Recorded at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Mark Pascal and Francis Schott continue their conversations with three people who know how to make complicated subjects feel immediate: sommelier and wine communicator Amanda McCrossin, Master Sommelier and restaurateur Bobby Stuckey, and chef, author and television host Andrew Zimmern.
Why You Should Listen
Amanda McCrossin
- Why wine should feel fun and accessible—not like knowledge you had to inherit.
- The case for putting ice in wine, trusting your own taste and keeping “wine-tainment” accurate.
Bobby Stuckey
- Why strong restaurant culture still depends on standards, systems and “constant, gentle pressure.”
- How growing a restaurant group can create meaningful opportunities for the people who helped build it.
Andrew Zimmern
- What convinced him to enter the competition-show world with Food Network’s Pitmasters.
- How regional barbecue is evolving through Japanese, South Asian and other cultural influences.
- Why great barbecue depends on balance, excellent meat and precise doneness—and why live-fire cooking is not automatically barbecue.
The Guests
Amanda McCrossin
Amanda McCrossin is a certified sommelier, wine personality and creator of SommVivant, where she makes wine approachable across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. A former sommelier and wine director at PRESS Restaurant in Napa Valley, she now hosts the Wine Access Unfiltered Podcast, contributes to Wine Enthusiast and speaks at major food and wine events around the world.
Amanda’s site
https://www.amandamccrossin.com/
Bobby Stuckey
Bobby Stuckey is a Master Sommelier and founder and partner of Frasca Hospitality Group. After working at The Little Nell and The French Laundry, he co-founded Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, inspired by the hospitality and cuisine of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
The group also includes Tavernetta, Sunday Vinyl, Pizzeria Alberico, Osteria Alberico and Tavernetta Vail. Stuckey is also a winemaker, cookbook author and longtime advocate for independent restaurants and hospitality professionals.
Frasca Hospitality Group
https://www.frascahospitalitygroup.com/team-member/bobby-stuckey/
Andrew Zimmern
Andrew Zimmern is an Emmy- and James Beard Award-winning television host, chef, writer, teacher and producer best known for the Bizarre Foods franchise. He is also the host and head judge of Food Network’s Pitmasters, a competition in which teams manage fire, fatigue and continuous barbecue challenges over an extended cook. His other projects include Wild Game Kitchen, books, culinary travel experiences and media companies Food Works and Intuitive Content.
Andrew’s site
https://andrewzimmern.com/
Timestamps
0:00 The small restaurant world—and the second round of conversations from Aspen
2:10 Amanda McCrossin: Making wine less intimidating and more fun
10:30 Ice in wine, personal taste and the controversy of la piscine
15:30 The ten-year road to becoming an “overnight” wine-media success
22:30 Bobby Stuckey: Building destination restaurants outside major dining capitals
29:30 Growth, restaurant culture and the systems behind great hospitality
37:00 Andrew Zimmern on Pitmasters, open-fire cooking and luxury ice fishing
44:30 Regional barbecue, global influences and what separates great from merely good
56:30 Andrew discovers the unofficial appetizer hiding at the end of the skewer
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