What’s it really like to compete on Top Chef? On this episode of Jeff & Jamie Feed, Brittany Cochran, Executive Chef at Stagioni and a contestant on Top Chef Season 23: Carolinas, takes us behind the scenes of the high-pressure competition filmed right here in Charlotte. She shares what it takes to cook under pressure, how her leadership style has evolved, and why Top Chef is putting Charlotte’s food scene in the spotlight.

On this episode of Jeff & Jamie Feed, we’re joined by Kristen Wile, founder and editor of Unpretentious Palate, to talk about the changing world of food media and Charlotte’s evolving restaurant scene.

Kristen shares her journey from the Washington Post and Charlotte Magazine to building an independent food publication, and we discuss the decline of traditional food journalism, the rise of influencers and AI, and why local food media still matters. We also dive into current restaurant trends, including the return of nostalgic comfort foods and the rising costs facing restaurants.

Plus, Kristen fills us in on the upcoming Uppy Awards (Monday, November 9th) and her mission to celebrate Charlotte’s hospitality community. For more on Kristen and Unpretentious Palate, visit: www.unpretentiouspalate.com.

On this episode of Jeff & Jamie Feed, the couple sits down with Susanne Dillingham, aka “The Tiny Chef,” for a conversation about an unconventional culinary journey that has taken her from washing dishes at a Charlotte restaurant to studying regional Italian cuisine in Florence, cooking privately for clients including Jeff Gordon and Chelsea Clinton, and building a business around intimate culinary experiences.

Susanne shares what she learned from starting at the bottom, why adapting to change is essential as an entrepreneur, and why private dinners have become her sweet spot. She takes Jeff and Jamie inside her one-acre farm and beehives, explaining the surprisingly wild world of raising bees. The conversation also gets personal as Susanne talks about rebuilding her business after divorce, her experience with adoption, reconnecting with her biological family, and how those experiences inspired her new memoir, Secret Ingredients of Life.