A Discussion of How Chefs Remain Relevant and Afloat in the Current, Short-Attention-Span Climate

We have lift off! In the studio with Jimmy Bradley (center) and Amanda Cohen. (photo courtesy Julia Grossman)
THE FRONT BURNER WITH JIMMY AND ANDREW, our new podcast, debuted on Heritage Radio Network yesterday with guests Amanda Cohen, Gavin Kaysen, and Harold Moore. We discussed how chefs stay relevant and afloat in the current low-attention-span climate and devoted a Shop Talk segment to the ups and downs of time away from the kitchen. It was a terrific conversation and I hope you’ll give it a listen. (If you read about the show here the other day, you can skip the preliminaries and start listening around the 6-minute mark.)
Next Thursday, January 14, we’re going to examine the complex subject of chefs and mental illness, including everything from OCD to anxiety and – of course – substance abuse. The topic has been thrust into the spotlight by writer Kat Kinsman, who just launched her Chefs with Issues project, centered on a survey of food professionals to which more than 100 people have already responded. Kat will be in the studio with us to discuss the project and Jimmy and I will share our own personal insights, of which we have many. We’ll be joined by chef Jesse Schenker, who’s been very open about his personal struggles with some of the very challenges Kat is tackling, and by chef Frank Crispo, who was a contributor to one of our (unaired) pilot episodes and was so eloquent and insightful (and boasts an irresistible radio voice) that we wanted to get him on the live show as soon as possible. We’ll also, of course, discuss any big stories that break between now and then. Thanks in advance for giving it a listen.
– Andrew