I am so honored to introduce you to today's guest, Alissa Timoshkina.   In her teenage years, she left Russia for England.  Now, having moved through a career in academia, she is a London based writer, cookbook author, creator of KinoVino, and activist. Most recently, Alissa and her dear friend, Olia Hercules, founded Cook for Ukraine, an initiative they started within 48 hours of the war on Ukraine by Russia.  To date, they have raised approximately 1 million pounds which has been donated to UNICEF.  Aliss and Olia who has shown tremendous bravery and leadership in calling out the atrocities of this war and continuing to raise awareness and funds for the people of Ukraine.   To connect with Alissa and Olia, you can follow them on instagram and all the details of Cook for Ukraine are linked on their websites.  @alissatimoshkina @oliahercules https://www.alissatimoshkina.com/https://www.alissatimoshkina.com/cookforukraine

Today's episode is with Patrick Miller, chef, formerly of one of my favorite restaurants, Rucola, in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, and founder, distiller, and creator of Faccia Brutto Spirits.  They are a Brooklyn based liquor company that uses a variety of botanicals to make Italian spirits, namely before and after dinner drinks (aperitivo and amaros) popularized in Italy.  If you're enjoying the show, it means so much to me if you link to it on your social media, share with friends and family, and help support not only the work I'm doing on the podcast but also all the amazing guests who have been on the show.  You can find all of their products and check out the stockists section to see who carries Faccio Brutto in your hometown at https://facciabruttospirits.comI absolutely love following their instagram @faccia_brutto_spirits  to see the beautiful photography and cocktail ideas.   At the beginning of the show, I also mentioned some of the organizations doing incredible life saving work in Ukraine.  Please continue to support in anyway you can. https://razomforukraine.orgShelter Ugolyyok -  patreon.com/ShelterUgolyok Venmo @pawsofhelp    Paypal: [email protected] - [email protected]://wck.org

Today's guest is Kristen Carbone, founder of Brilliantly, a wearable warming device for survivors of breast cancer and mastectomies.  Kristen tragically lost her mother in her early twenties due to metastic breast cancer.  The followed a decade of testing, health insurance difficulties, anxiety, and stress about developing breast cancer, until she ultimately decided to undergo a preventative mastectomy and implant reconstruction.Among the many challenges that came after the procedure, one of which, was the loss of sensation and constant feeling of coldness in her chest.  In ensuing conversations with other other who had undergone mastectomies and reconstruction, she came to realize that this was an ongoing issue that dramatically affected the quality of womens lives.  Women were using all sorts of methods to feel warm, often resulting in serious burns and scarring of their chests.  Kristen embarked on a multi-year process of research and development, raising funding, and ultimately developing Brilliantly Warm, a wearable device that a woman could insert into her bra and self-control through an app.  There were no cords, no battery packs, and a woman could lead her daily life in comfort without anyone knowing she was wearing the device.  Enjoy this incredibly inspiring story and please share Brilliantly Warm with your community. You can read more about Brilliantly and Kristen's story at https://www.brilliantly.co/Connect with Kristen directly at:  [email protected] or find her on Facebook or Instagram @brilliantly.co 

This is the last podcast of 2021 and we are going out with a bang with someone I am very excited to introduce you to.  Author, YouTube host, and podcaster, Katie Quinn.  Katie has a very popular YouTube channel where she creates videos of her travels, cultural experiences, and of course incredible food.  Katie is also an author of a new book: Cheese, Wine, and Bread: Discovering the Magic of Fermentation in England, Italy, and France.  The book is an in depth dive into the world of the artisans, farmers, cheesemakers, bakers, and winemakers behind the 3 pillars of cheese wine and bread.  I hope you enjoy this conversation with the bubbly and oh so fun Katie Quinn! You can connect with Katie on her YouTube channel, theQkatie, instagram @qkatie or on her website https://www.katie-quinn.com/https://www.youtube.com/user/TheQKatie/featured

Today's guest is Peter Hoffman,  a man I've long admired for his greenmarket ingredient driven food, his former restaurants (Savoy, Back Forty, and Back Forty West), his passion and commitment to the land and the food and farmers behind it.  Peter is the author of the highly acclaimed book, "What Good?: A Memoir in Fourteen Ingredients."  From the moment I cracked the spine and dove in to this book, I knew I was in good hands.  Peter's writing is as eloquent and beautiful as his cooking was, weaving together stories of his childhood, restaurant life in NYC, the farmers behind the greenmarket, and the ingredients that drive the underlying narrative.  I hope you enjoy today's conversation with Peter.  You can connect with Peter on instagram at @peterhoffmannyc  or on his website at   https://peterhoffmancooks.com/To purchase a personalized copy of "What's Good?", go to this link: https://www.mcnallyjackson.com/whats-good-signedTo donate to the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund: https://slowfoodusa.org/Saxelby/You can connect with me on instagram @thecounterchroniclespodcast If you liked the show, please share the show link with others.  If you can kindly rate and review the show on Apple podcasts, it is tremendously helpful in helping new listeners find the show.  

My guest on this week's podcast is Brian Keyser, owner of Casellula, a cheese and wine focused restaurant in Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.   Brian is a veteran of both the restaurant industry and the artisan cheese world, and I hope you enjoy and learn from hearing his story. You can visit Casellula at west 52nd street and 9th avenue.  It's a wonderful place to meet a friend, go alone for a glass of wine and a cheese plate, or catch a pre or post theater meal.  www.casellula.com This episode is dedicate to Anne Saxelby, a woman I greatly admired and was honred to have worked for and learned from.   Anne passed away unexpectedly on October 9, 2021,  Anne was an incredible human being, mother, friend, entrepreneur and the woman behind Saxelby Cheese.  Her friends and family have created the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund in her honor, which provides training opportunities to financially distressed teenagers and young adults.  Funds raised will allow youth to apprentice in sustainable systems and agriculture, domestically and abroad, the way Anne did. and enable youth participants to return home and have the same impact on their communities that Anne had in hers.You can make a donation at:  slowfoodusa.org/saxelby   

Today's guest is Brewster McCall.  Brewster and I met working in the restaurant industry 15 years ago.  He was an aspiring actor and model, with a passion for wine, cocktails and hospitality.  Brewster's southern upbringing  and family connection made him a perfect fit for the food and beverage industry.  Brewster and I discuss his career path, including a stint doing burlesque, how he found his way into the family business, his focus on sustainability, brand development and building and maintaining leadership in the company.  We also chat about McCall Wines, an incredible winery that Brewster's father started on the North Fork of long island.  They produce a variety of wines, including award winning pinot noir, and also raise cattle that roam on the lush grass of the north fork.  You can check out the winery at www.mccallwines.com  and @mccallwines You can connect with GFI at https://www.gfifoods.com or @gfifoodsYou can also find Brewster @brewstermccall on instagram.

Today's guest is Lisa Marie (LM) Falcone, founder of The Hungry Hippie, a vegan food delivery service.   LM is on a mission to get people to eat more plant-based meals.  We talk about how she transitioned from a career in fashion to owning and operating a vegan meal delivery service.   LM was able to start this business on a shoestring  budget, the sacrifices she has made to pursue this dream, how involved her family is in The Hungry Hippie, and so much more. To order meals from The Hungry Hippie or to connect with LM, you can find her https://www.hungryhippieeats.com/ and on instagram @hungryhippieeats To connect with me, please follow @counterchronicles on instagram and send me a message.  I would love to hear from you! 

Today's guest is Amanda Kerpius.  We discuss how her career in dance and the arts eventually led to a career in yoga and massage therapy.  Amanda is a also an avid runner with many marathons under her belt, and incorporates her love of sports and fitness into yoga and massage, coupling power and strength  with mental health.  Amanda discusses the realities of pursuing this career, how challenging it can be both financially and physically, but also how rewarding this path has and continues to be.  You can connect with amanda at https://www.empoweredself.co/ or @empowered.self on instagram. 

Today's guest is Amy Larson, founder of the popular business and website, Overseasoned.  Amy has created a line of apparel and kitchen accessories that fuses feminism with the culinary world.  She has created best selling tag lines, like Smash the Garlic & the Patriarchy and Cabernet & Equal Pay, worn by some of the most renowned chefs and culinary icons across the country.  Chef Karen Aukownowitz, Priya Krishna, Gaby Dalkin, to name a few, sport her whimsical but powerful sweatshirts & tshirts.  Amy ran the business as a side hustle for 4 years before she quit her marketing job and went full time in February 2021.  We discuss how she started Overseasoned as a magazine, her love of recipes, and how she has turned this into a full time profitable venture.  We also chat about how instrumental social media has been to building Overseasoned, how to grow a following organically that stays true to your vision while leading to direct sales.  If you're thinking about starting a business or are just interested to hear how a young entrepreneur funded her business, Amy has some great advice to impart for future entrepreneurs.  You can connect with Amy at: www. overseasoned.com or on instgarm @overseasoned_amy.