What do food, sports, and determination have in common? For Chef Dan Jacobs (DanDan, EsterEv, James Beard-recognized Top Chef alum) and Chicago pizza and media entrepreneur Billy Zureikat (Tripping Billy), they’re the foundation of friendship, creativity, and their new podcast Over the Line.

In this episode of The Perfect Bite podcast, host Sarah Perkins dives into Dan and Billy’s incredible stories:

• Dan’s journey from Door County line cook to co-owner of Milwaukee’s acclaimed restaurants DanDan and EsterEv
• Billy’s path from ESPN Radio producer to pizza entrepreneur and ambassador raising $75,000+ for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
• How both navigate life and entrepreneurship while living with chronic illnesses (Kennedy’s Disease and Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy)
• Why they launched Over the Line, blending food and sports conversations
• Their thoughts on media, community, resilience, and what it really means to pivot in life and business

This conversation is about more than food — it’s about finding purpose, reinventing yourself, and building community.

You can follow Dan Jacobs on social media @chefdanjacobs and learn more at www.chefdanjacobs.com.

You can follow Billy Zureikat on social media @therealbillyz and learn more at www.trippingbillyz.com.

Listen and subscribe to Over The Line on any of your favorite podcast platforms. You can follow the podcast on social media @otlwithdanandbilly.

If you’d like to learn more and support the causes discussed today, visit www.mda.org (Muscular Dystrophy Association) and www.kennedysdisease.org (Kennedy’s Disease).

Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if restaurants could understand every guest and their personal preferences across reservations, private dining, e-commerce, and events — all in one place? That’s the vision behind Panso, the 360 degree hospitality CRM platform founded by Britney Ziegler.

On this episode of The Perfect Bite podcast, I sit down with Britney to talk about her journey from working alongside celebrity chefs and food icons like David Burke, Carla Hall, and Molly Baz, to launching a startup that’s reshaping how restaurants build customer loyalty and future-proof their business.

Britney shares:

• How her early experiences in restaurants inspired her path into food and hospitality tech
• Lessons learned from working with celebrity chefs and food entrepreneurs
• Why she built Panso, a hospitality CRM that gives restaurants a true 360° view of their guests
• The challenges (and wins) of being a woman founder in the restaurant tech space
• How restaurants can boost customer retention, loyalty, and growth through smarter data and personalized experiences

Whether you’re a restaurant operator, food tech entrepreneur, or hospitality professional, you’ll walk away with insights on customer experience, innovation, and building a mission-driven business.

✨ Listen now to learn how Panso is helping restaurants thrive in 2025 and beyond.

You can learn more about Panso at www.hellopanso.com.

You can follow Panso at @hellopanso on Instagram.

You can follow Britney Ziegler on LinkedIn.

Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it really take to get a cookbook published today? I sat down with Sally Ekus, lead of and senior literary agent at The Ekus Group (now a division of JVNLA), to explore the intersection of food, publishing, and entrepreneurship.

Sally has spent over 16 years representing cookbook authors, chefs, food writers, and culinary thought leaders, helping them bring their unique stories and recipes to print. She shares how publishing has evolved from the days of Julia Child and Emeril Lagasse to the era of TikTok food creators, Substack writers, and BookTok trends.

• How cookbook publishing really works today—pitching, proposals, and what agents look for
• Why an author’s platform and audience matter as much as their expertise
• The role of Instagram, TikTok, newsletters, and Substack in discovering new food writers
• The shift from big book tours to digital discoverability
• Advice for chefs, restaurateurs, and food entrepreneurs who want to publish their first cookbook
• Why repurposing content (from newsletters to older podcast episodes) is key for longevity
• The importance of mentorship, patience, and persistence in publishing and entrepreneurship

Sally leads The Ekus Group, a boutique literary agency specializing in cookbooks and culinary talent. With a background in sociology, she brings a unique perspective to agenting—blending negotiation skills with deep care for authors’ stories. She also writes the popular Substack “Not So Secret Agent,” where she offers transparent insights into the publishing world.

• Follow Sally on Instagram: @sallyekus
• The Ekus Group / JVNLA: @ekusgroup, @jvnla
• Subscribe to Sally’s Substack: Not So Secret Agent

Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!

You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and visit our site www.theperfectbitepod.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.