Having combined their considerable culinary talents to create two of New Jersey's finest eateries, restaurant partners Francis Schott and Mark Pascal are now planning to serve up a reprise of their popular 'Restaurant Guys' podcast.
But this new item on the menu of the famed restaurateurs, Irish American Schott assures his foodie fans, is more than a reheating of their much-heralded and much-loved previous podcast which saw its first release back in 2013.
"We love nostalgia and we do have some memorable interviews in our archives — think Anthony Bourdain," says veteran mixologist Schott, "but we have also been building up some show-stopping new interviews with some of the hottest names in the world of hospitality - think Jack McGarry of the Dead Rabbit.
"The show is really great, with nationally important guests. It will be a combination of new shows and vintage shows from the archives. We're going to relaunch on July 20 by dropping five of each and then we will add a new and a vintage show every week."
CONFIDENTIAL, NOT SO MUCH: Mark Pascal and Francis Schott in the kitchen of Catherine Lombardi
A frequent visitor to Ireland and a Belfast International Ambassador Medal recipient, Schott acknowledges a bias towards the best of Irish cuisine in the podcast. "But when it comes to food and drink, we spotlight the very best not just in the US but across the globe. It's been our great privilege to have some of the most famed winemakers from across the nation not just on our podcasts but in our restaurants. "
As proprietors of the multi-award winning Catherine Lombardi restaurant and Stage Left Steak in New Brunswick, NJ, Schott says both he and Pascal have an unrivalled insight into both the traditions and trends in American cuisine. "They inform our menu every night but they also inform the Restaurant Guys podcast - we promise listeners a serving to remember with every episode."
Big Night: Dinner and a Movie with Stanley Tucci! & Kickoff: Summer Saturdays in The City Program! - https://t.co/8iMThGsjvA pic.twitter.com/zFuLDa1XiP
— Francis Schott (@FrancisSchott) June 17, 2022
Among the celebrity chefs getting the Restaurant Guys treatment will be legendary chef (and fine artist) Jacques Pépin and cocktail diva Julie Reiner.
You can find the Restaurant Guys podcast on all main platforms including Spotify and iTunes and you can keep informed of upcoming episodes on their website.