Salt Lick with David McMillan & Derek Dammann

After more than 35 years in journalism, Marie-Claude Lortie joins David and Derek for a conversation about the food and media businesses, and the pleasure of learning to slow down.
The former La Presse restaurant critic, columnist and editor reflects on restaurant reviewing before Instagram, the changing power of food media, and why a good restaurant is not only about what is on the plate.
Now recovering and taking life at a slower pace, Lortie also talks about surviving cancer, and revisits some of her core issues: food waste, eating terroir or hyperlocal, and Québec's inefficient liquor monopoly.
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Salt Lick is a TNKR Media original production.

One of Canada's most outspoken experts on food and agribusiness joins David and Derek for a blunt, sometimes shocking conversation about how too much supply management has driven up grocery prices.
The Food Professor, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois of McGill and Dalhousie universities, explains why some sectors function better than others, why dairy remains a particular flashpoint, and why debates about affordability often ignore deeper structural problems. With talk of tariffs, butter, eggs, chicken and beef, the chefs try to make the issue relatable for restaurateurs and home cooks trying to buy decent food without going broke. David also makes a surprising admission to Derek about the affordability of their new restaurant.
Salt Lick is a TNKR Media original podcast.

Pizza is art and, in Canada, it can also be political. David and Derek look for inspiration from a Montrealer whose first-time pizza venture Segreta is a hit with lovers of the thicker Roman variety Al Taglio. 
Richi Ourichian goes deep on fermentation, sourcing and the discipline behind doing a simple thing properly. He traces his path from the family fleeing the Armenian genocide, to running successful mall shoemaking businesses, and then how pandemic-era inspiration led him to take a chance with a style of pizza that stands out from the rest.
The chefs unpack how tomato provenance can shape the final product, and how Canada's supply management system can limit access to the cheeses many pizzamakers would prefer. They also take on one of the more loaded questions in modern baking: whether sourdough is worth the effort and, for pizza purposes, if it is more about ego than good pies.
Salt Lick is a TNKR Media original podcast.

A mild-mannered Montréal pub owner has been keeping an open secret, living a double life as a deep sea photographer and documentary filmmaker specializing in diving with sharks.
Will Allen is a partner with the Burgundy Lion group but spends weeks at a time traveling to remote locations around the world, filming sharks and myriad spectacular sights, including interactions with uncontacted tribes in the Amazon rainforest. David and Derek explore his journey from growing up on a dairy farm to routinely risking his life to capture nature scenes, for a time alongside his late mentor and 'Sharkwater' colleague Rob Stewart.
The chefs also deliver raw commentary and updates at the beginning of each Salt Lick episode on their progress with the new Grille-Nature family restaurant, and they drop more hints about one, maybe even two expansion projects.
Follow Salt Lick, David & Derek on Instagram.
Salt Lick is a TNKR Media Original production.

Change is in the air for the final Salt Lick episode of the year. For starters, David has a new co-host and business partner.
Derek Dammann, renowned chef, farmer and co-owner with David of the new Grille-Nature on Montréal's West Island, joins the program and the pair will be podcasting in the new year from a studio nook in the restaurant. Just hours away from Christmas break, the chefs are admittedly exhausted and use this time to review their opening menu, describing the creative choices made, shout-out farmers and suppliers who help elevate the offerings, and describe the chaos of the first few weeks—along with touching moments, like watching their kids work together on the line.
Speaking of Montréal's most talked-about restaurant opening, the chefs aren't wasting any time to announce an expansion: a fast-casual concept attached to Grille-Nature, and details are shared later in the episode.
Special thanks to Lesley Chesterman for her contribution to Salt Lick's first year. You can follow her writing on Substack at Lick My Plate.
Follow David & Derek on Instagram.
Salt Lick is a TNKR Media Original production.