Created Here

Steph Chan
  • 5.0 (17)
  • PERSONAL JOURNALS
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Created Here is a little audio project that’s an ode to San Francisco’s restaurants and the people behind the places that feed and fuel the city today. In each of the episodes, we get to learn more about the restaurants that we wait in line for, that we plan our schedules around, and where we have a go-to order that we recommend to any friend visiting town. Contact: createdherepodcast@gmail.com

  1. 05/26/2025

    Meet Jes Gao, the founder and winemaker of Garage Gal, a Sonoma wine project that began with rescuing rosé

    In this episode of Created Here, host Steph sits down with Jes Gao, the founder and winemaker behind Garage Gal. Garage Gal's goal is simple: to make all occasion wines that are responsible. In this episode, Jes shares her journey from screenwriting to winemaking, the ethos behind Garage Gal, the process for making her flagship wines, her approach to recycling wine with a focus on responsibility and quality. Jes also shares some fun food pairings, her dream dinner guests and a wealth of knowledge about the wine industry.

    28 min

  2. 06/07/2024

    Brian Hogan Stewart, host of Salt + Spine, on bringing cookbooks to life, cookbook recommendations & creating the inaugural Cookbook Fest in Napa

    Brian Hogan Stewart, who is the host and creator of Salt + Spine, an award-winning podcast that interviews the cookbook authors and tells the stories behind them. Over the past six years, Brian has grown the Salt + Spine world from a podcast, to in-person events, live recordings, a cookbook club, newsletter, and this summer he will debut Cookbook Fest, a 3-day festival in Napa that brings together live cooking demos, visual storytelling, a bookstore and live podcast recordings from your favorite cookbook podcasts and cookbook authors. In this episode, Brian and I chat about his passion for cooking, his path from journalism school to entering the hospitality industry, and the upcoming Cookbook Fest. Brian also shares some personal recommendations for new home cooks, which are listed in the show notes. 'Created Here' is a short ode to San Francisco’s restaurant scene, where each episode is about a different restaurant and the people behind the places that feed and fuel our communities today. ----- Cookbooks mentioned during the rapid fire section: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat - Samin Nosrat (https://www.saltfatacidheat.com) Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook - Sohla El-Waylly (https://www.hellosohla.com) Pasta Friday - Allison Arevalo (https://www.pastafriday.com) Pizza Night - Ali Stafford (https://pizzaeveryfriday.substack.com) At My Table - Nigella Lawson (https://www.nigella.com) The Barefoot Contessa - Ina Garten (https://barefootcontessa.com) More is More: Get Loose In The Kitchen - Molly Baz (https://mollybaz.com/more/) Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel: A Cookbook - Alon Shaya (https://www.instagram.com/alonshaya/)

    37 min

  3. 04/24/2024

    From Bar Crudo to Top Chef & Popi's Oysterette: Melissa Perfit's Path to Executive Chef & Partner

    Melissa Perfit is the Executive Chef and a Partner at Popi’s Oysterette, a seafood restaurant that opened just over a year ago in San Francisco’s Marina district (and also a restaurant where Dr. Jill Biden dined on her last visit to the city). Right out of culinary school, Melissa started her career at Bar Crudo before gaining experience and rising in the kitchens at SF staples such as Hog Island Oyster Co, Bar Tartine, Hard Water and Niku Steakhouse. In 2022, the owners of Tacolicious Joe Hargrave and Mike Barrow approached Melissa with the idea of leading Popi’s Oysterette - as both the executive chef and a partner at the restaurant. In this episode, Melissa shares the lesson’s she’s learnt from over two decades in this industry that have shaped her success today, her hopes for Popi’s Oysterette in a city rich with seafood history, and whether or not she’ll do another cooking show like Top Chef again. 'Created Here' is a short ode to San Francisco’s restaurant scene, where each episode is about a different restaurant and the people behind the places that feed and fuel our communities today.

    21 min

  4. 03/31/2024

    Lazy Bear’s Partner & COO Colleen Booth on how she leads and manages the two Michelin Star restaurant

    Colleen Booth is a partner and chief operating officer at Lazy Bear, a two Michelin star restaurant in San Francisco’s Mission district that describes itself as a modern American dinner party. Started by Chef David Barzelay in 2009, Lazy Bear very quickly went from being a pop-up in his apartment to one of the hardest dinner tickets to get in San Francisco. Colleen first joined Lazy Bear in 2015, and helped lead the restaurant to its second Michelin star. Throughout her career she’s led, consulted and grown several restaurants and restaurant groups in the Bay Area including three Michelin star restaurant Atelier Crenn, the Zeppelin Hotel, True Laurel, and Airbnb’s food & beverage service. In this episode, Colleen gives us a wonderful glimpse into her life: what led her to move to San Francisco, her passion for the industry she works in, the complexity of operating a restaurant, and how she’s harnessing her position as a leader in this industry to help mentor, lead, and create opportunities for others. 'Created Here' is a short ode to San Francisco’s restaurant scene, where each episode is about a different restaurant and the people behind the places that feed and fuel our communities today.

    37 min

  5. 02/18/2024

    Heena Patel, Besharam’s fearless owner & chef, on how her passion for cooking led her to open a restaurant in her 50’s

    Heena Patel is the chef and owner of Besharam, a casual fine-dining restaurant featuring Gujarati food from India, that opened in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood in 2018. While Chef Heena has cooked for her friends & family her whole life, it was not until 2011 when her children had grown up that she decided to pursue her dreams of bringing her bold flavors to a wider audience. Running Besharam, which means “shameless”, is the “most celebrated chapter of my life”, according to Patel. Every part of the restaurant is intentional and a reflection of how Chef Heena (and her husband Paresh, who is the co-owner) has poured everything into earning the guest’s trust and creating a unique experience. In this episode, Chef Heena shares many things: her life story of immigrating to the US, how entrepreneurship has always been who she is, how she challenges herself & her team in the kitchen — but the most important takeaway is her belief in herself, and the living lesson of going after what you want. 'Created Here' is a short ode to San Francisco’s restaurant scene, where each episode is about a different restaurant and the people behind the places that feed and fuel our communities today.

    27 min

  6. 01/22/2024

    Eric Wolfinger, James Beard award winner, on finding the camera, life lessons & the creative process behind some of the most beloved cookbooks

    Eric Wolfinger is a James Beard award-winning photographer, director and creative, who is well known in the food industry for the visuals & storytelling that he has brought to more than 20 cookbooks (“Tartine Bread”, “Making Chocolate: From Bean to Bar to S’more”, “American Sfoglino: A Master Class in Handmade Pasta”) and restaurants, especially in the Bay Area where he lived and worked for 18 years. Eric sat down to talk about how through many twists and turns, his gravitation towards food, writing and photography shaped his journey, his background working in kitchens, and his (sometimes years long) process of working with chefs to bring their visions to life in cook books. Eric has also worked with brands such as Whole Foods, William Sonoma and Peet’s. You can find out more about Eric and his work at https://www.ericwolfinger.com/ 'Created Here' is a short ode to San Francisco’s restaurant scene, where each episode is about a different restaurant and the people behind the places that feed and fuel our communities today.

    44 min

  7. 11/18/2023

    Meet Jeong-In Hwang, the Executive Chef at San Ho Won, SF’s Michelin Star Korean Restaurant

    Chef Jeong-In Hwang is the Executive Chef of San Ho Won, the Korean charcoal BBQ restaurant located in San Francisco’s Mission District, that is a collaboration between himself and renowned Chef Corey Lee (French Laundry, Benu, In Situ). San Ho Won opened in 2021 and has been fully booked every night it’s been open. The Michelin Star restaurant presents a new format for Korean bbq and aims to introduce new flavors to visitors such as the Kimchi Pozole. Born in Korea and having moved to the US in 2016, Chef Jeong-In sat down to share more on his culinary journey, how he met & began collaborating with Chef Corey, the techniques used at San Ho Won, and how he’s hoping to lead the restaurant into the future. Chef Jeong-In is also the executive chef for the restaurant group that includes Benu. 'Created Here' is a short ode to San Francisco’s restaurant scene, where each episode is about a different restaurant and the people behind the places that feed and fuel our communities today.

    20 min

  8. 10/30/2023

    Bodega SF's founder Matt Ho on his family's legacy, new menu ideas & what's next

    Matt Ho is the founder and owner of Bodega SF, a modern Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco's Tenderloin district that is the sequel to Matt's family's restaurant Bodega Bistro (which closed in 2017). Matt, alongside his business partners Eugene Kim and Adrienne Fornier opened Bodega SF in 2022 to raving reviews and success, and recently opened Felix, a cocktail bar below Bodega SF. As they embark on year two of the restaurant, Matt sat down to share the history of the restaurant, how it remains a family business, and his vision for the restaurant group's future. 'Created Here' is a short ode to San Francisco’s restaurant scene, where each episode is about a different restaurant and the people behind the places that feed and fuel our communities today.

    16 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

Created Here is a little audio project that’s an ode to San Francisco’s restaurants and the people behind the places that feed and fuel the city today. In each of the episodes, we get to learn more about the restaurants that we wait in line for, that we plan our schedules around, and where we have a go-to order that we recommend to any friend visiting town. Contact: createdherepodcast@gmail.com

Information

  • Creator
    Steph Chan
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    28