In today’s episode, we’re joined by Alana Kysar, cookbook author, recipe developer, photographer, and the voice behind Aloha Kitchen and Aloha Veggies.

Alana shares how returning home to Hawai‘i reshaped the way she sees food, culture, and her role as a storyteller. She reflects on building her career through blogging, the lessons that come with wearing many creative hats, and why good things take time. We talk about the layered nature of Hawaiian cuisine, the responsibility of telling cultural stories with care, and how her work blends tradition with a fresh, vegetable-forward approach. She also opens up about identity, creativity, and what it means to create food that feels both personal and representative of a place.

Join us as Alana challenges what people think they know about Hawaiian food and reveals why every dish is really a story about home, culture, and connection.

In today’s episode, we welcome Melissa King, Top Chef All-Stars champion, record-breaking competitor, cookbook author, and host of National Geographic’s Tasting Wild.

Melissa shares what changed between her first season of Top Chef and her return to win it all. She opens up about growing up shy, fighting for her dream of culinary school, and the moment she stopped replicating other chefs and started cooking from her own identity. We talk about mentorship, discipline, sacrifice, and why competing on Top Chef is ultimately about competing against yourself. She also discusses her cookbook Cook Like a King, her blend of California sensibility and Chinese heritage, and how using her platform for advocacy has become central to her work.

Join us as Melissa explains how owning her voice—not just her technique—became the key to winning in the kitchen and beyond.

In today’s episode, we welcome Jacques Pépin, culinary icon, bestselling author, and beloved teacher whose career has shaped generations of cooks around the world.

Jacques looks back on his early apprenticeship in France, his move to the United States, and the unexpected turns that defined his career—from La Pavillon to Howard Johnson’s, from television with Julia Child to decades of teaching. He reflects on the importance of technique, the difference between professional and home kitchens, and why cooking has always been less about prestige and more about connection. He also shares the mission behind the Jacques Pépin Foundation and why passing on practical skills to those rebuilding their lives matters deeply to him.

Join us as Jacques reminds us that long after trends fade, the simplest truth remains: cooking brings people together.