Serving up locally sourced, free-range storytelling.
There's no way around it. The food business sucks.
Eight out of 10 restaurants don’t make it beyond the first 18 months. The profit margins are razor-thin, competition is fierce, and every diner with a Yelp account thinks they’re a food critic.
But here’s the thing—the ones who succeed aren’t just in it for the food—they’re in it for the love of the craft. They’re the bold dreamers who transform simple ingredients into unforgettable experiences that bring people together. They know the odds, and still, they pour everything into making magic happen.
Because the secret ingredient isn’t on the menu. It’s in the people behind it.
In partnership with KRCL 90.9 FM, ”The Utah Foodie Podcast” was a showcase of the Utah food scene where we interviewed the state’s top chefs, restaurateurs, and culinary entrepreneurs.
Although the podcast is no longer active, it is still available on all major podcasting platforms.
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Host: Chase Murdock
Co-Host / Marketing: Keni Nelson
Producer: Ryan Samanka
Chelsea Nelson and the Craft Cocktail Takeover
We've often talked about the craft cocktail scene in Utah, especially on episodes with Bar X, Handle + HSL, Zest, and Beehive Distilling. The last 10 years has been a craft cocktail renaissance (of sorts), and the emerging popularity of these beverages has taken a firm hold of our quickly growing state.
Handle + HSL Restaurant - Appreciate Tradition
When you interview over 50 different food, coffee, and beverage entrepreneurs over a year, you begin to notice certain trends. They’re all passionate about their craft, feel a calling to create, and want to contribute to a growing community. The aspiration to put Utah on the foodie map can be found in ways big and small. For Briar Handly, the co-owner of Handle and HSL, developing a hyper-local, hyper-seasonal restaurant was one way to help Utah take one giant step forward.
Bar X & Beer Bar - Old Bar, New Tricks
Prior to 2010, if you mentioned Bar X to a Salt Lake City resident, a very particular image came to mind: a dive bar, cheap beer, no women allowed (until 1986, that is). It wouldn’t necessarily be considered a downtown hot spot that locals and visitors flocked to. But when Bar X went up for sale, a very ambitious group had a vision for what Downtown Salt Lake City could be and knew that a revamped Bar X was the starting point.
Food Tips With Foodies - An Evening Out in SLC
On this episode of The Utah Foodie Podcast, we bring in two of our state's top food writers and critics to help us craft a perfect night out on the town exploring Salt Lake City's food scene.
This is our third installment in our monthly "Food Tips With Foodies" series where we bring in local food experts and talk food for an hour on a pre-selected topic. Last month, we explored Breakfast & Brunch in Utah with Chris Holifield of I Am Salt Lake and Chelsea Nelson of Heartbeat Nosh. In October, we brought in Amanda Rock of Amanda Eats SLC and Jeffrey Steadman from Yelp.com to talk about Fine Dining options around the state.
Food Tips From Foodies - Fine Dining in Utah
On this episode of The Utah Foodie Podcast, we sit down with some of Utah's finest foodies to talk about the fine dining scene here in Utah. This episode is the first installment of a new monthly series called "Food Tips From Foodies," where we bring in a few of Utah's best food critics, chefs, podcasters, and general food enthusiasts to talk about a topic related to our food scene. Today we're joined by food writer Amanda Rock and Jeffrey Steadman, the Community Director of Yelp Salt Lake City.
Sugar House Distillery - The Craft Distilling Movement
In early 2014, James Fowler introduced Sugar House Distillery and became Utah’s very first grain-to-glass, small-batch spirits distillery, where the entire production—from the raw ingredients all the way to the bottle—is done in-house using their own still. And it all happens in their warehouse in South Salt Lake that just so happens to be South Salt Lake's first privately-owned liquor store since prohibition.
Zest Kitchen & Bar - Healthy Eating With Casey Staker
Casey Staker’s career started in 2004 when he bought into a new nightclub at the time, the W Lounge. And almost 10 years later, Casey closed it down to pursue his next project—a place he would actually want to hang out at—a restaurant with healthy food and drinks that’s open late, and he could go to on the weekends. So in 2012, Zest Kitchen & Bar was born.
Rico Brand & Frida Bistro - Mexican Food and the American Dream
Jorge Fierro has an incredible story. He left university in Chihuahua, Mexico in his early twenties to start a new life chapter in the United States, despite his parents' desire to have him complete his studies at law school to become an attorney. When he arrived in America, he spent his nights on the streets and in homeless shelters while he learned English and struggled to find a way to make ends meet. His first job was herding sheep in rural Wyoming, before he finally made his way to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Whiskey Street - What It’s Like to Run a Bar in Utah
In this episode of The Utah Foodie Podcast, we interview two of the gentlemen behind Whiskey Street, owner and proprietor Jason LeCates, and executive chef Matt Crandall. After launching Bourbon House in 2011, Matt and Jason set out to do it again. But this time they had more funding, a better location, and a drive to create an upscale whiskey bar that boasts a great drink menu and a strong food offering.