Culinary Confidential with Christina Cates

Chicago, we are so back.

This week, Culinary Confidential heads back to the Windy City for a conversation with Robert Garvey and Dana Hokin, the founders of Robert's Pizza & Dough Company, the acclaimed riverfront pizzeria that’s redefined what artisan thin‑crust can be.

The husband‑and‑wife team behind one of Chicago's most celebrated pizzerias, has overseen what began as a home‑kitchen experiment into a chef‑driven restaurant that's now recognized among the Top 50 Pizzas in the USA and Top 100 in the World. Their signature “Za Dough,” a meticulously engineered sourdough‑based crust, is the product of relentless testing, fermentation discipline, and a belief that a proper slice should crack, not break.

Garvey, a New York native and certified pizzaiolo, spent decades deconstructing pizzas, turning their home into a test lab before opening their first small shop in 2016. By 2019, they expanded into their now‑iconic Streeterville location along the Ogden Slip — a neighborhood spot built for locals, regulars, and anyone who believes pizza can be both craft and culture.

Today, Robert’s Pizza & Dough Co. is known for its riverfront patio, brick‑oven artistry, bold flavor profiles, and a community‑driven mission that includes partnerships with Slice Out Hunger and local nonprofits. It’s Chicago hospitality at its most intentional — and most delicious.

Yes, Chicago keeps pulling us back, and for good reason! It’s a city where tradition meets reinvention, where chefs push boundaries without losing their roots, and where a single slice can tell a whole story.

This week on Culinary Confidential, Christina Cates travels from the ramen alleys of Tokyo to the hidden izakayas of Manhattan with Massud Ghaussy, the creator of the fast-growing TokyoManhattan platform.

Ghaussy has become a trusted bridge between Tokyo's culinary traditions and a global audience hungry to understand them. Not as trends but as living cultural practices rooted in discipline, precision, and history. His work blends travel, anthropology, and culinary storytelling, offering a rare insight into ramen culture, omakase philosophy, and the quiet rituals that define Japanese dining.

From omotenashi hospitality to the worldwide rise of Japanese food culture, this conversation goes way beyond sushi. It's one of craftsmanship, restraint, storytelling, and the deep respect that shapes every plate.

On this week's Culinary Confidential, Christina Cates sits down with Sam Bakhshandehpour, President of Merchants at Bilt, and one of the rare executives who has shaped hospitality from every angle: luxury, lifestyle, loyalty, and the evolving business of belonging.

Sam's path cuts across the modern hospitality map, helping steer the Jose Andrés Group's global rise as CEO, and leading SBE Entertainment as President & CEO in a defining era of lifestyle, dining, and nightlife. But well before that, Sam got his start in the engine room of JPMorgan's real estate and lodging investment banking division, working at the intersection of strategy, scale, culture, and community.

This conversation looks forward. How loyalty shifts from transactions to identity, how technology rewrites the guest journey, how brands build communities that feel lived-in as opposed to manufactured, and why the next era of hospitality will reward connection, trust, and emotional intelligence as much as design and service. Sam brings clarity, candor, and a sharp read on where the industry goes from here!

Sun-drenched mornings, linen curtains drifting in the breeze, hydrangea-lined lanes that feel like they were pulled from a film reel - that's the world Lucy Swift Lemonides has created at A Room At The Beach, the Bridgehampton hideaway redefining the concept of boutique luxury.

Lemonides has built more than a hotel. She's crafted a unique atmosphere - one that's intimate and quietly indulgent, one where every detail feels intentional, and every moment feels personal. No pretense or overproduction - just serenity, style, and that unmistakable East End ease.

Lucy breaks down why travelers are moving away from mega resorts and towards curated, human scaled escapes, and how the Hamptons have become the blueprint for this new era of elevated travel.

Sunlight, Style, and Serenity. Now that's the Hamptons: redefined.

This week on Culinary Confidential, Christina Cates sits down with Noah Rothbaum, one of the sharpest minds in whiskey and the cultural history behind it. As the author of The Whiskey Bible and Spirits Editor at Men's Journal, Rothbaum has spent years tracing how America's native spirit became a global force.

This conversation goes far beyond the glass. Rothbaum unpacks the people, regions, traditions, and reinventions shaping American whiskey, and why, as the nation approaches its 250th birthday, the story of our spirits is one on identity, craft, and the people that built both.

From bourbon country to the rebirth of classic cocktails, from heritage distillers to the new guard rewriting the rules, this episode explores how whiskey became its own cultural language.

In other words, rich, layered, and unmistakably American.

When a brewery stops acting like a brewery and starts thinking like a culinary institution, the entire industry shifts.

This week, Culinary Confidential is proud to spotlight Moody Tongue Brewing Company - the Chicago original rewriting the rules of flavor, technique, and hospitality. Founded by Jared Rouben, the brewery's "culinary brewmaster," Moody Tongue stands alone as the only Michelin-starred brewery on Earth. This star isn't a novelty. It's the result of Rouben's belief that beer can carry the same precision, depth, and narrative power as a chef's signature dish.

Culinary Confidential dives into how Moody Tongue built a new lane in fine dining - one where brewing becomes a disciplined, expressive culinary craft. From their acclaimed tasting menus to their meticulous approach to ingredients, the brand continues to expand what beer can be and how guests experience it.

Their universe is also still growing! Christina Cates also explores Moody Tongue Sushi and the New York-based pizza concept tied to Pizza Studio Tamaki (PST) - each one being an extension of Rouben's commitment to elevated dining, thoughtful hospitality, and bold imagination.

Moody Tongue: giving "hop forward" a whole new meaning.

This Mother’s Day on Culinary Confidential, Christina Cates steps inside a story built on warmth, grit, and the kind of family chemistry you can taste. Joining the show is Jody Kreush and her son Richard Kreush, the duo behind Columbia, South Carolina’s beloved Cinnamon Roll Deli for a conversation on how simple homemade comfort became a destination, ritual, and a national obsession.

The cinnamon rolls may be the headliner, but the heart of their success is the partnership behind them: a mother with instinct and patience, a son with drive and vision, as well as a shared belief that hospitality begins long before the doors open. What started as a family tradition grew into a bakery known for consistency, generosity, and the kind of atmosphere that keeps people coming back.

This episode digs into the real work behind a “cult favorite”: early mornings, creative friction, courage to scale, and the discipline required to protect the soul of a brand as it grows. Jody and Richard speak candidly about trust, risk, and the rare dynamic allowing family and business to coexist and thrive.

It’s warm roots, real partnership, and a legacy baked with intention.

While some restaurant groups add locations, The Foundry Group builds engines.

This week, Christina Cates welcomes Brandon Manly, CEO of The Foundry Group, and Casey Cooley, Chief Development Officer of Foundry Development - two great operators who treat growth like a discipline, not a gamble.

They're redefining what it means to scale in hospitality. Not by chasing unit counts but by designing systems that make expansion repeatable, resilient, and strategically inevitable. Franchising, real estate, brand architecture, operational frameworks - they're pulling every lever turning a single successful concept into a multi-market machine.

If you've ever wondered why some brands sink and others swim, this conversation maps the difference. It's a deep dive into the mechanics behind sustainable growth, the traits of a replicable concept, and the infrastructure required to build a brand that lasts. Because the strongest brands create momentum, they don't chase it.

Some restaurant families build businesses. The Lombardos built a city’s identity. This week on Culinary Confidential, Steven Lombardo III of Gibsons Restaurant Group joins the show!

It all started in 1989, when Steve Lombardo Jr. and Hugo Ralli opened Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse on Rush Street. What looked like a bold gamble turned into one of the highest grossing independent restaurants in America, and the spark that redefined what a modern steakhouse could be.

From there, the Lombardos didn’t expand - they built an empire. One rooted in consistency, premium product, and hospitality that feels both polished and personal. Today, their dozen-plus concepts share the same DNA: energy, trust, occasion, and the sense that every guest is part of the family. 

This episode dives into how Gibsons became more than a dining room, a cultural institution where deals close, milestones are celebrated, and the rhythm of Chicago is felt in every booth. Now, Steve Lombardo III is carrying that legacy forward, shaping what the next era of American dining looks like.

Some legacies aren’t just preserved, they’re lived. 

Some cuisines don't just feed the body, they carry entire cultures, stories of migration, resilience, and innovation that are reshaping how the world eats. On this week's Culinary Confidential, Christina Cates sits down with Joe Cordero of Rosa: Agave & Wine Lounge in Tribeca to explore the vibrant world that is Latin cuisine.

From the soulful kitchens of Mexico and Peru to its growing influence on fine dining and modern menus, Joe shares insights on how Latin flavors, techniques, and traditions are becoming a powerful force of identity, legacy, and creativity in the restaurant industry.

Together they explore the deep history and cultural roots of Latin cuisine, how Mexican and Peruvian flavors are transforming fine dining, resilience, innovation, the stories ingredients tell, and the challenges and triumphs for today's Latin hospitality professionals.

Because some cuisines aren't just eaten, they're lived.

Legacies can anchor cities, yes, but rare ones go much further - they shape people who grow up inside their glow. And few legacies have left a deeper imprint on American culture than the LeRoy dynasty, whose influence stretches from the soundstages of Hollywood to the shimmering lights of Tavern On The Green, the New York landmark that turned dining into pure spectacle.

This week, Christina Cates sits down with Jennifer Oz LeRoy, a woman who has lived her entire life at the intersection of imagination, ambition, and reinvention. Her lineage is a cultural constellation:

Jack Warner, the visionary who co-founded Warner Bros.

Mervyn LeRoy, the filmmaker behind The Wizard of Oz.

And Warner LeRoy, the showman who transformed Tavern On The Green into a world of fantasy, glamour, and unforgettable hospitality.

Jennifer didn't just inherit a legacy, she grew up inside of one.

And in this conversation, she reveals what it means to honor that history while carving out a voice that is unmistakably her own.

Jennifer shares what it felt like to grow up inside a Hollywood-New York dynasty, the weight, wonder, and responsibility of carrying a legendary name, how her father turned restaurants into theater long before the word 'immersive' existed, the evolution of the New York dining scene through her own eyes, and the moment she realized legacy is a choice and not a script.

For Christina, this episode serves as more than just a reunion. It's a return to the place where her own New York story began. For Tavern On The Green wasn't just a workplace, it was her first stage. And Jennifer wasn't just part of a storied lineage, she was Christina's first boss, the person who showed her what hospitality looks like when it's done with heart, vision, and fearlessness.

Certain legacies echo through history. Others keep evolving. One story, one voice, one generation at a time.

Passover isn't just another date on the calendar. It's a ritual that carries memory forward - a night where symbols turn into stories and the journey from slavery to freedom is retold so each generation can feel it anew.

On this week's Culinary Confidential, we gather at the Seder table with voices bridging past and present. Spencer, a Hebrew school student, brings the clarity and curiosity of the next generation. Jay Buchsbaum, a leading educator in the Kosher wine world, traces how tradition and craftsmanship shape the bottles poured at holiday tables. Chef Naomi Nachman, cookbook author and culinary force, brings the creativity and precision that define her Passover kitchen.

Together, they explore why matzo matters, how bitter herbs teach resilience, and why asking questions is the heartbeat of the holiday. It's a conversation on liberation, legacy, and the way food, wine, and storytelling turn a meal into a vessel for identity. Because while stories are told, some are inherited.

Dining Rooms. Some of them become neighborhood favorites. A few of them become institutions. Then you have the rare ones that turn into something larger than life. One of them was situated just outside of Pittsburgh, PA in McKees Rocks - The Primadonna. Opening in 1986, The Primadonna reshaped Pittsburgh's dining identity, blending ambition, elegance, and Italian American tradition into a restaurant that became a cultural landmark and a family crucible.

Christina Cates sits down with Maria C. Palmer, co-author of On The Rocks, to explore the rise, impact, and emotional cost of one of Pittsburgh's most talked about restaurants. The Primadonna wasn't just a business, it was a world unto itself. A place where power players emerged, regulars became loyalists, and the dining room carried an energy that couldn't be replicated.

At the center of this world was Joseph Costanzo Jr., a man whose drive, charisma, and contradictions fueled the restaurant's meteoric ascent and its eventual unraveling. Maria takes us inside the story with clarity and candor, sharing what it meant to grow up in the orbit of a father whose identity was inseparable from the restaurant he built.

The glamour, the pressure, the expectations, the fallout: it's all there.

Some places don't just feed you; they shape you. The old-school red sauce joints of North Jersey and New York are more than just restaurants, they're cultural landmarks where Sunday gravy simmers for hours, families gather in dining rooms, and entire communities find their identity one plate at a time.

On this edition of Culinary Confidential, Christina Cates welcomes in Tony Mangia, creator and host of At the Table with Tony, a storyteller devoted to preserving the heart of Italian American heritage. Tony spent years documenting the bakeries, pork stores, parish feasts, and legendary red sauce that defined generations of immigrant families. His work serves as a living archive of the traditions, voices, and flavors of the Italian American experience from the ground up.

Tony takes us inside the history and humanity of these iconic spaces, how immigrant families were able to build a sense of community through food, how recipes became identity, and why protecting these restaurants means protecting a piece of living history. It's a warm, textured conversation about memory, migration, and the places that hold our stories long after the last table is cleared. Because some traditions aren't just preserved, they're lived.

For the St. Patrick's Day 2026 edition of Culinary Confidential, Christina Cates looks into an art that refuses to disappear. 

It's an art that has survived not just because it's easy, but because of a select few people that still believe it is worth protecting. Meet Sean Daly, one of the last master crystal cutters in Ireland and the founder of Dingle Crystal, a workshop built on precision, heritage, and a fierce commitment to doing things the right way - even when the world begins to move in the opposite direction.

Daly began his career at Waterford Crystal, mastering the deep hand-cutting techniques that defined Irish crystal for centuries. When production shifted overseas, he didn't follow but rather set up his own workshop on the Dingle Peninsula, keeping alive a tradition that once shaped Ireland's cultural identity. Today, every piece he creates is designed and cut by hand, inspired by Celtic symbols, ancient patterns, and the wild landscape of Kerry.

This episode explores what it means to preserve a craft in a time when speed prevails over skill. Daly shares the origins of Irish crystal cutting, the meaning behind his designs, and why handmade work still carries a brilliance that no machine can replicate. Because some traditions shine the brightest when shaped by human hands.

This week on Culinary Confidential, it’s all about where craft meets courage!

Dee Robinson, the visionary behind Good Trouble Bourbon, joins the show to explore what happens when a brand is built with purpose at its core.

Robinson’s journey is a masterclass in intentional entrepreneurship. Good Trouble was created to honor legacy, spark dialogue, and remind us that challenging the status quo is not only necessary but noble. Inspired by Congressman John Lewis, Robinson crafted a bourbon designed to bring people together and ignite meaningful conversation.

Christina brings her deep hospitality expertise to a conversation moving from craft distilling to community impacts, as Robinson shares how her Shine Your Light Foundation is expanding access, mentorship, and opportunity for underrepresented communities. The bourbon and the foundation are two sides of the same mission: building pathways, elevating voices, and leading with purpose.

This episode is a toast to bold ideas, brave ideas, and the belief that business can be a force for good.

Ever watch someone lick their knife at the dinner table and thought, “Humanity is doomed,” Culinary Confidential has just the episode for you!

Christina Cates welcomes Thomas Farley, better known as “Mr. Manners” for a chat all about etiquette at the dinner table and beyond. Farley has spent years helping people navigate the social, professional, and cultural moments that make up everyday life. His work spans television, corporate workshops, and public speaking, all rooted in the idea that etiquette isn’t just about memorizing rules. It’s about understanding people. In a world featuring short attention spans and distractions multiplying by the minute, this message could not be more relevant.

This conversation takes a wide-angle look into how we behave, whether it’s at the table, online, in the workplace, and everywhere in between. Farley breaks down the evolution of dining customs, the collision between digital and real-world communication, and the new complexities of dating in an era where half of the conversation happens on a screen. He also examines shifting expectations around workplace professionalism, from tone to timing to the etiquette of hybrid meetings. The discussion is sharp, grounded, and refreshingly unpretentious, offering a practical roadmap for navigating daily interactions with a little more clarity and a lot less chaos.

Because if you can’t manage basic manners, the least that can be done is listening in and pretending to try.

Christina Cates closes out the Spotlight On Hospitality Entrepreneurs series with a true force in New Jersey's brunch culture: Amy Russo, the visionary behind Toast City Diner.

What began in Montclair in 2007 with a simple, joyful mantra - 'Peace, Love, & Pancakes' - has grown into one of New Jersey's most beloved community-driven hospitality brands. In that time, Amy has created spaces that feel like home, serving breakfast, brunch, and lunch with heart, warmth, and unmistakable personality.

Today, Toast thrives across Montclair, Downtown Asbury Park, Red Bank, Cranford, and its newest home in Manalapan, with each location carrying Amy's signature blend of comfort, color, and connection.

From buttermilk pancakes and eggs benedict to vibrant salads, sandwiches, and brunch bowls, Toast is more than just a menu. It's culture. Behind it all is Amy's grit, creativity, and unwavering commitment to people.

As a female entrepreneur in a competitive industry, she's built a model of leadership rooted in community, consistency, and joy.

Week 3 of the Spotlight On Hospitality Entrepreneurs series brings along one of the most imaginative forces in modern dining: Steve Schussler, the visionary behind Rainforest Cafe and founder of Schussler Creative.

Schussler's career reshaped what a restaurant could be. From globally recognized concepts like Rainforest Cafe to immersive destinations like T-Rex Cafe, Yak & Yeti, & Disney Springs' The Boathouse, he built more than just brands. He built worlds. His work blends storytelling, spectacle, and emotional connection, proving that hospitality is as much about experience and escapism as it is about food.

As the founder of Schussler Creative and author of It's A Jungle In There, Schussler brings decades of creative insight, creative risk-taking, and philanthropic purpose to the table. He shares conversations behind scaling concepts internationally, the reinventions that helped shape his path, and the mindset that's required for creating such enduring ideas.

On this week's Culinary Confidential, Christina Cates continues the 'Spotlight On Hospitality Entrepreneurs' series in France by welcoming in Thierry Vale - the entrepreneur behind BAGELSTEIN (www.bagelstein.in), the Paris-born bagel concept that turned sharp branding, disciplined systems, and a fearless voice into a fast-casual powerhouse operating across multiple countries.

Together, Christina and Thierry explore the power of a distinct brand identity, how to franchise successfully in new markets, leading teams while protecting the core idea, and the realities of growing a modern hospitality business abroad.

Thierry also breaks down how he built the concept from the ground up, why irrelevance became a strategic advantage, and how he scaled without losing the brand’s original spirit.