SoCal Meals and Way of life Podcast, ‘Walk-Ins Welcome,’ Launches Today

Culture OC contributing author, Ivy Dai, will discuss with cooks, founders and personalities shaping Southern California’s meals and hospitality scene.

I’m a chef and meals author by commerce. I grew up in Arcadia and am based mostly in Orange County. I’m a graduate of UCLA and the Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy, and labored as a pastry chef for the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton motels in California.

After refining my pastry expertise at Lenôtre and Hédiard in Paris, I labored as a non-public chef aboard luxurious yachts within the south of France. In 2017 I opened my restaurant Graze California Cuisine within the south of France. 

Several folks have approached me about doing a podcast as a result of they needed to listen to tales about my travels and totally different experiences in meals. Listening to an unfiltered dialog for half an hour or so per week permits you to have a look at the entire story, whereas a brief video or polished article is extra just like the spotlight reel.

I’ve created that podcast the place these deeper conversations can occur, and it’s referred to as “Walk-Ins Welcome.” Every Wednesday will likely be a brand new dialog with the cooks, founders and personalities shaping Southern California’s meals and hospitality scene.

This month, I spoke to a number of Orange County meals founders. The inaugural lineup consists of founders who’ve new areas this 12 months – Wing Lam, co-founder of Wahoo’s Fish Tacos and Sumter Pendergrast, founder & CEO of Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee. Wahoo’s will open a second location in Austin, Texas, and John Wayne Airport this 12 months, and Sidecar has expanded into Utah.

Lam is an Orange County icon who opened the primary Wahoo’s location in 1988 in Costa Mesa. Almost 40 years later, there are practically 50 areas worldwide, together with Texas, Hawaii and Japan. He talks about his attention-grabbing selection of footwear (look ahead to a Wahoo’s x Birkenstock collab quickly), his early days buying and selling tacos for merch, and his philosophy of working with folks. His laid-back collaborative method has garnered him numerous loyal workers and clients through the years.

Pendergrast used to work in vogue and determined to make the transition into espresso and hand-crafted doughnuts. He and his spouse Chi-Lin began in Costa Mesa in 2012, Today, they’ve 9 areas in Southern California and a brand new location in Utah. He talks about how iconic imagery and partnering with Instagram was a key element of Sidecar’s early success.

Next Wednesday we can have a dialog with Viet Nguyen, chef-founder and co-CEO of the restaurant group Kei Concepts. Nguyen, who was a James Beard semifinalist for finest chef in California, talks about his origin story in coming to the United States, going nationwide and plans to broaden Kei Concepts into shopper packaged items and media.

Kei Concepts began in 2014 with eight fusion eating ideas and 10 areas in Orange County – Sup Noodle Bar, Vox Kitchen, Nep Cafe, Kin Craft Ramen & Izakaya, Rol Hand Bar, Ini Ristorante, Kei Coffeehouse and Qua Contemporary Chinese Cuisine. 

I hope the tales and voices of every visitor on the podcast enrich your culinary panorama and encourage you to strive a brand new restaurant within the space.