The Perfect Bite

What if dinner could be fresh, delicious, and stress-free—without hours in the kitchen?

In this episode of The Perfect Bite podcast, host Sarah Perkins sits down with David Rabie, co-founder and CEO of Tovala, the smart steam-powered countertop oven and meal service that reimagined home cooking. From humble prototypes to being named one of Oprah’s Favorite Things, Tovala has grown into a national brand that’s changing the way pe...

What happens when you mix hometown pride, bold flavors, and decades of CPG experience? You get Local Style Potato Chips, Chicago’s favorite foods reimagined in snackable form.

This week on The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Laura Gardner, founder of Local Style, to talk about her journey from Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo to launching a startup that has Chicago buzzing.

Laura shares how memories of eating...

Food is heritage, healing, and storytelling — and in her new cookbook Dal Chawal, Sapna Punjabi brings all of that to life.

In this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Sapna Punjabi — registered dietitian, culinary educator, and founder of beSPICED— to talk about her journey from Mumbai to Texas, how Ayurveda shapes her philosophy of food, and the inspiration behind her debut cookbook Dal Chawal.

Sa...

I was so honored to join Colleen Silk on Hospitality Bites! You can listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Captivate. Read more about our chat below:

In this episode of Hospitality Bites, host Colleen Silk sits down with Sarah Perkins, Cherry Bombe member, founder of Perkins Creative Consulting, and host of The Perfect Bite podcast.

Sarah shares her journey from working as the “ph...

What do food, sports, and determination have in common? For Chef Dan Jacobs (DanDan, EsterEv, James Beard-recognized Top Chef alum) and Chicago pizza and media entrepreneur Billy Zureikat (Tripping Billy), they’re the foundation of friendship, creativity, and their new podcast Over the Line.

In this episode of The Perfect Bite podcast, host Sarah Perkins dives into Dan and Billy’s incredible stories:

• Dan’s journey from Door C...

What if restaurants could understand every guest and their personal preferences across reservations, private dining, e-commerce, and events — all in one place? That’s the vision behind Panso, the 360 degree hospitality CRM platform founded by Britney Ziegler.

On this episode of The Perfect Bite podcast, I sit down with Britney to talk about her journey from working alongside celebrity chefs and food icons like David Burke, Carla...

What does it really take to get a cookbook published today? I sat down with Sally Ekus, lead of and senior literary agent at The Ekus Group (now a division of JVNLA), to explore the intersection of food, publishing, and entrepreneurship.

Sally has spent over 16 years representing cookbook authors, chefs, food writers, and culinary thought leaders, helping them bring their unique stories and recipes to print. She shares how publi...

From a five-time James Beard Award nominee to a tech co-founder reshaping hospitality, Matt Jennings has worn many hats — chef, restaurateur, author, and now tech entrepreneur with MAJC.ai.

In this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Matt to trace his journey from his early days in New England kitchens to running celebrated restaurants like Farmstead and Townsman, and to now co-founding MAJC.ai — a pla...

“Honest cuisine”: That’s probably my favorite phrase now for seasonal or farm-to-table cooking. Thanks to Chef Chaz Lindsay, you can have the most honest, delicious Italian-Mississippi cuisine at Pulito Osteria. Chef Chaz Lindsay went from the high-pressure kitchens of Eleven Madison Park and Colicchio & Sons/Craft to building a soulful, seasonal osteria in Jackson, Mississippi. In this episode, Chaz shares how Italian simplici...

You’ve had cold brew coffee, but have you heard of cold brew chai? Sinwise Farms founder Joshua Chemparathy has created the first canned cold brew chai and gorgeous canned coffee, all with single origin tea, coffee, and spices from his family’s farm in Kerala, South India. 

It’s hard to believe Josh and I have known each other for about 15 years now, thanks to being in the same co-ed business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi, at...

On this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Belinda Kelly and Venice Cunningham, the sister duo behind the Simple Goodness Sisters, authors of the new cocktail recipe book Drink Your Garden.

Belinda and Venice share how they went from corporate jobs in tech to creating the world’s first cocktail farm, launching a mobile bar business, and building a thriving CPG brand around their seasonal, farm-to-glas...

What do you get when you mix Michelin-starred training with playful storytelling, rubber duckies, and dry ice? For Chef Donald Young, the answer is Duck Sel—Chicago’s most whimsical private dining and popup experience.

In this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins dives into Don’s journey: from growing up with a plain palate in the Midwest to training under iconic French chefs (like Roland Liccioni), cooking in France,...

On this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Chef D’Andre Carter and Heather Bublick, the duo behind Soul & Smoke, one of Chicago’s most beloved barbecue brands.

From staging at Moto under Chef Homaro Cantu to running underground dinners, private catering, and eventually pivoting during the pandemic to launch Soul & Smoke, D’Andre and Heather share their remarkable journey. Today, their soulful ...

Calling all wine lovers! 

This is our first episode with a winemaker extraordinaire. On this episode of The Perfect Bite, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Janie Brooks Heuck, Managing Director of Brooks Wine, located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and named one of the Top 50 Wineries in the World.

Janie shares how she unexpectedly stepped into the wine industry after her brother Jimmy’s passing and how she has carried fo...

Your local businesses have a greater impact on your community than you realize. 

This is especially true for Freedom a la Cart, a Columbus cafe, catering business, and nonprofit supporting survivors of human trafficking through workforce development programming, giving them a chance to stand on their own two feet with respect and dignity. 

I had the immense pleasure of speaking with Freedom’s CEO Paula Haines about ...

Have you ever tried Nam Prik Pao?

It’s maybe one of the greatest condiments EVER! Palita Sriratana is the founder of Pink Salt Kitchens, making it easy to get your hands on this gorgeous Thai chili jam anywhere throughout the U.S. 

I’ve loved watching Palita and Pink Salt Kitchens grow—she truly is a testament to never giving up and pivoting to keep going. She’s making Thai food and flavors accessible to all, providing a...

When I first moved to Columbus, I was curious if I'd find any local spots that were akin to my favorite haunts in Chicago. Special, but relaxed and accessible, with absolutely fantastic food. Lo and behold, there's a Columbus chef who's doing just that, building an empire that reflects good food, good values, and good times.

His was the name I heard over and over again: BJ Lieberman. BJ is the chef and owner behind Chapman’s Eat...

It's no secret our modern society demands convenience. And in the case of food that means what we want, when we want it—but at what cost? Today's guest is leading the flavor revolution, a call for us to go back to basics, to source the most delicious and nutritious produce.

Franco Fubini has been working on this mission for over 20 years with his company Natoora, which focuses on global capillary food supply chains to fix our fo...

 Here's a not-so-secret secret for you: I have a huge sweet tooth. Anytime and place that I can find a pastry that's made with love and care and safety for my food allergies is such a huge win.

I am so lucky that when we moved to Columbus last year, I not only found a mecca of pastries, but a modern and cozy spot of community that we visit on a weekly basis: Fox in the Snow. I sat down with owner of Fox in the Snow, Lauren Culle...