Fell Into Food Podcast

Chef Adrianne Calvo is an award-winning Miami-based restaurateur, best-selling cookbook author, and Emmy-nominated, 9x Telly Award-winning media personality known for her signature "Maximum Flavor" style. Her flagship restaurant, Chef Adrianne's Vineyard, has grown from a strip-mall startup into a national "must-eat" institution, and she's built a full media presence around it — TV appearances on Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay, a million-plus social following, and a newest cookbook, Maximum Flavor at Home, bringing that same cooking into everyday home kitchens. At 22, with no investors and no real restaurant experience beyond an internship, she opened Chef Adrianne's Vineyard in a Kendall strip mall — right before the 2008 financial crash. Nineteen years later, it's a national "must-eat" institution, and she's built an entire "Maximum Flavor" world around it: an Emmy nomination, nine Telly Awards, appearances on Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay, a million-plus followers, and a new book, Maximum Flavor at Home, out November 3rd. Website: chefadriannes.com Instagram: @chefadrianne YouTube: youtube.com/user/ChefAdrianne Maximum Flavor at Home (out November 3, 2026) Book Tour Dates November 6 — The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles November 12 — Books & Books, Coral Gables, FL November 18 — The Chopping Block, Chicago Timestamps 01:14 — The accidental cooking class and the French toast that rerouted her life 04:56 — Opening the restaurant at 22, right before the 2008 crash, and leading a kitchen full of veterans twice her age 07:55 — Inside Dark Dining: blindfolds, heightened senses, and the champagne trick that still gets 19-year regulars 14:13 — Where AI helps in the kitchen — and where it can't touch human creativity 17:16 — Maximum Flavor at Home (out November 3): the new book, standout recipes, and the tour 30:57 — Her sister Jennifer, "Make It Count," and the difference between burnout and dedication 33:24 — 19 years as St. Jude's Culinary Ambassador, and the one standard she wants tied to her name Listen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91 Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFood Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_food Facebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofood FellintoFood.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ken MacKenzie is the visionary founder and CEO of Fresh Victor, a premium line of all-natural, cold pressed, refrigerated mixers for effortlessly delicious cocktails, low-alcohol and spirit-free drinks. With over 20 years of experience in the creation, import, and distribution of spirits and craft beverages, Ken is a successful serial entrepreneur with a rich history in the industry. Before launching Fresh Victor, Ken co-founded Republic Tequila and Republic Spirit Blends. His impressive career also includes the import, development, and launch of unique spirits like Onyx Coffee Liqueurs and his highly demanded 100% agave tequila brand, Amate. Ken's journey in the spirits industry began in 1997, when he apprenticed in Guadalajara, learning the premium pure agave tequila business from the ground up. He soon launched his consultancy, La Mission, S.A. de C.V., dedicating the next decade to pioneering the importation of high-end 100% agave tequila into the United States. After returning to the U.S., Ken founded Travesia Import Group, continuing to import, distribute, and consult on premium liquor brands. He then expanded his portfolio to include bespoke Texas spirits and mixers, distributed by Republic National Distributors. Ken is a frequent and respected speaker at high-profile industry events, educating the beverage market and hospitality industry on 100% agave tequila. His Republic and Amate tequila brands have garnered over 15 top industry accolades, including recognition from Wine Enthusiast magazine and numerous medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and Denver International Spirits Competition. In this conversation, I talk with Ken about what actually convinced him tequila wasn't a phase — and why he never went home. He walks through how agave tequila is really made, from an eight-to-twelve-year growing cycle to a single glass carrying over 300 distinct flavor compounds, and how that same discipline shaped everything about Fresh Victor. We get into why he refused every piece of advice to make it shelf-stable, what it cost him to spend 18 months chasing the right acid balance on one flavor, and the early stretch where the company was pouring out almost as much product as it was selling because the shelf life was too short to survive distribution. We also get into where the non-alcoholic and zero-proof movement is really headed, and why Ken built Fresh Victor so the same drink works whether or not there's alcohol in it. Nine flavors in, he says they've barely scratched the surface of where this goes next. Website: Freshvictor.com Instagram / Facebook / Linkedin / Tiktok: @freshvictorcocktails.com X: @freshvictormix For being a listener Ken has decided to give everyone 20% off their next order from their website freshvictor.com using promo code FELL2FOOD20. No minimum purchase requirement. Can’t combine with other discounts. Active from today until Dec 31, 2026 0:00 From Tequila to Fresh Mixers — How the Pivot Started 2:23 Why Food and Drink Actually Bring People Together 5:42 Following Love to Guadalajara — and Never Leaving 8:19 How Tequila Is Actually Made, From Agave to Bottle 13:55 What You Should Actually Be Tasting For 17:24 Building Fresh Victor — Four Ingredients, No Shortcuts 19:00 Refusing to Go Shelf-Stable 24:56 The 18-Month Fight for the Right Acid Balance 28:21 The Hurdles That Almost Ended It 34:44 Zero-Proof, Connection, and What's Next for Fresh Victor Listen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91 Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFood Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_food Facebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofood FellintoFood.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I sat down with Nicole Bentler this week — a health and wellness pro turned maple farmer, who bought a run-down, two-hundred-year-old farm in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania back in 2019 with no real plan beyond having a place to bring her family. That farm is now Pocono Maple Water, a farm-to-bottle maple water and maple syrup brand, and Nicole's one of only a handful of female-owned maple farms in the country. We got into what maple water actually is before it ever becomes syrup, the finding about our water supply that made her trademark the phrase "What's In Your Water," and why she's turned down Target and Walmart more than once to stay direct-to-consumer. Website: www.poconomaplewater.com Instagram: @poconomaplewater Instagram: @poconomountainmaple Listen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91 Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFood Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_food Facebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofood FellintoFood.com CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS Timestamps pulled from raw transcript markers — confirm exact in/out points against the edited cut before publishing. 00:00 — Cold open: cracking a maple water on mic, and the question everyone asks first 00:44 — What maple water actually is, and how it's different from syrup 02:57 — Buying a run-down farm in 2019 with zero plans to build a beverage brand 05:19 — Six to eight miles a day tapping trees in the snow 06:27 — The estrogen finding behind the "What's In Your Water" trademark 09:53 — Big bottled water brands, spring-water lawsuits, and knowing where your water comes from 14:08 — Three bears, a raided bee yard, and building a team in a corner of agriculture with almost nobody under 40 18:17 — The six-week harvest, the subscription model, and turning down Target and Walmart on purpose 20:32 — The cans-vs-cartons-vs-glass packaging fight with her partner Dante 25:10 — What maple water actually does for the body, and the empty-stomach test Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jason Olinik is Senior Vice President of Operations & Partnerships at Rudy's Hospitality Group, where he leads growth strategy and every client relationship across workplace dining, markets, and restaurant concepts. He's spent 23 years in hospitality — starting at sixteen scrubbing grease off the back dock of a Chili's in Brighton, Michigan, then running a limited-service hotel in Naples, building restaurant concepts inside an airport, and working luxury resorts in Florida before landing at Rudy's. He's also the author of Discernment: Seeing Through the Narrative Economy. I sat down with him to talk about the gap between what a report says and what's actually happening on the floor — and why the leaders who stay close to the floor are the ones who catch it before it costs them. Jason talks about the meeting culture that crept in after the pandemic, the seventeen systems his teams were juggling just to load a menu, and the moment he realized he'd drifted too far from the work that built him. He also tells me about a ledge in the Jemez Mountains outside Albuquerque, and the jump that changed how he's approached every hard decision since. Book & author site: jasonolinik.com Rudy's Hospitality Group: rudyshospitality.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jason-olinik-57355464 Instagram: @j.olinik_author Book: Discernment: Seeing Through the Narrative Economy TIMESTAMPED CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:10 The Chili's Loading Dock, Age Sixteen 2:22 What Makes a Great Operator 11:07 Why Workplace Dining Needs Restaurant Standards 16:10 Thin Center, Strong Field 18:15 AI, Automation, and Where It Actually Helps 26:41 Writing Discernment 33:41 The Meeting Culture Rant 36:06 The Jemez Mountains Jump 41:30 Where to Find Jason Listen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91 Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFood Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_food Facebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofood FellintoFood.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown are the husband-and-wife owners of the Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group (TBRG) in Charlotte, NC — six restaurants (Supperland, Haberdish, Ever Andalo, Growlers Pourhouse, Leluia Hall, Olivelli Deli), three of them Michelin Guide American South recommended. They co-host the podcast Jeff and Jamie Feed and the national PBS series Fork & Hammer, recently nominated for a Daytime Emmy in Outstanding Culinary/Cultural Series. Jamie's first book, Eleven Tables: A Wild Ride Through Food, Failure, and Figuring It Out, is out now. Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown left corporate jobs at the peak of the economy, backpacked across Europe and Asia for eight months with paper maps and a burner phone, and came home to the 2008 recession with an idea and no restaurant experience. They found their first space in Charlotte's NoDa neighborhood because of a pink slip taped to the door — an unpaid gas bill. That eleven-table crepe shop is now Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group: six concepts, three of them Michelin Guide American South recommended, a national PBS series (Fork & Hammer, just nominated for a Daytime Emmy), a weekly podcast, and Jamie's first book. In this conversation, Jeff and Jamie talk about why Jeff is campaigning to brand Charlotte the "City of Hospitality," what the city's food scene was already doing right before Michelin ever showed up, and what it actually takes to turn a 100-year-old church into a working restaurant kitchen. They get honest about the harder calls too — closing a thirteen-year, still-profitable restaurant to become Ever Andalo, and retiring their doughnut shop after one too many equipment failures. Plus: running a 330-person team across six kitchens, two shows, and three kids, and what's next — dry-aged fish, a new commissary, and hotel projects on the horizon for 2029. Website: tonidandel-brown.com Podcast: Jeff and Jamie Feed PBS series: Fork & Hammer Book: Eleven Tables — Amazon / Barnes & Noble Restaurants: Supperland Haberdish Ever Andalo Growlers Pourhouse Leluia Hall Olivelli Deli Wyatt's Superfine (coming soon) Chapters 0:00 Welcome, Jeff & Jamie 1:01 The one thing they want listeners to take away 2:29 Why Jeff is campaigning for Charlotte as the "City of Hospitality" 5:03 Transplants, small-city warmth, and Bible Belt hospitality 7:48 What Charlotte's food scene was already doing right before Michelin arrived 10:02 Charlotte as a culinary crossroads — and the 200-farm network behind it 12:07 Turning churches, a clothing store, and a general store into restaurants 14:25 Supperland's 14-foot fire grill, and blending old-school with tech 17:30 Why they closed a profitable restaurant to become Ever Andalo 20:22 The 82-square-foot doughnut shop that broke one too many times 23:02 The eight-month backpacking trip — and the pink slip that found their first space 27:05 Where the entrepreneurial fortitude actually came from 29:15 Jamie's six years working a day job to fund the dream 32:56 Running six restaurants, two shows, and three kids with a 330-person team 36:26 How Fork & Hammer landed on PBS — and just picked up a Daytime Emmy nomination 42:08 Jamie's book, Eleven Tables 43:58 What's next: dry-aged fish, a new commissary, and 2029 hotel plans Listen to the full episode and more! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a 5 star review on your listening platform to help grow and expand the Podcast. Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/55qBuFe9dQh5jLLdg0KLoL?si=08455ef88e554b91 Apple Podcast - https://apple.co/41RoTm4 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@FellIntoFood Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fell-into-food/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/fell_into_food Facebook: https://facebook.com/fellintofood FellintoFood.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy