New Episodes Drop Each Tuesday! Step into the high-pressure world of culinary chaos with Chef Spike Mendelsohn, the relentless renegade of the kitchen, as he serves up a no-holds-barred exploration of the restaurant industry. In this gripping podcast, Spike sits down with fellow chefs, restaurateurs, and industry insiders to dish out the raw chaos and brutal challenges of the industry. From the relentless rush of a dinner service to the intense moments of being "in the weeds," each episode explores the triumphs, challenges, and downright madness of life in the kitchen. With candid conversations and captivating stories, listeners are invited to pull up a seat and savor the flavors of this exhilarating journey through the heart of the culinary world. Get ready to indulge in the ultimate behind-the-line experience as Spike serves up insight, inspiration, and plenty of food for thought. Welcome to the In The Weeds Podcast, where the heat is always on and the conversation is always piping hot.
In the Weeds podcast
Claim This Podcastby Celebrity Chef Spike Mendelsohn
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Podcast Overview
New Episodes Drop Each Tuesday! Step into the high-pressure world of culinary chaos with Chef Spike Mendelsohn, the relentless renegade of the kitchen, as he serves up a no-holds-barred exploration of the restaurant industry. In this gripping podcast, Spike sits down with fellow chefs, restaurateurs, and industry insiders to dish out the raw chaos and brutal challenges of the industry. From the relentless rush of a dinner service to the intense moments of being "in the weeds," each episode explores the triumphs, challenges, and downright madness of life in the kitchen. With candid conversations and captivating stories, listeners are invited to pull up a seat and savor the flavors of this exhilarating journey through the heart of the culinary world. Get ready to indulge in the ultimate behind-the-line experience as Spike serves up insight, inspiration, and plenty of food for thought. Welcome to the In The Weeds Podcast, where the heat is always on and the conversation is always piping hot.
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Publishing Since
10/21/2024
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Recent Episodes
June 30, 2026
Nycci Nellis Has 24 Years of Industry Tea and She's Spilling It Here
<p>Nycci Nellis has interviewed everyone from Thomas Keller to Anthony Bourdain — and today, Spike flips the script. The founder of The List, co-host of the 18-year-running <i>Foodie and the Beast</i>, and one of DC's most wired-in food media voices pulls no punches on the state of the industry: rents are too high, spaces are too big, and the labor pool never fully came back. Along the way: the inside story of how Michelin actually got to DC (and what happened when the city stopped paying), why the "build it and they will come" era is dead, a trip through Montreal's Jewish deli culture and smoked meat, and why the layperson needs to understand the restaurant business before there's nothing left to save.</p> <p>We have teamed up with Odd Chef for a banger of a merch collab! Visit <a href="https://oddchef.shop/collections/in-the-weeds-collection" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oddchef.shop</a> to check out the drop and enter code INTHEWEEDS10 for 10% off!</p> <p><p>Listen & Connect With Us Here: <a href="https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links" target="_blank">https://www.intheweedspod.com/itw-links</a></p><p>🎙️🎙️ In The Weeds Podcast is proudly sponsored by: </p><p>Events DC is the official convention and sports authority for the District and a key player in making some of DC’s most exciting events and experiences happen. From world-class sports to cultural festivals and everything in between, they help power the energy of the city. Visit <a href="https://eventsdc.com">eventsdc.com</a> to see what they are cooking up!</p><p>DC Central Kitchen is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. The organization provides hands-on culinary job training for individuals facing high barriers to employment while creating living wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed. To learn more, please visit <a href="https://dccentralkitchen.org">dccentralkitchen.org</a></p></p>
June 16, 2026
Chef Victor Albisu: Love, Meat, and a Little Disrespect
<p>Victor Albisu — the operator behind Taco Bamba (now 16 locations across four states) — sits back down with Spike to talk Electric Bull, his new all-day South American steakhouse built as the antidote to the stuffy, overpriced classic. Along the way, the two old friends get into the realities of opening restaurants (and the endless delays that come with them), the rise of food influencers and what they mean for working chefs, war stories from kitchens in Paris and a memorable run-in with a food critic at the zoo. Equal parts industry insight and old-friend banter.</p> <p>This episode is proudly presented by Toast! Thousands of the busiest restaurants in the world run on Toast. To learn more about how Toast can help you get busy, stay busy and run busy, visit pos.toasttab.com.</p> <p>Get ready for an In The Weeds merch collab drop with Odd Chef! Keep an eye out at www.oddchef.shop and enter code INTHEWEEDS10 for 10% off your purchase!</p> <p>Follow us on Instagram @intheweeds.pod </p> <p>Watch this episode and more on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InTheWeedsPod</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><p>Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://linktr.ee/intheweeds.pod </p><p>🎙️🎙️ In The Weeds Podcast is proudly sponsored by: </p><p>Events DC is the official convention and sports authority for the District and a key player in making some of DC’s most exciting events and experiences happen. From world-class sports to cultural festivals and everything in between, they help power the energy of the city. Visit eventsdc.com to see what they are cooking up!</p><p> </p><p>DC Central Kitchen is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. The organization provides hands-on culinary job training for individuals facing high barriers to employment while creating living wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed. To learn more, please visit dccentralkitchen.org</p></p>
November 18, 2025
Chef Amanda Freitag: From Burning Out to Leveling Up, She's Resilient AF
<p>Chef Amanda Freitag didn’t just survive the old-school New York restaurant gauntlet — she <i>thrived</i> in it. From chaotic Jersey banquet halls to the CIA to butchering fish in the Florida Keys, she built her craft the hard way: station by station, burn by burn. She came up through Verbena, Vong, Gusto, and the legendary Harrison, shaping a cooking voice pulled from Thai flavors, Mediterranean markets, and a whole lot of late-night chef culture.</p><p>In this episode, Amanda and Spike trade stories from their Tribeca days — duck-fat fries through the back door, mushroom guys showing up mid-service, saffron hustlers with dreads, and kitchens that ran on adrenaline and a thousand covers.</p><p>She talks burnout, reinvention, Iron Chef prep disasters, female leadership before it had a label, why chaos feels like home, and how TV became the unexpected next act.</p><p>It’s a deep dive into the craft, the grind, the heartbreak, and the strange comedy of becoming a chef in a city that never lets you coast.</p><p><strong>On The Menu This Episode:</strong></p><ul><li>Growing up in a loud, food-centric Jersey family where the answer to everything was “you should probably eat something.” </li><li>Falling in love with restaurant chaos at 15: banquet halls, bar menus, and surviving the subculture.</li><li>Discovering the CIA thanks to her home-ec teacher, and entering a male-dominated kitchen world as one of the few women in her class.</li><li>Early NYC grind: Vong with Jean-Georges — French technique meets Thai flavors and a fish sauce education.</li><li>Butchering fish in the Florida Keys, getting hazed out of her chef whites, and realizing shorts were mandatory.</li><li>Verbena and Diane Forley: six years of seasonal cooking, Union Square Greenmarket runs, making bread, ice cream, everything from scratch.</li><li>A life-changing stage at L’Arpège in Paris — empty walk-ins, live frogs, and purveyors knocking at the back door.</li><li>Building the Harrison back to a two-star restaurant and creating cult classics like duck-fat fries and octopus with feta.</li><li>Chef-world nightlife: Blue Ribbon at 3AM, saffron dealers interrupting service, chefs hopping between each other’s doors.</li><li>Burnout, Brooklyn, hiding out, and learning what kind of chef she actually wanted to be.</li><li>The Empire Diner rollercoaster: red flags, Americana dreams, chaos magnets, and walking away on her own terms.</li><li>How Iron Chef America <i>really</i> worked — the practice, the last-minute sous chef disaster, and the chaos the producers never warned you about.</li><li>Why TV became the unexpected “restaurant after restaurants” — and why Easy AF is her true love letter to home cooks.</li></ul> <p><p>Listen & Connect With Us Here: https://linktr.ee/intheweeds.pod </p><p>🎙️🎙️ In The Weeds Podcast is proudly sponsored by: </p><p>Events DC is the official convention and sports authority for the District and a key player in making some of DC’s most exciting events and experiences happen. From world-class sports to cultural festivals and everything in between, they help power the energy of the city. Visit eventsdc.com to see what they are cooking up!</p><p>DC Central Kitchen is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. The organization provides hands-on culinary job training for individuals facing high barriers to employment while creating living wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed. To learn more, please visit dccentralkitchen.org</p></p>
36 total episodes available
Recent guests on In the Weeds podcast
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Chef Eric Adjepong
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Carla Hall
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