Best Squid Tips Podcasts (2025)

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Florida Foodie Taste Test: Squid-flavored chips 25:49

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7M ago25:49

25:49

Central Florida is home to a wide variety of ethnic markets, offering scents and flavors from all around the world. While wandering the aisle of these shops, the variety of snacks could catch your eye and make you wonder, “What could that possibly taste like?” That is the premise behind a new segment on the Florida Foodie podcast. On the first Flor…

1
Austin’s Coffee is a Winter Park institution with an uncertain future 36:58

8M ago36:58

36:58

Jackie Moore hoped that her Winter Park business, Austin’s Coffee, would be something she could pass down to her children, but the cafe faces an uncertain future as the city looks to repurpose the land. “This was meant to be an investment in their future,” Moore said. “I just wanted to make sure I left something behind for them because my kids have…

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Brewlando went from unplanned venture to growing business 35:46

8M ago35:46

35:46

Shara Pathak never planned on owning a brewery, but her “soft heart” led her down this unexpected path. “I owned a building and had a tenant in there that was a microbrewery (Castle Church) and supported them through the infancy of their brand, which was approximately three years,” Pathak said. “In December of 2019, [the brewery’s owners] decided t…

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Disney chefs offer tips and tricks for the perfect holiday feast 24:52

10M ago24:52

24:52

The holidays have arrived, which for many means a family feast is in order. To help everyone create the perfect spread, a pair of Disney chefs are offering their expertise. Executive chef John Prieto and sous chef Anthony Scott work in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, where they help feed thousands of guests daily. The pair offered tips on p…

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Butterfly Lifestyle helps feed Pine Hills community as need continues to grow 29:22

11M ago29:22

29:22

Shereece Mitchell-Sanchez has been working tirelessly since 2021 to help feed people living and working in the Pine Hills community. Mitchell-Sanchez runs a weekly food pantry through her nonprofit, Butterfly Lifestyle. Since she started the weekly giveaway, Mitchell-Sanchez has seen the demand for her help grow. “So on a weekly basis, we could do …

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Cows ‘n Cabs celebrates Central Florida’s food scene while raising money for charity 21:08

11M ago21:08

21:08

Cows ‘N Cabs has raised more than $2 million for Central Florida charities since it got its start in 2011. The event was co-founded by David Larue, Executive Vice President at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, and John Rivers, the owner of 4 Rivers restaurant group. “My wife and I were talking about how to use, like my ABC platform, because we have so many …

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Earning a Michelin star opened new doors for Orlando chef Mike Collantes 27:18

12M ago27:18

27:18

Mike Collantes started his culinary career inside Orlando’s Fashion Square Mall, but he now counts himself among the exclusive ranks of Michelin-starred chefs. Collantes earned his Michelin Star in 2022 for his omakase restaurant Soseki in Winter Park. “After the Michelin Star, we’re seeing international clientele and guests, as well as our local g…

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Owner of The Hammered Lamb shares struggles of running a small business 22:08

1y ago22:08

22:08

Amid the pandemic and Orlando’s ongoing growth and development, Jason Lambert has been striving to keep his businesses running while also being a force for good in the community. “So 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic and trying to survive through the pandemic, I thought were the roughest years we’d ever have to face,” Lambert said. “And then we got…

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Family traditions meet modern cuisine at Yao's 21:48

1y ago21:48

21:48

Yao’s Modern Kitchen is all about family. The restaurant is run by three siblings, George, Edward and Diane Yiu, along with their friends and past Florida Foodie guests Chris Chen and Phil Nguyen. The siblings grew up in Central Florida and wanted to combine their traditional family recipes with the flavors of the Sunshine State. “All of our family…

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Smile Ice Cream Company is spreading joy with frozen treats in Orlando 28:09

1y ago28:09

28:09

Glen Providence wears many hats as the leader of a nonprofit, the publisher of a small newspaper and the owner of his own ice cream company. In his day job, Providence is the head of Hebni Nutrition — an organization that offers help to underserved communities, giving them access to and education about nutritious meals. In his entrepreneurial endea…

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Greenery Creamery, Sampaguita help people create core memories through ice cream 25:55

1y ago25:55

25:55

Marie Mercado had no plans of becoming a “professional ice cream lady.” She had her sights set on the stage. “I wanted to be an opera singer,” Mercado said. “I did perform. I did shows in New York. I moved to Japan, I did a couple of performances there. I was there for a year and then I was going to move to Germany, but then I’m like, ‘OK, let me p…

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Caribbean Moonshine delivers tropical flavors with an eye towards history 18:39

1+ y ago18:39

18:39

Mike Webber and Steve Nichols did not originally plan on becoming moonshiners. The pair saw it as an opportunity when Florida decided to relax some of its craft distilling laws. “Florida changed their craft distilling laws in 2020 and relaxed them a little bit more in 2022 to match those of Tennessee,” Webber said. “Today, there’s a very popular 13…

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Melao Bakery went from struggling business to must-stop destination 26:20

1+ y ago26:20

26:20

Edward Colón has been working in his parent’s business, Melao Bakery, since they first opened it in 2008, shortly after moving to Kissimmee from Puerto Rico. “The first years, we slept inside the store,” Colón said. “We had those foldable beds. We folded the beds, we put them in storage and we opened up.” Colón was in his teens at the time and his …

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Caribe Royal Orlando looks to offer something for everyone’s dining preferences 30:48

1+ y ago30:48

30:48

David Hackett has spent most of his professional career working in resorts across the country and around the world, but he said Caribe Royal Orlando is his “home.” “I’m staying there. I mean, I love the property. I love the culture that we have there,” he said. Hackett has been at the boutique resort for about four years now. Before that, he had do…

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Orange Blossom Candies & Cream embraces small-town charm 21:16

1+ y ago21:16

21:16

Tina Aldrich is a Florida native who chose to live in Montverde and open her business there because she knew it would keep its small-town charm. “When our daughter went to college, we went ahead and moved to our cabin in North Carolina,” she said. “Then when we moved back, I’m like, ‘I want to move back to a place where the footprint will not chang…

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Willie’s Bar-B-Que brings people from all over to a small Florida town 24:15

1+ y ago24:15

24:15

Willie’s Bar-B-Que has only been a part of Montverde for six years, but it has become a fixture in the small community. Willie Fulmore and his daughter, Tomeka Fulmore-Smith, have spent their lives working with food. Willie Fulmore opened his barbecue restaurant nearly 30 years ago, first setting up shop in Winter Garden. “When I was stationed in L…

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Top Hat Catering helps feed thousands of seniors 21:43

1+ y ago21:43

21:43

Chef Delaño Lambertclare has dedicated nearly two decades to helping seniors across Seminole County get nutritious meals for free. “I worked at the Swan and Dolphin for two and a half years and I wanted to shift and change (away from) corporate life,” Lambertclare said. After leaving the Disney resort, the chef came to Meals of Wheels of Seminole C…

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The Fry Shoppe is a passion project decades in the making 25:00

1+ y ago25:00

25:00

Wilson Santos has been thinking about opening a French fry-centric restaurant for years. “This concept is like decades in the making,” Santos said. “To be honest, I went to Amsterdam, the first trip was in 1994. I was doing a study abroad program in England and on the weekends, I would try to take a trip around Europe. And I just took a trip with s…

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Ghost Kitchen Orlando thrived during the pandemic and it's getting ready to expand 24:04

1+ y ago24:04

24:04

The pandemic was a trying time for people across the food service industry, but Jay and Johnny Nartowicz and their partner Colton O’Dwyer ended up opening the right business at the exact right time. They opened Ghost Kitchen Orlando in February 2020, just weeks before COVID-era restrictions started taking effect. “It was very strange timing because…

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Hollerbach’s German Restaurant is a transformational force in Sanford 23:58

1+ y ago23:58

23:58

Christina Hollerbach is carrying on her parents’ life-long dream. “My parents always wanted to run their own restaurant and obviously my dad, being from Germany, wanted it to be a German restaurant,” she said. That dream became a reality in 2001, when her parents bought Willow Tree Cafe. The restaurant was tiny then but has since ballooned with the…

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Plate Above Catering helps keep Second Harvest’s Culinary Training program free for students 21:27

1+ y ago21:27

21:27

Chef Jill Holland found her path later in life when she went into culinary school at age 36. “It took a lot of soul searching to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up and now I just need to grow up,” Holland said. Holland worked in retail, real estate and was even a swim instructor for several years, but she found a love for cooking when sh…

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La Maison Du Macaron brings a taste of Paris to Florida 24:41

1+ y ago24:41

24:41

Olivier Saintemarie was raised in Paris but he has spent a portion of his career bringing the flavors of the City of Light to Central Florida. Saintemarie has spent time working Chefs de France in Epcot but is now in the process of opening his own business in Orlando’s newly expanding Packing District — La Maison Du Macaron. “I’m really happy to br…

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Pine & Oak Tavern offers delicious food with a side of history 27:48

1+ y ago27:48

27:48

Pine & Oak Tavern sits inside the newly renovated Rio Pinar Golf course, but despite its new look, the walls are covered in history. “Arnold Palmer’s trophy is on the wall behind us and Lee Trevino is a champion here and Hal Irwin and a lot of the great old golfers. The history is just priceless. That’s one of the reasons why the property is purcha…

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Central Florida roasters Barnie’s Coffee still going strong after 43 years 27:27

1+ y ago27:27

27:27

Barnie’s Coffee has gone through a lot of changes over its 43 years in business. The name comes from one of the founders of the business, Phil Barnie Jones. “He was an inventor himself,” said Shannon Wolfgang, director of marketing for Barnie’s. “And he was like, ‘You know what, no one’s doing flavored coffee.’” According to Wolfgang, Barnie’s beca…

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Big Taco aims to build a new Tex-Mex empire 24:49

1+ y ago24:49

24:49

Jake Wheeler is no stranger to the restaurant industry or Tex-Mex cuisine. Both have always been a part of his and his family’s livelihoods. “Back in 1995, (my dad) launched Tijuana Flats. In 2015, he sold it. So now we’re here and it’s my turn to take the reins and do something new,” Jake Wheeler said. The family also owns Tibby’s New Orleans Kitc…

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Build My Burgers is ready to franchise, expand 26:25

1+ y ago26:25

26:25

Aly Lalani has poured everything into making his restaurant, Build My Burgers, a success. Lalani and his wife started looking into purchasing a franchise of an established business in 2018, but they could not find any options in their budget. “The ones that were reasonably priced, they did not have a presence in Orlando,” Lalani said. “We’re big fo…

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Couple behind Zymarium Meadery sees success with brick-and-mortar location in Orlando 25:07

1+ y ago25:07

25:07

It took Joe and Ginger Leigh more than two years to realize their dream of opening Orlando’s first meadery — a winery focused on making honey wines. The effort has seen the pair put in long hours. “It’s incredible. We’ve been doing 120-hour weeks for the past year,” Joe Leigh said. “It’s just the two of us. We have wonderful bartenders. But we do e…

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Central Florida woman went from stay-at-home mom to working cook, running her own cottage bakery 27:11

2y ago27:11

27:11

Kee Gainey spent 25 years as a stay-at-home mom before starting her culinary career. “I decided it was time for me to get back out there and I was like, ‘Well, what can you do? No one is going to hire you after this long You don’t have any experience,’” Gainey said. “And I was like, ‘Well, what can I do? You can cook? So I said, Well, I do need cre…

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Love of anime inspires family-run Florida restaurant chain Soupa Saiyan 23:20

2y ago23:20

23:20

A family’s shared love of anime has grown in three restaurants serving up ramen, pho and other pan-Asian delicacies. Soupa Saiyan first opened its doors in 2016 at 5689 Vineland Road, near Universal Studios in Orlando. “It all started with my (brother-in-law),” Jimmy Chhun, the manager at Soupa Saiyan, said.”He loves food. He’s always wanting to cr…

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Crooked Can Brewing remains focused on Central Florida as it readies for big expansion 27:14

2y ago27:14

27:14

A trip to Denver led Andy Sheeter down a path that has him getting ready to move his business into a 40,000-square-foot brewery. I went on a ski trip with some friends. We were out in Breckenridge and then we were in Boulder, Colorado, and we went to a brewery,” Sheeter said. “And there were three of us and we thought ‘This is really cool. We shoul…

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Pizza hobby becomes nostalgic business for SoDough Square’s owner 33:27

2y ago33:27

33:27

Rob Bair is no stranger to the restaurant industry having already built two successful Central Florida chains, Gringos Locos and Tin & Taco. Now he’s building a third chain, but this time he is stepping away from the Tex-Mex cuisine that brought him so much success and moving toward a flavor of his childhood — Detroit-style pizza. “I’m originally f…

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Owner of Dancing Empanada ready to sell business he started out of trunk of his car 23:33

2y ago23:33

23:33

Daniel Mercedes Jr. started the business that would become The Dancing Empanda by selling food out of the trunk of his car. “I was looking for a little side hustle to do and I just remember grandma making the empanadas,” Mercedes said. “So that’s what I decided to do. So we talked about it and she gave me the recipes and I started making empanadas …

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Husband, wife behind Pho Wheels dish out Asian street food all across Central Florida 23:44

2y ago23:44

23:44

Vinnie Nguyen and his wife, Phi Phi Lam, started their food truck, Pho Wheels, so that they could have more time to spend with their children. “The hours and restaurants are just really long,” Nguyen said. “You go in — opening, you’ve done everything — by the time you go home, it’s almost midnight as well. I miss a lot of time with my children. I w…

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Owner of Winter Park’s Hen & Hog battles serious health issues while keeping his business open 30:42

2y ago30:42

30:42

A.J. Haines — the chef and owner of The Hen & Hog in Winter Park — has been relatively open about his health struggles. “The first time it hit — as far as the diverticulitis attack — it was a Tuesday morning,” Haines said. “(I was) like, ‘I don’t feel good. This is really hurting me today.’ I woke up at like 11:30 at night drenched in sweat — took …

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Universal Orlando shows off impressive menus for Minion Café, Halloween Horror Nights 24:49

2y ago24:49

24:49

The chefs at Universal Orlando are looking to raise the bar when it comes to the food guests can expect to find at a theme park. “We really want to reinvent the thought of what theme park food is,” Ron Cope, executive chef of Universal Studios Florida, said. “We’ve really tried to elevate everything we do here — from our simple little desserts, a s…

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Pandemic-induced boredom led to success of Central Florida bakery Stackd Brownies 27:57

2y ago27:57

27:57

Austin Blake started his business, Stackd Brownies, while playing around in the kitchen with his family. “COVID hit and that’s when everything kind of shut down,” Blake said. “Everything was not what was expected. So during that time, my parents were not doing much. I wasn’t doing much during that time and during that time we were in the kitchen. W…

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Owners of Orlando’s Kaya mix fun, fine dining and traditional Filipino meals 28:26

2y ago28:26

28:26

Jamilyn Bailey and Lordfer “Lo” Lalicon, the owners of Kaya, know that Filipino food is not normally associated with “fine dining,” they are looking to change that perception. “I think everybody and not just our parents, even our friends are doubtful, like ‘You’re opening a Filipino restaurant? Casual fine-dining Filipino restaurant? Are you crazy?…

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First Responder’s Coffee Company supports those who serve their communities 28:11

2y ago28:11

28:11

Brent Tucker, the owner of First Responder’s Coffee Company, dedicated much of his adult life to serving his country. “When 9/11 hit, I joined the military,” Tucker said. “I had no intention to join the military, but 9/11 hit, I was in the military on 9/27/01 — as fast as they’d let me in,” he said. This led to more than 20 years in the military, w…

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Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando sees a growing need for food assistance 30:02

2y ago30:02

30:02

Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando, 2100 Lee Road, has been giving food to those in need for 45 years. However, the organization has never given out as much food as it has in 2022. “The amount of food going out of our establishment is record-breaking for us,” JFS president Phil Flynn said. “May broke all our records. Then June broke May’s re…

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Norman Van Aken went from blue-collar beginnings in the Midwest to fine dining in Florida 34:45

2y ago34:45

34:45

Norman Van Aken is not a native Floridian but his name is synonymous with the state’s cuisine. Van Aken lives in South Florida but has his restaurant, Norman’s, in Central Florida. Van Aken grew up in Northern Illinois. He knew from an early age that he loved cooking but did not realize that it could be a career. “I had no understanding (or) inklin…

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‘I’ve sacrificed for this place:’ Owner of Alex’s Fresh Kitchen fights to keep dream alive 29:38

2y ago29:38

29:38

Alex Diaz is constantly pushing to make his restaurant, Alex’s Fresh Kitchen, a success. “It’s my baby. It’s my dream, you know, and I do anything for it. I’ve sacrificed for this place,” Diaz said. Diaz opened his restaurant in 2019 at 1015 State Road 436 in Suite 109 of a strip mall in Casselberry. The pandemic hit not long after, creating new ch…

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Owners of Orlando-based Sus Hi Eat Station chain look to serve fun with every meal 29:06

2y ago29:06

29:06

A sense of fun is very important to Robert and Teresa Ly and that value is a big part of their business, Sus Hi Eatstation. The importance of fun and food helped the two hit it off, in both their romantic and business partnership. “Our core values also aligned. We love to have fun. We love eating,” Robert Ly said. “The concept (for Sus Hi Eatstatio…

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Chef Art Smith went from living in rural Florida to the heights of the culinary world 35:53

2y ago35:53

35:53

Chef Art Smith is known across the country and around the world for his cooking, but he started out his life in the little-known, rural town of Jasper, Florida. “Seventh generation — and I’m the only family member on my father’s side that actually left the state and I’m the only chef among all the police officers and people within the prison system…

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Owner of Brothers-N-Arms BBQ brings Marine skills to his Central Florida food truck 31:26

2y ago31:26

31:26

Joel Dawson, owner of Brothers-N-Arms BBQ, has cooked meals in some of the most extreme situations a person can imagine. “I was in Afghanistan — was on the border of Pakistan,” Dawson said. “We’re in the chow hall and... an RPG went off, shook the whole building. It was so intense that it blew all the windows.” Dawson served as a cook with the Mari…

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Eric Godfrey followed a winding path from comedy to opening Bacon King USA 27:38

2y ago27:38

27:38

Eric Godfrey has a long and varied resume that starts in the world of stand-up comedy and leads to his gourmet bacon business, Bacon King USA. “In college, I did stand-up comedy,” Godfrey said. “I’m living in Charlotte, North Carolina and so I started stand-up comedy. I was in college and working weekends all throughout the southeast. Get back in t…

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Phat Ash Bakes expands a year after opening Orlando brick-and-mortar shop 29:30

2y ago29:30

29:30

Ashley D’Acunto and her husband Israel Erazo have not slowed down since they first opened Phat Ash Bakes three years ago in the middle of the pandemic. In March 2022, the pair moved into their brick-and-mortar bakery, 912 N. Mills Ave., and since then, have partnered with Foxtail Coffee Co. “We are in one location right now,” D’Acunto said. “It’s t…

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Jeff’s Bagel Run aggressively expanding in Florida with help of new business partner 25:17

2y ago25:17

25:17

Jeff and Daniel Perera opened their bagel business out of their home kitchen in 2020 and less than three years later they are hoping to have eight brick-and-mortar locations open within the next six months. The rapid expansion is being made possible by the couple’s new business partner, Justin Wetherill. Wetherill is the owner of 1337 Capital and t…

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Winter Park’s Swine & Sons keeps evolving as it grows 34:04

2+ y ago34:04

34:04

Swine & Sons looks very different today than it did when it first opened in 2015. “We opened up in April of 2015 and the thought was to be this provisions place and have this meat counter, and then do some sandwiches,” said chef Alexia “Lexi” Gawlak, the owner of Swine & Sons. “And we were thinking of this Bodega style — like grab and go — and that…

1
Q’s Crackin’ Crab serves up ‘soulful seafood’ in Cocoa Beach 27:34

2+ y ago27:34

27:34

Quinisha “Q” Bredwood took a big risk opening her restaurant, Q’s Crackin Crab & Seafood Kitchen, in Cocoa Beach right at the height of the pandemic. “We found a building at the end of January (2020) and then we were negotiating our lease from January to February,” Bredwoood said. “And we were watching our friend who was in China as a teacher and t…

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Smoke & Donuts is a sweet, savory creation of husband and wife duo 30:22

2+ y ago30:22

30:22

Chef Ian Russell and his wife, Juliana Peña, could not agree on whether to open a donut shop or a barbecue restaurant. So, like in any good relationship, they compromised and decided to try both, creating Smoke & Donuts. “We had no idea that the response was going to be what it was,’ Russell said. “It was a donut and barbecue concept and when we go…