Communal Table

When life gave Josh Niland a second chance, he made a conscious choice not to waste a second of it. The Sydney-based chef underwent intensive cancer treatment as a kid, and from his teen years onward, he's devoted himself to his craft, revolutionizing the way that restaurants butcher, store, and serve every bit of a fish, and doing his best to spread the word through demos all over the world, his restaurant, Saint Peter, and his stunning The Whole Fish Cookbook. Food & Wine's deputy editor Melanie Hansche—a fellow Aussie and restaurant owner—joined the conversation to delve into Niland's mission, passion, and how he balances work and family.

Big Gay Ice Cream may have started out as a joke, but over the past decade, it's become serious business. Along with business partner Brian Petroff, Doug Quint has turned a single "Oh, we'll just try this for the summer" ice cream truck with a cheeky name into a national brand with brick-and-mortar shops, a wonderfully anarchic cookbook, and pints bearing their signature unicorn and sparkles ethos in grocery store freezers across the country. Quint opened up about his journey from music school to entrepreneurship, dealing with combative customers, and what he does to soothe his weird, wonderful brain.

You don't do Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism without asking tough, uncomfortable questions. New York Times food correspondent Kim Severson has made a much-lauded career out of finding the truth, beauty, and sometimes ugly humanity in the food system—and this time the tables are turned. Severson sat down for a deeply personal conversation about interviewing vulnerable people, deciding which stories to tell, and taking care of herself in the process.

It's a special edition of Communal Table recorded live onstage at The Bell House in Brooklyn, NY for the debut of Sean Brock's new book South: Essential Recipes and New Explorations. Brock went deep on his grandmother's sour corn and leather britches, learning to value the food he grew up with, and trying to get his infant son to be less picky.

If it's a day that ends in "y" Joe Kwon is probably out on tour. He's the cellist for the band the Avett Brothers, whose 10th album "Closer Than Together" recently came out, and that means hitting the road for days and often weeks on end. For a man who finds home and connection through food, this could be a hardship, but he's turned it into a pleasure. Kwon raced down from rehearsal for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to talk about the massive family dinners of his childhood in North Carolina, his drive for musical excellence, and the Korean dishes he craves from his mom's kitchen.

When Nancy Silverton brought a jar of sourdough starter from New York's Sign of the Dove back home to Los Angeles in the 1980s, she had no idea that she would use it to grow an empire. On the 30th anniversary of La Brea Bakery, the chef, author, and entrepreneur reflects on the evolution of American restaurants, how she learned to trust her instincts, and why 23andMe should track her bread's family tree.

There are a few reasons why you might know Philip Speer's name. It could be that you're familiar with his long career in Austin restaurants, or the Comedor Run Club that he co-founded to keep the city's industry in balance. It might also be from the national news stories when he landed in jail after a fourth DWI. But he knows he has to talk about all of it—especially the uncomfortable parts—for the good of the industry and for his own wellbeing. Speer opened up about the daily work that goes into sobriety, how to have these difficult conversations with peers and loved ones, and why it's so important for him to give back.

Life comes at you quickly, as Callie Speer well knows. She'd long dreamed of opening her own restaurant, but was in an uphill struggle to get her life in order. Then came the shock and opportunity of a lifetime. Within a couple of weeks of leaving rehab, a space became available in downtown Austin, and she was able to put together a business plan and find the funds to open Holy Roller—an always-bouncing, all-day spot that just happens to be primarily run by women. Speer shared an intimate look at her journey to sobriety, how she and her staff support one another's wellbeing, and why it's OK if some days are better than others.

Akhtar Nawab forged his reputation in the crucible of Gramercy Tavern and Craft in the company of Tom Colicchio, David Chang, Damon Wise, Karen DeMasco, Marco Canora, and other innovators who have shaped America's restaurant culture. When he left to open a place of his own at 28, he felt like he was ready. Hindsight is a powerful thing, and a decade after Elettaria's closure, Nawab has some powerful perspective on just how unprepared he was at the time, what he's learned as a businessperson, chef, father, and human being, and how he's applying that knowledge to his new restaurants, food hall projects, and relationships.

Not so long ago, it was in vogue to say that chefs are the new rock stars, but Steven Satterfield played that in reverse. The chef and co-owner of Miller Union released four records and toured the world with his band Seely before making the switch to full time restaurant life. Since then, he's won a James Beard Award, written a much-beloved vegetable-forward cookbook, gone through cancer treatment, and become a truly thoughtful leader in the kitchen and the community. Satterfield shared what he's learned about hiring smartly, setting healthy boundaries, and the healing power of produce.

When news broke that executive chef Melissa Rodriguez was becoming a partner at the much-lauded Del Posto in the wake of Mario Batali's divestment, a cheer went up from folks in the know. Rodriguez has quietly, consistently, meticulously honed her craft in some of the most prestigious kitchens in the country, and earned the respect of her peers and colleagues. She's never sought the spotlight, but she's having to find her comfort zone when it comes to speaking up. She opened up about her journey through the restaurant world, becoming a boss, and how she tries to find balance.

When Chintan Pandya and his business partner Roni Mazumdar opened Adda Indian Canteen in Long Island City a year ago today, they knew they wanted to do something vastly different than their modern Indian outpost in the West Village. They couldn't have known that their homage to Indian home cooks would earn then every accolade in sight, including being selected as a Food & Wine Best New Restaurant, but neither of them is the sort to sit still and be content for very long. Pandya opened up about his journey from Ahmedabad to New York City, what goes into a successful partnership, and the cutting-edge VR tech he's using to bring art to the table.

When a friend told Antoni Porowski that a reboot of Queer Eye was in the works, he was instantly terrorstruck. He'd been working as an actor for a long time, as well as in restaurants and as an assistant to the original cast's food expert Ted Allen, so on paper, this seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime. But in reality, he was terrified of stepping into the spotlight and sharing the two things that were most intimate to him: food and his sexuality. Porowski sat down for a deeply personal conversation about life in the public eye, being an immigrant kid, what drove him to write his new cookbook Antoni in the Kitchen, and how he manages his anxiety on the road. https://amzn.to/2ktumPM

Fate brought Nina Compton to New Orleans, and a smart business head and dedicated community kept her there. After a stellar turn on Top Chef, the St. Lucia-born, Miami-based chef had her pick of offers all over the country, but something about the Big Easy drew her back. Since opening the lauded Compere Lapin in the Old 77 Hotel and Bywater American Bistro in the eponymous NOLA neighborhood, Compton's cuisine, along with her husband Larry Miller's front-of-house hospitality has drawn together a local community of chefs and food fanatics in a deeply warm and meaningful way. Compton—who was sworn in as a United States citizen just this week—opened up about how she found her way home, and why she's unafraid to put her business at risk to do what's right. Follow Nina: @ninacompton www.comperelapin.com www.bywateramericanbistro.com

Even before Ming Tsai's oldest son was born with life-threatening food allergies, the chef and TV host was already on a mission to make his restaurants safer and more hospitable to diners who face these issues. He's determined to make that system (and mindset) universal, and along the way, has developed a deep understanding of the role that food plays in our overall health. Tsai opened up about his family's journey through his wife's cancer diagnosis, his own health regime, and why it's important to seek out joy.

When Mashama Bailey and Johno Morisano sat down for this conversation, they had no idea that their restaurant, The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, was about to make Food & Wine and Travel + Leisure's list of the world's best restaurants. To anyone who's dined in the converted, formerly segregated Greyhound bus station, that news may be a thrill, but not a shock. Bailey, a recent James Beard award winner, has come into her own, cooking food that encompasses her own family's Southern history, melded with the disparate and complicated influences of the region, her French training, and her time in New York City cooking at restaurants like Gabrielle Hamilton's legendary Prune. Together with business partner Morisano, Bailey reckons with the building and city's painful past, and builds a more inclusive future, plate by plate. Read more about World's Best Restaurants 2019: https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/worlds-best-restaurants Pre-order their book: https://www.amazon.com/Black-White-Grey-Unexpected-Frie

Mention Dave Beran's name to someone familiar with high-end and cutting-edge dining and they'll probably think, "Isn't that the chef who ran a full marathon and then went into work right after?" Indeed, Beran is known for his intense drive, work ethic, and precision in the kitchens at MK, Alinea, and Next in Chicago, and now at his own restaurant Dialogue and the soon-to open Pasjoli in Santa Monica—but it wasn't always that way. He opened up about his journey to the upper echelons of fine dining, the mentors who corrected his path, and the summer he spent as Toast Boy.

Ever since they met as competitors on Season 13 of Top Chef, Kwame Onwuachi and Karen Akunowicz have delighted in one another's dreams. There's been plenty of hard work and hustle along the way, along with some setbacks, but together they cheered and together they soared. In this special edition of Communal Table recorded in a gondola ride up Aspen Mountain during the Food & Wine Classic, the 2019 Best New Chef and Best New Restaurant winners—along with Onwuachi's fiancée Mya Allen and Akunowicz's executive sous chef Molly Dwyer—looked back on the journey as they rose to the top.

When journalist Priya Krishna was writing a cookbook based on her Texas-dwelling Indian family, she knew she couldn't control where it was shelved or listed in stores. What she did have power over was where the title placed it in people's minds. The beloved and robustly-selling Indian-ish: Recipes and Antics from a Modern American Family is an homage to her boundary-busting, India-born mother Ritu and the dishes she adapted for her new homeland—as well as a beacon of solidarity to other first-generation kids who'd never seen themselves or their food represented in the media. "It feels like the dominant narrative is a very Western-centric one, so I feel like the biggest thing I can do is show that everyone has a different normal.

Carey Bringle developed his penchant for smoked pig pretty early on, following in the hoofprints of his uncle Bruce who competed in the first Memphis In May barbecue contest. He realized he could turn his passion into his profession, and opened up Peg Leg Porker (a nod to the limb he lost to cancer as a teenager) as a restaurant, then extended his entrepreneurial spirit over into, well, spirits with Peg Leg Porker bourbon. Bringle opened up about his path to the pit, how physical challenges inform his approach to hospitality, and how a busy restaurateur can keep the home fires burning.