Restaurateur & Chef Ashwin Vilkhu, Saffron Nola & The Kingsway, New Orleans

“Ashwin Vilkhu is a celebrated chef and restaurateur known for bringing modern Indian cuisine to New Orleans through his acclaimed restaurant Saffron NOLA where dishes draw on his Indian heritage and global influences, reinterpreting traditional Indian recipes with a Southern twist. He’s was a 2025 James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: South.” Chef Ashwin joins us.Chef Instructor (Bread and Pastry Arts) Matt Serkes is on staff at the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI.) We’ll meet him.Chef Mawa McQueen is a prominent restaurateur with popular properties in Aspen and Boulder Colorado. She is also a Ment’or Chefs Council Member and an enthusiastic supporter of Team USA 2027 on the road to Lyon. She joins us.

Alice Glenn is the Executive Vice President of New Orleans & Co. She joins us to explain what a Destination Marketing and Sales Organization (DMO) does to support their home city.Meg Bickford is the Executive Chef of the legendary Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. She joins us.“Edgar “Dook” Chase, IV is the Owner/President of Chase Hospitality Group and Chase Concessions, LLC., a partner in Chase North, the premier food and beverage operator and management concessionaire at the Louis Armstrong International Airport, and the proprietor of two of their concepts, Leah’s Kitchen and Dook’s Burgers. Chase Concessions also operates eleven other concepts at MSY, as well concepts in Boston Logan International Airport and Nashville International Airport.”“Food journalist Ian McNulty is a writer for The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate and NOLA.com covering restaurants and food culture. His commentary series Where Y’Eat airs weekly on NPR affiliate WWNO, and he is a frequent contributor to WWL radio in New Orleans.” Ian joins us to close our NOLA show special.

Chef Instructor (Bread and Pastry Arts) Matt Serkes is on staff at the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI.) We’ll meet him.“New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that equips individuals with the skills, confidence, and entrepreneurial mindset needed to excel in culinary & hospitality careers and passions. Through accessible, high-quality education and programs, NOCHI inspires and supports learners at all levels.”“With accelerated vocational-style programs, continuing education and professional development, and enthusiast courses for home cooks of all skill levels, NOCHI is at the forefront of culinary and hospitality learning.”“NOCHI envisions centering New Orleans as a global leader in culinary and hospitality learning by advancing career growth, industry innovation, and economic impact.”

“Ashwin Vilkhu is a celebrated chef and restaurateur known for bringing modern Indian cuisine to New Orleans through his acclaimed restaurant Saffron NOLA where dishes draw on his Indian heritage and global influences, reinterpreting traditional Indian recipes with a Southern twist. He’s was a 2025 James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: South.” “Chef Ashwin’s latest, The Kingsway, is a fine dining Asian establishment. Inspired by the deeply personal flavors of childhood dinners and the cultural crossroads of Asia, The Kingsway offers a contemporary interpretation of tradition—refined, intentional, and rooted in heritage.”The Kingsway is hosting Team USA’s celebratory wrap party after the Bocuse d’Or Americas Selection.Chef Ashwin Vilkhu joins us.

Chef Mawa McQueen is a prominent restaurateur with popular properties in Aspen and Boulder Colorado. She is also a Ment’or Chefs Council Member and an enthusiastic supporter of Team USA 2027 on the road to Lyon. She joins us.“In addition to her four restaurants in Aspen - Michelin recommended Mawa’s Kitchen, Mawita Tapas & Wine Bar and two locations of Crepe Therapy Cafe- in the past year Chef Mawa has opened two additional Crepe Therapy Cafe locations in Boulder, Colorado, just outside Denver where the University of Colorado Boulder is.”Chef Mawa is also the creator of the line of Mawa’s GrainFreeNola Granola. “This is bold, clean, chef-crafted granola made in Aspen with just nuts, seeds, fruit — and nothing fake.”“Mawa's Kitchen is the MICHELIN Guide Recommended flagship restaurant of owner and executive chef Mawa McQueen, a James Beard Award semifinalist nominee and 2020 & 2022 Colorado Governor's Minority Business Award Winner. The menu at Mawa's Kitchen is hyper seasonal and reflects Mawa's international heritage serving up Afro-Mediterranean cuisine with French-American flair.”

Alice Glenn is the Executive Vice President of New Orleans & Co.She joins us to explain what a Destination Marketing and Sales Organization (DMO) does to support their home city.“New Orleans & Company is the official destination sales and marketing organization for New Orleans’ tourism industry. Founded in 1960, their mission is to inspire, promote and encourage travel to New Orleans for the economic, social and community benefit of New Orleans and its people. The vision is to ensure New Orleans remains the most remarkable, unique, and welcoming city in the world.” “Alice Glenn is the Executive Vice President of New Orleans & Company, the official destination sales and marketing organization for the City of New Orleans. She oversees enterprise strategy, culture, operations, government relations, and strategic partnerships that advance inclusive economic development and strengthen New Orleans’ position in national and global markets. Her career spans 20+ years at the nexus of business, government, and civil society, building coalitions that translate policy and philanthropy into sustainable growth.”“Before joining New Orleans & Company, Alice founded and led Glenn & Associates, LLC, advising organizations on strategy, fundraising, advocacy, and community affairs to scale impact and mobilize multi-sector stakeholders. She has held roles with United Way, Loyola University New Orleans, and the Louisiana Restaurant Association, and served in the public sector as Legislative Assistant to the Louisiana House Speaker Pro Tempore.”

We’re live from New Orleans at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center covering the Americas Selection for the Bocuse d’Or Americas competition. Eight top-flight culinary teams, from eight different countries in North & South America, are competing to determine which five teams move on to the Bocuse d’Or International Culinary Competition in Lyon France in January of 2027. This bi-annual event is regarded as the most prestigious culinary competition in the world. Think of it as the Olympics of the culinary world !Each team is comprised of a chef, commis and coach. Commitment, rigor and teamwork are essential. A distinguished jury of international chefs conducts the judging.We’ll be meeting acclaimed chefs and culinary personalities from New Orleans along with Ment’or’s Culinary Council members. Ment’or sponsors Team USA 2027 with the goal of qualifying in New Orleans to move on to Lyon.All of this and heaping helpings of extra deliciousness on this week’s not-to-miss show!

Meg Bickford is the Executive Chef of the legendary Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. She joins us.“Native to the region and its Creole and Cajun cuisines, Chef Meg Bickford assumed the role of Executive Chef at Commander’s Palace in October 2020. Bickford graduated from the John Folse Culinary Institute and was subsequently hired by Commander’s, where she went on to serve as Executive Chef of Café Adelaide. In her time at Café Adelaide, Bickford was chosen as one of Louisiana Cookin’s “Chefs to Watch.””After 18 years with the Commander’s Palace Family of Restaurants, Chef Bickford remains eager to keep the traditions of Commander’s alive while regularly adding innovative (and delicious) items to the menu.Commander’s is renown for their unequaled Jazz Sunday Brunch and intimate Chef’s Table experience unusually placed in the heart of the bustling Commander’s kitchen.

“Edgar “Dook” Chase, IV is the Owner/President of Chase Hospitality Group and Chase Concessions, LLC., a partner in Chase North, the premier food and beverage operator and management concessionaire at the Louis Armstrong International Airport, and the proprietor of two of their concepts, Leah’s Kitchen and Dook’s Burgers. Chase Concessions also operates eleven other concepts at MSY, as well concepts in Boston Logan International Airport and Nashville International Airport.”“Meanwhile, Chef Dook is also continuing the legacy of his late grandmother, Chef Leah Chase, serving as the Executive Chef and operator of his family’s restaurant Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans.”“Chef Dook has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. After studying economics and finance at Dillard University, New Orleans, Chase received his Master’s of Business Administration from University of New Orleans, and went on to receive his culinary degree from Le Condon Bleu Paris, France. In addition to his formal training, he spent much of his youth learning the craft from his grandmother, while working in his family’s flagship restaurant, Dooky Chase’s in Tremé.” “Chef Dook has developed growing concepts, such as Leah’s Kitchen, Dook’s Place, and Dook’s Burgers as a tribute to his grandmother’s legacy of service and hospitality, featuring dishes inspired by her classic Creole cuisine. The latest restaurant, Chapter IV, opened with his wife, Gretchen in January 2023, and named for his fourth generation of service, features modern takes on classic Creole breakfast, brunch, and lunch offerings in downtown New Orleans.”

“Food journalist Ian McNulty is a writer for The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate and NOLA.com covering restaurants and food culture. His commentary series Where Y’Eat airs weekly on NPR affiliate WWNO, and he is a frequent contributor to WWL radio in New Orleans.” “Ian is the author of two books - “Louisiana Rambles: Exploring America’s Cajun and Creole Heartland,” a travel narrative about south Louisiana culture, and “A Season of Night: New Orleans Life After Katrina,” an account of the first months in the city after Hurricane Katrina.”He also attended the Bocuse d’Or international culinary competition in Lyon in 2025 supporting Team USA 2025.Ian joins us to close our NOLA show special.