In this episode of Repertoire, I travel to Hollywood, California to sit down with Charbel Hayek—Lebanese-born chef, Top Chef Middle East & North Africa winner, and the creative force behind LAYR, a restaurant that channels the hospitality, flavor, and spirit of the Levant through a distinctly Los Angeles lens.

Charbel began cooking in Beirut at just 14 years old, working alongside his mother before refining his craft in France and later training under Josiah Citrin at the two-Michelin-starred Mélisse. At 24, he won Top Chef MENA, launching him into international recognition. Now, at 28, he’s opening ambitious, large-scale restaurants across Los Angeles and Miami while remaining deeply grounded in his roots.

We dive into:

• Growing up in Beirut, shaped by resilience, nightlife, instability, and an unbreakable cultural pride.

• Starting young, putting in the hours early, and why the first ten years of sacrifice define your trajectory.

• Winning Top Chef at 24—and why television is not a ticket, but an opportunity you must be ready for.

• The immigrant mentality: loving where you’re from while recognizing the scale of opportunity in America.

• Fear as fuel—why he runs toward intensity instead of away from it in high-pressure kitchens.

• Balancing old-school French discipline with modern leadership and hospitality.

• Reclaiming Lebanese cuisine on the global stage—modernizing dishes without losing their identity.

• Why sharing food—mezze, tabbouleh without bulgur, grape leaves braised with lamb neck—is about connection, not just flavor.

• Opening multiple restaurants at once and accepting that entrepreneurship comes with risk, doubt, and relentless work.

• Rap music, Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” and how cultural energy fuels competitive fire.

Charbel and I talk about partnership, ambition, discipline, faith, and the responsibility of leadership. We get into what it means to open restaurants in today’s fragile industry, how Covid reshaped risk tolerance, and why saying “yes” to opportunity—when aligned with your values—can change the entire arc of your career.

At its core, this is a conversation about identity and intention—about carrying your culture with pride while building something new in one of the most competitive food cities in the world.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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In this episode of Repertoire, I travel to Redondo Beach, California to sit down with Jason Fullilove—chef, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and one of the most community-minded forces quietly shaping Los Angeles hospitality.

Jason’s path spans more than two decades and multiple worlds. A Culinary Institute of America alum, he climbed the ranks from high-volume New York kitchens to the Ritz-Carlton in St. Thomas, then into some of L.A.’s most respected dining rooms before launching Barbara Jean LA, where he brought African American soul food into a fine-dining conversation with precision and pride. Today, he’s expanding beyond restaurants with Tumi Coco, a clean, all-natural hot sauce built around turmeric, coconut oil, and flavor-first cooking—part pantry staple, part personal philosophy.

But what makes Jason different isn’t just the résumé—it’s the way he shows up for people.

We dive into:

• Growing up between Cleveland and Zambia, and how early memories of scarcity, travel, and communal meals shaped his relationship to food.

• The jump from music and rap to professional kitchens—and how hip-hop still fuels his creative energy.

• Building Barbara Jean from scratch and discovering the power of community, relationships, and reputation.

• Why networking in hospitality isn’t transactional—it’s about showing up, giving back, and playing the long game.

• Creating Tumi Coco as a chef tool: clean ingredients, no preservatives, and food that supports health and performance.

• Martial arts, discipline, and how training the body sharpens the mind in high-pressure kitchens.

• Mentorship, patience, and why young cooks should chase skill over titles.

• His next chapter: a paratha-driven café and listening bar concept, blending Indian flavors, vinyl culture, cocktails, and late-night hospitality.

Jason and I talk about energy, generosity, and what it means to build a career rooted in service—to food, to culture, and to the people around you. It’s a conversation about longevity, intention, and creating spaces where everyone feels welcome at the table.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Repertoire, I travel to Santa Monica, California to sit down with Susan Feniger—chef, restaurateur, television pioneer, and one of the architects of modern Southern California food culture.

Susan’s story stretches across more than four decades of American dining. After early years cooking in Chicago, France, and Los Angeles, she and longtime partner Mary Sue Milliken opened City Café in 1981, followed by City Restaurant and the groundbreaking Border Grill, helping introduce Angelenos to a more nuanced, regionally grounded understanding of Mexican cuisine. Her career has earned lifetime achievement honors from the James Beard Foundation, the LA Times, and the California Restaurant Association, with artifacts from her first restaurant now held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

We dive into:

• Building long-term creative partnerships and sustaining trust over decades.

• What it takes to remain curious, relevant, and physically present in kitchens over a 40-year career.

• How leadership evolves from command-and-control toward empathy, stability, and emotional intelligence.

• Why restaurants function as chosen families, safe spaces, and engines of community care.

• Her lifelong commitment to philanthropy and advocacy, from LGBTQ+ leadership to medical research fundraising.

• The intersection of food, identity, fashion, and self-expression in chef culture.

• Balancing creative freedom with operational discipline and financial reality.

• How aging, mentorship, and succession reshape responsibility in hospitality.

Susan and I talk about longevity, stewardship, generosity, and quiet discipline—the invisible work required to keep showing up with integrity in an industry that rarely slows down. It’s a conversation about building legacy not through visibility or ego, but through consistency, care, and service.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.