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Food Karma: Tell us more about yourself and your culinary career!

Chef Emily Hersh: Sure! My name is Emily Hersh. I’m from Texas, born and raised in San Antonio. I have been a plant-based chef for four and a half years, so I’m still a baby in the industry.

I was a life-long dancer growing up, got my undergrad in kinesiology, being in dance teams and interacting with other dancers — and kinda didn’t know what to do with my career. Through that experience, I ended up developing a really negative relationship with food. And the way I healed from that was actually learning how to cook, and loving how to cook, specifically plant-based food. 

FK: Why did you decide to shift your diet?

EH: When I was a dancer and I developed an eating disorder, I was really just searching for one, a normal way to eat, and two, a creative outlet, because dance was such a creative outlet for me — it’s my whole personality. So when I quit dancing, I was really searching for something to feel like myself again. 

And I had a vegan roommate at the time who cooked all the time. I just watched her and saw her love for food, so I was like “Wow! Maybe if I just start cooking and eating plant-based, I will feel like myself again.” And after that, the lifestyle just stuck — I felt like I was eating like a normal person, I wasn’t shaming myself for food, and I was so much more passionate about cooking.

Looking back, I thought that I was really fortunate to have done this healing subconsciously through food. That’s why I want to help others to talk about mental health and their struggles over food, and be able to help them through food. 

FK: And how have you been doing that?

EH: During the pandemic, I moved home to Texas and worked my way through different categories of the culinary world: recipe development with my gluten-free almond flour mix, food media with my YouTube channel where I invite people to cook plant-based food for them while we talk mental health, and I was invited to compete in Hell’s Kitchen (and got top seven!).

But more on my YouTube series, which is actually now on hold because restaurant life is crazy. It’s called “The Self-Help Chef” and it combines experts in different fields like therapists, nutritionists and even Run-D.M.C, and I’ll facilitate the conversations through cooking plant-based recipes using ingredients we both love. Some of the past episodes are “Hot Noodle Soup and Therapy” or “Being Confident in Your Passion and Veggie Burger.” 

It’s really fun to cook for people and hear their advice because I’m no expert on therapy or anything like that, but it’s great to listen to and spread their stories. Our founder Kerry Fitzmaurice was actually on the show once and that’s where we developed our Impossible Cut 1.0.

FK: And was that also how you guys decided to start Pure Grit?

EH: Actually, while I was in Texas, Kerry found me through Instagram and she reached out saying “Hey! I’ve had this idea for vegan BBQ for three years now, and we’re thinking of opening a restaurant.” They were already hitting it off with sauces and rubs, and I was looking to move back to New York, so why not? Texas BBQ and vegan BBQ — all things that I love. 

So we partnered up and did a couple of pop-ups in Queens and Brooklyn. Both of them sold out so we know that we had a good concept and good food. I developed the menu for the next couple months using inspiration from Texas and what my dad loved to grill, and just kinda vegified it. 

It’s basically taking the delicious dishes that I grew up with and making them more welcoming for everybody. And that’s basically our goal for this restaurant — making good food that happens to be vegan and not shying away anyone. 

The Pure Grit BBQ team at Pig Beach Queens. (Photo Courtesy by Emily Hersh)

FK: Tell us more about the restaurant and your menu.

EH: Yeah! So we just went through a menu transition. We’ve decided to trim down our menu and make it more fast-casual because it might look a bit intimidating to people who are not plant-based. 

Our bites are fun food that you can share: our cashew queso — inspired by Texas queso with jalapenos and tomatoes mixed in, our fried tofu bites — fried tempura-battered tofu, our mac and cheese — which took a long time to find the right cheese for. We also have great salads and desserts, with classic sides.

Things that we are known for are our smoked main plates. We smoke each thing for about an hour, then we toss them into BBQ sauce. For our Impossible Cut, which is our vegan brisket, we mix Impossible ground beef, lentils and onions, our rub and sauce, then we form it into a loaf and smoke it. And we actually cover it in BBQ sauce and burn it to give it an amazing crust, before re-hydrating it so it slices like brisket. The mushroom, jackfruit, tofu — all smoked for an hour — are also really yummy.

The sandwiches that we’re keeping on our menu are our fried chicken and waffle sandwich, served open-faced on a waffle with hand-breaded chicken and BBQ ranches or hot maple butter. We’re also doing a sandwich on a bun coming soon, which is a bit more casual, and we’re still doing our Impossible queso burger with our secret sauce. 

All of these are awesome, and they are filling but they don’t weigh you down. My sister came in one day, and she’s a big meat-eater. She ate the fried chicken sandwich and she said “I’m full, but I feel like I could run, and it also feels good not to eat a chicken today.”

FK: And how have other customers reacted to the concept and the food?

EH: The reactions have been mixed but I would say it’s mostly positive though. There are a lot of open-minded people in New York and even the meat-eaters would come in and check out what this is. A guy came in the other day and tried our sample platter — which we usually give people when they are on the fence — and loved it!

I think what we still struggle with is how people think of “vegan” as a bad word. We don’t have a lot of messaging about that around here. People are very set in their ways, but like I said, our goal for the restaurant is not to make vegan food, but to make good food that happens to be vegan. 

FK: What about among the BBQ community?

EH: Very positive actually! We did a couple of events at Pig Beach in Queens and there was a blogger called NYCBarbecue, and he’s actually the one who really pushed for us to be successful. That’s really surprising because the people who are really supportive of us are the people who are in the BBQ community.

There are still people that love BBQ and aren’t really pitmasters that are still hesitant, because they think BBQ should be one way, but there’s Korean BBQ, Brazilian BBQ — there’s BBQ everywhere and so many ways to do it. It’s something that people don’t think a lot about but we realized that BBQ is just a word for a lot of things and it shouldn’t be so cut off. It should be inclusive because BBQ is about community and good food, and that’s what we have to offer to you all.

Pure Grit and Prairie Fresh in Pig Beach Queens. (Photo Courtesy by Emily Hersh)

FK: Are you excited to meet all these people again at Pig Island?

EH: I’m so excited! It was such a fun experience at Pig Beach so I’m sure Pig Island is gonna be amazing as well. To see pitmasters in their fields and their elements is so inspiring, and to see others who are also passionate about food is something that Pure Grit loves.

FK: And do you have any specific goal for this year?

EH: I just want to make people happy with food. That’s my goal everyday — to be able to serve excellence, community and happiness all in one bite!

Try Pure Grit BBQ and meet chef Emily this Saturday at Pig Island, or support her at her restaurant and through social media platforms. Pure Grit also offers a student discount to Baruch students and they will be at VeganDale in Randall Island this September 24. Come by and try more great food that also happens to be vegan!

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Chef Jesse at Brisket King 2022 with his signature brisket and apron.
(Photo by Patty Brown)

Food Karma: How has your family influenced your culinary path?

Chef Jesse Jones: My inspiration came from my grandmother in the beginning because I stayed with her when I was four years old. And being four years old, I was in love with BBQ. Every time I go down south with my sister, we would hit the BBQ joint where two ladies with the old country hats would bring us the best chopped BBQ and big pieces of white bread. And that has always been stuck in my head. I also touched on my aunts and my family a bit in the book, and even as I got older now they still inspire me so much. We had an aunt who was the pork queen, and what she did with pork was unbelievable, you know. And I made a great potato salad because of them.

FK: Did you also learn your storytelling skills from your aunts?

JJ: Yep! My aunt Bull was a master storyteller, she would gather people in a circle and just talk for days. When I was young, I went over my mouth. I thought that if I stood up and talked to someone, I would like, die. But the differences between my stories and hers are that mine came from redemption, pain, suicide, losing everything, yet my wife’s still with me and my family stays together. And people feel it, you know, when they come and when they taste the food, they really feel it. And so my book was for more people to know these stories and then see it through my dishes.  

FK: Can people still get the book now?

JJ: Yeah, of course! “Pow! My Life in 40 Feasts” – 240 pages of recipes that are dear to my heart. They all mean so much to me because they are from my family, from chefs that I worked for, and it just tells my story about dreaming big and never giving up, even when I lost my house, my restaurant and really fell to the bottom. It’s available on Amazon, or on my website. I have books available if people want autographed copies also.

FK: That sounds amazing! And are you celebrating the book turning five this year?

JJ: Yeah I’m doing an event on July 31, and I’m teaming up with the Montclair Brewery using their Juneteenth special craft beer with hibiscus red hop. That’s gonna go with my fried chicken and sweet potato waffle. For $30 you get a signed copy, a beer and the sweet potato waffle and fried chicken.

FK: Sounds like an awesome deal!

JJ: Yeah! And if you love beer it’s gonna be a great microbrew fest for you. For this book, I just want young chefs to feel inspired and continue to work hard. My whole book is about being of color in this business, but with a positive note and solidarity in mind.

FK: Is it also an obstacle in the BBQ world being of color?

JJ: I think most Black chefs have had their ups and downs and adversities that they had to deal with in the industry. Growing up I didn’t want to be Black, ‘cause I always thought about why we had to go through so much, why we had to deal with all these problems. But when I get a little older, I’m happy to be Black and come back to support the community and maybe make one fewer kid feel that way. So I don’t really think about it when people say mean things and just go on with my own stuff. I think of them with a been-there-done-that mindset, because people were calling me all sorts of names when I was still in the kitchen.

FK: And how has your culinary training influenced your BBQing?

JJ: Over the years as a chef, I dibble and dabble in BBQ-ing quite a bit. Most chefs can smoke and we had to when we were in culinary school, but the pitmasters didn’t go to school but traveled around the country and became much more creative. But being a chef helped me a lot with developing and fixing my recipes. The techniques also come in handy when I need to marinade or brine.

But the most important part of my time in the kitchen for BBQ-ing was when I was a cleanup guy and the chefs wouldn’t let me touch their meat. That’s when I know I gotta teach myself, keep learning on my own and just keep on improving. It was the same with the pitmasters down South, I had all these questions for them but they would never tell me. But I’m gonna keep learning and figure things out myself, adding more of my inventions, just like my grandmother always taught me.

FK: So BBQ-ing is also an outlet for your creativity?

JJ: Yeah for sure! Like I did strudel last Pig Island and I got the technique award because I was doing my own French puff pastry, all fresh and homemade. I worked with master chefs and pastry chefs as apprentices, and now I’m here to show you all that I’ve learned.

Chef Jesse greeting our guests at Rib King NYC 2022 with a big smile and lots of stories.

FK: Are you excited to bring all these stories to Pig Island this September?

JJ: Yes, they always want to hear the stories, and they come up early and talk to me while I get set up. They’ll be like “Yo chef Jesse!” and I’ll be like “Heyyy!” So I’ll definitely be bringing the stories along to make their money worth, and hopefully touch some more people with my stories.

While Pig Island is a month away on September 10, you can catch up with chef Jesse by reading through his book “Pow! My Life in 40 Feasts,” which is celebrating its fifth year of publishing, or by following him on various social media platforms and reading our previous interview with the chef on his background and writing. 

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You can find Zabb Pu Tawn at 1584 First Avenue in New York City. They were both at our Brisket King and Rib King event. 

Zabb Pu Tawn at Rib King 2022 with their Innovation Award.

Food Karma: Can you tell us more about your culinary background?

Chef Tony: I learned cooking from my parents. I started from cooking for friends and family, and his friends and family members loved my cooking. So I decided to open a restaurant in Thailand and we got very good responses from the customers. Later on, I decided to do something bigger, a catering service right here in Thailand. 

FK: When did you come to New York City?

CT: I had a chance to come here from Thailand ten years ago. And so I went and worked for multiple Thai restaurants to get more experience. And it was in 2015, when I was working for Zabb Elee in Queens that I won my Michelin star. Then I partnered up with Chanchai “Charles” Khampinchai right here to open up Zabb Pu Tawn in 2016. I love cooking and I prefer to focus more on the cooking to serve customers the most authentic Ishan and Northern Thai food. 

Chanchai “Charles” Khampinchai: Anything that he serves his family, he serves his diners, with heart.

Tachchapak Rittaprom (Chef Tony’s Daughter): But so much less spicy!

FK: Can you tell us more about Northern Thai food?

CT: A famous dish from Northern regions is larb, which is ground pork with marinade with larb powder, which we imported from Thailand, along with other spices like chilies and peppers, and a special Thai spice called “macquet” to make it smell really good. And then there’s also the Hung Lay ribs which won the Most Innovative award at Rib King, which use ginger, tamarind juice and cumin powder all mixed together. I marinade Hung Lay paste with pork ribs overnight and slow-cook the next day for a few hours to make the ribs tender.

FK: What about Isan food?

CT: For Isan, there’s Laab Gai, which is a minced chicken salad, with chili powder, roasted rice powder, lime juice, fish sauce, cilantro and scallion, and mint leaves as well. If you like it spicier, we can add more chili powder. And then there is the Tom Zabb spare rib soup, with well-done pork ribs, chili, fish sauce, roasted rice powder, lime juice and garnished with cilantro and scallion also. 

I also want to talk about Pad Thai, which is perhaps the most popular Thai food out there. I made the sauce for it from fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind juice all mixed well together. This is authentic Thai, because other Thai restaurants would add vinegar, which is far too sour. 

FK: Is cooking with rib and brisket a big part of Thai cooking?

CT: Yes! We grill a lot of ribs for Brisket King and Rib King, which is a big part of Thai cuisine. I have been BBQ-ing since I was in Thailand so I’m used to dealing with ingredients like these.

FK: Are there specific techniques and differences to BBQ-ing the Thai way?

CT: The most important thing to me when grilling is the marinade. I usually marinade the beef overnight to make it more tender, and serve it with my special tamarind-based sauce to customers. In terms of techniques, I use high flame to make the outside more crispy while keeping the inside tender, and I flip the meat often to make sure it’s not burned.

FK: Have you been to other events like Rib King and Brisket King?

CT: These were our firsts.

FK: And how did you feel being a part of them?

CT: I was really happy when I got the invitation. I had so much fun there and I loved meeting all the customers in person, and they loved my cooking also!

CK: There was a long line of people waiting for his ribs!

FK: At Brisket King, you had a dish with an interesting backstory called “Crying Tiger Ribs.” Can you tell us more about the story and if you have any other similar backstory for your dishes?

CT: So a hunter went into the woods, and he saw a cow with a tiger bite. He then took the beef from the cow and he grilled it on an open flame, with delicious fat dripping down onto the fire. That is the tears that we were talking about. But the tiger was also crying because he couldn’t eat the yummy beef that the hunter was having right in front of his eyes.

FK: Such an awesome origin story! And how was winning the Most Innovative award at Rib King?

CT: I’m definitely very happy and proud of what I’ve done. I’m also very happy with customers’ response to my cooking-with-heart approach.

FK: In the future, do you plan to expand the menu and dive deeper into BBQ-ing?

CT: We have already been adding to our menu here at Zabb Pu Tawn, and we will be sure to accept any invites to similar events in the near future.

FK: Do you have anything else to share with our readers?

CT: That’s all for now, but I will be off to make Crying Tiger ribs for you right now!

As you might expect, I had a really good meal at Zabb Pu Tawn, with Crying Tiger ribs, chicken feet spicy soup and house-made sticky rice, all cooked by Chef Tony. If you want the delicious food without having to write a whole article, support Zabb Pu Tawn here and follow their actions on social media platforms.

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