Food Origins Podcast

Howard Bulka was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Los Angeles, CA. Howard studied economics in college in San Francisco but suddenly realized he hadn’t found his calling until a friend suggested he become a chef. 

With that in mind, Howie sought out the knowledge to begin his new career choice by going door to door talking to hotels and restaurant chefs for their advice. Howie soon was hired to start cooking pastry in downtow...

Paul Arihara was born in Japan and moved to California at age 5. Paul was orphaned at 8years old and institutionalized till he was 25. Paul has worked in the hospitality industry for over 34 years starting at McDonald’s at the age of 15 in San Diego,CA. Paul only completed the 9th grade and was homeless at 18 shortly after being released from incarceration. Paul’s worked in almost every position from dishwasher to bartender. Workin...

Joey Camacho is the owner and managing partner of Konjoe Burger Bar. Born in Saipan and raised on Guam with a diverse Japanese/Chamorro and multi-ethnic background. Konjoe currently has four locations in the cities of Los Altos at State Street Market, Santa Clara at Levi’s Stadium , SAP Center and another cloud kitchen both in San Jose, California. 

 Joey brings his vast knowledge from working in finance to culinary school and cooki...

Wyatt Fields is the owner and pitmaster of Breakwater BBQ in El Granada, California .

After five jam packed years of full-service, catering for weddings, and some of the biggest tech companies in the Bay Area and everything in between, Wyatt decided to take the next step in his journey and open a small store front in the coastal town of El Granada, California right before the start of the global pandemic of 2020. Located right where...

Nirvana Soul is a San Jose-based coffee company bringing exciting flavor, bold inspiration, and undeniable joy to Silicon Valley and beyond. Founded by sisters and best friends, Jeronica Macey and Be’Anka Ashaolu, Nirvana Soul’s mission is to bring people together using the power of coffee and tea.

Jeronica & Be’Anka

We’re Jeronica and Be’Anka. Sisters, best friends, and co-founders of Nirvana Soul. Since we were little girls, co...

Tracy Desmond was born and raised in Peoria, Illinois. Tracy has been working in the hospitality and tech industry. But it all started with a visit to a kombucha bar on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The kombucha was light & refreshing. There was also a sense of connection and community that created a very special experience. That feeling stuck with Tracy and she knew she wanted to create something like that back home.

Tracy start...

Loren Poncia was born and raised in Tomales, CA. Loren follows in the footsteps of his parents, Al and Cathie Poncia, as the 4th generation of his family to steward their land. A graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a major in Dairy Science and Ag Business, Loren always dreamed of coming back to the ranch to pursue his passion in agriculture. Loren oversees the entire ranching operation, and spends countless hours carefully ...

Born and raised in Boston, Adrian started working in kitchens as a young teenager. Adrian is the CEO/Co-Founder of Four Star Seafood and Provisions based in San Francisco, CA. After cooking his way through the Boston area, and a obtaining degree in Philosophy from Brandeis University, Adrian’s taste for adventure led him to cook in San Francisco, New York, London, Israel, France and Tokyo before he landed back in San Francisco as t...

Chef Guillaume Bienaimé was born and raised in Paris, France and moved to the U.S. at an early age but traveled back to France every summer. Guillaume was learning French cooking techniques from his “quintessential French grandmother” who cooked all the time and family meals were a great influence. Guillaume was not only interested in cooking from his family. Guillaume's first cooking job was in a small Pennsylvania pizza rest...

MACBBQ. Established in the California Bay Area in 2014 as a competition barbecue team. Chris, John, Nick, Bruce, Gary and Dominic are all featured on this podcast. 

Chris is the founding member and collaborator of the entire team with a passion for learning barbecue and using his background in science to establish a measured approach. John backs him up also with his technical experience and provides a sense of humor, excellent video...

Lars Smith was born and raised in Palo Alto, CA part of a 3rd generation family in the Bay Area. This podcast was recorded on location at the State of Mind Slice House, their second location, which coincidentally Lars lived and grew up with down the street. 

Lars got into food early especially from both of his Grandmothers' cooking who provided an inspiration.  Despite not receiving any formal culinary training, Lars worked his...

Christine Sebastian is the owner of Treatbot Karaoke Ice Cream Truck along with her husband Ryan. Also they are founders of a food truck gathering and consulting firm called Moveable Co. 

 Christine and I know each other from attending the City College of San Francisco’s Hotel & Restaurant Program together. Christine talks about her process of working at a traveling catering company, her Filipino upbringing and culture along wit...

A builder and storyteller, my guest today is Timothy Koide. Tim was born in Berkeley, CA of Japanese and Caucasian descent. Tim’s great grandparents immigrated from Japan and settled in the Bay Area. 

At a very young age, Tim’s family moved to the East Coast and he spent the majority of his childhood there, but would spend parts of his summers back in California. Tim later embarked on a very impactful Mission with his Church to Toky...

Guy Crims, or “Guy the Butcher,” as he’s generally known, is a veteran of the butcher business and a legend in the world of Japanese Wagyu. In 2017 alone, Crims was responsible for bringing 4.3 metric tons of Wagyu beef into the U.S. 

 Crims, a California native, became fascinated with the butcher business when he was 14 after reading The Jungle, Upton Sinclair’s novel depicting the American meatpacking industry in early 20th centur...

Ben grew up in in the small town of Perkinsville along the Connecticut River in the state of Vermont.  With a French background and Ben's family based out of New Hampshire and New Orleans he saw many different great dishes such as crawfish boils and fresh shellfish. Ben started early in the culinary world by working in a small NY and Sicilian style pizzeria  in Vermont at the age of 14. Progressing through other pizza restaura...

Esa Yonn-Brown was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. Raised in a family of passionate cooks that were an early part of the slow food movement and used as many fresh ingredients as possible in their meals. Esa has been working in the restaurant industry since she was sixteen years old. 

Esa and I know each other from attending the same class at the City College of San Francisco’s Hotel & Restaurant Program . That’s also where...

Ken was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. Ken grew up in a family of great cooks which stoked his passion for food. Traveling abroad and cooking professionally in Australia furthered his knowledge and repertoire. After returning to the states, Ken simultaneously went to culinary school and worked at Zuni Cafe under Judy Rogers in San Francisco working through all the ranks of the kitchen to Chef de Cuisine. 

With all that experien...

Born and raised in Petaluma California in Sonoma County; Joe Costarella comes from an all Italian Neapolitan and Sicilian family.  With heavy roots also in San Francisco, Joe grew going to the city for the family business and dinners. Joe also spent a lot of time in the outdoors hunting and fishing which exposed him to great variety of food by his family especially his La Nonna and Mother’s great cooking. 

Joe Costarella currently m...

Andy Moeckel aka the “ Flip Flop Guy” known for his delicious wild game cooking style and family marinade recipe. Andy is an accomplished hunter/fisherman & was born and raised in West Marin, California. After a troubled youth, Andy turned his life around and began sharing his Grandfather’s cooking when it was passed down to him by his father on his 25th birthday. Andy’s Grandfather Al Giddings was a Fish & Game warden, WWI...