CONSUMED with Jaime Lewis

McConnell’s Ice Creams, Michael Palmer, Santa Barbara, CA

Michael Palmer is the owner of McConnell’s Ice Cream in Santa Barbara, along with his wife, Chef Eva Ein. They’re not the original owners though: McConnell’s started in 1949 with Gordon and Ernesteen McConnell. The brand was beloved already, but when Michael and Eva took over, the vibe and the quality hit its stride. Today, people revere McConnell’s ice cream in its several scoop shops across southern California, and in fine grocers all over the country. We talked about his background in the wine industry, which he is still a part of, the industrial food complex, and how working with something as perishable as ice cream can keep him up at night.

McConnell’s Ice Cream

Instagram: @mcconnellsicecreams

Topa Topa Brewing Company, Jack Dyer, Ventura

Jack Dyer tells me about his roots in a a family of people with a heart for service, the moment he quit his day job to start a craft brewery, and how the company’s values play out in the call for environmental and social justice.

Life coach + SLO County Farm Bureau, Kiah Twisselman Burchett + Brent Burchett, Carissa Plains

Brent Burchett and Kiah Twisselman_Burchett discuss their love for agriculture and humanity, their shared ability to hear where people are coming from, and their desire to effect change at a high level.

The Range owners Jeff, Lindsay, + Jade Jackson, Santa Margarita

Jeff, Lindsay and Jade Jackson talk about music, farm food, their love for old things and old ways, and leaving a legacy.

Beth Vukmanic, Program Director + fitness influencer, Vineyard Team/SIP Certified + Bethercize, San Luis Obispo, CA

Beth Vukmanic sits down in the backyard to talk sustainable wine, playing the harp professionally, and batch cooking dinners to eat after a killer HIIT workout.

Jill Hammond + Joey Baxter, owners, Farm & Harvest + The Howdy, Los Osos, CA

Jill Hammond and Joey Baxter talk about strong emotions, our shared love for the produce section at California Fresh Market, and whether or not In-N-Out deserves all the hype.

Messermeister Premium Kitchen Knives, Chelcea Dressler-Crowley + Kirsten Dressler-Wilson, vice presidents, Ojai

The Dressler sisters discuss hot-drop, hammer-forged knives, how they took up their father’s business after tragedy struck, and what it’s like to be a woman-owned company working in the knife industry.

Corazón 805 Tacos, Pedro Arias Lopez and Crescencio Villar, San Luis Obispo, CA

Pedro and Chencho from Corazón 805 Tacos come by to chat about their long histories in restaurants and how they started their own taco pop-up with a focus on fresh, new flavors.

Dr. Stephen Lloyd-Moffet, author, The Spirit of Wine, San Luis Obispo, CA

Dr. Lloyd-Moffet and I chatted about humanity’s search for meaning, the sometimes madness of the mystics, and how, at the end of every wine lover’s rainbow, is a bottle of German riesling (though Stephen’s might still be Burgundy).

Libbie Agran, founder, Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County, San Luis Obispo,CA

Libbie Agran swings by to talk about San Luis Obispo’s long and fascinating wine history.