Emmy Winner, International Acclaimed Journalist, Executive Producer, Food & Travel Lover, and Creator of the Beloved Show "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives" David Page takes us deep into the world of chefs, restaurateurs, and everything "foodie" from the nationally and internationally awarded to the locally loved on

Culinary Characters Unlocked

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The chef behind a Colorado restaurant you have to ski or snowshoe to get to and the owners of a James Beard Award winning family favorite in Alaska. It’s a double helping of great eating off the beaten path. Erica Curry, who runs the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse at an altitude above 10,000 feet in Colorado explains how diners have to hike, snowshoe, or ski a mile to reach it. Once there, they enjoy four course meals featuring local ingredients, such as elk tenderloin with blueberry, sage, and port reduction. Then in Anchorage Alaska, owners Patricia Brown Heller, Heidi Heinrich-Lervagg and Carolina Stacey tell the 70-year story of their Lucky Wishbone restaurant, winner of a 2025 James Beard America’s Classics Award and renowned for its famous fried chicken.

Born in southern India, a region rarely represented on Indian restaurant menus in the U.S., Chef Kumar was raised in rural poverty. His culinary aspirations surfaced early and he attended culinary school in India then worked on cruise ships and restaurants in a variety of locations before coming to the United States and finding a culinary foothold in San Francisco, where he led the kitchen team at Rasa and earned a Michelin star for five straight years. He got a chance to open his own restaurant, Semma in New York in 2021, featuring his version of the Southern Indian food he grew up with, and has now won a Michelin star there, as well as being ranked the number one restaurant in New York for 2025 by the New York Times and being named the 2025 James Beard Award Outstanding Chef for New York state.

  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 64

A double helping of great restaurants off the beaten path.

Off the beaten path: the chef behind a Colorado restaurant you have to ski or snowshoe to get to and the owners of a James Beard Award winning family favorite in Alaska. - EP 64

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  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 63

2025 James Beard Best Chef in NY state on bringing a little known southern Indian cuisine to his Michelin-starred restaurant the New York Times ranked #1 in NY - EP 63

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Off the beaten path: the chef behind a Colorado restaurant you have to ski or snowshoe to get to and the owners of a James Beard Award winning family favorite in Alaska.
It’s a double helping of great eating off the beaten path. Erica Curry, who runs the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse at an altitude above 10,000 feet in Colorado explains how diners have to hike, snowshoe, or ski a mile to reach it. Once there, they enjoy four course meals featuring local ingredients, such as elk tenderloin with blueberry, sage, and port reduction. Then in Anchorage Alaska, owners Patricia Brown Heller, Heidi Heinrich-Lervagg and Carolina Stacey tell the 70-year story of their Lucky Wishbone restaurant, winner of a 2025 James Beard America’s Classics Award and renowned for its famous fried chicken.

  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 64

A double helping of great restaurants off the beaten path.

Off the beaten path: the chef behind a Colorado restaurant you have to ski or snowshoe to get to and the owners of a James Beard Award winning family favorite in Alaska. - EP 64 - EP 64

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Born in southern India, a region rarely represented on Indian restaurant menus in the U.S., Chef Kumar was raised in rural poverty. His culinary aspirations surfaced early and he attended culinary school in India then worked on cruise ships and restaurants in a variety of locations before coming to the United States and finding a culinary foothold in San Francisco, where he led the kitchen team at Rasa and earned a Michelin star for five straight years. He got a chance to open his own restaurant, Semma in New York in 2021, featuring his version of the Southern Indian food he grew up with, and has now won a Michelin star there, as well as being ranked the number one restaurant in New York for 2025 by the New York Times and being named the 2025 James Beard Award Outstanding Chef for New York state.
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 63

2025 James Beard Best Chef in NY state on bringing a little known southern Indian cuisine to his Michelin-starred restaurant the New York Times ranked #1 in NY - EP 63

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Chef Kelly Franz developed her taste for great food growing up in Europe as part of a military family. She made her name during the culinary boom in Charleston, rising to Executive Chef at the storied Magnolias restaurant, which took low country cooking upscale. Now she has returned as Culinary Director to freshen up the menu, mindful that there are some iconic dishes that simply cannot be changed.

  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 62

Chef Kelly Franz on the challenge of coming home to a legendary Charleston restaurant to take it into the future without discarding its storied past - EP 62

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Bobby Stuckey entered the culinary world as a teenaged dishwasher and worked his way up through a range of front of the house positions until he achieved the rarely awarded rank of Master Sommelier and became a multi-award-winning restaurateur. The centerpiece of the restaurant group he co-owns, Frasca in Boulder, Colorado, which holds a Michelin star, has just won the James Beard Award as America’s Outstanding Restaurant, the fourth James Beard Award it has accumulated since 2008. Along the way Stuckey worked at The French Laundry, where his team earned that esteemed restaurant a James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Service. Frasca features the cuisine – and wines – of Italy’s sub-alpine Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, created and served through the lens of Colorado.
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 61

RESTAURATEUR AND MASTER SOMMELIER BOBBY STUCKEY OF THE 2025 JAMES BEARD AWARDS OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT ON FEATURING FOOD FROM AN ITALIAN REGION FEW PEOPLE HAVE EVER HEARD OF. t - EP 61

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Classically trained chefs Jeanie Janas Ritter and Adam Ritter shared a culinary journey working at great and Michelin-starred restaurants throughout the US and internationally before coming back to their midwestern roots and working in Minneapolis, first for someone else, then taking the risk of opening a place of their own. Their venture, Bûcheron, French for lumberjack, was an instant hit, embracing the French bistronomy movement that marries fine dining with comfortable surroundings. And they embrace a further marriage French techniques and Minnesota ingredients in creating a menu that features such standouts as Fois gras, venison tartare, even eel. And yes, they were recently named the Best New Restaurant in America in the 2025 James Beard Awards.
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 60

2025 JAMES BEARD AWARD BEST NEW RESTAURANT AWARD WINNERS JEANIE JANUS RITTER AND CHEF ADAM RITTER ON COMBINING FRENCH TECHNIQUES WITH MINNESOTA INGREDIENTS AND RISKING EVERYTHING TO OPEN A RESTAURANT WHERE OTHERS WENT BUST. - EP 60

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Chef Cathy Whims was at the forefront of the culinary revolution in Portland, Oregon and decades later she retains that position there. Her Nostrana Italian restaurant continues to dish up the kind of regional cooking truly enjoyed in the small towns and villages of Italy, bolstered by great Oregon ingredients, and her pizza is listed among America’s fifty best. She reminisces about truly discovering Italian cooking on her first visit there, and about being taught by Marcella Hazan who, after dining at Whims’s first Portland restaurant, invited the chef to study with her in Venice. Whims now owns multiple restaurants in Portland and recently released her first cookbook.
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 59

PORTLAND CHEF CATHY WHIMS ON THE SECRETS TO COOKING IN ITALY, BEING TUTORED BY THE LEGENDARY MARCELLA HAZAN, AND HELPING TURN PORTLAND, OREGON INTO A CULINARY FORCE. - EP 59

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Chef Thomas Bille describes his cooking as driven by “a love for food that warms your soul and speaks to our ancestors.” A child of Mexican immigrants, Bille grew up with great food his father was a professional chef and his mother a fabulous home cook and as a self-described latchkey kid he was making French toast and spaghetti for himself by the age of 8. He went on to attend cooking school, then got most of his experience in Los Angeles before moving to Texas and opening Belly of the Beast. He was on the verge of financial disaster when, finally, recognition came, and with it, the crowds. In awarding the restaurant a Bib Gourmand, the Michelin Guide, noted that the “twists and turns” in his Mexican inspired cooking, “make for immensely satisfying courses that feel bold and balanced.” And where else will you find Wagyu birria?
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 58

2025 James Beard Best Chef-Texas Thomas Bille on creating great food through the lens of a first generation Mexican American, risking everything on a dream, and rebuilding after losing it all - EP 58

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Pitmaster Ali Clem on winning a Michelin star for her barbecue restaurant, and her remarkable rise from selling her barbecue from a trailer. Ali Clem says she was shocked when her La Barbecue restaurant in Austin, TX was recently awarded a Michelin star. She was mentored by members of a legendary Texas barbecue family, the Muellers of Louis Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, Texas and married founder Louis Mueller’s granddaughter, LeAnn Mueller. They worked together until Mueller’s untimely death and Clem now runs the restaurant alone, honoring the legacy of Mueller and her family through the barbecue she is making today. And unlike many in the barbecue world in Texas, she is excited about pushing the envelope, experimenting with new flavors and dishes, even making pickles and the Korean favorite, kimchi.
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 57

Pitmaster Ali Clem on winning a Michelin star for her barbecue restaurant, and her remarkable rise from selling her barbecue from a trailer. - EP 57

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The Chang siblings, born in Peru, emigrated to the U.S. as children, and now living in Miami, have locked up the James Beard award for Best Chef South for two straight years. Valerie won last year for her cooking at her Peruvian restaurant, Maty’s. Her older brother and co-owner Nando just won the 2025 award for what he does at his restaurant within that restaurant, the Michelin-star-winning Itamae AO. It is a ten-seat counter at which he serves his interpretation of the Peruvian-Japanese cuisine known as Nikkei, based mostly on raw fish and highlighting bold flavors. Chef Chang did not attend culinary school. In fact, he began working in restaurants to subsidize a music career that he pursued throughout his twenties before turning to the culinary side full-time.
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 56

2025 James Beard Award winner Nando Chang on Peruvian-Japanese cuisine, the threat to immigrants in the food world, and how hip-hop changed his life. - EP 56

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Born in Cannes, France, and raised in a food-centric French-Italian family, Nicholas Fanucci has run some of the greatest and best-known restaurants in America, including the French Laundry, Bouchon, Le Cirque, Le Bec-Fin, and more. Previously, he worked in Europe at legendary establishments including Alain Ducasse’s Louis XV. The restaurants he has worked at have amassed a total of more than 20 Michelin stars. Now he’s running two restaurants of his own in Los Angeles
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 55

CHEF AND RESTAURATEUR NICHOLAS FANUCCI ON HIS CAREER AT LEGENDARY RESTAURANTS THAT WON MORE THAN 20 MICHELIN STARS. - EP 55

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Chef Yotaka “Sunny” Martin and her partner/husband on bringing her Thai cuisine to America and, with no restaurant experience, winning the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest Chef Yotaka Martin had never heard of the James Beard awards until she was nominated for the 2024 competition. She grew up in a small village in the north of Thailand and has only been in the U.S a few years. But she is well aware now. She didn’t win last year but she was just named the 2025 James Beard Best Chef Southwest for her cooking at the Phoenix restaurant Lom Wong, which she runs with her husband Alex. They met after he visited Thailand while in college and fell in love with the country, then with her. Their travels throughout Thailand and much of Asia fueled their mutual love of food, and they developed a vast knowledge of regional dishes rarely seen in the U.S., which they now feature. They are committed to spreading not just food knowledge but also cultural understanding and encouraging the enjoyment of food to bring people together, which is a hallmark of Thai cuisine.
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 54

CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - CHEF YOTAKA AND ALEX MARTIN - EP 54

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Acclaimed Philadelphia restaurateur Tyler Akin recreated his childhood memories by re-opening the restaurant where his family celebrated big occasions—the Green Room, in the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware. He grew up watching his southern grandmother in the kitchen. He went to law school (his father was a lawyer and later a judge) but dropped out to attend culinary school. His talent was obvious — he staged at José Andrés Minibar in Washington and worked for other noted chefs before opening a variety of restaurants with cuisines and influences including Corsica, Sardinia, Croatia, Israel, France, Vietnam, Thailand, and more.
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 53

Chef and restaurateur Tyler Akin on re-opening his family’s favorite restaurant from his childhood and cooking a world of cuisines. EP 53

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Chef Suzette Gresham has been a pioneer in fighting for the place of women in the long-male-dominated world of high-end cooking for forty years. And she’s also one of the greatest chefs working today. She holds two Michelin stars at her San Francisco restaurant Acquerello, where her seasonal tasing menus sparkle with the freshest, often unusual, dishes such as rabbit- mortadella filled cappellacci and quail with fennel confit.
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 52

MICHELIN STAR WINNING CHEF SUZETTE GRESHAM ON BATTLING RESTAURANT WORLD MISOGYNY AND WHAT CUSTOMERS ARE DEMANDING TODAY .ep 52

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On Food and Wine’s list of America’s top restaurants for 2025, Canlis came in at number two. That, after decades as a Seattle landmark and a nationally known pinnacle of fine dining. It is also a time of great challenge for Canlis – a new Executive Chef; the departure of Mark’s brother, who had been his business partner for twenty years; and the tough post-covid economic environment that has hit the restaurant industry extremely hard. Yet Mark Canlis says he is not concerned – rather, he is committed to continually raising the bar in both food and service. And he is strikingly candid on a wide range of subjects – from food critics (he says they are too focused on the food as opposed to the overall experience) to a highly publicized lawsuit that accused Canlis of exploiting workers and misleading diners, accusations he vehemently denies, insisting that his restaurant has been at the forefront of improving worker pay by replacing tipping with a service charge.
  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 51

THIRD GENERATION OWNER OF LEGENDARY SEATTLE RESTAURANT CANLIS, MARK CANLIS, ON KEEPING THE HIGHEST STANDARDS WHILE HITTING RE-SET TO KEEP FROM GETTING STALE AFTER 75 YEARS. EP 51

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Born and raised in Japan, Chef Julia Momosé developed a respect and love for hospitality watching her mother entertain at home. Her motivation for entering the culinary world was a visit she made to a bar in Kyoto—watching the bartender hand making ice spheres for use in drinks. She pursued that newfound passion while attending college in the U.S., working at bars and local restaurants, before making a big name for herself as a bartender in Chicago, working for celebrated chefs and restaurateurs at Michelin star restaurants, before opening Kumiko, what she calls a dining bar, pairing cutting edge drinks with Japanese food that goes far beyond sushi and ramen, and earned a Michelin star there. Recently, she’s taken on an even greater role—when health issues forced her Executive Chef to step down, she took his place, and is getting fabulous reviews, including from the Michelin Guide. And Kumiko has now won Outstanding Bar in the 2025 James Beard Awards.

  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 50

MICHELIN AWARD WINNING CHEF JULIA MOMOSÉ ON CREATING THE TASTES SHE GREW UP WITH IN JAPAN AT HER CHICAGO RESTAURANT KUMIKO, AND THE MIXOLOGY THAT JUST WON HER A JAMES BEARD AWARD. EP 50

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Pioneering chef Jordan Kahn holds Michelin stars at two different Los Angeles area restaurants— two stars at Vespertine, and one star at Meteora. Appropriately, the Michelin Guide calls his rise in the food world “meteoric.” Kahn worked under legendary chefs Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz before striking out on his own, He is known for crafting not just a meal, but a multi-sensory experience intended to connect the diner with the natural world, featuring a range of what he calls “exceptional ingredients” ranging from algae, ancestral grains, and wild herbs and flowers, to inventive creations of local seafood, quail wagyu beef, and more. And each dish — and meal —is intended to tell a story, often historical, even ancient, through the selection and juxtaposition of ingredients and cooking methods. Kahn has a third restaurant, Destroyer, aimed at recreating the vibe of historic café society in Paris.

  • CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 49

CLASSICALLY TRAINED BOUNDARY-SHATTERING CHEF JORDAN KAHN ON SIMULTANEOUSLY HOLDING MICHELN STARS AT TWO DIFFERENT RESAURANTS, AND HIS SINGULAR APPROACH TO STORYTELLING THROUGH FOOD. EP 49

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Meet The Host

David Page

David Page is a long-time journalist who reinvented food television when he created Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. He is also an author, having written the award-winning book Food Americana, which explores the creation of American cuisine from the foods of other countries and cultures. Now he’s talking with some of the most important—and entertaining— figures in the food world on Culinary Characters Unlocked. Previously, Page spent many years in news, producing for both NBC and ABC and covering some of the world’s most important events, (even walking through the Berlin Wall the night it opened).

pageprodmedia@gmail.com

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