Guest: Chef Laura Frankel Chef Laura Frankel and I talk about holiday food prep and planning for Yom Kippur. She shares some great ideas that will be helpful for menu selection through break-the-fast. We even get a chance to talk about Chef's favorite ...

Guest: Zenash and her granddaughter Nebbe I'm at Ras Dashen, a wonderful cozy Ethiopian restaurant in my own neighborhood in Chicago. I'm talking with owner and chef Zenash and her granddaughter Nebbe. She tells an amazing story of how she comes to Chi...

A brief word from Beth Hi Fellow Big Schmear listeners! I can't believe the summer is coming to a close so soon and it's already time to start thinking about the holidays. AND, I've been doing just that. I've got some interesting episodes planned that ...

Guest: Rabbi Yisroel Finman While on a dream vacation in Greece I got a call about a Kosher food company focused on bringing kosher food from the Balkans to the US and Israel and around the world. What a crazy coincidence.

Guest: Moran Birman, Consul for Public Diplomacy, Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest On this episode you'll meet Moran Birman, Consul for Public Diplomacy with the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest.

Guest: Marc & Maureen Schulman I've heard about Eli's Cheesecake for years, and not because I live in Chicago. When I knew Shavout was coming up I thought it would be the perfect time to see if I could get an interview with Marc Schulman,

Guest: Marcy Goldman Passover is here and what better way to get into the season of matzo than time to talk with writer and cookbook author, chef and inventor of Matzo Crack, Marcy Goldman! Marcy is my first Big Schmear guest from Canada.

Guest: Alon Munzer, Co-Owner of Mamaleh's Delicatessen & Restaurant Whenever I'm in the Boston area to visit with family one of my new favorite restaurant stops is Mamaleh's Deli in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Guest: Sarah Klegman of Challah Hub I had a great time talking with Sarah Klegman, co-founder of Challah Hub. This is another virtual challah story taking place in Los Angeles. Sarah and I talked a lot about challah and about Sarah's life outside of ba...

Guests: Tamar Fasja Unikel & Elena Vazquez It's all about a very cool virtual bakery in Chicago's PIlson neighborhood. The story starts with two college friends from Mexico City that discover they both like to bake.