molly@mavrocreative.com

What is food? It fuels us, drives us, and brings us together. Tanya’s Table host Tanya Holland is no stranger to this magic of cooking and feeding; the author, public speaker, executive chef and owner of Oakland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen has over twenty years experience under her belt—her apron, that is! 

Holland’s cooking specialty and passion is soul food, influenced both by traditional southern cuisine and her French training at La Varenne École De Cuisine. Holland has built her skills over the years, traveling from New York City, to France, to Massachusetts, and to her current homebase of California. She has trained under numerous experts such as Bobby Flay, served as president of the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier San Francisco chapter, and even received the honor of having the date June 5th be named “Tanya Holland Day” in Oakland, CA in recognition of her work for the community. You may also recognize Holland from season 15 on Bravo’s Top Chef, or from Food Network’s Melting Pot. 

While Holland has pioneered numerous projects—including the release of her latest cookbook, Brown Sugar Kitchen: Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oakland—the release of her podcast Tanya’s Table brings her seasoned skills and insight on the food-related topics directly to listeners’ ears. Each forty-five minute episode welcomes listeners to learn about food, but also about the nature of human life itself. Listen as Holland discusses travel, social awareness, self-help, work/life balance, challenges and triumphs, and more. 

Holland also brings on a variety of guests, including musical artist Questlove, Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson, comedian and actress Aisha Tyler, and many more. Each episode delves into each guest’s personal take on food, design, or style. Many guests have direct connections to the food industry, whether it be cooking experience, food activism, restaurant founding, or merely being culinary enthusiasts. Others, however, are directors, authors, and even former world series champions! The common denominator? Every guest has a penchant for creative expression and storytelling. Listen as Tanya Holland speaks to these individuals, entertaining and educating listeners with delightful conversation.

Tanya’s Table offers perspectives on food and culture that no doubt rarely cross listeners’ minds, shedding light on the political, artistic, and social implications of food. Can food be gendered? How can it be therapeutic? How has the industry changed with the rise of a pandemic? With the insight of her numerous guests, Tanya Holland answers all of these questions. So, pull up a chair, and join us at Tanya’s Table, where there’s always great food and great conversation!

In this episode of Greek God of Hops, Kevin Youkilis and Adam Sandler discuss their pasts and how their passions came to be in their respective fields. Their paths intertwined when Youkilis first met Sandler on a movie set through a friend. Sandler admired Youkilis during his stint on the Boston Red Sox and would continue to root for him despite playing for the rival New York Yankees.

Throughout the podcast, Youkilis and Sandler talk about their experience as fans of baseball and sports in general. As a former MLB baseball player, Youkilis has dedicated much of his life to playing baseball and training to become the best player he could be. He spent nine years in the MLB (three time all-star) and to this day finds watching and learning about his sport exciting and fascinating. His transition from a player to a fan has given him a greater respect for the announcing of the game as well as insight on how players might react to certain situations. Even some of the most adamant fans like Sandler have less of a natural inclination for knowing the games’ ins and outs like Youkilis. Youkilis describes his sense of the game similarly to Tony Romo (former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys), and has garnered a reputation for knowing what play the offense will call prior to the snap of the ball. It seems as if the talent transcends to many of the game’s students; Youkilis states that he can sometime guess how the batter will hit the ball before it has been hit which goes to show just how much practice it takes to become a professional athlete.

From a fanatical perspective, Sandler and Youkilis have similar interests in sports and music throughout the podcast. Sandler is an avid baseball fan but loves going to events regardless of the sport. Youkilis asks Sandler if his celebrity status has hindered his ability to go out and enjoy watching the games. Sandler replies, “I still get excited for every game and love it. Everytime I get to go it makes the day better.” The impact of sports in both Youkilis and Sandler’s lives withstood the challenges and difficulties of the public’s interest in their lives. Throughout the podcast, their appreciation for sports seems to connect them back to their younger days, summoning up both nostalgia and a shared feeling of home. 

The podcast continues, diving into Sandler’s interest in music. His father was a talented acoustic guitarist which led Sandler to learn how to play at a young age. At 12 years old, Sandler took guitar lessons and became a talented musician in his own right. Sandler reveals a not-so-widely-known fact about himself: he wrote an Album called “What’s Your Name” in 1997. His album explores his upbeat style of play and reggae influences.

Adam Sandler’s guest appearance on Greek God of Hops sheds light on the nature of sports as being a unifying factor between people—especially for Sandler and Youkilis. As a fellow Jewish icon in his respective industry, Sandler had plenty of respect for Youkilis regardless of what team he played for. Sandler told Youkilis that despite fellow Yankee fans chastising his unorthodox batting stance, he “loved it and thought it was cool and being Jewish made him love everything about him.”  Youkilis and Sandler’s chemistry flourishes throughout the course of the podcast. Sandler and Youkilis seamlessly speak regarding many of their interests (those that are predictable and those that are not),  both bringing enthusiasm and knowledge on the worlds of sports and music.