The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast

Deep-Fried Saltines & Kool-Aid Pickles & Wine - Pt. 5

5 min
Jan 22, 20263 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Host Forrest Kelly interviews Emmy Award-winning journalist David Page about his new podcast 'Culinary Characters Unlocked,' which features in-depth interviews with chefs redefining regional cuisine. The episode highlights featured chefs including Vinny Cimino from Cleveland, who reimagines Midwestern classics with innovative techniques like Kool-Aid pickles and deep-fried saltines.

Insights
  • Culinary innovation thrives when chefs honor regional traditions while reinterpreting them through modern techniques and presentation
  • Personal heritage and family recipes serve as authentic inspiration for contemporary restaurant concepts and menu development
  • Editorial integrity and commitment to truth remain foundational values in quality podcast journalism and storytelling
  • Cross-promotion and collaboration between podcasts creates mutual value and audience expansion in the podcast ecosystem
Trends
Elevated comfort food and nostalgic dishes gaining prominence in fine dining and chef-driven restaurantsRegional cuisine redefinition as a competitive differentiator for independent restaurantsChef-focused narrative podcasts as a platform for culinary storytelling and brand buildingMilitary family backgrounds and global exposure influencing diverse culinary perspectives in American kitchensFood & Wine recognition of emerging chefs as validation mechanism for innovative regional concepts
Topics
Culinary innovation and regional cuisine reinterpretationChef entrepreneurship and restaurant ownershipFood heritage and family recipe adaptationMidwestern cuisine modernizationNew Orleans traditional cuisine redefinitionPodcast collaboration and cross-promotionEditorial standards in podcast journalismFood media recognition and chef visibilityComfort food elevation techniquesRestaurant concept development
Companies
Food & Wine
Named Vinny Cimino as one of their 2025 hot new chefs, validating innovative Midwestern cuisine concepts
Commander's Palace
Legendary New Orleans restaurant where Chef Amy Mertens worked as sous chef before opening her own kitchen
Cordelia
Cleveland restaurant owned by Chef Vinny Cimino, serving reimagined Midwestern classics and innovative dishes
Alpine Steakhouse
Sarasota, Florida steakhouse owned by Matt Rebhan, known for handmade turducken and traditional diner concepts
CIA
Culinary Institute of America where Chef Amy Mertens trained before her professional culinary career
People
David Page
Emmy Award-winning journalist launching 'Culinary Characters Unlocked' podcast featuring in-depth chef interviews
Vinny Cimino
Cleveland chef named Food & Wine 2025 best new chef, reimagining Midwestern classics with innovative techniques
Amy Mertens
Military brat and CIA graduate, former sous chef at Commander's Palace, now redefining New Orleans cuisine
Matt Rebhan
Owner of Alpine Steakhouse in Sarasota, Florida, known for handmade turducken and traditional diner concepts
Forrest Kelly
Host of The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast, interviewing David Page about culinary storytelling and chef narratives
Quotes
"There's something sadly missing in America today, which is a commitment to the truth. I'm going to tell the truth."
David Page
"It better be true and it better be provable."
David Page
"These are entertaining, informative, provoking interviews that I think improve your day."
David Page
"If you've never had a turducken, your life is empty."
Forrest Kelly
Full Transcript
Starting a business means wearing many hats, designer, marketer, manager, while chasing your vision. Shopify powers millions of businesses with tools to build beautiful stores, create content and market with ease. From inventory to shipping, everything runs smoothly. If you're ready to sell, you're ready for Shopify. Sign up for your 1€ trial today at shopify.nl. That's shopify.nl. Welcome, welcome to the Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast with Forrest Kelly. We continue our collaboration with Emmy Award-winning journalist David Page. That's what we do in the podcast world. We help each other out. And David's got a brand new podcast called Culinary Characters Unlocked. The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast. I'm a coward. I don't have an ounce of bravery in me. And yet, if you look at my resume, you'd say, oh, you've been in some dicey places. They never seemed dicey. The fact of the matter is, that stuff was fun. I hate to say it, and I hate to minimize a tragedy in any way, and I don't mean to do that, and I'm not. But the fact of the matter was, in my day, covering stuff like that was fun. Bringing all of that to culinary characters unlock the episodes Well I will say I am using the same editorial standards that I always used when I was reporting overseas when I was doing investigative work It better be true and it better be provable. There's something sadly missing in America today, which is a commitment to the truth. I'm going to tell the truth. Yeah, that's all. So tell us the truth. Are the episodes pretty good? I'm very proud of them. They're damn fine. These are entertaining, informative, provoking interviews that I think improve your day. I mean, the bottom line is it's a bunch of personality. And each episode, you know, look at the thumbnails. They'll tell you. Chef Amy Mertens grew up all over the world as a military brat, went to the CIA, calling me a student American, not the spy agency, ended up as a sous chef at the legendary commander's palace in New Orleans, and is now running her own kitchen in that town where she's redefining traditional New Orleans cuisine. That's all you need to know. She's entertaining. She's terrific. You know, give her a listen. Right now, the latest episode is Vinny Cimino. He's a chef in Cleveland who Food & Wine just named one of their 2025 hot new chefs or best new chefs. He's reinventing Midwestern classic food in his own way. He doing he turned the traditional from he in Cleveland from his part of Ohio There a driving chain called Swenson Swenson They do a particular kind of burger with cheese and sauce and pickles He's doing his version of it as steak tartare. He's doing deep fried saltines. He's doing pickles marinated in Kool-Aid. This is a guy worth listening to. Pickles marinated in Kool-Aid. Yeah, his grandmother used to do it. He says, you know, you can't really taste the individual flavors, but it adds a sweetness and a color. Yeah. Deep fried saltines. Yeah. His grandmother, who is from Alabama, it's actually an Alabama dish, but she used to make it for him when he was growing up. She would deep fry saltines and he loves it and he's selling his restaurant, which if you go to Cleveland, the restaurant is Cordelia. My Thanksgiving episode is one of the few complete throwbacks to diners. I booked Matt Rebhan, who is the owner of a place in Florida called, I think it's Sarasota, called the Alpine Steakhouse. I had him on diners in 2007 because he makes a turducken by hand. That's a boneless turkey stuffed with a boneless chicken stuffed with a boneless duck. And by the way, if you've never had a turducken, your life is empty. Yeah, if you do it right, it's kind of like cutting a tree and looking at the rings. You get a little of everything, and in between the various proteins is Cajun stuffing with andouille It just I get one I order one shipped frozen every year It the best Thanksgiving on earth Wow. You know, we've got a hell of an interview. Anytime you can mention Muammar Gaddafi and Turducken. Yes, but if you could get a Turquedafi, that would be, I think, the ultimate. Culinary characters unlocked, ladies and gentlemen, it's David Page. And I think, David, that you fulfilled the statement that you made at the beginning of this interview. And I better damn well be amusing. Oh, the crowd went wild. Let it be stated that I am tipping my cap in appreciation. Hey, thank you. It's been great. Take care. Don't forget my favorite part. Oh. NL