Menu Talk

From first-time restaurateur to hospitality empire builder, Jeremy Sasson's journey is a masterclass in passion-driven entrepreneurship. Despite zero restaurant experience, he opened Townhouse Birmingham in 2011, fueled by a childhood spent dining out and a deep love for the hospitality experience. Today, his Heirloom Hospitality Group operates six thriving concepts across Michigan and Nashville, including the acclaimed steakhouse Prime + Proper and Italian-California hotspot Mad Nice.In this episode, Sasson shares his unconventional path into the restaurant world, his philosophy on creating genuine connection and community through food, and why Detroit has emerged as one of America's most exciting dining destinations. Plus, get the inside scoop on Heiress, his design-forward Italian concept launching soon at Somerset Collection.Whether you're a restaurant professional, aspiring entrepreneur, or simply love great food and hospitality, this conversation offers invaluable insights into building a restaurant group that prioritizes experience above all else.Subscribe on Apple Podcasts.Subscribe on Spotify.Menu Talk is a collaboration between Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. You can subscribe to it wherever you listen to podcasts.

Our guest on this week’s Menu Talk is Ahu Hettema, chef-owner of Istanbul Hawai’i restaurant in Honolulu. Chef Hettema came to California to study art and psychology but was unable to return to her homeland of Turkey because of a string of immigration snafus. She visited Hawaii and fell in love with the culture and climate, which reminded her of Southeast Turkey.Chef Ahu Hettema and her mother run the kitchen at Istanbul Hawai'i. Cooking was a way to ease her homesickness and connect with people, and she began making Turkish food to sell at local farmers markets, alongside her mother who moved to the U.S. Soon, a catering business was born and eventually the mother-daughter team opened Istanbul Hawai’i—the only Turkish restaurant in the Islands.The restaurant’s seasonal menu reflects the food of the Ottoman Empire, modernized with chef Hettema’s artistic touches. She works with local farmers to source ingredients and infuse the cuisine with Hawaiian spirit. A shareable Sultan’s Table menu offers a spread that includes winter salata, mercimek soup, mezze spread, sourdough pide, safran pilav, pirzolas, lamb tenderloin sis, wagyu ribeye sis, Jidori chicken sis, baba’s köfte, cultured yogurt tzatziki and seasonal vegetables. At $265, there’s plenty of food for three or four diners to share. Istanbul Hawai’i has built a large following among locals and tourists for its warm hospitality and unique cuisine. Listen as Hettema shares her culinary journey and passion for food, family and culture.

Dozens of menu trend forecasts came in towards the end of 2025 from culinary and restaurant industry experts. Included in that pile were the top trends from market researcher Technomic, the sister company of Restaurant Business and Nation’s Restaurant News. Lizzy Freier, senior director of menu research & insights at Technomic, has her finger directly on the pulse of chefs and menu developers, tracking the latest in flavor, R&D and global cuisines. During the podcast, she zeroes in on the predictions she and her team made last fall to see how they’re panning out about a month into 2026. We talk about protein, GLP-1 diets, emerging flavors, limited-time offers, beverage innovation and more. Listen to find out what else is on Technomic’s radar and discover the trends that menu expert Freier finds most intriguing.

Kevin Lee grew up in a Korean-American family in Oklahoma City, a place not known as a dining destination 20 years ago. There were the usual chains, Korean mom-and-pops and some chef-driven restaurants, but few if any places that focused on global cuisines. Lee majored in hospitality management at UNLV, and while there, he worked part-time in a restaurant and fell in love with cooking. That changed the trajectory of his career. With Las Vegas chef Joon Choi as a mentor, Lee immersed himself in Japanese cooking. Then at age 21, the luck of being in the right place at the right time landed him the job of executive chef at a Mandalay Bay hotel restaurant. Las Vegas burnout pushed Lee to return to Oklahoma City, where he worked in various restaurant kitchens before opening his own place—Birdie’s, a Korean fried chicken concept. He wanted a restaurant where families could take their kids and have a great time, but when you’re selling $10 chicken baskets and working 24/7, the revenue just didn’t make sense, he said. Nevertheless, Birdie’s was super-popular and Lee got a call to compete on a Food Network show called “Tournament of Champions.” He had a few big wins, and that gave him the courage and drive to change course again. He converted Birdie’s into a modern Korean-American steakhouse, where Lee feels he is finally cooking food close to his heart. Maht, which just opened in late 2025, is a modern American steakhouse with Korean influences. Two menu items that reflect this direction are a Caesar salad made with fish sauce instead of anchovies and chili crisp instead of croutons, and a Korean crab cake with sea urchin, Fresno chilies and scallions finished with soy-caramel sauce.Lee explains how several forces are converging to bring more visitors to Oklahoma City and chefs are gaining the confidence to try new things and open successful restaurants. He is also a member of Kikkoman's Kitchen Cabinet where he innovates recipes that reflect his take on Korean cuisine. Listen as he talks about his next ventures on TV and in the kitchen, and why he thinks Oklahoma City is poised to become a sought-after destination on the culinary map.

To earn her own way through theater school in Philadelphia, Tai Ricci bussed tables at one of Stephen Starr’s restaurants. With her naturally outgoing personality and drive, she moved up the ranks to become a high-earning server and realized the restaurant business was her true calling.That calling took her to LA and eventually San Francisco, landing at one of Michael Mina’s restaurants and meeting up with Ryan Cole and Chef Jason Halverson. Over lunch one day, the three came up with a plan to open their first restaurant. Twelve years later, the partners lead Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group in the San Francisco area and operate five diverse independent restaurants that have become neighborhood favorites.Ricci oversees events and people operations for the group, developing a vibrant team culture that fosters growth and creates a workplace where the next generation of hospitality professionals can thrive. But she also has a keen sense of what diners are seeking in restaurants today, and the group’s concepts including Trestle, MAMA Oakland and The Vault Steakhouse deliver on that with their menus, ambience and service.Listen as Ricci shares how her love for hospitality has shaped Hi Neighbor’s restaurants into dining destinations admired by guests and team members alike.