When I first moved to Columbus, I was curious if I'd find any local spots that were akin to my favorite haunts in Chicago. Special, but relaxed and accessible, with absolutely fantastic food. Lo and behold, there's a Columbus chef who's doing just that, building an empire that reflects good food, good values, and good times.

His was the name I heard over and over again: BJ Lieberman. BJ is the chef and owner behind Chapman’s Eat Market (recognized as a Top 50 restaurant in America by New York Times), Ginger Rabbit Jazz Lounge, and now, Metsi’s Wood-Fired Italian. BJ has taken his Michelin-starred past in Washington, DC and brought it to Columbus, making the city a bonafide foodie destination.

We chat through his culinary and entrepreneurial journey, along with how he focuses on a sense of timelessness, honoring history and culture through each of his venues.

You can visit Chapman’s Eat Market in the German Village neighborhood of Columbus. You can visit Ginger Rabbit Jazz Lounge and Metsi’s Wood-Fired Italian in the Short North neighborhood of Columbus.

You can follow BJ Lieberman on Instagram @bjlieberman; Chapman’s Eat Market @eatchapman’s; Ginger Rabbit Jazz Lounge @gingerrabbitjazz; and Metsi’s Wood-Fired Italian @eatmetsis.

Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

Make sure to subscribe, rate and review The Perfect Bite anywhere you listen to podcasts.

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

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It's no secret our modern society demands convenience. And in the case of food that means what we want, when we want it—but at what cost? Today's guest is leading the flavor revolution, a call for us to go back to basics, to source the most delicious and nutritious produce.

Franco Fubini has been working on this mission for over 20 years with his company Natoora, which focuses on global capillary food supply chains to fix our food system so we can source the best produce for ourselves and for our planet. He’s even recently written a book on it all called “In Search of the Perfect Peach.”

I loved learning from Franco and I know you will too!

To learn more about Natoora and sign up for its services, visit www.natoora.com/en-US.

You can follow Natoora on Instagram @natoora and Franco Fubini @franconatoora.

You can buy “In Search of The Perfect Peach” online and at major bookstores.

Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

Make sure to subscribe, rate and review The Perfect Bite anywhere you listen to podcasts.

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

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 Here's a not-so-secret secret for you: I have a huge sweet tooth. Anytime and place that I can find a pastry that's made with love and care and safety for my food allergies is such a huge win.

I am so lucky that when we moved to Columbus last year, I not only found a mecca of pastries, but a modern and cozy spot of community that we visit on a weekly basis: Fox in the Snow. I sat down with owner of Fox in the Snow, Lauren Culley, to chat through her journey from publishing world to pastries, meeting and falling in love with her husband during the early days of Blue Bottle (who became her co-owner!), and how they’ve built third spaces throughout Columbus that are the perfect example of great food, great people, and great vibes. Lauren and Jeff bring a strong growth and founder mentality to Fox in the Snow, and I won’t be surprised when they start expanding outside the Columbus metro area.

You can visit Fox in the Snow at its locations throughout Columbus, including: Dublin, German Village, Italian Village, and New Albany. Visit www.foxinthesnow.com to learn more and pre-order a large order.

You can follow Fox in the Snow on Instagram at @foxinthesnowcafe.

Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

Make sure to subscribe, rate and review The Perfect Bite anywhere you listen to podcasts.

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

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Welcome back to The Perfect Bite podcast, your fusion of food and entrepreneurship. When I moved to Chicago post-graduation in the fall of 2013, I fell in love with what would become a Chicago institution before I ever tasted it: Honey Butter Fried Chicken. The name says everything you need! And then I finally ate it and really, really fell in love. HBFC is the perfect community spot, picnic basket filler, or eat on the couch staple. It's quality, comfort food made by equally quality folks.

I had the best time chatting with co-owner Christine Cikowski about her journey of falling in love with nature’s flavors at a young age, meeting her co-owner Josh Kulp at Kendall College, and their flourishing businesses of serving the best seasonal, smile-inducing bites, from the now 20-year-old Sunday Dinner Club, to the fated Honey Butter Fried Chicken, and now supporting a former sous chef through TriBecca’s Sandwich Shop. We didn’t know it at the time, but this lovely and hilarious conversation was 12 years in the making.

Make sure to visit Honey Butter Fried Chicken and TriBecca’s Sandwich Shop in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago. You can sign up for the Sunday Dinner Club tasting series at www.sundaydinnerclub.com.

You can follow Honey Butter Fried chicken on Instagram at @honeybutterchi; Sunday Dinner Club @sundaydinnerchi; TriBecca’s Sandwich Shop @tribeccassandwichshop; and Christine @christinecikowski.

Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

Make sure to subscribe, rate and review The Perfect Bite anywhere you listen to podcasts.

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

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Welcome back to The Perfect Bite podcast, your fusion of food and entrepreneurship. Over these first few episodes of The Perfect Bite, we've chatted with founders in the food space and how they've built their brands, but today we're looking at things from a new point of view: what it's like to be an investor to build their own fund in the food, restaurant and ag tech industry. I'm so excited for us to learn from today's guest Brett Brohl, managing partner of Bread and Butter Ventures. Brett went from being a multi-time startup founder to the founder of his own investment firm!

I really appreciate Brett and the B&B team’s perspective on how they’re investing in the food space. An undeniable fact is we all have to eat, and Brett and team are looking for founders who want to change the way we all eat for the better. It’s amazing how a combination of technology and working with Mother Earth could be our future!

Learn more about Brett’s entrepreneurial journey to becoming an investor, what he and the B&B team look for to help advance the future of food, and some tips on how to connect with investors if you are building something yourself.

To learn more about Bread & Butter Ventures, an early stage investment firm in the food and ag tech space, visit www.breadandbutterventures.com. You can even sign up for office hours with Brett and his team on the site!

You can connect with Brett and learn more about Bread & Butter Ventures on LinkedIn.

Want some entrepreneurial tips? Check out Brett’s YouTube channel, Brett’s Brain!

I also promised in the episode I’d include these really soothing videos of pizzas getting topped by a robot by XRobotics here. Enjoy!

Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

Make sure to subscribe, rate and review The Perfect Bite anywhere you listen to podcasts.

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

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Welcome back to The Perfect Bite podcast, your fusion of food and entrepreneurship. This episode, we're talking about an incredibly personal topic: food allergies. I amongst 10% of the world population suffer from severe food allergies. And as much as I love a great meal out, there are a lot of moments it causes real and extreme fear for me and many others.

I am beyond blown away by the mission and efforts of Served App’s co-founders Eve Williamson and Alana Bralsford. They are incredible business partners and friends who truly understand this issue—and never want to see it happen to any restaurant guest again. They’re already in the famed Dishoom Permit Rooms in London and quickly expanding throughout the UK—don’t worry, they have their eyes set to be global! The Served app is truly a game changer for restaurants and patrons alike to be transparent and safe about allergen information.

Eve and Alana talk through their personal allergy experiences, how they’re building their app to be as straightforward and easy as possible for restaurants and guests, while complying with difficult legislation, and how they’re connecting with new clients to scale as quickly as possible for safe experiences everywhere.

To learn more about the Served App, visit www.served-app.com.

You can follow Served on Instagram and TikTok at @served.app and on LinkedIn.

Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

Make sure to subscribe, rate and review The Perfect Bite anywhere you listen to podcasts.

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

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Welcome back to The Perfect Bite podcast, your fusion of food and entrepreneurship. I met today's guest over two decades ago in middle school, north of Chicago. One of us became a Michelin starred chef, and the other yaps into a microphone. You can guess who was the cooler of the two of us. But seriously, I am beyond honored to have reconnected with and have on the show today an acclaimed chef and the founder of Hill's Research Kitchen, Chef Henry Hill.

Henry takes us behind the scenes of all the kitchens he’s worked in, from the suburbs of Chicago, to Eleven Madison Park, The NoMad, and eventually becoming executive chef of Dusek’s, the fine-dining establishment that was attached to the iconic Thalia Hall concert venue in Chicago. During this time, Henry not only became one of the youngest chefs to receive a Michelin star, he also learned a lot of lessons. Most importantly—how to be a great manager.

Henry’s stories prove that through grit, a sense of urgency, and a desire to understand and support others, you can become an amazing leader in any type of scenario. He also chats with us about his CPG product founder days for a carbonated coffee called Cafe Racer, and how he became the founder of his own research and development consultancy today, Hill’s Research Kitchen. His personal mission always leads back to enhancing folks’ lives through the power of flavor.

To learn more about Hill’s Research Kitchen, head to www.researchkitchen.com.

You can follow Henry on social media @chefhenryhill.

Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

Make sure to subscribe, rate and review The Perfect Bite anywhere you listen to podcasts.

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

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Welcome back to The Perfect Bite podcast, your fusion of food and entrepreneurship. On this podcast, we obviously talk a lot about food and how delicious it is, how much of an impact it makes on us. But knowing your food is safe and properly taken care of? That's priceless. Jake Simon, CEO & co-founder of ConnectedFresh, is behind an innovation keeping the back of house running smoothly and your meals as fresh as they can be.

ConnectedFresh provides a combination of small sensors and software to help restaurants, convenience stores, catering and other food and bev customers keep track of their most important equipment issues, food safety problems, and compliance incidents. No more having to manually log freezer temperatures or experience costly food waste! ConnectedFresh logs all of these issues for you and lets you know in the moment when something is wrong.

I learned so much in our conversation about back of house practices and how ConnectedFresh is making things easier for restaurants to focus on what they really care about—serving great food and connecting with guests. You could say they keep the mise from becoming a mess! Ultimately, the team is behind an innovation that takes care of the folks that love taking care of other folks.

To learn more about ConnectedFresh, head to www.connectedfresh.com.

You can follow ConnectedFresh and Jake Simon on LinkedIn.

Heading to the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago May 17-20, 2025? Make sure to find ConnectedFresh’s booth!

Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

Make sure to subscribe, rate and review The Perfect Bite anywhere you listen to podcasts.

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.