reem assil

Today on our episode #369 of All in the Industry®, Shari Bayer has a special "On the Road" episode from Roots 2023, which took place at The Chef's Garden and Culinary Vegetable Institute in Milan, OH, on September 11-12, 2023, hosted by Farmer Lee Jones and his family and team. Shari moderated a panel at the conference, entitled “Evolving in the Industry: What it takes to stay relevant”, with Maneet Chauhan, Morph Hospitality Group; Minh Phan, Porridge and Puffs; and Rich Rosendale, Rosendale Collective, and also signed copies of her new book, CHEFWISE – Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World (Phaidon, Spring 2023, #chefwisebook). 

Today's episode features four exclusive interviews with the following speakers: Reem Assil – Founder of Reem’s California in Oakland, CA, who is featured in "Food and Country" documentary (produced by Ruth Reichl); Aaron Bludorn – chef/owner of Bludorn and Navy Blue in Houston, TX; Brad Kilgore – Founder of Kilgore Culinary Group, and Chef/Partner of Mary Gold’s in Miami, FL; and Jamie Simpson – Executive Chef of The Culinary Vegetable Institute in Milan, OH. Many thanks and congratulations to #Roots2023 for hosting us, and everyone who joined us in conversation and was involved in the wonderful 2-day conference. We can't wait to return! Today's show also features Shari's PR tip to regenerate, speed rounds, and Solo Dining experience at Chef Vinnie Cimino's Cordelia in Cleveland, OH. 

Photo Courtesy of Shari Bayer.

Listen at Heritage Radio Network; subscribe/rate/review our show at iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify. Follow us @allindustry. Thanks for being a part of All in the Industry®. 

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support All in the Industry by becoming a member!

All in the Industry is Powered by Simplecast.

You can purchase Reem Assil's cookbook here

Thank you for listening to 'This is Palestine'! 

Follow our host Diana Buttu on Twitter here 

Follow us on Instagram here
Follow us on Twitter here
Follow us on Facebook here
Visit our website here

Reem Assil, of Reem's California, was in New York City recently to promote her book Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora. In addition to discussing the book, Reem and Andrew got into a variety of hot topics swirling around the industry, and Reem previewed her episode of the new online series "Normal Ain't Normal" (the episode debuts on Tuesday, October 18). 

And in this week's Tech and Restaurants segment, brought to you by BentoBox and Clover, Roni Mazumdar of Unapologetic Foods discusses their Biryani Bol direct-to-home and takeaway business, how they manage online orders and delivery with their own vehicles, and how the concept fits within their larger mission. Please visit the website for BentoBox and Clover to learn how they provide restaurants with the technology they need for even more success, and book a demo today.

Please say hello to Andrew if you'll be at the LA Chef Conference this Monday. The Conference is sold out, but you can still get tickets to the afterparty on Monday, October 17.

Special thanks to chef and restaurateur Greg Baxtrom for hosting Andrew and Reem at Maison Yaki  in Brooklyn, NY, where this interview was conducted. Please support Maison Yaki and Greg's other restaurants.

Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Our guest today is just as skilled at facing challenges as she is at crafting Arab breads and more. Through the pandemic and an oven fire she has succeeded and grown, with plans for a new space coming soon.

I was lucky to meet Reem Assil at FAB in Charleston this past June and was inspired by all she had to share and immediately invited her to be on the show. Reem, the founder of Reem’s California and Author of Arabiyya, recipes from the life of an Arab in Diaspora.

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Opening Soon by becoming a member!

Opening Soon is Powered by Simplecast.

The HRN team is heading down south to South Carolina to attend the Charleston Wine + Food Festival again. In honor of HRN’s return, we’re revisiting some of our favorite moments from the 2020 festival. While two years (and a pandemic) have passed since our last trip to Charleston, these conversations about sustainability, inclusivity, and the joys of eating still resonate. 

Further listening:

Follow Heritage Radio Network on Tour and don’t miss our upcoming interviews from Charleston Wine and Food Festival 2022. (Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS)

Plus here are the Heritage Radio Network on Tour episodes you just heard excerpts from: 

-Episode 350: Amy Mills at Charleston Wine + Food 2020

-Episode 359: Glenn Roberts + Brian Ward at Charleston Wine + Food 2020

-Episode 356: Chefs Fatmata Binta and Digby Stridiron at Charleston Wine + Food 2020

-Reem Assil at Charleston Wine + Food 2020

-Episode 337: Eric Asimov at Charleston Wine + Food 2020

Keep Meat and Three on the air: become an HRN Member today! Go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate. 

Meat and Three is powered by Simplecast.

Join us for a conversation with renowned chef and activist Reem Assil. Reem is a Palestinian-Syrian chef based in Oakland, CA, and owner of the nationally acclaimed Reem’s California in Oakland. The restaurant is  Reem’s California Mission in San Francisco, inspired by Arab street corner bakeries and the vibrant communities that surround them. Reem has garnered an array of top accolades in the culinary world, including back-to-back James Beard Semifinalist nods for Best Chef: West. She is a graduate of the competitive food business incubator program, La Cocina, business leadership program Centro Community Partners, and Oakland-based business accelerator program ICA: Fund Good Jobs. Before dedicating herself to a culinary career, Reem spent over a decade as a community and labor organizer, building leadership in workers and residents to fight for living wages, affordable housing, and a voice in their jobs and their neighborhoods. Reem sits at the intersection of her three passions: food, community, and social justice. She uses food to invoke the central virtue of her Arab culture ⁠— hospitality ⁠— to build a strong, resilient, and connected community.
 

Photo Courtesy of Lara Aburamadan.

If your food media diet is fueled by HRN, sustain the future of food radiol. Become a monthly sustaining donor at heritageradionetwork.org/donate.

Why Food? is Powered by Simplecast.

This week we share stories about indigenous foods and food sovereignty, here in the U.S. and across the globe. We’ll explore the richness of indigenous ingredients, the power of small-holder farms, and the importance of representation. First, we explore the lasting impact of settler colonialism on the food sovereignty of indigenous people in the U.S. Then, we look to Yolélé Foods to understand how they are expanding the market for fonio while benefiting farmers in West Africa, where the grain originates. We hear from The Sioux Chef, Sean Sherman about his foray into the world of indigenous culinary history and look at battle to identify Palestinian cuisine as just that, Palestinian. 

Further reading:

Sioux Chef: sioux-chef.com

North American Traditional Food Systems: www.natifs.org

Reem Kassis: reemkassis.com

Reem Assil: reemscalifornia.com

Valerie Segrest’s TedTalk: tedxseattle.com/talks/food-sovereignty

In March, HRN began producing all of our 35 weekly shows from our homes all around the country. It was hard work stepping away from our little recording studio, but we know that you rely on HRN to share resources and important stories from the world of food each week. It’s been a tough year for all of us, but right now HRN is asking for your help. Every dollar that listeners give to HRN provides essential support to keep our mics on. We've got some fresh new thank you gifts available, like our limited edition bandanas.

Keep Meat and Three on the air: become an HRN Member today! Go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate. 

Meat and Three is powered by Simplecast.

Harry Rosenblum, host of Feast Yr Ears, was joined by celebrated chef Reem Assil at Charleston Wine + Food. Based in Oakland CA, her eponymously named eatery, Reem’s California, has earned her a James Beard Award nomination and praise in national food publications. Reem and Harry discuss her culinary career as well as her passion for and history in activism and community organizing. 

HRN On Tour is powered by Simplecast.

We're bringing you our highlights from Feast Portland – four days of delicious food and some very deep conversations in an airstream trailer. We begin with one of the most buzzed-about events at Feast Portland this year, Zero Proof, an alcohol-free dinner that brought together chefs including Andrew Zimmern and Michael Solomonov.

Next, we get an insider's look into the history of Portland's dining scene. How did it become the foodie mecca it is today? Elias Cairo of Olympia Provisions interviews one of his mentors, Monique Siu, a key figure in the Portland restaurant scene since she opened Zefiro in 1990.

Joining the HRN team on our trip out west were Andrew Friedman and Dana Cowin. Both of their shows, Andrew Talks to Chefs and Speaking Broadly, feature long-form, in-depth interviews with chefs and food industry insiders. For our Feast coverage, they helped us explore the intersections of food and identity with guests Rachel Yang, Diego Galicia, Rico Torres, and Reem Assil.

The more chefs talked about how their personal history and family ties shaped their culinary identities, the more we noticed that there was one theme that popped up quite a lot: the overwhelming influence of grandmothers. We hear from Emma Bengtsson, Kristen Murray, Maya Lovelace, Jill Keuhler, and Bonnie Morales. Each woman shares an inspiring story about how their grandmothers shaped their lives and culinary aspirations.

We end this week with a short excerpt of Dana Cowin's interview with Jim Meehan. Hear how Meehan envisions the future role of alcohol in restaurants and cocktail culture – especially with the rise of legalized cannabis. It got us wondering if the grass is greener on the other side... a topic we'll explore in next week's Meat + Three!

Love Meat + Three? Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, follow us on your favorite social media platforms @Heritage_Radio, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, or drop us a line at ideas@meatandthree.nyc.

Our theme song is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Photo by Aubrie LeGault

Meat + Three is powered by Simplecast

Dana Cowin welcomes Oakland baker/chef Reem Assil to the StreamPDX trailer to talk about her amazing journey from community and labor organizer to owner of Food + Wine’s Best Restaurant of the Year 2018. They discuss some of Reem’s signature street food dishes, Arab hospitality and why “revolutions are born in cafes and bakeries.”

Reem Assil is the owner of Reem’s California – Food & Wine‘s Best Restaurant of the Year 2018 – a tribute to Arab street-corner bakeries and the vibrant communities that surround them. She is also owner and Chef of Dyafa, a fine dining restaurant that celebrates the breadth and depth of Arab culture and cuisine. Reem’s restaurants are inspired by her Palestinian-Syrian upbringing surrounded by aromas and tastes of food from the homeland and the connections they evoked of her heritage, family, and community. Before dedicating herself to a culinary career, Reem worked for a decade as a community and labor organizer, and is dedicated to social justice as a core value of her businesses. She has worked with Bay Area’s esteemed cooperative bakery Arizmendi Bakery & Pizzeria, Grace Street Catering, Penelope Bar & Lounge, and several other local Bay Area chefs. Reem was a James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: West 2018 and San Francisco Chronicle’s Rising Star Chef 2017.

Thanks to our engineer, Aaron Parecki of Stream PDX.

Music by Breakmaster Cylinder

HRN On Tour is powered by Simplecast.