 23 years old after the tragic death of its chef, and the fear that fueled his rise. Why the future of fine dining isn’t only in France anymore — it’s global, from Peru to Colombia. Marcus’s story is about more than cooking. It’s about resilience, second chances, and shaping the soul of American food while staying rooted in community. 👉 Don’t miss more conversations like this — follow In The Weeds Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

This week on In The Weeds Podcast , Spike sits down with Chef Katarina Petonito —the force behind The Duck & The Peach, La Collina, and The Wells . Kat gets real about: Growing up in Germantown, Maryland with a Filipino mom and Italian dad, and how food was always part of the family hustle. The path from CIA to Nantucket summers, DC kitchens, and finally running her own teams. Why she believes in taking ego off the plate and leading with collaboration. Renovating a fixer-upper while raising a toddler (yes, she admits to plenty of McDonald’s runs). Her journey from industry burnout to finding balance with a women-led collective. Along the way, Spike and Kat swap war stories about first jobs, pepperoni sauce, school lunches, dolphin trainer dreams, and why Southern hospitality really is that nice. Pull up a chair—this episode is a reminder that behind every menu is a chef who fought hard to rewrite the rules. 🎧 Subscribe, rate, and review In The Weeds Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Join us on our other channels: https://linktr.ee/intheweeds.pod Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

Spike sits down with Chef Juan Manuel Barrientos–better known as Juanma—to trace his wild rise from running a hot dog cart kitchen to leading Elcielo, the first Colombian restaurant to earn a Michelin star. Juanma opens up about hustling through failures and all-night shifts, the lessons in humility he picked up scrubbing kitchens in Argentina, and how that grind shaped his global culinary empire. But the story goes deeper: through his foundation (the El Cielo Foundation), he’s training former guerrilla fighters, paramilitaries, and victims of Colombia’s conflict to cook, rebuild, and feed their families. Food here isn’t just art—it’s second chances, peacebuilding, and proof that the kitchen can heal as much as it inspires. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

What do fried pepperoni with rice, crunchy instant noodles “cooked” on a dorm-room hot plate, and accidentally eating a whole artichoke leaf have in common? They’re all part of Chef Roy Yamaguchi’s origin story. In this episode, Spike Mendelsohn sits down with the godfather of Hawaiian Regional Cuisine to talk about growing up on a military base in Japan, finding his way to the CIA, getting fired (a lot), and eventually building a global empire of restaurants flavored with aloha. Expect sauce talk that borders on therapy, plenty of laughs, and a reminder that even legends start out in the weeds. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

On episode 17 of In the Weeds Podcast with Chef Spike Mendelsohn, we’re joined by Chef John Mooney—a true chef’s chef who has worked alongside some of the most renowned names in the restaurant world. From the streets of Chicago to working the line in top kitchens, Mooney has built an extraordinary career opening restaurants for luxury brands across the globe. As the chef-owner of Bell Book & Candle in NYC and Bidwell in Washington, DC, he’s been at the forefront of sustainability and farm-to-table dining. Tune in as two culinary greats go deep on food, hard work, and the ever-evolving world of hospitality. Chef John Mooney is an acclaimed American chef known for his commitment to sustainability and innovative culinary techniques. A Kendall Culinary School graduate, he has worked at renowned establishments like Ambria, The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Red Sage, Raku, and Heartbeat in NYC, where he embraced seasonal, organic ingredients. In 2004, he launched India's first organic restaurant with the Taj Hotel Group and later led The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. Back in the U.S., he co-founded Bell Book & Candle in NYC and Bidwell in Washington, D.C., both featuring aeroponic rooftop gardens. His sustainable approach earned him a StarChefs Rising Star Sustainability Chef award in 2011. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

On episode 16, chef and food equity advocate, Michel Nischan gets In The Weeds with Spike Mendelsohn. From truck stop cook to James Beard Award-winning chef, Michel Nischan’s journey to the kitchen was anything but planned. He sits down with Spike Mendelsohn to talk about his unexpected path, cooking for the Dalai Lama, partnering with Paul Newman, and his dedication to food equity. Tune in as he shares inspiring stories and discusses his advocacy work, including his efforts to create lasting change in food policy. Michel Nischan is a chef and long-standing leader in the local, organic, sustainable food movement. He is Founder and President of Wholesome Crave, a food company selling responsibly sourced, plant-forward soups to large-scale dining facilities, and now available direct-to-consumer. A portion of the gross sales from Wholesome Crave products benefit Wholesome Wave, the non-profit food equity organization for which Michel serves as Co-Founder and Executive Chairman. A lifetime Ashoka Fellow, he serves as a Founding Director on the board of the Jacques Pepin Foundation; and on the advisory boards of Chef’s Collaborative, Modern Farmer, Good Food Media Network, and The Culinary Institute of America. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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

On episode 15 of In The Weeds, Chef Grace Ramirez takes us on a journey—from working behind the camera at Nickelodeon to interviewing celebrities for TRL, to quitting her directing job on Bobby Flay’s show to pursuing culinary school and creating her own recipe for success as a celebrated chef, author, and advocate for women. Tune in for some good laughs, fun stories and to learn how Chef Grace uses food as a bridge to culture, community, and impact. Grace Ramirez is a celebrated chef, dedicated humanitarian, and empowering educator, known for her strong communication skills, empathy, and upscale glam. Her journey began with directing and producing TV shows at the Food Network, evolving into her volunteer work with World Central Kitchen during humanitarian, climate, and community disasters like Hurricane Maria and the Venezuelan & Colombian Migrant Crisis — a career change with impactful results. Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links We have teamed up with Odd Chef for an official merch collab! Check it out here and get 10% off your order with code INTHEWEEDS10. 🎙️🎙️ 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