6 Questions with Gregory Gourdet What has your time cooking in Portland taught you the most? I’ve learned a lot. Perseverance and dedication is something that’s really important in this career. Having worked in a restaurant that is inspired by other culinary cultures, I started a lifelong journey of wanting to connect with people and their cultures through food. There are so many things to be inspired by these days.…

Nyesha Arrington Chef & Food Consultant Nyesha Arrington is on a never-ending quest for that perfect bite, one that hugs the soul and stays with you long after it leaves the plate. This journey has taken her from her classic French training at the Art Institute of California in Los Angeles, to the iconic restaurants of Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, to the sets of Top Chef, Knife Fight and Iron Chef America. She’s…

Piedmont Is Simply the Best As we look back on an amazing week in Piedmont, we can't quite decide on just one “aha” moment. Was it meeting the local butcher and visiting Bra's market, the hands-on lunch prepared by Giorgio, or tasting a fabled Barolo alongside the winemaker? Or maybe it was the only-in-Piedmont truffle hunt or that beautiful meal at Villa Sparina? Truthfully, the whole adventure was one string…

Jorge Guzmán Chef One of the Twin Cities’ most exciting chefs, Jorge lives up to his James Beard nomination for Best Chef with his expertly crafted food—which earned his Brewer’s Table at Surly Brewing a Food & Wine nod as one of the top 10 restaurants of the year. After its closure, Jorge lived through what he acknowledges was one of the toughest periods of his life, living paycheck to paycheck to…

6 Questions with Meagan Morrison How would you describe your design aesthetic? I don’t know if I think about creativity, I just feel it. Some days I feel it more than others but it always comes back. I would say 90% of my creative projects, whether personal or commissioned, start with a destination. From there I have the lens to create from. I’ll start scouring the internet for imagery from…

6 Questions With Bonnie & Israel Morales Opening a Post-Soviet restaurant in the USA isn't exactly a certain hit. Why did you? Bonnie: To tell my family's story. And also to share the food with people who wouldn’t be exposed to it. And because we’re crazy.Israel: I would have led with "crazy." This food isn't only under-represented, but it’s misrepresented. And so part of why we wanted to open Kachka…

A Haiku to our Favorite Bird Little wings go farView the world as one big homeTell us what you see Have you seen our logo? The little feathered friend represented is a storm petrel, one of the world’s most populous birds with some 50 million pairs. Honestly, storm petrels aren’t terribly cute. They’re about seven inches long, mostly black or brown, with a flurry of white feathers on their flanks…

Bonnie & Israel Morales Chefs and Founders, Kachka Sometimes passion comes at odds with the best business sense. Or seems to. Bonnie and Israel found a way to combine what they felt they had to do – opening a restaurant based on homecooking of the former Soviet Union – even if it didn’t exactly seem like a surefire hit. Bonnie, who grew up eating her Belarusian parents’ cooking, noted, “We felt if…

Ray Garcia Chef Native Angeleno Ray Garcia is just your average law school-bound poli-sci and business economics UCLA grad who decided to become a chef instead. He paid his way through college working in restaurants and discovered a love for cooking even the siren song of the legal system couldn’t contend with. And it worked out. His first restaurant, Broken Spanish, racked up countless accolades by Esquire, USA Today, LA Weekly, Los Angeles Times and Los…

Meagan Morrison Travel Write Draw Meagan Morrison lives as boldly as she paints. With a background in both business and fashion, the New York-based illustrator has crafted a career centered on her three loves: art, travel and a good outfit. She tours the world with a sketchbook in hand, capturing scenes from the souks of Marrakech to the back alleys of Tokyo. Meagan has collaborated with industry-leading  clients including Dior,…