Industry Night with Nycci Nellis

Nycci Nellis
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Industry Night is the long-talk format radio show and podcast that brings you up close and personal with the trends and trendsetters across today’s diverse food, wine, spirits, brews and hospitality landscape. For in-depth insights and insider tips, join your host, Nycci Nellis, cohost of Foodie and the Beast, the DC area’s one and only food and wine variety show, and all the locally, nationally and globally renowned chefs, restaurateurs, cookbook authors, mixologists, somms, distillers, brewmasters, pit-masters and more that you’ll hear from on Industry Night.

  1. 3d ago

    Ereka Vetrini Breaks Down the Business of Food Content & Being Well Fed on Industry Night

    Four million people ask her what’s for dinner. She never planned any of it. Everybody knows her as the gnocchi lady. One video, three million views in three days, and the whole trajectory changed. But here is the thing about Ereka Vetrini that most people scrolling past her reels have no idea about: she had already had an entire career before that. Boston College, GE finance, Estee Lauder, and yes, the first season of The Apprentice. Then she walked away from television because she was tired of telling everybody else’s story. This one matters if you have ever wondered what actually holds a food career together when the algorithm keeps moving the furniture. Ereka is honest about the parts nobody posts: the non compete that nearly ended her TV run, the years she said no to a cookbook deal, the difference between a brand partnership and an affiliate link, and why she is pouring money into a blog instead of chasing the next platform. It is the kind of conversation this DC food podcast exists for, and it will land for anyone in the hospitality industry building something that has to outlast a trend. Ereka Vetrini is a first generation Italian American recipe creator, a former NBC, TLC and HGTV host, and the author of the forthcoming cookbook Well Fed, out March 30. She grew up in Westchester in her parents’ pizzeria, learned to cook by tasting and by getting yelled at, and now makes five recipes a week for an audience in the millions. Her people come to her for a lighter hand on Italian food and an approach that actually works in a real kitchen. Key Takeaways Growing up in a family restaurant taught her that food work is people work before it is ever cooking work.The Apprentice opened television for her, then a non compete nearly closed it, and she wrote her way out of it herself.She left hosting because she was handed the script and told what to wear, and she wanted her own story back.Chasing what other creators are doing is the fastest way into a rut, so she filters every trend through her own kitchen first.She is building an email list through her own blog rather than renting an audience on a platform she does not own.Ereka Vetrini said, “Working in food is more than just being able to cook or loving food. You have to really love people.” Ereka Vetrini said, “I am not affected by the haters. Like, I’m truly not.” Timestamps 00:00 Why this one is in the office instead of a restaurant 02:44 Growing up first generation in a Westchester pizzeria 04:12 Naples, Dente Cane, and food as family history 07:11 GE, Estee Lauder, and the business path 08:01 How she ended up on the first season of The Apprentice 10:04 The non compete that almost ended her TV career 11:34 NBC, TLC, and six seasons of HGTV 12:15 Walking away from telling other people’s stories 13:58 Raising two eaters and the no yuck rule 16:17 The 2020 dare that became a career 18:03 Staying on top in a crowded recipe creator space 24:04 Why the recipe has to actually work 25:02 Where five recipes a week come from 29:50 The cookbook, the algorithm, and owning your audience 34:24 Content creator versus influencer 36:55 The team, the blog, and the Substack question 38:03 Roast chickens and Aunt Gigi’s farro stuffing 42:29 Rapid fire 44:07 Where to find Ereka More from Industry Night, the DC food podcast and DC dining guide from Nycci Nellis, at thelistareyouonit.com Connect with Ereka Vetrini Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erekav/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erekavTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@erekasfoodWebsite: https://cookingwitherika.com

    Ereka Vetrini Breaks Down the Business of Food Content & Being Well Fed on Industry Night

  2. Sep 17

    Chef Steven Fretz on Leaving Big Cities for Michelin's New Southwest Frontier

    A California steakhouse veteran heads home to Utah right as Michelin comes calling. I love it when a chef gives me the honest version of a big accolade instead of the polished one, and that is exactly what happened this week. My guest got the email that every chef dreams about, and his first thought was not pride, it was suspicion. Is this spam. That is the real reaction, and I am obsessed with it. This episode is about what happens after two decades of cooking in some of the best kitchens in the country finally catches up with you, right as Michelin decides Utah is worth a look for the first time. If you have ever wondered whether awards like Michelin, James Beard, and World’s 50 Best actually mean anything beyond ego, this conversation gets into it honestly, no spin. Chef Steven Fretz has spent more than two decades in some of the country’s most respected kitchens, from San Francisco’s Fifth Floor to the Michael Mina Group, with stops working alongside David Burke and running his own restaurant, Church Key, in LA. He co-founded Coast Range, a Michelin recognized steakhouse in Solvang, California, and now he is home in Utah as culinary director and partner at South Hill, opening two new restaurants, Montbleu and Charlay, on the Wasatch Back. This is a DC food podcast that goes wherever the best chefs are, and this week that is Midway, Utah, talking Michelin Guide Utah steakhouse with Chef Steven Fretz. Key Takeaways Steven Fretz got the email announcing his Michelin recognition and assumed it was spam before he believed it was real.He calls himself a resting chef, searing and resting a steak up to ten times before it ever reaches the plate.Cooking is the easy part for Steven, hospitality is what actually separates a good restaurant from a great one.His new steakhouse at South Hill in Midway, Utah will use one hundred percent locally sourced product from ranchers and farmers he has met since moving there in February.Steven sees Michelin’s first Southwest guide as validation for a hospitality industry that is more educated and more skeptical of accolades than ever.Steven Fretz said, “Cooking’s easy. Hospitality is the hardest part.”Steven Fretz said, “Your steak’s not supposed to be hot. I’m a resting chef.”Timestamps 00:00 Nycci opens with the Roasted series and this week’s guest 03:20 Chef Steven Fretz joins the show 03:31 From skiing in Park City to his first kitchen job 06:32 Learning the standard of perfection under George Morone 10:23 Working with Michael Mina and the Mina family of chefs 13:06 How Coast Range in Solvang came together during Covid 16:03 The move back home to Utah and the South Hill project 19:56 Inside Montbleu and Charlay, opening at South Hill 21:03 Sourcing locally on a three month Wasatch Back growing season 23:50 What kind of steakhouse Charlay will actually be 26:47 Why Steven calls himself a resting chef 31:52 What Michelin, James Beard, and World’s 50 Best really mean to chefs 39:35 Cooking is easy, hospitality is hard 41:53 Where to find Montbleu and rapid fire questions Connect with Steven Fretz Website: montbleu.com Instagram: instagram.com/montbleu.com

    Chef Steven Fretz on Leaving Big Cities for Michelin's New Southwest Frontier

  3. Sep 10

    Ashok Bajaj x Chef Vikram Sunderam x Me: Passion Built the Empire, This Chef Brought It to Life

    Inside the empire behind Rasika, Bombay Club, and now Malabar. He told me he gets high without taking any drugs, just from walking into his own restaurants every night. After 35 years and ten restaurants, he still means it, and that is the whole story in one sentence. This week I sat down with two people who basically invented modern Indian dining in America, on location at their newest restaurant, Malabar. If you have ever wondered how one person builds a ten restaurant empire, survives a pandemic downtown, and still shows up in person every single night, this conversation has the real answer. Ashok Bajaj is the founder and CEO of Knightsbridge Restaurant Group, the man Forbes calls DC’s gastronomic power broker, the guy behind Rasika, Bombay Club, Bindaas, Sababa, Rosselli, and now Malabar. He opened the Bombay Club in 1988 and changed how this country understands Indian food. Alongside him is Chef Vikram Sunderam, his partner of two decades, a James Beard Award winning chef who ran London’s Bombay Brasserie before opening Rasika with Ashok in 2005. This is a DC food podcast conversation about Ashok Bajaj, Vikram Sunderam, and the Indian restaurant scene in Washington DC, thirty five years in the making. Key Takeaways Ashok Bajaj has run ten plus restaurants in Washington DC for over three decades and still visits several of them in person every single night.Malabar exists because Ashok tore down a struggling concept called Rosedale and rebuilt it from scratch, his philosophy is stop, rethink, and flip when something isn’t working.Chef Vikram Sunderam has partnered with Ashok for over twenty years since opening Rasika together in 2005, earning a James Beard Award along the way.Ashok is candid about downtown DC’s post pandemic struggles, including a real conversation with a landlord about a building that dropped from 140 million dollars to 40 million in value.Vikram explains the mastery behind dishes like the palak chaat, where getting the oil temperature exactly right matters more than any other single step.Ashok Bajaj said, “I get high without taking any drugs on these things.”Chef Vikram Sunderam said, “We’ve got a gastronomic bromance, you would say.” Timestamps 00:00 Nycci opens at Malabar and introduces Ashok Bajaj’s story 02:51 Ashok Bajaj joins the show 03:15 Growing up in India and choosing hospitality over commerce 05:09 Opening the Bombay Brasserie in London in the 1980s 11:36 Starting Knightsbridge Restaurant Group after a deal fell through in Sydney 12:03 Why Washington DC became home in 1987 20:09 How Rasika came together after a trip to Paris 24:08 Ten restaurants later, and the pivot that became Malabar 33:54 Downtown DC’s changing economics and the landlord conversation 38:31 Chef Vikram Sunderam joins the conversation 42:16 How Ashok and Vikram partnered to open Rasika in 2005 49:37 What makes Malabar’s coastal Indian menu different 55:12 Rapid fire questions and one word for DC’s next chapter Connect with Ashok Bajaj and Chef Vikram Sunderam Ashok Bajaj Website: knightsbridgerestaurantgroup.com Ashok Bajaj Instagram: instagram.com/ashokbajaj_dc Ashok Bajaj LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashok-bajaj-ab01b716 Chef Vikram Sunderam Instagram: instagram.com/chefvikramsunderam Chef Vikram Sunderam LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vikram-sunderam-a5226446 Malabar: malabar-dc.com

    Ashok Bajaj x Chef Vikram Sunderam x Me: Passion Built the Empire, This Chef Brought It to Life

  4. Aug 27

    Comedian & Cook Book Author, Gus Constantellis, His Mon Died, So He Wrote a Cookbook

    Gus Constantellis lost his mother, Julia, and four days later he posted a video making the first thing she ever taught him to cook. That video is the reason a cookbook exists. Industry Night is Heartcast Media's DC food podcast, hosted by Washington DC restaurant insider Nycci Nellis, and once in a while the guest isn't a chef at all. Gus Constantellis, the Greek Mom cookbook comedian, is the Greek American stand up comic and writer behind the viral videos where he becomes his mother on camera with more love than most tributes manage. His new book, My Greek Mom's Recipes, carries the tagline she died, I wrote this cookbook, and it reads as much like a memoir as a collection of recipes. Nycci talks with Gus about the pandemic video that made Greek Mom go viral, the forty years his mother spent in America without learning English, and the meatball recipe that became the first page of a book he never planned to write alone. This hospitality industry podcast conversation is really about food as the language that outlasts the person who spoke it. Key Takeaways Gus Constantellis built the viral Greek Mom character on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube by impersonating his mother, Julia, and the videos took off during the pandemic in April 2020.Julia never learned English in forty years in America, and cooking became her way of communicating what words could not.Four days after his mother died, Gus posted a video making her meatball recipe, and that video is what led him to write My Greek Mom's Recipes.The cookbook is built around Greek Easter traditions and regional flavors heavy on cinnamon, cloves, and cumin, with recipes gathered from his aunt, his mother's own recipe books, and his brother.Gus says the easiest recipes for a beginner are the meatballs, the fasolakia green beans, and the lazy cheese pie.QuotesGus Constantellis said, "It was the only thing that was keeping me going, because I felt really lost."Gus Constantellis said, "When I die, you are all going to starve." Timestamps 00:00 Nycci opens from her home office, no restaurant today 00:41 Meet Gus Constantellis and the viral Greek Mom videos 02:20 Fresh off ten days in Greece with his boyfriend 04:10 How Gus got into stand up comedy 05:38 Julia was the original material 07:05 The pandemic video that made Greek Mom go viral 09:04 The unfiltered, off camera side of Julia 12:38 Forty years in America without learning English 16:09 Growing up in the kitchen with his mom 20:21 The cookbook that grief made him write 23:17 The recipes that had to make the book 25:03 The regional flavors behind Greek Mom's cooking 28:07 Building the Easter chapter 30:40 Easy recipes for a weeknight 31:50 What Julia would say about the finished book Connect with Gus Constantellis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/constantlygus/ Website: https://www.constantlygus.com/

    Comedian & Cook Book Author, Gus Constantellis, His Mon Died, So He Wrote a Cookbook

  5. Aug 20

    Victor Albisu: It’s Electric, Industry Night at City Ridge

    Tacos, steak, and the reviews chefs never want to read out loud. I made a grown man put on his readers and get roasted, live, at his own restaurant. That is where we start today, back at Taco Bamba in City Ridge with my old friend Victor Albisu. This is exactly the kind of DC food podcast conversation I live for. Victor Albisu has been feeding this city for twenty years, from fine dining to fast casual to his brand new anti-steakhouse, and today he finally reads the internet's harshest reviews of his own restaurants out loud. Victor Albisu is the chef behind Taco Bamba, the fast casual taco chain he built from one Falls Church location into seventeen restaurants across the Mid-Atlantic and Nashville, after fine dining runs at Del Campo and Poca Madre. He is opening Electric Bull, a butcher shop and steakhouse, in his hometown of Vienna, Virginia. Later in the show, Karen Harris, the vocalist, vocal coach, and rock frontwoman who curates City Ridge's Friday night music series, joins to talk about booking local musicians. Episode keyword: Victor Albisu Taco Bamba chef Washington DC. Key Takeaways Victor Albisu built Taco Bamba from one location in Falls Church into seventeen restaurants across the Mid-Atlantic and Nashville.Victor Albisu is opening Electric Bull, a butcher shop and steakhouse, in his hometown of Vienna, Virginia.On this DC food podcast episode, Victor debuts Roasted, a new segment where he reads and responds to his own restaurants' harshest reviews live.Victor Albisu said talent is the smallest piece of the formula behind success, and that passion only carries a person so far without purpose behind it.Karen Harris, a working vocalist and vocal coach, explains how she curates the local musicians who play City Ridge's Friday night happy hour series.Victor Albisu said, "Passion gets you started, purpose carries you forward."Victor Albisu said, "Burnt. You're welcome." Timestamps 00:00 Nycci opens at Taco Bamba in City Ridge 00:51 Introducing today's guests and the new Roasted segment 02:08 Victor Albisu joins, twenty years since BLT Steak 03:05 From Del Campo and Poca Madre to Taco Bamba's seventeenth location 05:19 Growing up in Falls Church, his mother's Latin market, and learning butchery 06:15 Anxiety, a moment of clarity, and moving to Paris at twenty four 09:24 Finding Latin inspired cooking and the chefs who shaped him 15:25 Twenty years since BLT Steak and what Del Campo taught him about fire 19:34 What Victor calls his biggest failure as a young chef 21:27 Taco Bamba's origin and outrunning the fast casual boom 28:30 The Tighty Whitey breakfast burrito 30:23 Taco Bamba Bethesda and the road to Electric Bull 34:08 Building the anti-steakhouse and sourcing Argentinian beef 38:22 Nycci on gendered steak sizes and the petite filet 40:22 Rapid fire, fast casual versus fine dining and how he likes his steak 46:23 Roasted, Victor reads his harshest reviews live 49:31 Karen Harris joins on the patio at City Ridge 50:22 What curating City Ridge's Friday night music series looks like 51:48 How Karen books a lineup with no cheering audience 54:26 Why developments should invest in local musicians 54:53 What's coming this fall, September on the Lawn and more 56:57 Nycci wraps at City Ridge Connect with Victor Albisu and Karen Harris Victor Albisu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefvictoralbisu/ Victor Albisu Website: http://victoralbisu.com/8vohgc4383v1p2j63o05sl4vfs79ab Karen Harris Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karen.h.harris.98 Karen Harris LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-hopfl-harris-a100671/ City Ridge Website: https://www.cityridgedc.com/

    Victor Albisu: It’s Electric, Industry Night at City Ridge

  6. Aug 13

    Jade Floyd on The Leadership Labyrinth

    Twenty women, one labyrinth, and the DC insider secrets in between. I mean, I think I need to hire Jade. That was my honest reaction sitting across from her at Tony and Joe's, oysters on the table, the Potomac right there, talking about power, fear, and the rooms women still have to fight to get into. This is exactly why I wanted her on this DC food podcast. Most leadership books are written by people who never had to read a room, calm an investor, or figure out how to ask for what they deserve. Jade Floyd has done all three for twenty years in this town, and she put twenty of the women who taught her how into one book so the rest of us do not have to learn it the hard way. Jade Floyd is Senior Vice President at Bryson Gillette, the Washington DC strategic communications firm she runs with an incredible team, after a career that took her from the Champagne Bureau to a decade as VP of Communications for Jean and Steve Case, the founders behind Early Mountain Vineyards and the Case Foundation. She teaches at GW's graduate school, made the Washington Business Journal 40 Under 40, and now she has written The Leadership Labyrinth, Women Navigating Power and Purpose in a Changing World, twenty women, twenty stories, one workbook to put it into practice. Episode keyword: Jade Floyd leadership author Washington DC. Key Takeaways Jade Floyd spent twenty years building her career in Washington DC, from the Champagne Bureau to a decade as VP of Communications for Jean and Steve Case.The Leadership Labyrinth is built from interviews with seventy women, thirty formal conversations, and twenty final chapters, twelve of them Washingtonians.On this hospitality industry podcast episode, Jade explains how she learned to read a room by watching restaurateur Stephen Starr ask his staff to adjust the temperature two degrees for his guests comfort.Burnout is not a badge of honor, and Jade blocks off two hours on her calendar every single day to protect her own capacity to lead.This DC food podcast conversation closes with the book's workbook, which pushes readers to separate what they want from what they deserve, and to write down the reason why. Quotes Jade Floyd said, "Burnout is no longer a badge of honor. Rest is your right." Jade Floyd said, "You belong in every room you enter." Timestamps 00:00 Nycci opens live at Tony and Joe's on the Potomac 02:11 Jade Floyd joins the conversation 02:49 Twenty years in Washington, from the Champagne Bureau to the Case family 07:39 Why leadership rooms need more than one woman in them 08:41 How The Leadership Labyrinth started as a favor for a friend 10:19 Seventy women considered, thirty interviewed, twenty in the book 12:11 Leadership starts with service 16:41 The Stephen Starr temperature story and reading the room 17:49 Amanda McClements and building a sanctuary at home 20:34 Taking the leap with Michelle Lynne Warmer of Decanter Wellness 22:20 Susan Tynan, Framebridge, and turning failure into a company 23:16 Finding your friendtors and your ride or die tribe 27:18 The hundred dollar bill lesson from Jade's father 29:11 Why burnout is no longer a badge of honor 31:32 Inside the workbook, want versus deserve 35:16 Rapid fire, leadership style and the best advice she ever got 37:50 Bonus, dollar oyster shucking at Tony and Joe's Connect with Jade Floyd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jadefloyddc/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jadefloyd/

    Jade Floyd on The Leadership Labyrinth

  7. Jul 30

    Is This the Best Winery in Maryland? The Burnt Hill Farm Family is With Nycci Nellis at RPM Italian

    Three siblings, one rocky hill in Clarksburg, and the boldest bet in Maryland wine. An old farmer drove his beat up pickup to the top of the hill and told Drew Baker the only thing that land ever grew was rocks. Drew bought the farm anyway, because rocks were exactly what he was looking for. I have been waiting to tell this story since I first made the drive out to Burnt Hill, and this episode of my DC food podcast finally gets to do it justice. Maryland wine has been fighting for respect for decades, and this family might be the ones who settle the argument. If you care about the DC food and wine scene, about family business done right, or about what it actually takes to build a hospitality experience from bare land, this chef interview podcast conversation belongs in your ears. And the wine is only half the story. Drew survived leukemia after doctors gave him a 5 percent chance, and both of his sisters were his bone marrow donors. You cannot separate this family from this farm. Drew Baker, Lisa Hinton, and Ashli Johnson are the siblings behind Old Westminster Winery and Burnt Hill, their regenerative farm and winery in Clarksburg, Maryland. Drew farms it, Lisa makes the wine, and Ashli runs the brand and the culture, and together they have built two of the most exciting wine destinations within reach of any Washington DC restaurant insider. Later in the show, recorded live at RPM Italian in Washington DC, I sit down with Executive Chef Massimo Vicidomini plus Luis Zelaya and Arrica Ashe of RPM Events and Catering for caviar, martinis, and a look inside private events at one of the sexiest dining rooms in the DC dining scene. Key Takeaways A Washington Post article and a farm nobody would buy during the recession convinced the family to plant a vineyard around the kitchen table in 2009.Burnt Hill was chosen for its rocky, depleted soils, mapped by a terroir geologist before a single vine went into the ground.The family ferments Burnt Hill wines in large barrels made from ash trees harvested on their own farm, producing 18 different wines from just 1,000 cases.Drew Baker survived acute myeloid leukemia through brain surgery and two bone marrow transplants, and his sisters Ashli and Lisa were his donors.At RPM Italian in Washington DC, Chef Massimo Vicidomini and the events team build everything from Kaluga caviar stations to full off premise kitchens.Drew Baker said, "My doctors gave me a 5% chance to survive on diagnosis."Drew Baker said, "So it's grapes grown on the hill and then fermented in vessels on the hill with yeast from the hill." Timestamps 00:00 Nycci opens live at RPM Italian in Washington DC 03:18 Meet the siblings behind Old Westminster and Burnt Hill 04:50 The recession, the farm that would not sell, and a kitchen table decision 08:04 From chemistry degree to winemaker 14:36 The family business lesson that keeps them aligned 17:10 Buying Old Westminster Winery from their parents 22:23 Finding Burnt Hill and the growing rocks story 29:08 Designing the Burnt Hill experience 34:40 Sheep, pigs, bees, and regenerative farming 40:10 Ash barrels and 18 wines from 1,000 cases 47:03 How Chef Tae Strain became the fourth leg 51:27 Drew's leukemia, two transplants, and two sister donors 53:43 The Temperance program and unfermented juice 58:26 The next five years and ten kids on two farms 1:02:11 Chef Massimo Vicidomini brings the Amalfi Coast to DC 1:08:15 Private events and caviar with Luis Zelaya and Arrica Ashe 1:13:21 Nycci wraps at RPM Italian Connect with the Burnt Hill Farm Family and RPM Italian Old Westminster Winery: https://www.oldwestminster.com Burnt Hill: https://www.burnthill.farm Burnt Hill Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burnt_hill/ Old Westminster Winery Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oldwestminsterwinery/ RPM Italian: https://www.rpmrestaurants.com/rpm-italian-d-c/ RPM Italian Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/RPMItalian/

    Is This the Best Winery in Maryland? The Burnt Hill Farm Family is With Nycci Nellis at RPM Italian

  8. Jul 23

    Chef Adrianne Calvo, Competitive By Nature

    A scheduling mistake, a lightning strike, and twenty years of chasing the bliss point on a plate. I mean, one class. That is all it took. A scheduling mix up landed Chef Adrianne Calvo in a cooking class her junior year of high school, and by the end of one culinary demo she went home and told her parents she wanted to be a chef. Twenty plus years, six cookbooks, and over a million Instagram followers later, she is still chasing that same bliss point on every single plate. This is exactly why I wanted her on Industry Night. Adrianne built Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar in Miami at twenty two years old, funded it herself, and never once chased a trend to keep it full for two decades. If you have ever wondered what it actually takes to build a lasting restaurant, a lasting brand, and a body of work that spans Food Network, an Emmy nominated streaming series, and a foundation that feeds families at St. Jude's, this is one of the best chef interview podcast conversations we have done all year. Adrianne Calvo grew up in Miami, trained at Johnson and Wales, and opened her first restaurant right out of culinary school. She has published six cookbooks, competed on Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, and Titans, hosts the Emmy nominated YouTube series Searching for Maximum Flavor, and serves as culinary ambassador for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Her seventh cookbook, Maximum Flavor at Home, arrives in November, and this fall she brings a five course, wine paired City Cruises Live experience onto the Potomac, a treat any Washington DC restaurant insider will want to catch. Key Takeaways Adrianne Calvo discovered her love of cooking by accident, when a high school scheduling mistake placed her in a cooking class and a Johnson and Wales culinary demo became what she calls the lightning strike of her life.She financed her first restaurant herself after cookbook sales spiked when Montel Williams held up her book on his talk show, and she opened Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar in Miami at just twenty two years old.Her philosophy of maximum flavor means activating every part of the palate, salt, acid, spice, bitter, and umami, to hit the bliss point that keeps people coming back to a dish.Two decades of Food Network appearances, including Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, and Titans, taught her that competing on television opens doors that staying quiet in a kitchen never will.Her Make It Count Foundation, built in memory of her late sister Jennifer, brings home cooked holiday feasts to families at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital every December.Adrianne Calvo said, "I actually called that moment the lightning strike in my life."Adrianne Calvo said, "My restaurant has never chased a trend, and what I cook has been my style from day one." Timestamps 00:00 Nycci opens the show and recaps award season 03:13 Chef Adrianne Calvo joins the conversation 04:19 The lightning strike that turned her toward cooking 07:26 Culinary school at Johnson and Wales 10:44 Winning competitions and writing her first cookbook at eighteen 12:57 What maximum flavor actually means 14:48 Opening Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar at twenty two 17:32 Staying true to her style instead of chasing trends 19:22 Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, Titans, and life on Food Network 22:52 Searching for Maximum Flavor and her Emmy nominated streaming series 28:28 The Make It Count Foundation and St. Jude's 30:18 City Cruises Live comes to Washington DC this fall Connect with Adrianne Calvo Instagram: instagram.com/chefadrianne TikTok: tiktok.com/@chefadrianne YouTube: youtube.com/@chefadrianne

    Chef Adrianne Calvo, Competitive By Nature
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About

Industry Night is the long-talk format radio show and podcast that brings you up close and personal with the trends and trendsetters across today’s diverse food, wine, spirits, brews and hospitality landscape. For in-depth insights and insider tips, join your host, Nycci Nellis, cohost of Foodie and the Beast, the DC area’s one and only food and wine variety show, and all the locally, nationally and globally renowned chefs, restaurateurs, cookbook authors, mixologists, somms, distillers, brewmasters, pit-masters and more that you’ll hear from on Industry Night.

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