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For over 25 years, Sauce Magazine has been the go-to guide for St. Louis’ best culinary experiences. Now, The Sauce podcast is back with a new host and a renewed mission: to take listeners behind the scenes with the incredible people shaping the local hospitality industry – from chefs and restaurateurs to brewers, bartenders, bakers and beyond.
Hosted by Sauce Magazine’s executive editor Lauren Healey, who has spent her career honing her writing, editing and photography skills at various media outlets in the Midwest, the show blends insider stories with inspiration on where to eat and drink right now. Since joining Sauce in 2018, Lauren’s passion for St. Louis’ culinary scene has only deepened, fueling her pride in calling the city home and her drive to help you discover your next great meal.
29 Episodes
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On this week’s episode of The Sauce Podcast, host Lauren Healey sits down with Rick Lewis, owner of Grace Meat + Three in The Grove and Grace Chicken + Fish, for a conversation about hospitality, risk-taking, and growing a restaurant brand with purpose. Rick shares how his path from fine dining to Southern comfort food led him to help launch Nashville hot chicken in St. Louis before stepping out to build Grace from the ground up in 2017. What started as a leap of faith quickly grew — doublin...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce Podcast, host Lauren Healey sits down with LaTasha Smith, owner of Intertwine Wine Bar in Dutchtown, for a conversation about entrepreneurship, education, and building spaces where community thrives. LaTasha shares how a 10-year dream became reality — transforming a former residential space into a hidden, speakeasy-style wine bar where nearly everything inside was handcrafted by family. From a secret upstairs members’ lounge to a growing mocktail menu and ...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce Podcast On this week’s episode of The Sauce Podcast, host Lauren Healey sits down with Jared Williamson, Head Brewer at Schlafly Beer, to talk creativity, legacy, and what the future of beer really looks like. Jared shares how his path into brewing began far from traditional beer school — starting as an art and music major before working his way up from cleaning kegs to leading operations at Schlafly’s original taproom. He dives into how beers are develop...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce Podcast, host Lauren Healey sits down with Jackie Price, founder and owner of Fennel Cooking Studio in Midtown St. Louis. Jackie shares her journey from culinary school to teaching at Saint Louis University, and eventually taking the leap to open Fennel — a hands-on cooking class studio built around accessibility, education, and community. She talks about blending culinary arts with nutrition, creating a space where people feel confident in the kitchen, an...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce Podcast, host Lauren Healey sits down with Brandon Oker, the Executive Chef at Pastaria and one of Sauce Magazine’s Ones to Watch in the February issue. Brandon shares his path from growing up in a town of 300 people near Lake of the Ozarks to working his way from dishwasher to leading one of St. Louis’s most beloved pasta institutions. He talks about work ethic, mentorship, and why hospitality is something he feels is simply “in his bones.” In this episode...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce Podcast, host Lauren Healey sits down with Jason Tilford, chef/owner behind Session Taco and the newly opened Lapez Mod Mex in the Central West End. Jason walks through nearly two decades of building chef-driven concepts in St. Louis, starting with a tiny, made-from-scratch Tortilleria in the CWE, to opening Mission Taco Joint in 2012, and now evolving the brand back to its roots while launching Lapez as a more elevated, sit-down experience. In this episode...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce, host Lauren Healey is joined by Nathaniel Reid, chef and owner of Nathaniel Reid Bakery, one of St. Louis’ most celebrated bakeries. Nathaniel reflects on nearly 10 years in Kirkwood, three expansions, and the mindset that’s helped the bakery thrive through consistency, craft, and community support. In this episode: How Nathaniel went from aspiring scientist to award-winning pastry chefWinning a national pastry competition in New York and competing on the ...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce, host Lauren Healey sits down with Andrew Cisneros, chef-owner of Jalea Peruvian Bistro in St. Charles and Brasas on the Delmar Loop. Andrew shares how opening a restaurant during the pandemic became the unexpected launch point for Jalea, how Brasas came to life as a rotisserie-focused concept, and why Peruvian food traditions are at the heart of everything he cooks. In this episode: Opening Jalea Peruvian Bistro during the pandemic and why it felt like n...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce, host Lauren Healey is joined by Alec Schingel, executive chef and owner of Robin Restaurant in Maplewood. Alec shares his journey from growing up in the Midwest to cooking in St. Louis, Charleston, Belgium, and New York, before returning home to open Robin. He talks about how European neighborhood restaurants, Midwest heritage, and intentional hospitality all shape the restaurant’s identity. In this episode: Alec’s path through Vicia, Winslow’s Table, and ...
This week on The Sauce, Lauren sits down with Joe Edwards, the St. Louis icon behind many of the Delmar Loop’s most beloved landmarks, including Blueberry Hill, The Pageant, Delmar Hall, Pin-Up Bowl, The Moonrise Hotel, and Magic Mini Golf. Joe takes us back to 1972, when he opened Blueberry Hill during a time when the area had fallen on hard times, and explains how the Loop evolved from a 1930s shopping district into one of the most recognizable destinations in St. Louis, now named one of th...
This week on The Sauce, Lauren sits down with Mario Iaccarino, partner at Casa Don Alfonso, the Italian restaurant inside The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis, and an extension of his family’s legendary Don Alfonso 1890 in the Sorrento area of Italy. Mario shares the history behind the Don Alfonso legacy (four generations in hospitality), and why Casa Don Alfonso exists to preserve a disappearing world of Southern Italian traditions, especially the recipes passed down by grandmothers over centuries. I...
Every December, El Monstero turns The Pageant into a full-blown Pink Floyd universe, complete with soaring guitar solos, aerial performers, and a loyal St. Louis crowd that treats it like a holiday rite of passage. In this episode of The Sauce, Lauren sits down with John Pessoni and Bill Reiter of El Monstero to talk about what it takes to keep a tradition like this going for nearly three decades. In this week’s episode of The Sauce: How El Monstero grew from a tribute idea into a seven-night...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce, host Lauren Healey sits down with Doug Auer, co-founder of Third Degree Glass Factory and the developer behind the Delmar Maker District — one of St. Louis’ most creative, collaborative, and fast-growing corridors. Doug shares how Third Degree Glass began 23 years ago with a simple goal (a place to blow glass and teach workshops) and how it grew into the anchor of an entire makerspace ecosystem. He also talks through the evolution of the Maker District, th...
Ice cream that can make you quit your corporate job? Clementine’s founder Tamara Keefe did exactly that. In this episode of The Sauce podcast, Lauren sits down with Tamara to talk about how she walked away from a “dream” executive role, turned a lifelong ice cream hobby into Clementine’s Ice Cream, and built a St. Louis–born brand that now supports more than 200 local families. In this episode: Leaving corporate America to follow a passion for ice creamGrowing from one shop in Lafayette...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce, host Lauren Healey sits down with Arica Avery, the force behind STL Pot Chef, to talk about cannabis-infused dining, community events, and breaking stigma in St. Louis. Arica shares how college experiments with flavor and dosage grew into a full slate of curated experiences, from pop-up markets to chef competitions. She explains how private, 21+ events work in Missouri, why “low and slow” dosing matters, and how her team partners with chefs, venues, and sp...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce, host Lauren Healey is joined by Kevin Lemp, president of 4 Hands Brewing Co., to talk about 14 years of brewing, creativity, and community in St. Louis. Kevin shares how he turned a passion for small-batch beer into one of the city’s most beloved craft beverage brands — and how 4 Hands has evolved into a full-scale beverage company with spirits, cocktails, and soon, cannabis drinks. In this episode: How Kevin’s decade at Gallo Winery laid the groundwork fo...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce, host Lauren Healey sits down with owner Derek Deaver and director of operations Tara Byerley to talk about the growth of Three Kings Public House and its sister concept, Casa de Tres Reyes. Derek shares his path from early days at Mike Duffy’s to opening Deaver’s in Florissant, then launching Three Kings on the Delmar Loop in 2011 and expanding across the region. Tara explains how strong hiring, training, and culture have powered the group’s consistency an...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce, host Lauren Healey is joined by Todd Hotaling from Lodging Hospitality Management (LHM) to talk Westport Plaza, Union Station, holiday pop-ups, and what’s coming next for one of St. Louis’ largest hospitality groups. LHM at a glance: 20+ St. Louis hotels, 10 restaurants, and marquee attractions at Union Station. In this episode: Westport Plaza’s revival, from Westport Social and Three Sixty Westport to the new Basso plus a refreshed pedestrian plaza with f...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce, host Lauren Healey sits down with Josh Smith, designer turned restaurateur and owner of Neon Greens, the innovative Grove salad bar where lettuce travels from a hydroponic farm to the kitchen by conveyor belt. Josh shares how he turned a pandemic hobby into one of St. Louis’ most creative dining experiences, growing the equivalent of three acres of lettuce in just 800 square feet and reimagining what “farm-to-table” can look like. In this episode: How Neon...
On this week’s episode of The Sauce, host Lauren Healey is joined by Lia Holter — the award-winning baker and owner of Made. by Lia in Old Town Florissant, who just released her first cookbook. Lia shares how she turned a passion for baking with her mom and grandmother into a full-fledged career — from launching a small Facebook page in 2012 to winning TLC’s Next Great Baker and growing her brand into one of St. Louis’ most beloved bakeries. In this episode: How Lia’s family traditions and pa...
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