It’s hard to say what stands out more about this week’s guest—her culinary passion or her legal expertise. Lauren Tuckey is a valuable asset to Chicago’s hospitality scene, bringing a unique blend of legal acumen and a true love of food. As a Level 2 sommelier and a genetic super taster, she knows her food, but with her law firm, Tuckey Law, she’s …

After investing around $30,000 into a beer-making hobby, José Lopez, alongside his brother Javier, knew it was time to turn his passion into a full-fledged business. And we’re so glad he did. The Hermosa native’s Casa Humilde Cerveceria Artesanal has quickly become one of the most exciting spots to enjoy craft beer in town. Casa Humilde originally …

In this episode, Kimberly and April discuss her most recent book of poetry titled Matter / Mother which shares about April’s experience of traveling through the underworld of grief, hardship, and heartbreak while mothering her young child. Together, they share their desires for a culture that makes space for the depth of mothering experiences and s…

Allison Rosenwinkel is much more than a design consultant — she’s a brand therapist. Alongside her business partner and husband, Paul Demyanovich, she co-founded and currently serves as the managing director of HiFi Brands. Together, they provide comprehensive, full-range brand strategy and a suite of design and branding solutions for a wide variet…

In this episode, Kimberly and Marysia discuss how they’ve navigated the challenges and benefits of single motherhood. In many ways, their lives and stories run parallel: surprising pregnancies, marrying into another culture, becoming single mothers with babies, and living out single motherhood while being entrepreneurs. This honest, raw, and tender…

This week, we're thrilled to welcome a culinary powerhouse, Milwaukee’s Chef Dan Jacobs, to the show. Known for his bold flavors and inventive takes on American-Chinese cuisine, Dan co-owns Milwaukee’s renowned restaurants DanDan and EsterEv. After a career working throughout Chicago and Wisconsin, he recently made waves on the 21st season of Top C…

Allan Perales knows how to solve problems. He champions a powerful idea: that there's no such thing as an unsolvable problem -- you're just looking at it from the wrong angle. After working in hospitality as a hotel manager for a number of years, Allan pivoted to a career in real estate. As partner at Goldstreet, his discerning approach and eye for…

After a string of formative restaurant experiences in Detroit and Chicago, Norman Fenton, preoccupied by wanderlust, got in his car and drove to Tulum, Mexico. In this week’s episode, he tells us all about a journey that shifted the trajectory of his career and life — what he learned about food, leadership, and hospitality, all lessons he’s showcas…

Green City Market has zeroed in on a number of problems plaguing food distribution and accessibility in our city – and they've resolved to do something about it. Our guest this week, Mandy Moody, is the executive director behind many of these initiatives, supporting farmers in selling their products (without sacrificing a major cut), educating peop…

In collaboration with Tales of the Cocktail for our first entirely remote episode, we're on the horn with New York City's Harrison Ginsberg. He's a world-class bartender and bar director who cut his teeth at renowned establishments in Providence and Chicago before heading back to the Big Apple to help curate one of the finest hospitality experience…

It’s happy hour on Joiners this week as we sit down for a booze-infused conversation with Luke DeYoung. He's a bartender and cocktail craftsman with decades of experience at some of the city’s finest bars, including Scofflaw, where he worked alongside the one and only Danny Shapiro. Together, they have been hard at work on Sip Sip, a video cocktail…

In this episode, Natalie and Kimberly dive deep into the choose your own hormone phenomenon. They discuss an evolutionary biologist's perspective of individual vs. group think when it comes to women’s health, the connections between hormones and reproductive health issues like endometriosis and PCOS, as well as the evolutionary case for grandmother…

This week, we're excited to sit down with Thomas Oh who recently opened his newest restaurant, Perilla Korean American Steakhouse with his partner Andrew Lim. It's a fine dining joint dedicated to creatively reinterpreting Chicago steakhouse staples with a modern twist -- and delivering with the commitment to hospitality Thomas clearly champions. W…

This week, we delve into the world of Michael Muser, a charismatic veteran sommelier who has played a pivotal role in shaping Chicago's dining scene. With his characteristic showmanship and deep passion for hospitality, Michael guides us through a captivating array of topics, his raconteur's charm on full display. From his beginnings as a self-desc…

This week, we're strengthening the Chicago-Cleveland connection by chatting with one of The Land's kind titans of hospitality: Andrew Watts, the proprietor of the renowned Cordelia, a restaurant named for his great grandmother. Known for its delicious, elevated, sharable takes on American classics (conceived by Andrew's right-hand man, Chef Vinnie …

This week, we sit down with Ria Neri, the creative force behind the acclaimed Four Letter Word Coffee and a certified Cicerone with an unwavering passion for craft beer, made crystal clear by her founding of Whiner Beer Company. Inspired by the vibrant coffee culture in Istanbul, Ria and her partners opened their first café on Burgaz Island before …

This week, we speak to another member of the growing Highland Park mafia — Adam Pollack, a cook turned farmer, responsible for supplying some of the best restaurants in the city. Adam grows his produce right here in the heart of Chicago at Closed Loop Farms. He tells us about his journey, from discovering his passion for food and fresh ingredients,…

Do tropical drinks actually make for gnarly hangovers? What have been the major advancements in distilling in the last century? What happens when a college kid has drink-slinging know-how and unfettered access to booze? In this week’s episode of Joiners, we explore big questions with none other than Kevin Beary, the sagacious beverage director behi…

In this episode, Kimberly and Chris dive deep into the impact of travel on their lives and the consequences of tourism in places they call home. As two world travelers, who have each spent a decade living abroad, Kimberly and Chris consider what they have learned about home, hospitality, and culture from places far from the lands they were raised. …

For our latest episode, we sit down with the inimitable Cecily Federighi to explore her fascinating path from the fashion world to the culinary scene. Cecily takes us through her early days being scouted at Six Flags as a teen, globe-trotting adventures in the modeling world, and learning the ins and outs of the restaurant industry from the ground …

In this episode, Kimberly and Lauren discuss her teaching journey, which led to the restorative exercise techniques Lauren offers in the women’s health field. As a lifelong mover, Lauren went through several different yoga trainings and anatomical frameworks to arrive at a simple truth: there isn’t a right or wrong, good or bad when it comes to und…

For episode 101, we are sitting down for a master class on hospitality with one of its most innovative and fastidious practitioners. Chris Gerber is a front-of-house guru whose attention to detail and commitment to guests at places like Trio, Alinea, and currently Smyth + The Loyalist have helped earn those establishments scores of well-deserved ac…

In this episode Stef and Lauren sit down for a chat about their brand faves (bc what else do they talk about?) to wrap up season 4. Yep, the gals are taking a summer vacation and they'll be back in a few weeks with season 5 of Allowlist. If you want to keep up with them follow along on LinkedIn. AND huge thank you to our season 4 sponsors Pinch and…

This week, we’re ringing in our 100th episode the only way we know how: exploring the world of hospitality by chatting with its most colorful characters. This week, our tagline is especially appropriate — we sit down with the multitalented, accomplished, and vibrant Stephanie Izard, whose list of accolades is as impressive as it is long. She opened…

With fellow educator and Orphan Wisdom Scholar Johannah Reimer, Kimberly discusses Johannah’s long cultivated journey with Girl Groups that work on collective rites of passage. They explore the difference between weekend and longer form rites of passage processes for girls crossing the threshold to adolescence and womanhood, as well as ways to de-e…

In this episode, Stef and Lauren sit down with Scout Brisson, the CEO of De Soi, an award-winning line of sparkling non-alcoholic apéritifs co-founded by Katy Perry and Morgan McLachlan. We get into: How Scout went from Pre-Med at MIT, to Management Consulting, to M13, to co-founding Deux, to becoming CEO of De Soi Scout’s predictions about the fut…

This week, we’ve brought in an owner who just might handle more covers per night of service than anyone else in town. In this episode, Danny Wirtz, the fourth-generation owner of the Chicago Blackhawks, joins the crew to discuss everything from growing up in the northern suburbs to the evolving landscape of sports and entertainment in the city. Dan…

In this episode, Kimberly discusses wild mothering, elder mothers, and mothering from our centers with Tami Lynn Kent, returned special guest, women’s health healer, elder mother, and teacher of previous Jaguar classes. We discuss how to remain in true relationship with the feminine, unlearning how we’ve embodied patriarchy, and living and motherin…

In this episode, Kimerberly interviews Ajaye, the founder of The Project PT, a fitness center creating major social change in the community of Oxford, England. They discuss Kimberly’s experience at the gym, similarities of fitness culture in the U.S. and U.K. and how it is intimidating to many kinds of people interested in exercise. They also discu…

In this episode, Stef sits down with Amanda and Rachel, co-founders of Dotti. Dottti is reimagining everyday cleaning tools. Dotti is your lasting cleaning companion made of antibacterial, durable materials like silicone. The cleaning essentials that deserve a place in your home are stunning, and we are neat freaks, so it's a match made in heaven. …

Chef Christian Hunter may be new to Chicago, but he's already making waves in the city's culinary scene as the inventive talent behind Atelier, where he and his dynamic team recently earned their first Michelin star. In this episode, Christian shares his journey from his early days experimenting in the kitchen to his time at culinary school and his…

Lauren sits down with Sam Daviau, the co-founder of UpBeing. UpBeing is an application that helps you discover what impacts your well-being and creates emotional visibility with the people in your life without any meticulous journaling or tracking. We get into: Why the social dynamics of wellbeing are crucial, as people often see issues in others m…

This week, Tim and Danny are joined by Adam Meyer, the Chef de Cuisine at Brasero and John Manion's trusted right-hand man. Adam shares his inspiring journey of thrusting himself into the world of food at a young age. He discusses his time at The Bristol before the pandemic hit, and how he's now working alongside Manion to develop inventive South A…

Stef and Lauren sit down with Roisin Branch, CMO of Blade, a rapidly growing air mobility platform that lets you commute by helicopter around cities, jetting to and from popular destinations for (in some cases) less than the cost of your Uber fare. Hate the traffic between Manhattan <> JFK/Newark? No stress, Blade can get you from A to B in 5 minut…

In a very special episode of Joiners, we start things out by sitting in studio with Donnie Madia. He’s a man who needs no introduction, but in case you’ve been predisposed for a few decades: he’s the James Beard Award-winning powerhouse behind acclaimed institutions like Blackbird, avec, The Publican, The Violet Hour, Big Star, and so much more — a…

In this episode, Stef and Lauren sit down for a catch-up. They discuss all the latest consumer products they're obsessing over and what's to come on the next episodes of Allowlist.Di Allowlist

This week on Joiners, we sit down with Jake Schneider, the owner of Schneider Deli, a new Jewish deli that's bringing classic flavors to the heart of River North. Jake takes us on a journey through his culinary career, from taking a cooking class as an adolescent, to staging at high-end restaurants, to working at a summer camp and even a kitchen te…

in this episode, Stef and Lauren sit down with David Lyon, co-founder of Sound Advice. Sound Advice is a subscription-based mobile app designed for a new generation of wealth-builders, offering trusted, personalized financial advice designed for those who have been left behind by traditional financial institutions and their high-priced products, he…

This week, we’re joined by Leigh Omilinksy. She is partner and executive pastry chef at Daisies, the Michelin Star adorned Chicagoland darling that was recently named the best restaurant in the city by Eater. And after chatting with her, it makes sense why — after having a borderline magical Crème Brûlée at San Francisco’s Top of the Mark, this wou…

In this epsisode, Lauren and Stef sit down with Tim Anders, Founder of ElectroBrew. Electrolyte-infused coffee. If you’re the kind of person who says I love coffee, I just wish I didn’t get so dehydrated when I drink it, then you are going to love this coffee and love this conversation. ElectroBrew’s mission is to offer coffee without compromising …

In this episode of Joiners, we sit down with the accomplished Chef Sahil Sethi. He’s the culinary mastermind behind Indienne and Sifr, two of the most exciting spots in the city today. From his early days studying hospitality management in India to stints at renowned restaurants like Noma in Copenhagen, Sethi has built an impressive resume and uniq…

In this episode, Kimberly and Joelle discuss the joys, challenges, and complexities of writing a book and publishing. They met when Kimberly was pitching “The Fourth Trimester” and have connected ever since. Kimberly discusses her journey as an author in relation to her other work previous three books. They also discuss self-publishing, traditional…