This week on The More You Know, The Better It Tastes, we’re joined by Chef Anaiya from Biga on the Banks, one of San Antonio’s most respected kitchens.

As a chef at Biga, Anaiya is part of a team known for discipline, technique, and consistency—values that became even more important when she stepped into the national spotlight as a contestant on Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen.

In this episode, we talk about her journey in professional kitchens, what it was like representing San Antonio on one of the most intense culinary competitions on television, and how that experience continues to shape her approach to food, leadership, and growth as a chef. It’s a grounded, insightful conversation about learning under pressure and carrying those lessons back home.

Jen and Matt Zdeb, the owners of The Baked Bird in San Antonio, share how they grew from a popular food truck into a successful brick-and-mortar restaurant. In this episode, we talk about the risks of making the leap, building a loyal customer base, and what it really takes to run an independent restaurant in San Antonio’s competitive food scene. This conversation is packed with real-world insight for food truck owners, restaurateurs, and anyone interested in restaurant entrepreneurship.

Take a walk through Pearl San Antonio with the people who live and breathe it every day. In this episode of The More You Know, The Better It Tastes, hosts Alan Williams and Susie LaFredo sit down with Chef Jeff Balfour, Co-Founder and Executive Chef of the Southerleigh group of restaurants, and Michael Joergensen, VP of Marketing for Pearl, to talk Michelin recognition, approachable fine dining, and why Pearl has become one of Texas’ most important culinary destinations.