The Atlanta Foodcast: A Food Podcast

There are few places in Atlanta touting the flag of “20+ Years in Business.” Let alone business that have shaped the way people experience parts of our beautiful city. Brick Store, on the other hand, is a staple. An institution. A place that paved the way for beer to be had for all of us Atlantans. It was a pleasure to sit with Mike, Dave, and Tom and hear how their stories eventually led to opening Brick Store back in 1997.

The mission of Fresh Harvest is simple: Fresh produce that is locally sourced delivered to your front door. Take a look at their website and you’ll see what is in season, where its coming from, and how you can expand your meals with locally-sourced, organic produce from farms around the greater Atlanta area. Zac Harrison, the founder of Fresh Harvest, has an incredible story — and is a tremendously wonderful individual. We caught up late last year so I could hear the origin story of Fresh Harvest. Here it is.

Thanks for listening to The Atlanta Foodcast again this season! Can’t wait to bring you more episodes soon. Season Three will kick off on January 27th, 2020! In the meantime, please be sure to follow us on Instagram - @atlfoodcast Also, please consider supporting the podcast on Patreon - For just $1 a month, you can help us bring you the stories you love from local chefs, culinary entrepreneurs, and people making Atlanta the greatest city for eaters.

Hey, friends! Here’s a little bonus episode for you. I had the pleasure of moderating a conversation with Jen Hidinger-Kendrick of Giving Kitchen, Steve Carse of King of Pops, and Zac Harrison of Fresh Harvest at General Assembly last month. The evening was filled with stories of how their ideas became businesses, their dreams became reality, struggle, triumph, hardship, perseverance, and much more. The recording was done LIVE in the main room, so it may be a little hard to hear in places. Also, listen to the Q&A portion at the end. Jen, Steve, and Zac tell some incredible stories and give incredible advice. == The next Real Food, Real Stories event is happening on February 6th, 2020 at General Assembly at Ponce City Market. Many thanks to our lovely host, General Assembly, for hosting!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! As you’re traveling in through the airport, down a long, crowded highway, what have you, fill your Air Pods or speakers with this tremendous episode that aired earlier this season. Jen and Bryan of Giving Kitchen, ladies and gents. Enjoy!

Well, friends. We’ve made it through another season of the podcast. It’s hard to believe that this whole thing has been going on for more than two years now. So, I’ll keep this short and sweet — we’ll have a final Season Two Finale episode where I talk through a few places we’ve been this year, who we’ve heard from, and a few highlights. Also, I’ll give you all a little sneak peak of some NEW things coming in Season Three — which starts January 27th, 2020. Until then, we’ll be playing a few hits through the end of 2019. This episode aired back in January. John and Vivian of SqFt Studio have an incredible story and have built an incredible design firm here in the city. Their entire team has done a ton of incredibly beautiful work throughout many Atlanta restaurants like Kimball House and Staplehouse — as well as residential, retail, and markets. This conversation took place last fall at their offices just off the Beltline.

Dining in a beautiful restaurant, you’re typically surrounded by decor, furniture, accents, and multiple points of attention to detail that…. may go unnoticed. Now, once the train of dishes starts? The plate ware or dinner ware are also typically seen as nothing more than a vessel. . However, I’d like to introduce you to Connie Matisse — Co-founder of East Fork. East Fork creates beautiful dinnerware and functional items like cups, mugs, and other things out of stoneware clay based in Asheville, NC. The pieces created by this team of artists and experts give incredible life to simple function and color for the kitchen, dinner table, and more. One thing is for certain — there’s not fuss in what they create. Connie and I caught up so I could hear her story and how things at East Fork came to be.

Something that most may not realize is truly HOW farmers and restaurants work together — on a daily basis. The aspects of a farmer working to produce and a chef working directly with a farm to build their menu(s) are truly beautiful. Thus, welcome Lauren Cox and Bruce Logue to the show. Lauren runs the Farm to Restaurant program with Georgia Organics and Bruce is the Executive Chef at Boccalupo. The two have worked together through many avenues over the years. For this episode, we’re focused on an important campaign Lauren at the helm of: Farmer Champion. The three of us sat down to talk about the practical side of the bond between restaurant and farmer.

The family of Indigo Road and Chef Jeb Aldrich have been on the show this season the next stop on my list had to be Claudia Martinez. If you’ve been to the Hotel Clermont or Tiny Lou’s, you’ve more than likely seen her desserts — and you’ve also more than likely been blown away by the presentation and flavors. Her story started here in Georgia where’s she’s been working her way through many prominent kitchens. We caught up in the longe of the Hotel Clermont so I could hear her story.

Billy Allin is a chef we’ve had here for quite some time. Much of his story is rooted in the inspiring cousin of Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and Scott Peacock — back in the days of Watershed. If you’ve followed Atlanta dining for long enough, you know the beauty, delight, and true inspiration that was Cakes & Ale. Truly a restaurant after my own heart — as it was for many others. You’d also know everything that Billy and his team have created with We caught up on the patio at Bread & Butterfly so I could hear his story.

Holly Chute, ladies and gentlemen. Someone I absolutely adore. She has worked has the chef for pretty much every Governor you can remember in the state of Georgia. Her story, like many of the guests we have here on the show, is wonderful. The way she made it as the person chef for the Georgia Governor? It’s just perfect. I won’t spoil any more of her story here, but we caught up Downtown at the Department of Agriculture — in the offices of Georgia Grown. If you don’t know, we’re one of the few states to have a wonderful Department of Agriculture. Mr. Gary Black is at the helm and the Georgia Grown program and label is a major one. Pointing much deserved recognition to the foods and products produced or grown right here in the Peach State. Holly and I also caught up to talk about Taste of Atlanta this weekend — specifically Friday night. There’s an awesome kick-off happening on Friday celebrating Georgia products and chefs.

If you’ve been listening to the show for a while you probably get the gist that the stories of Atlanta chefs, restaurant and business owners, and generally wonderful people get told around here. However, the one thing that all of us know about our beautiful city is that it’s packed with people. Tons. Close to 6 million, in fact. Everyone in this city needs food. All of us. The Atlanta Community Food Bank is one of the largest operations in the country — feeding 750,000 people over 60 million meals EVERY. YEAR. Across 29 counties. Talk about people making Atlanta the greatest city for eaters — by feeding them. These folks, along with over 700 partners, are true heroes. I stopped by to speak with Kyle Waide — President & CEO of the ACFB. I got to know him a little bit and then we got into how the organization mobilizes to feed those in need around the Greater Atlanta area.

Exciting News! The Atlanta Foodcast and Georgia Organics are partnering to bring you an all new podcast covering telling the stories from the people who grow and prepare our food — from all over the state of Georgia. Here’s a little intro episode with the podcast’s host — Skye Estroff. The first, full episode is coming soon. You can find out more at georgiafoodcast.com. Also, check out Georgia Organics and become a member today!

Imagine you grew up in Mumbai or Delhi and your family moves to Atlanta. Big enough story already, but imagine the foods you grew up with are within reach from a few grocery stores in town — your favorite fruits and vegetables, spices, and even snacks and desserts. But then you find out that the store is 45 minutes from your house — on a good day. That’s why Manav and Sajal created Subziwalla — an online grocery delivery service specifically serving the Indian grocery stores and markets here in Atlanta and soon to be more of the Southeast. These guys have incredible individual stories and the story of how they founded Subziwalla is just awesome. We sat down at The Shed at Ponce City so I could hear their story. Use code ATLFOODCAST for 25% off of your first order. Visit their site here to start shopping.

So, we’re nearing the finish line on Season Two of the show here and I’m feeling… let’s say… nostalgic. It’s a little crazy to think that the show has been running for almost two full seasons and we’ve heard from an incredible lineup of talented and wonderful people. Thus, I want to get back to some of the first couple episodes of the show — all the way back to March of 2018. Three stories I love from Jackie and Deanna Halcrow of Emerald City Bagels, Nate Hybl — Founder of Gusto!, and Steve Carse — Co-Founder of King of Pops. All three are stories I love — and especially people I believe in, support, and love having in Atlanta. Note: I was learning a lot back in the early days, so please excuse the audio quality in places.