On this episode of Jeff & Jamie Feed, we’re joined by Kristen Wile, founder and editor of Unpretentious Palate, to talk about the changing world of food media and Charlotte’s evolving restaurant scene.

Kristen shares her journey from the Washington Post and Charlotte Magazine to building an independent food publication, and we discuss the decline of traditional food journalism, the rise of influencers and AI, and why local food media still matters. We also dive into current restaurant trends, including the return of nostalgic comfort foods and the rising costs facing restaurants.

Plus, Kristen fills us in on the upcoming Uppy Awards (Monday, November 9th) and her mission to celebrate Charlotte’s hospitality community. For more on Kristen and Unpretentious Palate, visit: www.unpretentiouspalate.com.

On this episode of Jeff & Jamie Feed, the couple sits down with Susanne Dillingham, aka “The Tiny Chef,” for a conversation about an unconventional culinary journey that has taken her from washing dishes at a Charlotte restaurant to studying regional Italian cuisine in Florence, cooking privately for clients including Jeff Gordon and Chelsea Clinton, and building a business around intimate culinary experiences.

Susanne shares what she learned from starting at the bottom, why adapting to change is essential as an entrepreneur, and why private dinners have become her sweet spot. She takes Jeff and Jamie inside her one-acre farm and beehives, explaining the surprisingly wild world of raising bees. The conversation also gets personal as Susanne talks about rebuilding her business after divorce, her experience with adoption, reconnecting with her biological family, and how those experiences inspired her new memoir, Secret Ingredients of Life.

On this week's episode of Jeff & Jamie Feed, Culinary Specialist Rachel Mazur of Gordon Food Service joins us to explore the essential relationship between restaurants and their mainline distributors. We talk about the trends shaping restaurants today, the many ways a great distributor can help an operation thrive, and why the relationship is truly a partnership. Rachel also shares the story of Gordon Food Service, a family-owned company now five generations strong, and what has her most excited about the future of our industry.