Michelle Bernstein; SOBEWFF 2025

Explicit content warning

02/20/25 • 62 min

Today on our episode #407 of All in the Industry, Shari Bayer's guest is Michelle Bernstein, a James Beard award-winning chef and restaurateur who was born and raised in Miami of Jewish and Latinx descent. Michelle is fixture in the culinary world — both in restaurant kitchens and in the media spotlight. Along with her husband/partner David Martinez, her restaurants, bars and concepts include, recently revived Sra. Martinez, Café La Trova, Sweet Liberty, La Cañita, and Michelle Bernstein Catering. Michelle hosts two TV shows: Check, Please! South Florida and the Emmy-award winning production SoFlo Taste, plus makes regular appearances on other wonderful programs, including Top Chef and Chopped. Today's show also includes Shari's PR tip to smile from the heart; Speed Round; & Industry News on the 24th annual Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) presented by Capital One, which was founded by Lee Schrager and is returning this weekend, February 20-23, 2025. Shari will once again be attending, and Michelle will be hosting Noche Cubana presented by BACARDĺ Rum along with David Martinez and Gio Gutierrez. To purchase tickets and learn more, visit sobewff.org and @sobewff. Shari also shares her solo dining experience at Itamae AO, Chef Nando Chang's contemporary Nikkei chef's counter in Miami's Midtown neighborhood, and big brother restaurant to Maty's with his sister Chef Valerie Chang.

Support for this episode comes from the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). To learn more, visit ICE.edu today.

Find all of our new & archived shows at AllintheIndustry.com. Listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts; subscribe & leave us a rating/review.

Interested in collaborating with us? Please reach out via our contact page at AllintheIndustry.com, or on social. We'd love to hear from you!

Check out Shari's book, Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World (Phaidon), available wherever books are sold. #chefwisebook

Thanks, as always, for being a part of All in the Industry®!

Support for this episode comes from the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). To learn more, visit ICE.edu today.

Find all of our new & archived shows at AllintheIndustry.com. Listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts; subscribe & leave us a rating/review.

Interested in collaborating with us? Please reach out via our contact page at AllintheIndustry.com, or on social. We'd love to hear from you!

Check out Shari's book, Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World (Phaidon), available wherever books are sold. #chefwisebook

Thanks, as always, for being a part of All in the Industry®!

Previous Episode

Andy Wang

Today on our episode #406 of All in the Industry, Shari Bayer's guest is Andy Wang, a Los Angeles-based journalist, who focuses on restaurants, bars, dining and nightlife. Andy has written for many top publications, including the Observer, Food & Wine, Robb Report and Los Angeles Magazine. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, Ocean Drive and many more outlets. Andy was previously the real estate and travel editor at the New York Post, and a former dot-com entrepreneur. In addition to being a contributing writer, Andy is the Founder of Industry Only and co-host of Industry Only at The Cheese Store podcast.
Today's show also includes Shari's PR tip to believe in your community; Speed Round; Industry News on the Los Angeles wildfires, which started on January 7, 2025, largely devastating the Palisades and Eaton neighborhoods -- discussing the impact on the restaurant community, and ways we can help; and Shari's Solo Dining experience flashback to March 2024 at Saltie Girl in LA. Our heart goes out to all of those affected by the fires. Some ways to support LA Fire Relief are through GoFundMe campaigns, inKind Gift Cards, and dining out.

Support for this episode comes from the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). To learn more, visit ICE.edu today.

Find all of our new & archived shows at AllintheIndustry.com. Listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts; subscribe & leave us a rating/review.

Interested in collaborating with us? Please reach out via our contact page at AllintheIndustry.com, or on social. We'd love to hear from you!

Check out Shari's book, Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World (Phaidon), available wherever books are sold. #chefwisebook

Thanks, as always, for being a part of All in the Industry®!

Next Episode

Gary He

Today on our episode #408 of All in the Industry, Shari Bayer's guest is Gary He, a James Beard Award-winning photographer and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. Gary's style of on-the-ground visuals-driven storytelling has been published in The New York Times, Bloomberg, Bon Appetit, Eater, and Saveur. His first book, McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches, was published in November 2024. Today's show also includes Shari's PR tip to have a good slogan; Speed Round; Industry News on the closing of legendary restaurateur Drew Nieporent and Academy Award-winning actor Robert De Niro's Tribeca Grill after 35 years in Tribeca, NYC; The World's 50 Best Restaurants launching a North America-Specific List featuring the US, Canada and parts of the Caribbean later this year; plus, upcoming events, including The TASTE Awards on March 10 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, CA, where Shari will be a presenter; Ojai Food + Wine presented by FOOD & WINE, taking place March 3-16 at the Ojai Valley Inn in Ojai, CA, where Shari will be leading two sessions — a cooking demo with Blackberry Farm's Chef Cassidee Dabney, and a one-on-one conversation with Farmer Lee Jones of The Chef's Garden; and The Women in Hospitality Leadership Conference presented by MAPP and the Women's Hospitality Initiative from March 30-31 at the Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV. Shari also shares her solo dining experience at Quique Crudo in Manhattan's West Village on a snowy weekend evening.
Support for this episode comes from the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). To learn more, visit ICE.edu today.

Find all of our new & archived shows at AllintheIndustry.com. Listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts; subscribe & leave us a rating/review.

Interested in collaborating with us? Please reach out via our contact page at AllintheIndustry.com, or on social. We'd love to hear from you!

Check out Shari's book, Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World (Phaidon), available wherever books are sold. #chefwisebook

Thanks, as always, for being a part of All in the Industry®!