On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Warren Rockmacher, known as the godfather of kosher barbecue. Rockmacher discovered competitive barbecue in 2013. He competes with his kosher barbecue team around the country and has started competitions of his own, including the Great American Kosher Barbecue Championship and Jewish Festival in Lake Worth, Florida.

“People love coming out for the food [but we also have] crafters, vendors,” he says. “We're celebrating being Jewish and that's really what [the event] is all about.” Their third annual event will be February 15, 2026.

Rockmacher believes there’s an art and craft to making barbecue.

“[The art] is taking something uniquely American … and being able to make it your own,” he explains. “[This applies to] something as simple as just grilling hamburgers and hot dogs or elevating that chicken [or] brisket.

“Try different things - you never know what you might like.”

The craft of barbecue is the fire management. You use different wood pellets, rather than charcoal or propane, to get a nice wood flavor. And you cook it low and slow.

“A good brisket is going to take you anywhere from 9 to 13, 14 hours, depending on how you do it,” he explains. “We start at night and they're done the next morning, and then you let them rest for a period of time and then go ahead and eat them.”

Warren Rockmacher shares his barbecue origin story, name drops some of his favorite kosher pitmasters - including Dani Goldblatt of Holy Smokes in LA - and goes through the different types of grills and smokers, along with what you can make in them. He also shares barbecue tips, the 411 on competitions, and recipes for two of his favorites: honey bourbon crack hot dogs and brisket, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

To learn more about the Great American Kosher Barbecue Competition, visit gakbbq.org. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling chats with Jessica Fishenfeld, actor, singer, and host of “Bagels and Banter.” “I wanted my own show where I can talk to people and talk about bagels,” says Fishenfeld. “And this [is the] organic creation that came about.”

After moving from New York to Los Angeles, Fishenfeld's quest for a good local bagel led her to create this fun, foodie series, available on YouTube. She reviews bagels, and brings friends along to enjoy the experience with her.

It all started when Fishenfeld and her husband decided to check out The Bagel Factory in Redondo Beach for Valentine’s Day 2024. Fishenfeld filmed the experience

“He thinks it was his idea, I think it was my idea,” she says. Fishenfeld created a video review. It’s what got the ball … er bagel … rolling. .

As a fan of Seinfeld's “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” - and a people-person who loves hosting - Fishenfeld found a great topic, “Bagels and Banter,” on the perfect stage!

“Life is like an everything bagel,” she says. “Roll that dough into everything … you pick up little things from here and there … some things will fall off and the things that are meant to be will stick to that dough, just like the things that are meant to be will stick with your life.”

She adds, “There's little flavors from all different places, and the mixing together of them creates not only a great bagel, but a great life.”

Jessica Fishenfeld talks about her journey from bagel lover to show host, her bagel rating system, the ultimate bagel reheating hack, and bagel facts. She also shares food memories and her mom’s award-winning banana bread recipe, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Learn more at JessicaFishenfeld.com, subscribe to @bagelsandbanter on YouTube and follow @jecafish and @bagelqueenjess on Instagram.

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Deb recently won best Anchor/Host, Audio, at the LA Press Club's SoCal Journalism Awards for Taste Buds: https://jewishjournal.com/community/382367/jewish-journal-wins-nine-la-press-club-socal-journalism-awards-from-18-total-nominations/ For more, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Byron Lazaroff Puck, president of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group. This legacy chef, the second son of chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck and designer Barbara Lazaroff, grew up in a flurry of cooking, art and hospitality.

“There’s a Picasso quote that I love, which is, “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist,’ and that always spoke to me,” Puck says. “To me that means honoring and respecting tradition, the rules, the things that people have worked so hard on to create in the past, and … then also being bold and creative and trying to innovate on top of that.”

Puck loved art as a kid and wanted to be a painter, but quickly realized that was not meant to be. When his father put him to work at age 12, washing dishes at Spago Beverly Hills, he was amazed, seeing the plates come together and go out on the line.

“I quickly realized, ‘If I'm clearly terrible at painting on canvas, maybe I can paint on plates;’” he shares.

Once that love of food and hospitality was ignited, Puck never looked back.

“It's not just about serving great food [and] beverages with detail oriented service, it's about crafting a memory for a person that they can always look back on, whether it’s a 25th or 30th or 50th birthday, an anniversary, a college graduation or a promotion at a job [or] just a regular Tuesday night,” he says. “Every single person that is gracious enough to adorn one of our dining rooms, we want to treat with the utmost respect and integrity.”

Byron Lazaroff Puck shares his cooking journey and food memories, creative cooking and plating tips, the value of hospitality, and thoughts on the future of food. He also talks about his grandmother’s latkes and his recipe for Passover short ribs, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Follow @ByronPuck’s food adventures on Instagram and check out WolfgangPuck.com.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.