And Hunter, we're turning this bus now from DC to Chicago, right? [laughs] Zubair Mohajer and Rishi Kumar.

So Zubair and Rishi are the co-chefs behind Mira, which is this incredible mashup of Mexico and India.

And this is very meta right now because I'm here in my office, and, uh, I'm looking at the proofs for the October issue.

And we treat all of our Best New Chefs equally, but they made the cover because of the joy they convey, um, the immediacy of this photography, uh, from Alex Lau.

And Alex has shot the, the entire class of Best New Chefs, um, this year, and he's, he's contributed to this franchise for a long time.

We love this photo.

We love this duo.

What is your hope for the future of Best New Chefs and Restaurant of the Year or Best New Restaurants or however it is that this happens throughout the years?

I mean, the

synergy is amazing.

Well, the magazine is still the anchor and the heart of the brand today.

This event is how we bring the brand to life with people, and both are hedges against AI.

They're things that AI cannot replicate.

Not only is the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen the flagship event of Food & Wine, but it's the event at People Inc., our parent company, that has given us permission to grow the events business in a big way.

And this is the event that's given us the purpose to start the Food and Wine Classic in Charleston.

Well,

[chuckles]

It's, it's a lot of pressure, but it's f- it's beautiful, and it's fun, and, you know, you're honoring people's excellence and, um, how dynamic they are, and you're honoring their talent.

So, you know, that, that, that doesn't feel like a lot of pressure.

Um, of course you wanna get it right.

You wanna honor people doing things the right way.

But, you know, ultimately, you know, once you're, you're honoring these folks for something they've earned and, and sharing this platform from Food & Wine with them, um, then you're also building relationships.

You know, we talk a lot about, um, it's not just about an award.

Um, so, um, what's next for you?

What, thinking about that time and, and now what role do you think food media, how has that evolved and changed?

Well, I mean, there's been an ebb and flow, um, there's been peaks and valleys in the industry for sure.

I mean, I, I came up with a time, so I got into food media full-time in 08, you know, right as the bottom was falling out of media or like advertising was, was going way down.

A lot of people were losing their jobs.

The economy was, you know, we were going into a recession.

Right.

And that's all I knew.

Why do you, how do you think, what do you, what's your secret sauce?