Sound Bites: Ellen Chamberlain makes her Memphis food podcast debut
The Daily Memphian's Ellen Chamberlain poses for a portrait June 4, 2025. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)
I had looked forward to interviewing Ellen Chamberlain since the day we met for a juice and salmon BLT tacos at Feast & Graze.
That was a few weeks before she started working at The Daily Memphian, and then we had a lively, engaging conversation about her love for Memphis, food and all things writing, radio and media.
She’s now been The Daily Memphian’s food writer for several weeks, and we’re excited to have her aboard. I’m happy to introduce her to Sound Bites listeners in this week’s episode, the first of our two-part conversation.
We get into her background and her path from Michigan to Memphis in part two, but focus on recent stories and Memphis food news this week.
We discussed Chamberlain’s views on food journalists versus food influencers. I get some questions answered about a Table Talk column she wrote on a sticky subject.
We also talked about the recent death of Interstate Bar-B-Q co-founder Barbara Neely, Alchemy closing and what people missed at The Archives Bar & Bistro Downtown before it recently closed.
A SUV ran into Celtic Crossing on Monday, June 30, 2025, causing damage to the roof and patio area. The pub has since been reapired reopened July 3. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
She also talked about the recent car accident at Celtic Crossing and the opening of its new sister restaurant in Collierville, Maeve’s Tavern, including several dishes that she enjoyed there, from a green pea hummus to a recommended menu item that’s “a big freaking deal to Michiganders” like herself.
Chamberlain revealed a popular condiment she doesn’t like. She talked about stereotyping in restaurant service. She offered her opinion on well-done steaks and “bumps” of caviar.
Those Feast & Graze salmon tacos, by the way, were later featured in a $15 Deal from Erica Horton, another writer newish to The Daily Memphian’s food section. There’s a lot of good, new stuff going on around here. But I digress.
How not to miss part two of this episode:
- Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
- Subscribe on Spotify
- Email me at hollywhitfield@dailymemphian.com and I’ll send you a weekly email with new episodes of all of our free podcasts.
Hear the full interview below. Restaurant addresses are below that.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Feast & Graze: Poplar Plaza
109 S. Highland, Suite 103
Celtic Crossing
903 S. Cooper St.
Maeve’s Tavern
78 North Main St., Collierville
Topics
Ellen Chamberlain Holly Whitfield Sound Bites sound bites podcastHolly Whitfield
Holly has more than 13 years of experience in publishing and digital content, including 10 years at the helm of the I Love Memphis Blog. She began her career at The Commercial Appeal and is author of Secret Memphis.
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