The Zest

Mar 20 2025 259 ep. 24 mins 27
The Zest Podcast artwork

Because it’s strange and beautiful and hot, people from everywhere converge on Florida and they bring their cuisine and their traditions with them. The Zest celebrates the intersection of food and communities in the Sunshine State.

  Arts  Health & Fitness  Society & Culture
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Dietitian Deanna Wolfe on Wellness Trends, Disordered Eating and Finding Food Freedom

Mar 20 2025 26 mins  
Today we’re getting to know dietitian Deanna Wolfe. But she needs no introduction if you’re among her hundreds of thousands of social media followers. On Instagram and TikTok, Deanna is an open book. She chronicles her journey recovering from an eating disorder, what she eats in a day as postpartum mom (including dessert every night!) and even her income, for the scores of o

Spring Reset: Get Your Garden, Grill & Pantry Ready for the Season with Tips from Southern Kitchen’s Mackensy Lunsford

Mar 13 2025 28 mins  
By Dalia Colón Spring is upon us, so it’s time to tackle all those projects we’ve been putting off. Maybe you need to organize the garage, file your taxes or flip your mattress. While you’re making that checklist, remember to prep for spring cooking—planting warm-weather vegetables, gearing up your grill and, yes, cleaning out the pantry. But resetting for spring doesn�

Plant-Powered Education: Solid Rock Community School in Tarpon Springs Offers 100% Vegan Cafeteria Menu

Mar 06 2025 28 mins  
At Solid Rock Community School in Tarpon Springs, every item that comes out of the cafeteria is 100 percent plant-based. Families can even order vegan to-go meals to take home and eat for dinner. That puts Solid Rock in a pretty small group of K-12 schools in the U.S. that are completely plant-based. The idea for a plant-based cafeteria came from Solid Rock’s founder and execut

Pediatrician Dr. David Berger on School Lunches & Ultra-Processed Foods

Feb 27 2025 26 mins  
This week, we’re getting real about what we feed kids. Whether or not you have children of your own, we all have a role to play in helping the next generation make healthier choices. Dr. David Berger isn’t here to shame anyone. But as a pediatrician and the face of Wholistic Pediatrics & Family Care in Tampa, he sees every day how nutrition—or lack thereof—affects kids

USF’s Food Sovereignty Initiative Works Toward Healthy, Sustainable and Culturally Appropriate Foods for All

Feb 20 2025 28 mins  
Prof. William Schanbacher, Ph.D., breaks it down.

Chef Terrell Manning’s Love Languages of Food

Feb 13 2025 23 mins  
If you've ever dreamed of hosting a food TV show, being a private chef or working in a high-end restaurant, then this conversation is for you—because today's guest has done all of that, plus a lot more, in his young career. Get to know Chef Terrell Manning. The St. Pete native has experience as a private chef, food TV host, restaurant co-owner, host of the roadshow America’s

Guac This Way: Sleepy Lizard Avocado Farm in the Everglades Specializes in Florida (Green) Avocados

Feb 06 2025 23 mins  
Super Bowl Sunday is a big day for football—and guacamole. But how much do you know about avocados—specifically the green variety, also called Florida avocados? Today we’re doing a deep dive with Tom Siddons. He and his wife own Sleepy Lizard Avocado Farm in the Everglades, where they grow and ship avocados, mangos and other tropical fruits. Tom also hosts the popular Slee

In “My (Half) Latinx Kitchen,” Kiera Wright-Ruiz Explores Identity Through Food

Jan 30 2025 23 mins  
Kiera Wright-Ruiz has an impressive resume: food writer with creds in The New York Times and Bon Appétit. Photographer for big-name brands including Taco Bell. Recipe developer for the Japan Times, The Kitchn and Food52. Picture book author. We could go on. But perhaps most impressive is the vulnerability Kiera displays in her latest work, My (Half) Latinx Kitchen. Part cook

Second Helping: James Beard Award-Winning Food Journalist Toni Tipton-Martin on African-American Cooking

Jan 23 2025 18 mins  
This week on The Zest Podcast, revisit Dalia's conversation with Toni Tipton-Martin. The renowned food journalist won James Beard Awards for her books The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks and Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking. Martin also serves as editor-in-chief of the Cook’s Country magazine and television show. This con

Coming Jan. 30... Season 11!

Jan 22 2025 1 mins  
This season we're talking avocados, food sovereignty, Latinx identity and a whole lot more. New episodes are released on Thursdays. Listen wherever you're hearing this or at thezestpodcast.com.