Table for Two

<p>Taufeek Shah, founder of Lola’s Fine Hot Sauce, is not your typical small town Iowa boy, although he did grow up in Winthrop, Iowa. The son of immigrant parents—a Filipino mother and a Pakistani father—Taufeek was...

<p>In the first episode of 2024, Jessica sits down at the Table for Two with Dave & Jean Thompson, of District 36, Urban Cellar, Urban Grill and Urban on the Square and the Association's 2023 Restaurateurs of the Year...

<p>Building upon both the recognition and reputation he garnered as a standout competitor on Bravo’s Top Chef program, Chef Kevin Scharpf could have easily capitalized on his success and opened a restaurant in a major...

<p>It was 1970 something when B-Bops Founder Robert Johnson and his cousin faced a dilemma. Both held car loans and had only one payment saved in the bank. They needed jobs fast and found two possibilities—one in...

<p>Matt Johnson is a man who has both found, and given, opportunities in the hospitality industry. A director for both the Iowa and National Restaurant Association Boards, he passionately champions hospitality-related...

<p>With a culinary resume that would have made opening a fine dining restaurant a logical next step in an already illustrious career, Chef George Migliero surprised a few people. The award-winning chef, who studied...

<p>Ana McClain hails from a family with a passion for food. Her sister is a television chef and her mother attended culinary school just for fun. However, it was the realm of food and beverage business that drew Ana, a...

<p>The term black sheep doesn't have to be negative. When Stephanie Mehmen and her friend heard rumors of a century-old flood damaged building about to be demolished, they knew they had to do something. As she...

<p>When he’s developing menu items Chef Benjamin Smart, Culinary Director for one of Iowa’s most popular breweries keeps one thought in mind – people may come for the beer, but let’s get them to stay for the food. That...

<p>Nina Easley wears many hats: mother, advocate for dyslexic students, and owner of a rural Iowa coffee shop that's helping revitalize her hometown's main street. With deep roots in Earlham, a tiny town just 20 miles...

<p>16 years ago, Amy and Andy Walsh had a vision for Mickey’s Irish Pub: a true pub environment with elevated beer and gastropub cuisine, where people actually talked to one another. The high school sweethearts had met...

<p>Jeff Bruning calls himself an “insurance refugee.” He took a traditional path—graduating high school, then college, then getting a “grown up” job. But he quickly realized that being behind a desk was not the future...

<p>Mike Whalen, President, CEO, and Founder, of the Heart America Group, is well-known by Iowans for many things—his multi-location Machine Shed and Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse Restaurants, envisioning and then creating...

<p>Sammy Mila once was described as having the “most famous hands on YouTube.” The one-time food stylist for publishing giant Meredith Corporation, Sammy’s hands have been featured in countless recipe videos. However...

<p>When biotech scientist Bethany DeVries left her corporate research position and purchased a boutique wine bar, she set out to replace any sense of wine pretentiousness with wine accessibility. The owner/operator of...