The As Told By Podcast

We're still in Charleston, and a new season is the perfect time to reflect on the experience of building the podcast so far! And what better person to lead that conversation than Charleston native and James Beard Award winner KJ Kearney, creator of Black Food Fridays, a platform dedicated to telling the stories of Black people in the food and beverage space! And rounding out the trio, we're joined by special guest Nneka Nurse, 2025...

It's time for Season 6, and we're kicking things off in Charleston, South Carolina at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival with Executive Director Alyssa Maute Smith! Held annually in March, CHSWF has become one of the preeminent food festivals in the country, with its week-long celebration of all things, culinary, culture, and community!

This week, Kahja talks with Alyssa about her Carolina upbringing and the responsibility of sho...

With Oakland’s food scene growing, it seems like there’s a new restaurant opening all the time, but not all are as anticipated as the opening of Burdell later this year! Led by Chef Geoff Davis, Burdell has been building a reputation that pays nostalgic homage to the culture of Black American food. With pop-up dinners that invite diners to linger over homey plates of food that bear the mark of a classically-trained chef, Burdell is...

Building on a 20 year career in the wine industry, and with the success of Street Somm, the Emmy and James Beard nominated show on Tastemade, Bronx native Jermaine Stone is fusing the worlds of wine education, hip hop culture, and travel, blurring the lines that often separate the luxurious and the laid back experiences of food, wine, and music.

In this week's bonus episode, Kahja talks with Jermaine about humble beginnings, lessons...

The pandemic gave life to so many brilliant businesses, and Rize Up Bakery definitely seized the moment! With the entire Bay Area sheltered in place, owner and founder Azikiwee Anderson got busy turning a passion project into one of the most recognizable new businesses in San Francisco, cranking out inventive and creatively flavored loaves of sourdough bread!

In this week's episode Azikiwee reflects on humble beginnings, centering r...

A good bowl of gumbo is a mix of various things that come together to make something great, and in keeping with that theme, this week, Mr. Gumbo his self reflects on his culinary origins, navigating the grind of a rapidly growing business, bringing back a sense of community around Sunday dinner, and giving his self permission to enjoy the accolades of having one of the newest and most exciting pop-up in the Bay!

Gumbo Social

@gumboso...

**Re-run; originally released March 8th, 2022**

Pop-up food experiences have become a successful business model as an outcome of the pandemic, and the food scene in the Bay is no exception. In this episode, Kahja talks with Christian Washington and Sadé Stamps, the creative minds behind The Comfort Collective, one of Oakland’s most exciting dining pop-ups! It may be March, but we're still celebrating Black History month over here, ...

**Re-run; originally released Feb 23rd, 2023**

We might be halfway through Black History Month, but we couldn’t let this month go by without acknowledging all of the great things happening in Oakland! As a lead up to the Black Joy Parade on February 26th, it's only right to highlight some amazing events that’ll be taking place at one of Oakland’s favorite new eateries, Town Fare Cafe, led by Executive Chef Michele McQueen!

Known and ...

When people think of leaders in the culinary community in the Bay, Chef Nelson German is one of the first names that comes to mind. Top Chef alum and owner of two of Oakland's most beloved restaurants, AlaMar Dominican Kitchen and Sobre Mesa, Chef Nelson is not only showcasing his NYC Afro-Latino roots in Dominican culture, but is creating his own intersections with other cuisines of the Black Diaspora where these foodways not only...

"Start a business," they say. "I wanna be my own boss," they say. "It's gonna be amazing," they say. But what happens if it's not? As a self-taught baker, Malaka Hampton transformed her love of the kitchen into Two Chicks In The Mix, where quality ingredients and gorgeous aesthetics became a hallmark. But keeping up with the demands of the kitchen eventually took its toll, and it's in the hindsight of reflectiveness that she's lear...

The experience of food converged with music, art, and storytelling makes it that much richer, and Last Supper Society (@lastsuppersociety) has mastered the format! Led by Sacramento natives Ryan Royster and Chef Byron Hughes, their marketing, branding, and fine dining backgrounds merged to create artistic culinary moments highlighting the nuance and intersectionality of culture.

This week, Kahja talks with Ryan and Byron about pivot...

Alcohol-free wine is one of the fastest growing markets in the beverage category, and in just over 2 years after their US launch, French Bloom is carving a niche around a new experience of elegance and inclusiveness with their trio of organic sparkling wine, even among traditional wine drinkers! 

With their recently announced partnership with Moët Hennessy, French Bloom is marrying tradition and innovation through their de-alcoholiz...

Photography captures moments and movements in time, and with representation and visibility of diverse people across the food industry higher than ever before, Clay Williams is front and center chronicling the moments; the historic and groundbreaking as well as the ordinary, beautifully reflecting the hearts and stories of people whose work is shaping the culinary landscape for generations to come. 

Clay's efforts also include co-fou...

What do you do when what you know suddenly shifts and you need to make something happen? You take your fine dining background, a few good people, and your entrepreneurial hustle, and you create one of Oakland's most buzzed about pop-ups in recent years, June's Pizza (@junes_pizza)! 

Initially opening during the pandemic to acclaim and customer demand, Craig Murli prioritized growth by focusing on simplicity, with a pared down menu f...

It takes work to turn a town into a community, and with the launch of Town Love, friends turned business partners Kim Bardakian and Nicole Vasgerdsian are doing exactly that, corralling some of Oakland's best products, places, experiences, and history into a curated gift box perfect for sharing the heart of the city!

In this episode, Kahja talks with Kim and Nicole about the importance of platforming local brands, creating new narra...

While the restaurant industry may have survived the events of the last few years, without resources and support to help create sustainable environments, success can feel far off. Since launching in 2017, InKind has grown into the largest consumer marketplace of its kind, offering a unique combination of low risk financing for restaurants and high-value dining rewards for consumers. 

Co-founded by CEO Johann Moonesinghe, InKind's goa...

With the launch of her cooking blog in 2017, Just Add Hot Sauce, Alex Hill set out to build a platform based on her love of food, fun, friendship, and spice! Her down to earth, relatable approach to culinary creating garnered her a show on Tastemade, Spice Spice Baby, which debuted in 2023. 

Since then, Alex launched her popular newsletter on Substack, Food and Feelings, and has been featured on the Coca-Cola Kickback Stage at 2024'...

On the heels of a successful career as  a recipe developer, food writer, and producer/director, Kiano Moju is adding author to that list with the release of her new cookbook, "AfriCali: Recipes From My Jikoni." Drawing from her layered African heritage as well as her upbringing in Northern California, Kiano is welcoming us into her jikoni (which means "kitchen" in Swahili) through a vibrant collection of recipes taking us from savo...

With multiculturalism informing so much of how we eat today, our experiences of food and family are a huge influence on our approach to diversity in the world, and as a Black and Japanese Queer woman of color, Patty Dingle has built a successful career in DEI based on her lived experience, which has grown to include ownership of White Horse Bar, the oldest operating gay bar in the United States.

This week, Kahja chats with Patty abo...