50 episodes
Pulling Corks and Forks Sandy Wasserman
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- Arts
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4.4 • 7 Ratings
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Welcome to Pulling Corks & Forks, the podcast! I’m your host, Sandy Wasserman.
If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I’ve been in & around the Phoenix food scene for over 25 years. My beat is food and wine, and where to get the best of both in The Valley of the Sun.
I moved to Scottsdale from New Jersey back in the 90’s, seeking warm weather, a laid back lifestyle, and great food...so I went to work in the restaurant industry! The food-and-wine bug bit me way before it was cool and trendy. That’s why I started the Pulling Corks & Forks blog, with all the news in food.
But this podcast will pick up where the blog leaves off. This isn’t just news, reviews, and recommendations, this show goes way beyond the what-and-where of eating-and-drinking .
We’ll peel back the layers of our local food scene, break bread with the food artists who make it all happen, and hear how-and-why these incredibly talented people do what they do. We’ll visit with chefs, growers, experts of all kinds - and people like you and me, who just love to eat!, so pull up a chair and join us at the table!
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Ep. 49 - Jennifer Meyers, Founder & Chief Confectionist of Earth Sugar
On this episode I speak with the Penn State graduate about how growing up around her families butcher shop effected her diet at a young age, her deep dive into her health and how she changed her diet to become healthier, moving to Phoenix and starting her own business, working in the entertainment industry in LA while still in college, working in R &D at a vegan food company, her knowledge of earth based foods, how to find her earth's candy around Phoenix and more.
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Ep. 48 - Chris Molloy, Phoenix New Times Dining Critic
On this episode I speak to Chris about his process in writing about Phoenix area restaurants, the current state of affairs for food critics & media, The Best of Phoenix and how much he's involved in it, what else he writes about other than restaurants, finding good bagels and sandwiches in Phoenix, growing up in an Italian American family in Philadelphia, why he didn't become a lawyer as planned and more.
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Ep. 47 - Joe Gauci - Pastizzi maker and owner of at Malta Joe's Pastries
On this episode the Tucson based maker of the Maltese pastry talks about his recent trip back to Malta and visiting all the Pastizzi makers for inspiration, working as a sound engineer in NYC, retiring to Tucson, driving his food truck around Arizona spreading the word about his popular pastry and more.
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Ep. 46 - Ian Devereux White- Founder & Vintner at Smith Devereux Wines
In this episode I'm excited to get back to my roots in the wine industry speaking with the northern California native about tending to the land & vines he gets his grapes from, his wine making philosophy, going from a full time travel & wine writer to a winery owner, living, working and playing in Napa Valley, the effects of recent years wildfire on grapes and wines and lots more.
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Ep. 45 - Nick LaRosa: Chopped Champion and Executive Chef at EVO
On this episode I speak with Connecticut native and Johnson & Wales graduate about growing up in a restaurant family, his pizza making philosophy and favorites pizza places around town, the process and winning the Food Network's "Chopped" in 2018, working at Nook Kitchen & EVO, where you'll see him next and more.
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Ep. 44 - Don Royer- Executive Chef & Ice Sculptor
On today's episode I speak with the retired Air Force trained chef about his earliest food memories in Iowa, preparing and serving meals to service men and women around the world, getting his teaching certificate to teach Special Education after retiring from the Air Force, making the move to Arizona, what his ice sculptors are doing for his career, and more!
Customer Reviews
Authentic Conversations
Really fun to meet the people behind all this great food!
Brent Menke
Great episode and very informative. I love the Mick and to learn more about the Chef and how The Mick came to be was surprising and inspiring.