We had an all-star line-up of guests in September on “Walk-Ins Welcome.” Amar Santana of “Top Chef” and executive chef/owner of Vaca and Broadway talked about his favorite memories of his extensive travel in his younger days. He also opened up about self-doubt while competing on “Top Chef,” and shared what life is like raising an autistic son. The Los Angeles branch of Vaca has been open for 10 months, and Santana discussed how social media helped him market his third restaurant.
Celebrity chef Jamie Gwen is the co-founder of Relish, a fine dining and spirits experience that took place over the weekend in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. She talked about the all-star lineup of Food Network stars there including Geoffrey Zakarian and Scott Conant. She started Relish with her childhood best friend and just finished her second year running the three-day star-studded event. She also shared about cooking for her family and her favorite recipes, as well as her adventures cooking with Emeril Lagasse in her younger years.
Next up is Rich Mead, executive chef-partner of Farmhouse at Roger’s Garden. Diners can enjoy the original farm-to-table experience as Mead scours farmers’ markets and has partnerships with Orange County’s local purveyors to find the best ingredients. Mead talked about the challenges and joy of opening an outdoor restaurant, as Farmhouse celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
Founder/Owner of Seabirds Kitchen Stephanie Morgan dished on how she daydreamed about the perfect vegan cafe while working her finance job. She would spend all her time researching and perfecting recipes until she finally made the jump and opened a food truck. Funnily enough, her old job backed her and financed the venture. Morgan appeared on Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race,” and reminisced on the joy and pain of cooking on a food truck before she opened her current location at The LAB in Costa Mesa. Seabirds was voted best vegan restaurant by the L.A. Times and celebrates its 13th year this month.
And finally we have Naushad Huda, founder of Grape Night. Huda brings the bespoke winery experience to you with local winemakers coming to L.A. and Orange County to pour your favorite varietal. The carefully curated social event happens every three weeks on average with 45 people max. Huda talked about his travels to wineries both in California and Europe, and how he shares his passion for wine and the stores behind them with his two children.
Coming up next month we have Sakina Ibrahim, food and lifestyle influencer and also a Webby-award winning host with a new podcast called “ShowGurls.” Ibrahim takes the mic and interviews Walk-Ins Welcome host Ivy Dai as she shares her adventures as a chef and food writer in Orange County and the south of France. The two talk about the importance of preventing burnout, the hustle of being an entrepreneur and how purpose doesn’t leave you alone.
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