Local voices: Highlights from our favorite Seasoned conversations of 2023

海角换妻

Seasoned

Local voices: Highlights from our favorite Seasoned conversations of 2023

By Robyn Doyon-Aitken ,

Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Stephanie Stender, Katrice Claudio

Published January 3, 2024 at 6:37 PM EST

Rene茅 Touponce, Executive Chef of Oyster Club and The Port of Call in Mystic, Conn.

1 of 7 — 071323 - The Port of Call

Rene茅 Touponce is Executive Chef of Oyster Club and The Port of Call in Mystic, Conn. She's also a James Beard Award-finalist and was the 海角换妻 Restaurant Association's Chef of the Year in 2022.

Tony Spinelli / 海角换妻

2 of 7 — Griswold Inn

A mural in the wine tasting room at The Griswold Inn.

Tyler Russell / 海角换妻

3 of 7 — Seasoned, Shish Kebab House of Afghanistan in West Hartford

Siblings Aaron and Angela Sarwar operate the Shish Kebab House of Afghanistan, a family restaurant which has been in operation since 1988.

Tyler Russell / 海角换妻

4 of 7 — 230125_Markle_Ct_mm

Chef Damon "Daye" Sawyer's 29 Markle Court restaurant in Bridgeport leans heavily on visual art including 鈥淕race,鈥� by Will Corprew, of 80 by Design.

Mark Mirko / 海角换妻

5 of 7 — Chef Sherry Pocknett.jpg

James Beard Award-winner, Chef Sherry Pocknett in the traditional dress of the Mashpee Wampanoag Nation. Sherry is the Chef/Owner of Sly Fox Den Too in Charlestown, RI.

Eliesa Johnson / The Restaurant Project

6 of 7 — Seasoned New Britain Garden

Kristianna Smith, their child Rhozaria Saraceno-Smith and Smith's husband Mike Saraceno pictured in front of their home and garden.

Ayannah Brown / 海角换妻

7 of 7 — Shawn Joseph_Richard Myers_Park City Harvest_2_edit.jpg

Shawn Joseph (left) and Richard Myers are farmers and the co-founders of Park City Harvest.

Tagan Engel / 海角换妻

Before we go full-speed ahead on 2024, this week on Seasoned, we鈥檙e listening back to some of our favorite conversations of 2023. You'll hear moments from our episode celebrating local restaurants that have stood the test of time, an Indigenous chef who made James Beard Award history, chefs we鈥檙e cheering for (always!) and people supporting their communities through food and farming.

GUESTS:

Frank 鈥淲ayne鈥� Stone: Owner of the in Hamden, Conn. ()
Kelly Ciccone: Daughter of Wayne and owner of in Hamden, Conn. ()
Joan Paul: Co-owner of in Essex, Conn. ()
Aaron Sarwar: Manager of in West Hartford, Conn. ()
Angela Sarwar: Assistant Manager of Shish Kebab House of Afghanistan in West Hartford, Conn.
Damon 鈥淒aye鈥� Sawyer: Executive chef and co-owner of in Bridgeport, Conn.
Rene茅 Touponce: Executive Chef at and in Mystic, Conn. ()
: Indigenous educator and member of the Mohegan Tribe
Sherry Pocknett: James Beard Award-winning chef/owner of .
Kristianna Smith and Mike Saraceno: Curators and cultivators of a pick-what-you-need garden in New Britain, Conn. ()
Richard Myers: Horticulturist/farmer and co-founder of in Bridgeport, Conn. () ()
Shawn Joseph: Horticulturist/farmer and co-founder of Park City Harvest in Bridgeport, Conn.

Full episodes:

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Meg Dalton, Tagan Engel, Stephanie Stender, Katrice Claudio, Meg Fitzgerald, and Sabrina Herrera. (Emily Charash was a producer on the full episode of CT Restaurants that have stood the test of time)

Join the conversation on , , , and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org.

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