Tinfoil Swans

What does it mean to “repaint” the world more truthfully and joyfully? Bridgerton and You, Me & Tuscany star Regé-Jean Page traces his path from a spider-fearing, Indiana Jones–loving kid in Zimbabwe to an actor determined to enrich how and for whom we see love, travel, and culture depicted on screen. He shares vivid memories of childhood meals eaten by hand around a fire, why moving to the UK pushed him to find belonging through music and theater, and how art can create “empathy bridges” between people. He gets candid about rom-coms as vehicles for real emotional transformation, the radical power of pleasure (including eating a perfect tomato like an apple), and his mission to tell stories that invite everyone into the experience. Visit foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans for more Episode Art Courtesy of Food & Wine / Shane Anthony Sinclair / Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the 25th anniversary of his groundbreaking restaurant Craft, and 20th anniversary of Top Chef, Tom Colicchio reflects on his path from teenage short-order cook to one of the defining figures in American dining. He opens up about ADHD, a dangerous road not taken, a surprise appearance by a Jacques Pépin cookbook, the moment he chose cooking over everything else, and why he’s now pushing for better work-life balance in restaurant culture. Visit foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans for more. Episode Art Courtesy of Food & Wine / Daniel Brennan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 4 of Tinfoil Swans returns March 31 with an all-star lineup of culinary icons, storytellers, and industry trailblazers. Hosted by Kat Kinsman, this award-winning podcast goes beyond food to explore the personal journeys behind the people shaping what and how we eat. This season features powerful conversations with legends like Wolfgang Puck, Claudette Zepeda, and Tom Colicchio. Expect laughter, vulnerability, and hard-earned wisdom as guests share the triumphs, struggles, and defining experiences that fuel their passion. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts so you do not miss an episode, and visit foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Phil Rosenthal is living his dream life as a newly-minted restaurant owner who gets to work alongside his family and one of the greatest chefs in the country. In this live podcast taping from the Food & Wine Classic in Charleston, the Somebody Feed Phil star, Everybody Loves Raymond creator, and bestselling cookbook author talks about his childhood culinary awakening at 7-Eleven, dragging his parents kicking and screaming to a fancy meal, why he believes diners might save America, and what he wants to do with the rest of his days on earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Celebrated food writer and Great British Bake Off finalist Ruby Tandoh talks about growing up with Nigel Slater on her parents' bookshelf, hosting earnest teenage dinner parties, and finding her own voice on the page. She digs into regional food traditions from Manchester’s spicy dip burgers to Scotland’s arbroath smokies, the strange pressures of algorithm-driven food culture, the joy of old cookbooks and weird jelly molds, her new book All Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat Now, and why she’s still hopeful about the future of food. Learn more at: https://www.foodandwine.com/tinfoil-swans-podcast-s3-ep31-ruby-tandoh-and-the-spicy-dip-burgers-11857119 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Byron Gomez and his family arrived in the United States from Costa Rica when he was eight years old, and he was in for the shock of his young life. He spoke Spanish at home, had never seen snow or even a winter coat, and had to find his place in a world that didn't always want him there. But at age 15, he found restaurants. He put in the very hard work, let himself dream, and the success followed. The Top Chef contestant spoke about his path from Burger King to cooking in Michelin-starred restaurants, being a DACA recipient, getting sober, and the battle scars he earned along the way. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Houston-based sommelier and restaurateur June Rodil shares her journey from an immigrant kid decoding American culture through Babysitters Club books to becoming a hospitality visionary redefining what it means to serve with empathy. She opens up about fitting in, parental pressure, what Waffle House and Olive Garden taught her about hospitality, and the quiet refuge she finds beneath the covers when the world gets too loud. Learn more at: https://www.foodandwine.com/tinfoil-swans-podcast-s3-ep30-june-rodil-and-the-cove-beneath-the-comforter-11850897 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bestselling author, award-winning TV host and producer, activist, and fledgling comedian Padma Lakshmi joined the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen for a live onstage conversation about what's next after Top Chef and Taste the Nation, her new book Padma's All American, how comedy is like sex without touching, the freedom in working from the bathtub, the value in building an "old broads network," and why it's so healthy to embrace your rage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you're a fan of The Office, you're probably aware that co-star Angela Kinsey and her husband Joshua Snyder host an ultra-charming cooking show, but do you know how a giant pot of soup factored into their romance? They joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about their warm, wonderful, and empowering new cookbook; the way they feel when someone is rude to a waiter; the anxiety that still sometimes comes alongside the check at a restaurant; soup as a love language; and why Angela will in fact take those last two pieces of broccolini home in a doggie bag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cassandra Peterson — better known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark — grew up as a misfit kid with a bad perm, burn scars, and a mother who told her she'd never make it. Despite it all, she became a Las Vegas showgirl, a Groundling, a horror icon, and a beacon for weirdoes everywhere. The "Martha Stewart of the Macabre" talks about her new cookbook, the cooking tip Vincent Price gave her, the advice she didn't take from Elvis, and the power of entertaining to build community — even if it all goes hilariously wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harry Hamlin shares how his Sunday Bolognese went from a Real Housewives lunch to an open-source food company, the reason his psychology degree informs his hosting (at parties that serve as exposure therapy for his wife, Lisa Rinna), and why it's so important to him to support hunger relief groups. Did you know he's owned an energy company for almost 30 years? The actor, activist, and entrepreneur goes deep on his belief in ingredient transparency, the struggle meals he ate growing up, wooing Rinna, and why the podcast they host together is how they're finally getting to know one another on a deeper level. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/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 would welcome future generations in the vast and varied cuisine of her homeland. In this encore of one of our favorite first-season epsiodes 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/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2009 F&W Best New Chef and Houston icon Bryan Caswell opens up about single fatherhood, second chances, and his comeback with Latuli — plus the "redemption lies tomorrow" mindset reshaping his kitchen, and the time he sneaked into Jean-George Vongerichten's kitchen and came out with a job. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From fixing radios and writing slam poetry as a kid in the Bronx, to becoming one of the most celebrated pastry chefs and community builders of her generation, 2021 Food & Wine Best New Chef Paola Velez has never followed the expected path. Along the way, she’s embraced subcultures that gave her belonging, built spaces where strangers connect over shaved ice and cocktails, and redefined what it means to be a chef — on social media, in restaurants, and in the wider world. In this conversation, she shares the courage it takes to choose joy in the face of struggle, the humility behind turning down a major accolade, and the celebrity chef moment that meant everything to her mom. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From three-mile walks to school in Guyana and “punishment baking” with his aunt to becoming the first pastry chef named a Food & Wine Best New Chef, Tavel Bristol-Joseph has never followed the expected path. In this episode, he shares the chaos and music of landing in Brooklyn, the quiet ritual he keeps each birthday to honor his late father, and why he believes cooking is just the vessel for something much bigger. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Food & Wine’s longest-serving editors in chief, Dana Cowin and Hunter Lewis, invite you into a revealing conversation about the history and impact of the Best New Chefs accolade since it started in 1988. From the early days of scouting talent with notebooks and stringers to today’s rigorous process shaped by mentorship, community, and culture, they share behind-the-scenes stories, heated debates, and the unforgettable moments that have defined the program — and American dining — for nearly four decades. Plus, can you beat them in a chef trivia quiz? For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Food & Wine editor in chief Hunter Lewis shares the untold story behind the magazine’s iconic Best New Chefs list and reveals the 2025 class. From the intense debates that shape each year’s BNC decisions to the lessons he’s carried from his days as a three-sport "prep jock," line cook, and local journalist, Lewis reflects on the long, strange trip that led him to the helm of Food & Wine. Along the way, he opens up about why he still calls himself a "glorified home cook," his upcoming cookbook, his brush with Anthony Bourdain, how he approaches leadership, and the future he sees for restaurants in America. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From poring over cast-off food magazines in a Brooklyn laundry room to opening a New York restaurant at 25 and being nearly undone by a single New York Times mention, Edward Lee has lived through the exhilarating highs and bruising lows of the kitchen. On this episode, he goes deep about the worst lunch service of his life, how moving to Kentucky after 9/11 gave him the space to make mistakes and grow, and why revealing his Korean name on Netflix's Culinary Class Wars became one of the most important moments of his career. He also shares how he’s working to banish plastic from restaurant kitchens, why bartenders deserve more protection than they often get, and what he's hoping to teach his daughter about her Korean heritage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Samin Nosrat has changed the way so many of us think about food, cooking, and connection. You may know her as the bestselling author of Salt Fat Acid Heat, her joyful Netflix series of the same name, or her wildly popular podcast Home Cooking. But in this conversation, she goes far beyond recipes. Samin opens up about growing up as a book-loving outsider with a very particular notion of cool, the early fan mail she wrote, the lessons she learned in the fires of Chez Panisse, the unexpected weight of fame, and why more than ever, she sees food as the most precious gift we can give one another. She also shares stories from her newest book Good Things, the weekly dinners that ground her, how her journaling habit came in handy decades later, and her secret connection to a particular puppet. See more about the episode on foodandwine.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know Regina King from her decades of extraordinary performances — from her teenage roles on the sitcom 227 and the movie Friday to Watchmen, The Leftovers, The Boondocks, If Beale Street Could Talk, and so many more. But a conversation at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen showed a different side of the Oscar-winning actress: the daughter, the sister, the mother, the cook, the traveler, the dreamer, and now the wine entrepreneur. She revealed how as a kid, she and her sister would put on performances, reciting poems and doing one-act plays. She talked about her grandmother's pound cake recipe she has framed on her wall, the extraordinary way her mom cooks vegetables, and the freedom she found traveling solo in France. And she opened up about her son Ian, and his unique talent for finding beauty in the most mundane things — bringing new life to forgotten objects, going barefoot and in shorts in the winter, and finding so much joy in a glass of funky wine. With her new endeavor — an orange wine named for him, MianU — she's connecting with Ian, and sharing the gift of him with the world. Settle in, pour yourself a glass of something special, and take a moment to notice the light. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2025 Food & Wine Game Changer Ayesha Curry is such a surprise of a human being. On paper, it's natural to wonder how someone can be an actress, cookbook author, restaurateur, founder of a skincare line and lifestyle brand, winemaker, and co-creator of a foundation that helps kids get fed in a million different ways. But as soon as she starts talking, it's easy to see that she's just always been this way. Live onstage at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Curry rewound the game tape to her childhood in a family where her Jamaican-born mom would make meals big enough to feed the whole neighborhood, her move to Los Angeles as a teenager where she had to figure out how to feed herself, her early days as a blogger, and the Food Network star who embraced her with open arms. She also opened up about the vital work her and her husband Stephen Curry's foundation Eat. Learn. Play. does for kids in Oakland, finding her place in the wine world, and the kind of old person she wants to be. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Queer Eye" and "No Taste Like Home" star Antoni Porowski joins Tinfoil Swans live at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen for a heartfelt and humorous conversation about identity, vulnerability, and finding meaning through food. He opens up about his path from actor and caterer to TV host and storyteller, the emotional layers of cooking, navigating fame, and the gentle art of knowing when to leave the party. Along the way, he shares reflections on therapy, self-care, family dynamics — and what turning 40 taught him. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Growing up in a military family, Tristen Epps moved around a lot. But no matter where he was living, Friday nights were sacred. He got to dress up, go to a restaurant, not order from a kids menu, and feel like he was getting to know the place he was living — for now. At home, when his mom taught him to scramble an egg, he was mesmerized by the alchemy; one simple ingredient could transform into so many things. It's that wonder and curiosity that transformed him into the leader, visionary, and Top Chef winner he is today. He joined Tinfoil Swans at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen to talk about his mission to “un-colonize colonized food,” the freedom he feels cooking in Air Jordans, why it's important to him to celebrate oxtails with Michelin-level finesse, and his belief that cooking has power to correct history. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Growing up in Oklahoma, school was not Chris Shepherd's thing. Traditional classrooms just aren't the right fit for some brains — but it turned out that restaurants were. In junior college, he picked up a job as a dishwasher at a sushi restaurant and on the day the tempura guy didn't show up, his culinary journey began. The 2013 Food & Wine Best New Chef took time out from his extremely busy travel schedule to talk about finally finding his calling in the kitchen, the Disney cookbook that lives on a pedestal in his home, and the ingredient he just can't stand. Then his powerhouse wife Lindsay Brown joined to talk about why they founded the game-changing Southern Smoke to help restaurant workers in crisis, how 20 free therapy sessions can change a restaurant worker’s life, and the two-word question that makes all the difference. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Killer Mike and El-P were 10 years old, they both knew they wanted to be emcees, but it took a few decades for them to meet, form Run The Jewels, and go to war against one another over salad. The legendary rap duo joined Tinfoil Swans for a laugh-out-loud (and also cry a little) conversation about childhood meals, musical awakenings, midlife reflections, and the right way to eat a bagel. They dish on growing up on game meat and matzah brei, surviving lean years on egg sandwiches and fried fish, and building food ventures rooted in love, legacy, and community. There’s a philosophical breakdown of “rich people ice,” tales of Atlanta strip club wings and sentimental steakhouses, and the kind of brotherhood that only forms over bars, beats, and deli meat. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2001 Food & Wine Best New Chef and Stretch Pizza impresario Wylie Dufresne joins Tinfoil Swans to talk about his job lording over the ice truck at the New York Renaissance Festival, how team sports inform his work ethic, what the heck molecular gastronomy actually is, and why the pursuit of the perfect pizza dough has him so fired up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2022 Food & Wine Best New Chef Ana Castro and her sister and business partner Lydia Castro are powerhouse duo behind New Orleans' beloved Acamaya. They're not just redefining contemporary Mexican cuisine — they’re reshaping what it means to lead with vulnerability, resilience, and fierce sibling love. In this conversation they dive deep into their shared childhood in Mexico City, parallel journeys through grief and healing, and the epic road trip that led them to create one of the most emotionally resonant and culturally rooted restaurants in the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our debut episode, Food & Wine's executive features editor Kat Kinsman spoke 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

25 years ago, James Beard Award-winning chef and Top Chef alum Karen Akunowicz received a compliment from a Food & Wine Best New Chef that changed her entire career path. On this episode, she opened up about her journey from musical theater kid and hardworking diner waitress to acclaimed restaurateur, the power of embracing her queer identity, the heartbreak of a dropped dessert, her enduring love of Houston's, and the importance of visibility for the next generation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Jessica B. Harris is a scholar of the African food diaspora, an award-winning and prolific writer, a gifted storyteller and speaker, a teacher, and an icon to many. But what gets lost sometimes is that she's a person, first and foremost — one whose bookishness as a kid made it hard for her to connect with other kids. One raised by two artists whose dreams had to be deferred to make a living in New York but who supported their daughter's aspirations to be onstage. One whose curiosity and itchy traveling feet led her to explore the world and examine how the threads of many cultures wove together to end up on our dinner plate. She joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about being an outsider, her new book "Braided Heritage," about being Anthony Bourdain before Anthony Bourdain, and what it's like to live inside a mountain of cookbooks. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You have a favorite Matthew Lillard film or TV performance. It might be SLC Punk, the Scream franchise, Scooby Doo, Hackers, She's All That, Twin Peaks: The Return, or the new Stephen King and Mike Flanagan movie The Life of Chuck. He's been working in Hollywood for over 30 years, and has a reputation for being kind to fans. But connecting with people is exactly why he got into acting as a kid — the community that comes from putting on a play together and hashing it all out at the diner afterward. It's what drew him to Dungeons & Dragons, and then a spirits company celebrating fantasy and horror fandoms. Lillard joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about growing up not fitting in, the thrill of finding your people, the punk rock high school movie he directed, his wedding cheese wheel, and so much more. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first food memory Curtis Stone has is getting in trouble for eating too much butter. Then again, the Australian chef and TV host has never been one for restraint. Once he realized he wasn't going to be a professional athlete, he went to work for Marco Pierre White — notoriously one of the most hard-driving chefs of all time, then hosted 140 episodes of Take Home Chef, and then back into the fray, opening restaurants on his own without investors. The brand new James Beard Award nominee joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about his ham bathroom, the exhilaration and exhaustion of running a restaurant, how he wooed his wife — the actress Lindsay Price — with whiskey, the naked prank Joel McHale played on him, and so much more. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Hawa Hassan was five years old, she was living in a refugee camp in Kenya. By seven, she was resettled in Seattle with a few other refugees from Somalia, and waiting for her family to join her. Then the political climate changed, and she came to realize that they were never coming; she was on her own. The thing to know about Hawa Hassan is that she will always find the light in any situation, and use it to guide the way forward for others. The author, host, entrepreneur, and chef joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about her stunning new cookbook celebrating the lives of refugees, surviving as a kid far away from the world and family she'd known, how Doritos shaped her life, and the scent that transports her to her mother's kitchen. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Romy Gill puts in the work — always. Growing up in India, the chef, TV host, and author dreamed of being a cricket player and directed all her effort into that — and into lightly fibbing her way into her neighbors' homes to try different dishes than the ones she ate in her Punjabi household. It's this hunger and curiosity about other people and their foodways that has made her such a beloved presence on the BBC and ITV, as well as amassing a devoted audience for her award-winning cookbooks that explore regional Indian food and the people who keep these delicious traditions alive for generations to come. She joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about her passion for teaching, her evolving relationship with perfection and anger, dealing with dyslexia, and the celebrity she's dying to take on a train trip. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Vikas Khanna was growing up in a small town in India, the world was stacked against him. He was bullied by other children for wearing braces on his legs and not being able to play like them. But his grandmother and sister saw him for who he truly was: a lion. They brought him into the kitchen, and he roared to life. An extraordinary life at that, where he makes movies, writes books, feeds millions of hungry people, and runs Bungalow, the most watched Indian restaurant on the planet. He joined Tinfoil Swans for a truly moving conversation about the power of people believing in you, why he wants to "unrestaurant" himself, and why he feels driven to feed the world. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Laurie Woolever has worked for chefs you've definitely heard of, most notably Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali. Those two men are notorious for their outsized appetites, but in her new memoir, "Care and Feeding," Woolever gets raw and real about her own insatiable need for drugs, alcohol, and extramarital affairs while navigating the grossness and glamour of the food world in their orbits. She joined the Tinfoil Swans podcast to talk about getting sober, managing complicated men, and the shock of needing spirituality. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Growing up as an immigrant latchkey kid, Roy Choi spent a lot of time wandering the streets of Los Angeles alone, thinking he'd never fit in anywhere. He had a scar on his face from cleft palate surgery, and he thought of himself as an alley cat, slipping through the world unnoticed and he took in every detail of the way people interacted, especially at restaurants. It's this nuanced and empathetic view of humanity that's made the 2010 Food & Wine Best New Chef such a force in the hospitality world. He joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about going through life feeling unwelcome, how that's informed every business decision he's ever made, his new cookbook, and why he sometimes feels like a baked potato. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Byron Gomez and his family arrived in the United States from Costa Rica when he was eight years old, and he was in for the shock of his young life. He spoke Spanish at home, he'd never seen snow or even a winter coat, and he had to find his place in a world that didn't always want him there. But at age 15, he found restaurants. He put in the very hard work, let himself dream, and the success followed. The Top Chef contestant spoke about his path from Burger King to cooking in Michelin-starred restaurants, being a DACA recipient, getting sober, and all the battle scars he earned along the way. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The award-winning Tinfoil Swans podcast from Food & Wine is back on April 8. We're bringing you 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. In Season 3, you'll hear from icons and innovators like Byron Gomez, Roy Choi, Karen Akunowicz, Vikas Khanna, Matthew Lillard, Romy Gill, Laurie Woolever, Ana and Lydia Castro, Curtis Stone, and others going deep on 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 mind and soul. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's a good chance you know chef and author Kevin Gillespie from his fan-favorite stint on Season 6 of Top Chef or his return on the All Stars Season 20, but the Georgia native's talent can't be reduced to the small screen. His new Atlanta restaurant, Nàdair, is a full-throated love letter to his Scottish heritage — something Gillespie's family had always been made to feel ashamed of. But in the aftermath of renal cancer, doctors begging him to retire, and the loss of multiple family members in the past year, he's put life on fast-forward and opened the restaurant that would make his ancestors proud. Gillespie got raw and real about a childhood split between Appalachia and aristocracy, how facing death has changed his relationship to fear, and what the next chapter holds for him. 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

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

Since 2008, actor and writer Darron Cardosa has been setting the internet ablaze with his pioneering blog "The Bitchy Waiter" — which he has since spun into a rollicking book and stage show of the same name. Darron is also one of Food & Wine's most prolific and popular writers, and in this inspiring and emotional conversation, he shares his feelings about weird customer requests, being a voice for the service industry, his upcoming movie, and why it's so rude to leave a penny tip. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices