CONSUMED with Jaime Lewis

Sandi Sigurdson is a leader in the San Luis Obispo community, having served as the executive director of Leadership San Luis Obispo, the San Luis Obispo Symphony, and ECOSLO. Sandi is also a recovering alcoholic, crediting much of her success to the 21 years she’s spent in a 12-step program. We talked about her recent recognition as a Congressional Woman of the Year from Congressman Salud Carbajal and what it’s like to live sober in wine country.

Congressman Salud Carbajal Congressional Woman of the Year Award

Sandi’s Farewell Speech for Leadership SLO

The owner and chef behind Ember in Arroyo Grande, Brian Collins knew he wanted to start a restaurant from a young age, but it took a charmed moment at the back door of Berkeley’s famed Chez Panisse Restaurant to get the ball rolling. Brian discusses growing up in Arroyo Grande, attending culinary school as a young father, his long partnership with his wife Harmony Collins, and the rumor that a live monkey lived in the building that would become Ember’s home.

Website: emberwoodfire.com

Instagram: @emberrestaurant

Gessica and Alberto Russo, owners of Flour House Pizza Bar and Pastaria in San Luis Obispo, have devoted their lives to the craft of pizza napoletana. The Russos joined me to discuss what makes that foodway so special, how they met as teacher and student in Italy, and about the importance of Old World informing New World, and vice versa. We also chat a bit about movies, aperitivo hour, and key rules for wearing shoes in Italy.

Website: flourhouseslo.com

Instagram: @flourhouseslo

Wine writer and editor Matt Kettmann shares how he manages to work for both the Santa Barbara Independent and Wine Enthusiast Magazine, what it was like to be a reporter during the Michael Jackson trials, and some of his favorite in-the-field stories (eg firing machine guns in Armenia, impala roadkill in Uganda, etc).

Website: winemag.com/taster/matt-kettmann

Twitter: @mattkettmann

Libby Parker is a registered dietitian in San Luis Obispo and her recent book, Permission to Eat, explores the rampant issue of eating disorders, particularly among college students. She sat down with me to talk about her own history of disordered eating, the professor who changed her relationship to food, and why she chose to put macarons on the cover of her book.

Website: notyouraveragenutritionist.com

Instagram: @dietitianlibby

Distiller Trevor Peterson has made Bixby Gin for several years through his label, Lloyd Distillery, but it wasn’t until very recently that he ditched his day job in software sales to go full-time with it. He talks about how scary it was to take the leap, about his deep Italian roots in San Francisco, about how his parents would punish him by taking his tools away as a kid, and about how his love for Big Sur resulted in the distillation of a bright, botanical gin.

Instagram: @lloyddistillery

Spinaca Farms president Zack Andrade grows vegetables commercially on California’s Central Coast. After a major setback for the business, Zack turned Spinaca Farms around with a simple idea that has changed the way he sees agriculture. With heart and wit to spare, Zack shared with me how he grew up in King City, studied Ag Business at Cal Poly, and why he was up in the middle of the night picking crushed ice out of a truck of broccoli florets.

Website: spinacafarms.com

Instagram: @spinacafarms

Sheila Spector has lived and cooked all over the U.S., both in her own kitchen, in commercial kitchens, culinary shops, synagogues, and community centers. A dyed-in-the-wool cook, Sheila once sold her rugula to Dean & Deluca in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and continues to sell it each year at San Luis Obispo’s Apples & Honey Festival, hosted by the Jewish Community Center Federation. Sheila and I talked about baking cakes without yeast or flour during Passover, her mother’s legacy, and about her blog, dinneratsheilas.com, which she started on a whim.

 

Unlikely winemaker James Sparks grew up Mormon in Idaho. We talked about how the faith of his childhood led to becoming a winemaker for Liquid Farm in Lompoc and for his own label, Kings Carey. James shared his experience as one of eight children in a town of 300 people, how he wound up on the Central Coast, and how he wooed his wife despite a distinct lack of “game.”

Website: kingscarey.com, liquidfarm.com

Instagram: @kingscareywines

Hayley Cain is a writer and punk rock musician from San Luis Obispo. She was the Flavor Writer at New Times Weekly for about five years, and her voice became synonymous with the local food and drink culture. Today, Hayley’s still writing, but a lot of her time is devoted to her band, Hayley and the Crushers, which tours all over the U.S. We discussed the financial reality of being a freelance writer, why she’s drafting a book about her adolescence, and what it means to really care about food.

Website: astoldbyhayley.com, hayleyandthecrushers.com

Instagram: @hayleyandthecrushers