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The Ultimate Dish

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts
The Ultimate Dish
Latest episode

141 episodes

  • The Ultimate Dish

    How a Home Kitchen Became a Source of Healing

    1/27/2026 | 40 mins.
    In today’s episode, we sit down with Jennifer Relph, a home baker, mom of four, and former cottage food business owner behind Selah Sweets.
    Jen shares how baking became a form of therapy during a challenging season of life and why time in the kitchen helped quiet her mind, focus her energy, and reconnect with joy. We talk about building a home-based bakery from scratch, navigating cottage food laws, managing holiday volume from a home kitchen, and donating a portion of sales to local nonprofits. Along the way, she opens up about burnout, mental health, and the realities of balancing family life with entrepreneurship.
    Join us for a heartfelt conversation about why baking is more than just food, how giving to others became part of the healing process, and what it really takes to turn a home kitchen into a place of purpose.
  • The Ultimate Dish

    Kevin Boehm: “How Hospitality Saved My Life”

    1/13/2026 | 41 mins.
    In today’s episode, we welcome back Kevin Boehm, James Beard Award-winning restaurateur, co-founder of Boka Restaurant Group, and author of The Bottomless Cup.
    Kevin reflects on a childhood shaped by instability and the unlikely refuge he found in restaurants. He shares how hospitality gave him structure, purpose, and a way to build the kind of spaces he was searching for himself. Kevin talks about writing his memoir, the response it has sparked, and why telling the truth about his life has opened honest conversations around mental health, identity, and service. Along the way, he offers candid insight into leadership, failure, and what it really means to make people feel seen.
    Join us as Kevin explores why hospitality goes far beyond the dining room, and how caring for others ultimately helped him reclaim his own sense of self.
  • The Ultimate Dish

    Beyond Candy: The Art & Soul of Craft Chocolate with Moksha Chocolate’s Founders

    12/16/2025 | 1h 3 mins.
    In today’s episode, we chat with Jen and Michael Caines, the husband-and-wife team behind Moksha Chocolate, a bean-to-bar craft chocolate company based in Boulder, Colorado.
    Jen and Michael take us inside their world of small-batch chocolate making, from sourcing transparently traded cacao and understanding terroir to roasting, winnowing, grinding, and tempering with meticulous care. They share the unexpected path that led them from education, horticulture, and engineering to running a thriving chocolate company, as well as the challenges and joys of building a business together. They also explore the science of cacao, the rise of ceremonial chocolate, the benefits of functional mushrooms, and the tasting rituals that help people appreciate chocolate as a fine food rather than candy.
    Join us as Jen and Michael show why artisan chocolate deserves to be savored and valued, reminding us that great chocolate is crafted with intention.
  • The Ultimate Dish

    Eden Grinshpan on Letting Go of Perfection and Cooking with Joy

    11/11/2025 | 54 mins.
    In today's episode, we chat with Eden Grinshpan, TV food personality, cookbook author, and beloved host of Top Chef Canada.
    Eden opens up about what it really means to follow your curiosity and trust where it leads. Her story starts at Le Cordon Bleu in London and winds through Europe, India, Southeast Asia, and Israel—each stop adding new flavor to how she sees food and the people behind it. She shares the unexpected moments that shaped her career: the phone call that landed her Top Chef Canada, the restaurant that "only lasted a whole year" (and why she's proud of it), and the seven months in India that taught her food is a connector above all else. Eden talks about letting go of perfection, learning to cook with feeling instead of fear, and finding her voice both as a chef and as a person.
    Join us as Eden reveals why vegetables deserve "main character energy," the power of condiments to transform any dish, her philosophy on entertaining (casual, bountiful, and happy), and introduces us to her latest cookbook, Tahini Baby—proving that veg-forward cooking should be exciting, not restrictive.
  • The Ultimate Dish

    Heat You Can Handle: How a Chef Turned His Hot Sauce Into a Brand

    10/28/2025 | 56 mins.
    In today’s episode, we chat with Matt Kuerbis, Escoffier Chef Instructor in Plant-Based Culinary Arts and Hospitality & Restaurant Operations Management. A chef-educator and entrepreneur, Matt blends classroom teaching with real-world brand building through his hot sauce company, HYCH.
    Matt opens up about the high-stakes pivot behind “Heat You Can Handle.” He explains why trademark conflicts forced a name change from Hoss Soss, how sharpening the brand promise (flavor over fire) clarified positioning, and the practical steps that took HYCH from farmers’ markets and cooler-only sales to retail shelves in 100+ stores—co-packers, process authority letters, brokers, and 3PL fulfillment—while pricing for shrinking margins at scale.
    Join us as Matt shares the founder mindset he teaches: conquering “restaurant math” fear, keeping books exit-ready, meeting guests where they are (plant-based, gluten-free, flavor-forward), and taking the very first steps—register the business, define your USP, and validate with real customers. It’s a candid, step-by-step guide for food entrepreneurs who want to turn a product into a brand—and a brand into a business.

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About The Ultimate Dish

A show about good food, inspiring stories, and deep dive talks featuring the world’s most innovative culinary educators and thought leaders. Join us as we delve into the lives of the amazing people shaping the world of food and drink. Hosted by Chef Kirk T. Bachmann.
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