In this week's episode, we welcome back returning guest Ji Hye Kim. Ji Hye is an award-winning chef, including a Food & Wine Best New Chef and five-time James Beard Award semi-finalist, and she is a powerful cultural voice redefining contemporary Korean cuisine in the United States. She is the chef and owner of Miss Kim and Little Kim in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where her cooking beautifully bridges time-honored Korean traditions with Midwestern seasonality and sensibility.

You may remember our conversation in Episode 39 back in 2022, where we explored her journey as a chef, the inspiration behind Miss Kim, and how she brings traditional Korean cuisine to life using local Michigan ingredients.

In this episode, we catch up on everything she has been working on — including a new restaurant, a major milestone, and how she and her team create delicious, approachable vegetarian dishes rooted in Asian American tradition.

Learn more about Ji Hye's restaurants at misskimannarbor.com and littlekimannarbor.com, and find her on Instagram at @chefjihyekim.

Podcast Show Notes: https://kitchenconfidante.com/from-miss-kim-to-little-kim-with-chef-ji-hye-kim

In her debut cookbook, Dig In! Over 100 Easy, Delicious, and Stress-Free Recipes to Make on Repeat, Erin O'Brien shares a collection of recipes inspired by family, heritage, and real life in the kitchen. Woven throughout the book are the stories of the women who influenced her cooking and the idea that feeding people can be many things at once: love, necessity, and a form of reinvention.

In this episode, we talk about the three generations of women who built a life through food, how a pandemic-era blog became a calling, and the philosophy behind a cookbook that is as much about connection as it is about cooking.

Learn more about Erin at https://erinobrien.life

Follow Erin on Instagram: @erinnobrienn

Podcast Show Notes: https://kitchenconfidante.com/dig-in-with-erin-obrien

Olive oil an essential building block of Mediterranean cooking, and I had the joy of discussing all things olive oil with Tony Kasandrinos, Co-Founder and CEO of Kasandrinos International and author of Kasandrinos Kitchen: Unlock the Power of Olive Oil with Over 100 Family Recipes. From his family’s olive groves in Greece to kitchens here in the United States, Tony shares how extra virgin olive oil connects tradition, health, and everyday cooking.

In this episode, we talk about what makes a great olive oil, how to shop for quality olive oil, and how to build meals and a lifestyle inspired by the Mediterranean Way.

Follow Tony on Instagram @tonykasandrinos.

Check out Kasandrinos Olive Oil at kasandrinos.com, and follow on Instagram at @kasandrinos.

Podcast Show Notes: https://kitchenconfidante.com/olive-oil-mediterranean-tony-kasandrinos