Chef's PSA Podcast

Chef Chad Welch is an American Culinary Federation Certified Executive Chef and Certified Culinary Administrator, a Jacques Pépin Foundation ambassador, and the executive chef with The Urban Stillhouse, an elevated dining concept with locations in St. Petersburg, Florida and Somerset, Kentucky. Horse Soldier bourbon bottles are formed with steel from the World Trade Center.
He did not plan to become a chef. A Navy paperwork error put him in the galley instead of the engine room in 1992, scaling Armed Forces recipe cards to 5,000 portions aboard the USS America aircraft carrier, cutting frozen Cornish game hens on a band saw on his first day at sea, and cooking through storms that sent equipment crashing across the kitchen floor.
What Navy galley cooking actually teaches about systems, scale, and pressure before culinary school
Why the shift from scratch kitchens to convenience products cost the industry a generation of skill
How the pre-Google era of memorization and mentorship built a different kind of chef, and what that means for anyone training today
André Natera and Chad Welch cover his first post-Navy restaurant job doing scratch pub cooking, his Mexican food upbringing and deliberate choice not to cook it professionally, the classic versus molecular cooking debate, and his work with the Jacques Pépin Foundation. The episode closes with the Horse Soldier Bourbon origin story and career advice from a chef whose entire path began by accident.
This episode is sponsored by Rational USA. Learn more at https://rationalusa.com

Guest
Chad Welch on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/handthatfeeds/
The Urban Stillhouse St. Pete → https://www.instagram.com/urbanstillhousestpete/
The Urban Stillhouse Somerset → https://www.instagram.com/urbanstillhousesomerset/
Links
Subscribe on Substack → https://chefspsa.substack.com/
Shop Chef's PSA Merch → https://shop.chefspsa.com/
Visit Chef's PSA Website → https://chefspsa.com/

Everyone wants the spotlight.
Until it actually hits.
Andre sits down with Emmanuel Chavez from Tatemo in Houston to talk about what happens when your restaurant gets attention before you’re ready for it.
Tatemo went from a tortilla operation to a full tasting menu fast. Recognition came with it. So did pressure.
This conversation gets into what it takes to run a tight kitchen with almost no space, how leadership changes when expectations spike, and the mistakes that come with building something in real time.
• What early success actually feels like• How to run a tasting menu in a small kitchen• Why leadership matters more than technique
Follow Chefs PSA and send this to a chef who thinks they’re ready.

Emmanuel Chavez on Instagram
LINKS & RESOURCES
Subscribe on Substack → https://chefspsa.substack.com/Shop Chef’s PSA Merch → https://shop.chefspsa.comVisit Chef’s PSA Website → https://chefspsa.comSponsored by RATIONAL USA → https://rationalusa.com

Chef Andre Natera sits down with Emmanuel Laroche, host of the Flavors Unknown podcast and author of A Taste of Madagascar, to explore the global story behind vanilla production and the process of writing a food book.
Laroche shares his experience traveling to Madagascar, where roughly 80% of the world’s vanilla is produced, including the realities of hand pollination and the challenges of sourcing ingredients in remote regions.
The conversation also covers Madagascar’s broader food ecosystem, including pepper, honey, cocoa, and caviar, and explores why many farmers grow vanilla for export rather than local use.
Laroche breaks down his writing process and explains how aspiring authors can move from concept to published book through traditional publishing channels.
• How vanilla is grown and why it requires hand pollination• How to write and publish a food book• Why understanding ingredients changes how chefs cook
Follow Chefs PSA and share this episode with someone interested in food, travel, or writing.
Flavors Unknown on Instagram
LINKS & RESOURCES
Subscribe on Substack → https://chefspsa.substack.com/Shop Chef’s PSA Merch → https://shop.chefspsa.com/Visit Chef’s PSA Website → https://chefspsa.com/Sponsored by RATIONAL USA → https://rationalusa.com

Chef Dan Kennedy spent over 20 years in high end kitchens, most recently as head chef at Pasta|Bar Austin before the concept closed in February 2026. He is now working on Morri, his own concept in Austin.
In this episode, Andre Natera and Dan Kennedy argue that social media has replaced technical skill with aesthetic performance, and duck is the clearest casualty.
Why duck is almost always undercooked and how proper skin rendering changes the entire dish
Why wagyu and high-fat cuts need more heat than most cooks give them, not less
How to build a tasting menu around timing and satiety instead of story and ego
Kennedy covers proper rendering technique, skin drying and aging, heat control, extended resting, and pre-service prep decisions that determine outcome before service starts. They also cover lamb, octopus, and grilling over binchotan and wood embers, using cake testers and feel over thermometers, and finishing with fat and flaky salt. On tasting menus, Kennedy favors 5 to 9 courses with canapés, cold starters, and two desserts, structured around deliciousness over narrative. The episode closes with reactions to America's Culinary Cup, commentary on Pasta|Bar's closure, and Chef's PSA merch.
This episode is sponsored by Rational USA. Learn more at https://rationalusa.com
Guest
Dan Kennedy on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/cocinero_dk/
Dan's Hip Hop Playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6WjAtI8aeONJSnk1FUAeYf?si=vvki6CM9SUSJ-k1BuOm15g
Links
Subscribe on Substack → https://chefspsa.substack.com/
Shop Chef's PSA Merch → https://shop.chefspsa.com/
Visit Chef's PSA Website → https://chefspsa.com/
Sponsored by Rational USA → https://rationalusa.com

Chef Andre Natera sits down with identical twin chefs Brandon and Jonathan Dearden to discuss rivalry, restaurant leadership, culinary school value, and the realities of running profitable restaurants.
Both twins competed on Top Chef and built careers in very different directions. Brandon pursued fine dining and stages at elite kitchens, while Jonathan focused on leadership roles and restaurant management
The conversation covers lessons from high-intensity kitchens like Alinea, the real value of culinary school, hiring pitfalls with impressive resumes, and how menu engineering helps restaurants stay profitable.
They also discuss competing on Top Chef, the importance of building a chef brand online, and how AI tools are beginning to influence restaurant operations.
What You Will Learn
• The real return on investment of culinary school
• What Michelin-level kitchens teach about discipline and systems
• How restaurant owners engineer menus for profitability
Brandon on Instagram
Jonathan on Instagram
LINKS & RESOURCES
Subscribe on Substack → https://chefspsa.substack.com/
Shop Chef’s PSA Merch → https://shop.chefspsa.com/
Visit Chef’s PSA Website → https://chefspsa.com/
Sponsored by RATIONAL USA → https://rationalusa.com