The Zest
WUSF Public MediaThe Zest
Because it’s strange and beautiful and hot, people from everywhere converge on Florida and they bring their cuisine and their traditions with them. The Zest celebrates the intersection of food and communities in the Sunshine State.
2021 WUSF Public Media. University of South Florida. All rights reserved.
Because it’s strange and beautiful and hot, people from everywhere converge on Florida and they bring their cuisine and their traditions with them. The Zest celebrates the intersection of food and communities in the Sunshine State.
2021 WUSF Public Media. University of South Florida. All rights reserved.
Why shop when you can swap?
She's baking her way to the top, one plant-based cake at a time.
Is Florida's new signature scent... vanilla?
No fish story here.
Nice work, if you can get it.
It's grilling season, y'all.
Meet the director and students.
He's looking at you, Lunchables.
Prof. William Schanbacher, Ph.D., breaks it down.
Our love language is podcast reviews.
Super Bowl snacking activated.
This book is half recipes, half stories, all Latin American.
She's dropping some serious knowledge.
Share this with a foodie friend!
Grab a fork and a cup of coffee.
She always brings the heat.
Boring resolutions? Oh, kale no!
To win big, start small.
This food business in the new Black.
His newest project is Central Park St. Pete.
Sundays and holidays don't count!
Florida was the site of the first Thanksgiving.
Her cookbook makes a great holiday gift. :)
A little cup of coffee can do a whole lotta good.
November is World Vegan Month!
Life without coffee? Now that's scary!
40 years in business? Cowabunga!
It’s our cheesiest episode yet.
Many Florida restaurants need our support.
Say buongiorno to good eating!
Vegan cookie butter crepes? Say less!
It’s the most delicious time of year at the Most Magical Place on Earth.
Make your nutrition a slam dunk.
Eradicating food deserts, one community dinner at a time.
Work smarter, not harder.
He's a self-proclaimed member of the Elmer Fudd Hall of Fame.
Share this preview with a foodie friend!
"Cook the Garden" will be your cup o' tea.
The Sunshine City has a new food podcast.
Red, white and brew.
His food is making waves.
He won’t fumble in the kitchen.
She shares pearls of wisdom.
She's got the write stuff.
Dalia and Alex do shots of olive oil.
Student Taylor Moore and instructor Wendy Wesley offer cooking tips for us all.
The life-changing magic of bread.
Don't let Ginain catch you wasting food.
Matthew Peddie interviews Dalia about the cookbook.
Think outside the pasta box.
Get to know the hosts of another food podcast we think you’ll enjoy.
Fine dining can be fun... even with kids!
Meet the influencers behind Food People Luv.
Meet the duo who inspired our Couples in the Kitchen series.
Meet the ultimate Tampa foodie couple.
Who says you can't mix the restaurant business with pleasure?
Love is in the air... and in the kitchen.
Dig into the roots of soul food with Adrian Miller, better known as the Soul Food Scholar.
Learn how small changes can keep you from overindulging.
Get dinner inspiration from Chef Johnathan Rodriguez.
Learn tips for saving time, money and sanity when eating at Disney World.
Enjoy this sweet holiday conversation between a grandmother and granddaughter.
While we’re cooking up new episodes of The Zest, we’d like to tell you about another podcast we think you’ll enjoy.
Fans of The Zest will also enjoy this food podcast from Visit Tampa Bay.
The holidays are a great time to gather family recipes, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tell you about the City of Tampa’s Soulwalk Community Cookbook.
You may be enjoying turkey today, but for Florida’s early Spanish settlers, festive meals meant pork. Lots and lots of pork.
We’re checking in with Tampa’s prince of pork, Andrew Tambuzzo.
Learn guidelines for foraging legally, ethically and safely.
Let's talk about a time when alcohol was forbidden in Florida—at least, that was the official stance.
At 87, Huey Howard is a living legend in Florida's agriculture industry.
Meet two friends who went from working at a law firm to owning their own brewery.
Stone crab season starts Oct. 15. But why are the claws so expensive?
A splash of alcohol enhances almost any dish, from sauces and stews to meats and desserts.
Learn a hack for making better sushi with advice from Chef Mike Collantes.
This Florida-based, Black-owned whiskey company is making waves.
Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison offer cooking tips and plenty of laughs.
Learn about a vodka that honors the spirit of the Panhandle.
Learn how to create a family cookbook or recipe website.
Get a crash course in how to pickle and can your own food.
Pastry chef Shayla Daniels of Tampa offers tips and tricks to help us all bake better at home. She also shares her own bittersweet personal story.
The weather outside is frightful—that is, frightfully hot and humid. So this week, we’re getting suggestions for wines that pair perfectly with Florida’s sweltering summer.
It’s been called the Biggest Party of the Summer: This week, dig your claws into Key West Lobsterfest.
Before food influencers and YouTube chefs, there were the cooking gurus of the newspaper women’s pages.
Get to know one of the busiest guys in Florida’s culinary scene: Chef Kenny Gilbert.
We’re sliding into your podcast feed with our season 8 premiere: a conversation with Courtney Ellison, dietitian for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Here's what we're cooking up for season 8.
For our season finale, we’re unpacking Yelp’s list of the Top 100 Places to Eat in Florida.
It's tapas time! Learn why Spanish-style small plates are perfect for Florida’s warmer months, and find inspiration to host your own tapas get-together.
If you’ve ever dreamed of starting a food business but didn’t know where to begin, today you’ll get inspiration and practical steps to help you toward that goal.
Cooking for your household is one thing. But making food for a large group is a whole different ball game. Today, get expert advice on how to cook for a crowd without getting in over your head.
A family farm brings a taste of China to Florida’s Atlantic Coast.
You can take the girl out of Florida, but you can’t take Florida out of the girl—at least not her love of oranges.
How’s this for a good story to tell at cocktail parties? Dave Matthews Band inspired Nichole Dube to start a produce business.
Today, we’re chatting with a restauranteur who’s bringing Mexican food and more to the Tampa Bay area.
Don't have a cow. Today we're chatting with a South Florida couple who are keeping the state’s dairy farming tradition alive.
Florida weather isn’t the only thing that’s turning up the heat. We’re chatting with Chef Manny FD of the Orlando Fire Department.
When it comes to educating the public about pollination, today’s guest is one busy bee.
For storyteller and comedian Natasha Samreny, multicultural family dinners are a source of endless inspiration.
We hope you’re thirsty, because this week’s guest is Julia Melucci of Monin.
Meet the brothers who started a fresh pasta business during the pandemic to give customers a fine dining experience at home.
Dig into comfort food for a good cause. PB & Jelly Deli is a nonprofit food truck that donates a meal to someone in need for every sandwich sold.
This week we learn about the food customs of enslaved workers who labored on Florida’s plantations, growing cotton, tobacco, sugar and other cash crops.
Today we'll learn science-based advice for keeping fruits, veggies and herbs fresh longer.
Today we’re tackling some of our 2023 foodie goals with food writer Charlie Crespo.
Whether you want to explore new restaurants, try your hand at food writing, or hop onto some of this year’s biggest food trends, Charlie is here to show us the way.
Learn seven tips for ending reliance on restaurant and takeout food.
We’re kicking off season 7 with a trip around the world for your tastebuds. Our guest is Chef Albert Youngman, culinary director for Disney's EPCOT Theme Park.
Here's a taste of what we're cooking up for the new year. Season 7 premieres on Jan. 5, and new episodes are released every Thursday.
The holidays mean food—and food waste. Today on our season 6 finale, we’ll meet a mother-and-son duo who are doing something about it while helping those in need.
Stephanie Love’s philosophy on wine is simple: “Wine is for everybody.”
For Deborah Keller of Tallahassee, the world is her oyster. After a 29-year career with The Nature Conservancy, Deborah turned her attention to sustainable shellfish.
We always love digging into food history, so we’re excited to welcome back friend of the pod Dr. Frederick Douglass Opie.
He’s a little bit foodie, and a little bit rock ‘n roll. This week, we’re catching up with musician-turned-MasterChef contestant Derrick Fox.
This week, we’re exploring the benefits of hyperlocal agriculture with Zach Correa, founder and CEO of lemonGRAFT. The Tampa-based tech platform that allows neighbors to buy and sell home-grown foods.
Explore how Central Florida became a hotbed of Latino food businesses—and the cultural mashups that followed.
Today we’re geeking out on the details that can help your home-cooked meals taste more like restaurant-quality creations.
As the war in Ukraine continues, meet a Ukrainian couple bringing a taste of their homeland to Florida.
If you've ever dreamed of starting a community garden, then you'll want to take notes on this episode.
Learn to simplify healthy eating with simple advice from Carly Paige of FitLiving Eats.
She’s the woman behind the men. Tracie Hartman serves as executive performance chef for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If you can’t stand the heat… then grab a glass of milk. We’re spicing things up with Michele Northrup, better known as the Saucy Queen.
Break out the fine china and mind your manners. We’re heading to the former Tampa Bay Hotel to learn how the wealthy wined and dined a century ago.
Grab your bucket list, and prepare to be inspired. We’re chatting with author Kristen Hare about things to eat in Tampa Bay before you die.
This week, we’re exploring the low-carb lifestyle. YouTuber Dennis Perez offers hacks for enjoying Florida flavors without all the carbohydrates.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of "Cross Creek Cookery” by celebrated Florida author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. This week, we’ll learn what the cookbook reveals about celebrity, race relations, gender roles and more in Florida past and present.
Just in time for peak hurricane season in August and September, learn how to put together an emergency kit full of foods you'll actually want to eat—all without breaking the bank.
If you find yourself overspending on groceries or throwing away wasted food, this episode is for you.
You're probably familiar with food and wine pairings, but how about book and wine pairings? Just in time for beach season, we've got some recommended summer reads, and what to drink as you get lost in a good book.
Season 6 premieres on Thursday, July 14.
With summer travel season upon us, we’ve invited travel blogger Carrie McLaren to share her best food-related travel hacks.
Just in time for summer, we’re breaking down how to mix a refreshing, make-ahead beverage that packs a real… PUNCH!
When the zombie apocalypse happens, the best place to ride it out might just be at Albert Risemberg’s house. At his home in Gulfport, just south of St. Petersburg, Albert is growing enough sustenance to outlast any hunker-down situation that may arise.
Dig into some Southern comfort food—but hold the bacon. We’re getting to know the Shaun Noonan, founder of the plant-based Florida restaurant chain Dharma Southern Kitchen.
Climb aboard the Taste History Culinary Bus Tour. Delray Beach native Lori J. Durante started the tour in 2011 to showcase the lesser-known history and multicultural influences of restaurants in Palm Beach County. To date, more than 10,000 people have embarked on Durant's off-the-beaten-path tours.
Here at The Zest, we love exploring Florida history through the lens of food. Today we’re zooming out and learning about the role food played in shaping U.S. history. Our guides are Dr. Cassandra Yacovazzi and Dr. Julia Irwin, both University of South Florida history professors.
This week’s guests are a rare breed. Exactly how rare? “We’re the third master sommelier couple in the world,” says Andrew McNamara, of his marriage to Emily Pickral.
Gabrielle E.W. Carter & Dr. LaDonna Butler on Food as Rest & Resistance
If you’re stuck in a dinner rut, then Chef Justin Timineri can help. Justin is the executive chef and culinary ambassador for Fresh From Florida, which is a marketing and development branch of the Florida Department of Agriculture.
Today, learn how a mistaken phone call led to the creation of 4 Rivers Barbecue. The restaurant chain started in Winter Park and now has more than a dozen Florida locations.
March is Women’s History Month, and you're about to meet a St. Petersburg woman who's making history right here in Florida. As the founder of Mermosa Wines, Desiree Noisette is Florida’s first Black female winemaker.
Happy St. Paddy’s Day—a great time to go green as we continue our occasional series Conscious Cuisine. Today: how to choose sustainable seafood.
If you’ve ever tried to cook with a child, then you know that the experience can be a hot mess—literally. But today, help is on the way.
Florida’s strawberry season is one of the sweetest times of the year, with U-pick fruit, roadside strawberry milkshake stands and of course the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Today we’ll get the story of how “itty-bitty Plant City” became the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.
Conscious Cuisine: Rocky Soil Family Farm on How to Reconnect with Your Food
What started as an offhand joke has grown into one of St. Petersburg’s most beloved events of the year. We're chatting with the cofounders of the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival.
If you want to eat better from the ground up, then you may consider composting your food scraps. Today we’ll learn the basics with help from Miami Compost Project.
Get ready for a sweet escape. We’re talking Valentine’s Day chocolates with Norman Love.
What’d you eat for breakfast today? Did you eat breakfast at all? Get ready to makeover your morning meal with pro tips from the popular Florida-based restaurant chain First Watch.
Conscious Cuisine: Rob Greenfield on How to Live without Grocery Stores and Restaurants
The new season of The Zest starts on Thursday, Jan. 20. Here's a taste of what we've been cooking up.
Winter is Florida’s peak growing season. So in our season 4 finale, we bring you a conversation with Gail Eggeman of the St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market.
It’s a Florida holiday, Boriqua-style. We’re taking a deep dive into some winter holiday food customs that have made their way from Puerto Rico to the Sunshine State.
Our citrus industry ain’t what it used to be. This week we’ll explore the rise and fall of Florida citrus.
Move over, Stove Top Stuffing and sweet potato casserole with mini marshmallows. We’re exploring what Florida’s indigenous groups and early settlers ate for the first Thanksgiving and in everyday life.
During the height of the pandemic, while the rest of us were Netflixing and baking sourdough bread, Niven Patel was busy. Really busy. He became the father of twin daughters Ari and Aya, and he birthed two other “babies”—a pair of restaurants inside THesis Hotel Miami.
Students Dish on Dorm Food, Shared Kitchens and Cooking in College
Today, we’re sharing two interviews from our friends over at Florida Matters. First we’ll dig into the history of the Cuban sandwich. Then we’ll hear about some of Florida’s lesser known Cuban contributions.
WIN A COPY OF T-PAIN'S NEW COCKTAIL COOKBOOK! Details on Facebook and Instagram @TheZestPodcast.
James Weldon Johnson’s Foodie Life
Chef Alain Lemaire on Florida’s Haitian Cuisine
Lunchboxmafia: How to Make a Lunch They Can’t Refuse
Food Memories of Latin America
Are the James Beard Awards snubbing Florida? At least one local food writer says yes. Eric Barton is here to make the case, explain why the accolade matters so much for Florida restaurants and offer solutions to make the contest more fair and inclusive.
Today we’ll meet a pair of sisters who are bringing Korean food to the masses in Miami.
Chef Greg Baker on Mental Health: "It's Okay to Not Be Okay"
How Gatorade Went from Gainesville to Global Brand
If you dread cooking or think you need a degree from culinary school just to make dinner, then get ready for a confidence boost. Today’s guest offers a crash course in preparing quick, healthy meals with ingredients you have on hand—no recipes required.
Today, we’ll get alfresco dining tips from Lauren Gay, better known online as Outdoorsy Diva. On her popular blog and social media channels, the Valrico-based travel influencer shares her adventures, from hiking and horseback riding to kayaking and swimming with manatees.
Today, we’re keepin’ it kosher in a conversation with Miami’s Zak the Baker.
The Zest and Florida Matters podcasts are produced by WUSF Public Media.
Don’t eat another morsel of food at Walt Disney World until you hear our conversation with today’s guest. We're chatting with AJ Wolfe, owner and executive editor of Disney Food Blog.
It's almost time for season 4 of The Zest Podcast. Check out what we've been cooking up.
Season 3 Finale: Dining with Salvador Dalí
Today we bring you a conversation with history-making chef—and St. Petersburg native—Eduoardo Jordan. You won’t want to miss this.
Cocktails for Mom, or Anyone Who Could Use a Drink
If your go-to snack comes in a crinkly bag, then it’s time for a glow-up. Today we’ve got dozens of ideas for snacks that are healthy, taste good and can even help you beat the Florida heat.
If you’ve ever eaten a funnel cake at the Florida State Fair, then there’s a good chance you have our guest to thank. Today we’re talking fried foods with funnel cake legend Jane Harris.
Cooking blogs are over the internet. But what gets lost when a recipe goes from hand-written to typed out… and how can we get it back?
Halal Food 101 with Florida's Halal Food Guru
Beer Kulture Raises the Bar for Diversity in Craft Beverage Industry
Meet Shannon O'Malley, co-founder of St. Petersburg's Brick Street Farms. It's an urban agribusiness that combines timeless farming practices with new technology to create plants that she says taste better and are better for the environment.
How Florida Became "the Birthplace of Fusion Cuisine"
This week, we’re off to South Florida for a chat with the Miami Herald’s food and dining editor. Grab a cup of strong Cuban coffee and settle in for a conversation with Carlos Frías.
It'd be nearly impossible to eat at every restaurant in Orlando. But Ricky Ly sure does come close. The founder of the popular website TastyChomps.com breaks down Central Florida's best eats.
Yaupon Brothers American Tea Co.
Take a trip around the world, without ever leaving Florida. Today’s guest explains how the state’s ethnic grocery stores are your passport to a world of flavors.
Vegetables are one of the best things we can eat: They’re chock-full of nutrients, they’re low in calories, they can reduce our risk of heart diseases and cancers. So we know WHY we should eat more veggies. This episode is all about HOW.
There’s a holiday coming up, but it doesn’t involve flowers or candy. Feb. 15 is Florida Craft Beer Day.
It’s the quintessential Florida dessert: key lime pie. Pucker up for a conversation with the owner of Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Shoppe.
If you’re searching for your next favorite bottle of wine, hit up your local wine shop. Our guest explains why the shop owner—and you—will be especially glad you did.
Let’s talk about Zora Neale Hurston: writer, anthropologist and… foodie? Today we’ll dig into the role food played in the famous Floridian’s life and work.
Happy new year! If you resolved to eat better in 2021, this episode is for you. We've got 14 tips to get you eating healthier, faster.
The new season of The Zest drops on Thursday, Jan. 7. Here's a taste of what we've been cooking up for you.
Move over, Mickey. These days, the main attraction at Walt Disney World just might be the food. A Disney expert guides us through the theme park's dining scene, from chicken nuggets to guacamole with grasshoppers.
This Florida distillery takes its location in the Sunshine state seriously! We take a trip to the St. Petersburg Distillery, which uses iconic local ingredients like oranges and sugar cane in their Florida-focused spirits.
Associated Press news reporter Tamara Lush has covered her share of crime and mayhem in the Sunshine State. Now she brings those skills under the pen name Tara Lush to writing crime fiction with Florida's brewing coffee scene as a backdrop.
Local honey, bee colleges, fake honey… We revisit Robin's 2019 conversation with Dr. Jamie Ellis, a professor of entomology and director of honey bee research at the University of Florida. Learn why the health of Florida's honey bees impacts every single one of us.
Just in time for Florida’s fall planting season, an expert offers tips for growing your own food.
Florida is not just beaches and Disney World – it has serious agricultural cred. In fact, it’s the birthplace of America’s beef industry. We learn lots of surprising food facts when Robin Sussingham chats with Heather McPherson.
St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor and City Administrator Kanika Tomalin dishes about her new cookbook, "St. Pete Eats."
Author Genie Milgrom of Miami speaks with Robin Sussingham about her cookbook, “Recipes of My 15 Grandmothers,” which was recently named Best Gift Book in the 2020 International Latino Book Awards.
Sometimes you come across someone who is so passionate about something that their enthusiasm ends up rubbing off on you. That's how it is with Sef Gonzalez, also known as Burger Beast. If you don't love hamburgers now, just wait until you hear what Sef has to say.
He’s a real-life Willy Wonka. Meet the man behind Jacksonville’s over-the-top candy paradise, Sweet Pete’s.
St. Petersburg is a great food town. But don't you dare go out to eat there until you've listened to this interview with the hosts of the St. Petersburg Foodies podcast.
What’s one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on? Fried chicken! Chef Art Smith talks about using food to bridge the political divide.
Here in Florida, we’re at peak mango right now. Renowned South Florida Chef Allen Susser literally wrote the book on mangos – and he’s here to show us how to take advantage of these tropical treasures.
For many students, back to school means back to school sports. We’ll talk with an expert about how to feed your young athlete.
Are you taking photographs of your homemade cookies or awesome barbecue and posting them to Instagram? It’s gotten to be part of the fun of cooking—but not if it shows up in your feed as a drab, brown blob. We have some tips for you.
Today, learn how economic freeze led to a cool business idea. We’ll meet the founder The Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops and get tips for creating frozen treats at home.
Nowadays, we're all cooking a lot more at home and discovering the art of grocery shopping. You can do it better, and we'll tell you how.
Maybe you're lucky enough to be staying at the beach all summer. Or maybe like us, you're just dreaming of the sea breezes and the sunsets. Either way, we've got the ultimate beach house menu. It will take you to the coast.
It’s the quintessential Fourth of July food: the hotdog. Today, we’ll meet the owner of Mel’s Hot Dogs in Tampa and get tips for making your best hotdog at home.
The Atlantic hurricane season is upon us. Let's survive it with some storm-related cocktails!
From barbecue joints to an upscale food hall, a documentary explores Tampa Bay’s black-owned restaurants. Today, we bring you a conversation with the filmmaker.
Today, we’re heading to Tarpon Springs to explore the flavors of Florida’s Greektown.
Orlando Sentinel food reporter Amy Drew Thompson discusses some of Central Florida's most exciting restaurants.
Is it possible to barbecue ribs in just 40 minutes? The answer might surprise you! On today’s podcast, we talk to a barbecue pro to get you ready for summertime grilling.
Today, we bring you a conversation with Miami chef Michelle Bernstein, who describes the way her Latin-Jewish heritage shows up on the plate.
We’re focusing on what's fresh and what's growing in Florida. This month: sweet corn and melons!
Cracker cooking just might be the true Florida cuisine. We speak to cookbook author Joy Harris, a sixth-generation Floridian whose new book celebrates her ancestors’ cooking.
Today, a Florida bakery owner talks about the magic of sourdough – and how her community has rallied around her to help save her small business.
Chef Rene Valenzuela brought Mexican cuisine to Tampa Bay by way of the food truck, before food trucks were cool! We’ll hear what he has to say about life, food, and celebration.
Today, we bring you a conversation with Toni Tipton-Martin. The food educator and James Beard Award-winning author wants to change the way we think about African-American cooking.
It's blueberry season! Don't blink or you'll miss it. It's also a great time to buy Florida squash. We're talking about what's ripe, right now.
Aqua farmers are trying their hand at growing oysters outside of the famous Apalachicola grounds. We take a ride with one hopeful pioneer whose floating farm sits at the mouth of Tampa Bay.
On this bonus episode of The Zest , we speak to Chef Marcos Fernandez of Nineteen61 in downtown Lakeland.
Chef Marcos tells us why he thinks he's been able to keep busy while many of his fellow restaurant owners have had to close.
Bonus: The Well-Stocked Emergency Pantry
A Tampa bakery shows a lot of love for foster kids with the help of some eye-catching, over the top desserts; we celebrate the start of Carnival season with rum punch; and a seasonal salad that's perfect right now!
How to Get Started On The Mediterranean Diet
The Super Bowl is set to take place in Miami, and we're already declaring an MVP: the stadium's head chef. We speak to Chef Dayanny de la Cruz about how she's taking stadium food to the next level.
A Gasparilla Primer; The Gasparilla Cookbook's Avocado-Buttermilk Ring
This week, we're singing the praises of the neighborhood convenience store -- your go-to stop whether you need a beanie OR a hard boiled egg! Plus, we've got some advice for aspiring food influencers!
Happy New Year! If your New Year's resolutions include more home cooking, we've got some ideas for making that easier. If your resolutions include drinking more homemade limoncello, we've got you covered on that too!
We launched The Zest in May of this year. We've learned so much, and met so many interesting people. Now that we're "ready for the check" for our 2019 Florida food experience, we want to replay some of our favorite moments so far.
This week on the Zest, we get our families involved in showing off some holiday traditions. Dalia's daughter, Norah Colón, helps us make reindeer cookies; I'm following my father around as he makes smoked mullet; and WUSF reporters let us in on some treasured recipes.
Miami-based chef and caterer Yaniv Cohen wants us to spice it up! He gives us some ideas for adding flavor to our lives -- and to our Hannukah latkes!
Rural Florida Pioneers Holiday Cooking; The Culinary Side Of The Straz
Cookbook Gift Ideas; Vegan Food Boom At Florida's Theme Parks
Edible Insects On The Menu; Claiming The First Thanksgiving For Florida
Beekeepers Talk Shop At Sweetwater Farm
Little Midway Ice Cream Parlor; The Chef/Photographer At The Dali Museum
(I Can't Believe It's) Vegan Baking; An Art Museum's Apiary
The Deviled Pig's Pitmaster Champion; The Many Threats To Honey Bees
Sean Sherman is 'The Sioux Chef; The Mead Renaissance
Lakeland's Born & Bread Bakehouse; Florida Bee Farm
Dr. Jaime Ellis And The Buzz On Florida's Honey Bees
Andrew Tambuzzo On Sausage And Heritage
Fall Foods In Florida; And Key West Food Critic Murder Mysteries
Mango Ice Cream; Mocktails; and The Deep End Of Flavor
The Columbia Restaurant's 1905 Salad; The Gasparilla Cookbook's Florida Orange Grove Pie; & Lazarus Lynch
Barbecue Genius Ray Lampe aka Dr BBQ; and Genius Desserts from Food 52
We’re talking to some of Tampa Bay’s favorite food personalities. Meet Helen Freund, the new restaurant critic for the Tampa Bay Times. Plus, blogger and social media sensation Isabel Laessig, a.k.a. Family Foodie, talks about her #SundaySupper movement, and offers advice for bringing the family together over a meal.
It’s been a South Florida icon since 1959. We’ll visit the legendary Robert Is Here fruit stand in Homestead. Plus: nice catch! Dive into the rules and recipes of Florida’s spiny lobster season.
Florida Wines
It's Summer! We Give Thanks For Mangoes (And Watermelons)
Southern Food Maven Edna Lewis; and Hostess Gifts For Foodie Friends
Sister Pie; Café Con Leche; and Craft Beer
She's a James Beard Award winner, protégé of Emeril Lagasse and the culinary innovator behind one of Tampa’s most talked-about new restaurants. Today on The Zest, a conversation with Chef Anne Kearney.
Go With Your Gut: Advice From A Dietitian/Athlete
The Future of Food; Ancient Grains; And The "Real" Cuban Sandwich
This week, we’re living the sweet life. We’ll visit with the Junior League of Tampa to test out a peach cobbler recipe from The Gasparilla Cookbook. We’ll chat with the authors of The New Pie about ideas for updating the classic dessert. And edible cookie dough arrives in Tampa!
Bourbon and Barbecue: Father's Day Edition
Bern's Chef de Cuisine, Habteab "Hab" Hamde, guides us through the labyrinth that makes up the classic Tampa restaurant's back-of-house operation, from the massive kitchen to the pastry department -- and of course, the grill! Chef Hab even reveals his secret to grilling a great steak at home.
Mayor Jane Castor Talks Food; Ed Chiles On Wild Hogs; & Community Gardening In St. Petersburg
Caring is Sharing (Food); A Different Way To Build A Food Hall; The “Instant Charm” Of Historic Buildings
International flavor: Bavaro’s Pizza Brings Italy To Tampa Bay; The Fruit Basket Of New Zealand; Israeli Soul
Writer Rick Bragg On Food And Family; Longest Table Chefs
The History of Beer; How to Make A Mojito; and Tampa Bay’s Dining Scene Heats Up
Introducing The Zest
Afro-Cuban History Is on the Menu at Soul de Cuba Cafe in Tampa
May 8, 202524min 15sec
There’s no shortage of Cuban restaurants in Florida. But one stands out for its commitment to the history and culture of Cubans of African descent.
At Soul de Cuba Cafe in Tampa’s Seminole Heights neighborhood, the decor includes dozens of framed family pictures—the ancestors of the restaurant’s founder and CEO, Jesús Puerto. On one wall, there’s a mural-size black-and-white photo from 1944 depicting dark-skinned people socializing and dancing—the women in dresses, the men in suit jackets and Panama hats. They were members of Martí-Maceo Society, a social club for Tampa’s Black Cubans, formed because segregation kept them from joining a similar group full of their lighter-skinned counterparts.
Jesús wants guests to leave with knowledge—and with full bellies, of course. The menu includes traditional Cuban favorites like roast pork and ropa vieja, as well as modernized options, such as mojo salmon and veggie empanadas. He also sells a line of take-home sauces.
Jesús chatted with Dalia about what makes Afro-Cubans unique, the importance of knowing your history and Soul de Cuba Cafe’s must-try foods and cocktails. He also makes a case for why Tampa, not Miami, deserves bragging rights as the birthplace of the Cuban sandwich.
Thanks to Jim Webb for the episode suggestion and photos of Soul de Cuba Cafe. If you’d like to suggest a Zest guest, email us at info@thezestpodcast.com.
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