Nancy Matsumoto has lived an extraordinary life. From a young age, her love for writing and storytelling led to an accomplished and wide-ranging career as a journalist and author.

Ever curious, she has never limited herself to a single subject. Although much of her work has focused on food and culture, Nancy has also written about sake, childhood nutrition, and her family’s history, including a moving book of translated poetry based on her grandparents’ writings during their internment as Japanese Americans in World War II.

Her latest book, Reaping What She Sows, takes readers on a journey through a distinctly female lens, offering insight into how care, leadership, and creativity can shape a more just and sustainable food system. Deeply researched and beautifully told, the book follows inspiring women working in agricultural reform in the American South, coffee and cacao production in Belize and Guatemala, regenerative mezcal making in Mexico, and beyond.

For our final episode in the Only a Woman series, Nancy reflects on how the stewardship of our food systems is deeply maternal and shares the lessons we can all learn about nourishment, resilience, and change.

Schnitzel & Stories will be back with season 4 in 2026.

Palisa Anderson inherited more than a restaurant, she inherited a legacy. Following in the footsteps of her mother, Amy, who founded Chat Thai in 1989 as a young newcomer to Sydney, Australia, Palisa grew up immersed in hospitality. Her childhood was spent between kitchens and dining rooms, where she developed an instinctive understanding of food and a deep respect for ingredients.

After graduating from the university, she spent a decade abroad, working in Hong Kong, London, New York, and Tokyo. But when she returned home, it wasn’t just to rejoin the family business, it was to transform it.

Rather than relying on imported ingredients, Palisa sought to reconnect their restaurants to the land. She founded Boon Luck Farm, where she grows Thai herbs, rare Asian vegetables, and over 30 varieties of citrus. Her guiding belief is simple yet profound: human health begins with soil health.

Through regenerative farming and reforestation, the farm restores depleted land, captures carbon, and rebuilds biodiversity, proving that agriculture can be both ethical and economically viable. Today, Boon Luck Farm supplies 50–80% of the produce served across 15 restaurants, including Chat Thai’s five locations.

Palisa’s story stands as a powerful testament to what is possible when tradition, migration, and ecological responsibility come together, led by women determined to nourish both people and the planet.

Care and Feeding is about relationships, and we were fortunate to speak with bestselling author Laurie Woolever about her memoir. Beyond being a writer, she is also an editor, public speaker, and former cook. For nearly a decade, Laurie served as the right hand to the late author, TV host, and producer Anthony Bourdain.

Over the years, she has worn many hats, private cook, nanny, caterer, busgirl, recipe tester, farmhand, video store clerk, and food editor. From 1999 to 2002, she was Mario Batali’s assistant, contributing to Holiday Food (2000) and The Babbo Cookbook (2002). She later edited and recipe-tested Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook (2004) before working as an editor at Art Culinaire and Wine Spectator.

Her memoir is raw and unflinching, shedding light on the realities of being “the woman behind the man” while carving her own powerful voice in food writing.

We were fortunate to sit down with Chef Alice Waters, often called “the mother of American cooking.” Widely credited with launching the farm-to-table movement and shaping what we now know as California cuisine, she has spent more than five decades transforming the way we think about food.

In 1971, Waters opened Chez Panisse in Berkeley, a restaurant so iconic that chefs from around the world have made pilgrimages to experience it. There, alongside a community of remarkable talent, she championed a philosophy of local, seasonal, and organic cooking that remains as influential today as it was revolutionary then.

Waters has authored six books, including her memoir Coming to My Senses, and founded both the Chez Panisse Foundation and the Edible Schoolyard Project, initiatives that have inspired everything from school lunch programs to Michelle Obama’s White House vegetable garden.

Over the years, she has been named “Best Chef in America,” received the James Beard Humanitarian and Lifetime Achievement Awards, and was honored with the National Humanities Medal.

It was a true delight to speak with this culinary icon and learn what continues to inspire her extraordinary journey.

Sophia Hoffmann has built her career with a consciousness of care. A strong advocate for fairness, she uses her cooking to embody ethics and equality. Known as a pioneering female leader in Germany’s culinary world, she has become recognized for her zero-waste, plant-based kitchen.

She is the chef-owner of HAPPA Restaurant in Berlin. A passionate advocate for gender equality, diversity, and social justice, Sophia pairs her commitment to sustainability and conscious consumption with a love of indulgent, creative food.

The author of four cookbooks (published in German), Sophia has earned international recognition, speaking at conferences such as Food on the Edge (Ireland) and Couraveg (Portugal). In 2018, she was invited to cook the first all-vegan, all-female dinner at New York’s renowned James Beard Foundation.

She spoke to us about her approach to leading a diverse and inclusive team, and how she has created a space where people, not just dishes, can flourish. With her mix of creativity, clarity, and courage, Sophia Hoffmann is one of the most exciting forces shaping German food culture today.

Considered an icon and tastemaker by some of the world’s greatest chefs, Monica Brown has built a career that has taken her to some of the most intimate corners of the globe. What began as the dreams of a young girl from Scotland grew into a vocation that placed her at the heart of gastronomy, helping some of the world’s most visionary chefs achieve success.

While she acknowledges the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, Monica describes her career as “a perfect journey.” She is the founder of Lotus Land, an international communications agency renowned for shaping the global narrative of gastronomy and hospitality. For more than two decades, she has championed talent, launched icons, and redefined how the world experiences food.

Since establishing Lotus Land in 2000, Monica has grown the agency to include offices in the UK and consultants in Los Angeles and Australia. Under her leadership, Lotus Land became the only communications agency to represent two “World’s Best Restaurants” at the World’s 50 Best Awards. Its portfolio spans six continents and includes Michelin-starred legends and emerging culinary voices such as Josh Niland, Jeremy Chan, Santiago Lastra, and Mauro Colagreco.

In this episode of Schnitzel & Stories, hosts Arlene Stein and Angelika Schwaff sit down with one of the most influential voices in food media today — Gail Simmons.

A trained culinary expert, writer, and long-time judge on Bravo’s Top Chef, Gail has built a career at the intersection of cooking, storytelling, and advocacy. Beyond her on-screen presence (Top Chef Just Desserts, Top Chef Masters, Iron Chef Canada, The Good Dish), she is the author of two acclaimed books — Talking With My Mouth Full and Bringing It Home — and a frequent guest on Good Morning America, The TODAY Show, and The View.

Arlene and Angelika explore Gail’s journey from her Jewish-Canadian roots in Toronto to the high-pressure kitchens of New York, her experiences breaking barriers for women in professional kitchens, and her perspective on how food media has evolved. Gail also shares insights on mentorship, equity in hospitality, and how food can be both a cultural connector and a force for global impact.

From her co-founding of Bumble Pie Productions to her work with organizations like City Harvest and Hot Bread Kitchen, Gail’s story is one of determination, leadership, and a passion for elevating others.

Tune in the first Episode of Part Two of "Only a woman" for a thoughtful, inspiring conversation that celebrates not only Gail’s extraordinary career but also the power of food to shape culture, opportunity, and community.

Chef, author, entrepreneur, and food activist Trine Hahnemann has long been a leading voice for integrity and inclusivity in the culinary world.

From her base in Copenhagen, arguably the most food-forward city in the world, Trine built a career rooted in sustainability, feminism, and social justice. Raised in a leftist communal household in Denmark, she grew up with a deep appreciation for traditional food culture, collective responsibility, and progressive politics, values that continue to shape her work today.

Whether cooking on tour for the Rolling Stones, writing bestselling cookbooks, or running a highly successful catering company, Trine has always led with purpose. She’s been a vocal critic of the toxic, hierarchical kitchen culture inherited from Escoffier, advocating instead for collaboration, care, and mentorship. Especially for women in the industry.

In this episode, Trine shares stories from her remarkable journey and reflects on the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated space, where support from the food community wasn’t always a given. She speaks candidly about building a kitchen culture based on respect, dismantling patriarchy, and how we can create more humane and inclusive spaces for future generations.

Now living in a quiet village in Piedmont, Italy, Trine is entering a new chapter: One focused on reflection, writing, and continuing the fight for a better food system.

For more about Trine and to get her famous recipe for cinnamon buns, please check our website!