Skip to content

About Us

From food halls to fad diets, café con leche to coffee punch, we call on Florida’s experts to give us the dish. We get a lesson in making mojitos from a fifth-generation owner of Florida’s oldest Spanish restaurant; and learn how to make the best peach cobbler from a Junior League officer. And we track down the best cookbook authors and culinary thought leaders from around the country, because great food stories deserve to be told with Zest!  

About Us

Dalia Colón – Producer & Host

Dalia has been experimenting in the kitchen since she was tall enough to reach the stove, secretly frying up French toast while her mother napped.  

Dalia is a vegetarian, and she has won over countless omnivores with her roasted chickpeas. Dalia has also won some professional honors; her multimedia work has been recognized by the Suncoast Regional Emmys, Florida Associated Press Broadcasters, Telly Awards, Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists and more. Dalia has served as assistant editor at Cleveland Magazine, entertainment reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, and health and features reporter for WUSF. Her freelance creds include NPR, the New York Times Magazine, AOL, Visit Florida, the Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times and others. 

In addition to her work on The Zest, Dalia is also associate producer and co-host of WEDU Arts Plus on Tampa Bay’s PBS television station. 

Dalia holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University, where she perfected the art of the dorm room burrito because the nearest Chipotle was 90 miles away. While earning her master’s degree in Spanish education at Kent State University, she subsisted on packets of oatmeal. 

Today, Dalia makes her oatmeal from scratch. And she looks forward to the day when her young children, Norah and Benji, are tall enough to reach the stove, because she has a perpetual craving for French toast… and naps. 

Andrew Lucas – Producer

As a part of THE ZEST PODCAST team at WUSF, Andrew Lucas combines his love of food and food culture, with over 20 years’ experience as a music producer and engineer, video editor and podcast producer.

Andrew originally hails from a family of award-winning bakers and food scientists from Minnesota, where comfort food is king. However, he is now eagerly exploring and discovering all that is good, tasty, and worth sharing in the Sunshine State.

In addition to inhaling podcasts and a variety of digital media, Andrew will most likely be found cooking a big pot of red beans and rice for his family, and pursuing an array of truly nerdy hobbies with his two daughters.