Recorded live at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Mark Pascal and Francis Schott sit down with four influential voices shaping American food and hospitality. Food & Wine Editor in Chief Hunter Lewis and chefs Claudette Zepeda, Cassidee Dabney, and Melissa Perello.

Why You Should Listen

Hunter Lewis

Why the Aspen Classic feels like “adult food and wine summer camp” and still makes even celebrated chefs bring their A game.
How live events and genuine human connection offer something algorithms and AI cannot replicate.

Claudette Zepeda

How growing up between Tijuana and San Diego shaped her expansive understanding of Mexican cuisine, migration, and cultural identity.
Why authenticity is personal and how Cooking the Borderlands preserves the recipes and stories that might otherwise disappear.

Cassidee Dabney

How Appalachian cooks transform seasonal necessity, preservation, and humble ingredients into deeply expressive cuisine.
Why the future of luxury dining may be less about spectacle and more about thoughtful food, analog experiences, and being genuinely cared for.

Melissa Perello

How Frances and Octavia became enduring San Francisco neighborhood restaurants by building committed teams and lasting community relationships.
Why restaurant longevity depends on consistency, evolution, and doing excellent work long after the opening-night attention has moved elsewhere.

The Guests

Hunter Lewis

Hunter Lewis has served as Editor in Chief of Food & Wine since 2017. A former professional cook, he previously held senior editorial roles at Cooking Light, Southern Living, Bon Appétit, and Saveur. Under his leadership, Food & Wine has received honors from the James Beard Foundation, the IACP, and the American Society of Magazine Editors.

Food & Wine https://www.foodandwine.com/

Claudette Zepeda

Claudette Zepeda is a San Diego–based chef, writer, television personality, and founder of Chispa Hospitality. Her cooking explores regional Mexican food and the cultural exchange found along the U.S.–Mexico border.

Her debut cookbook, Cooking the Borderlands: Spice and Smoke Between Mexico and the States, combines personal stories with more than 100 recipes reflecting the intertwined communities and culinary traditions of the borderlands.

Cassidee Dabney

Cassidee Dabney is Executive Chef of The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. She joined Blackberry Farm in 2010 and became executive chef of The Barn in 2015.

Her multicourse menus express Blackberry Farm’s seasonal Foothills Cuisine, drawing from Appalachian traditions, the property’s gardens, and regional farms. The Barn has received James Beard Awards for Outstanding Wine Program and Outstanding Service.

Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN

https://www.blackberryfarm.com/

Melissa Perello

Melissa Perello is the chef-owner of Frances and Octavia in San Francisco. A Culinary Institute of America graduate and former Food & Wine Best New Chef, she is known for seasonal California cooking that combines fine-dining technique with the warmth and accessibility of a neighborhood restaurant.

Frances offers a rotating, ingredient-driven menu in a relaxed neighborhood setting, while sister restaurant Octavia presents Perello’s modern California sensibility on a larger scale.

Frances Restaurant, San Francisco, CA

https://www.frances-sf.com/

Timestamps

1:00 Hunter Lewis: Why Aspen makes the food world bring its A game
4:00 Live events, human connection, and what AI cannot replicate

8:00 Claudette Zepeda: The multicultural food of Tijuana and the borderlands
16:00 Preserving family recipes, defining authenticity, and cooking under pressure

27:30 Cassidee Dabney: What defines Appalachian cuisine
35:30 The future of luxury hospitality and making home cooking luxurious

42:30 Melissa Perello: Building Frances and Octavia for the long haul
51:30 Restaurant community, staff longevity, and the next chapter in San Francisco

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Regional Food, Restaurant Longevity and the Future of Hospitality | Aspen Part 1

The Restaurant Guys

Regional Food, Restaurant Longevity and the Future of Hospitality | Aspen Part 1