This Is TASTE

Pizza Week continues! Franny’s is a world-class pizzeria and restaurant located at the northern tip of the Jersey Shore in Highlands, New Jersey. When the shop’s chef and owner, Mya Anitai, left a successful restaurant career in Richmond, Virginia (Mamma Zu, Dinamo) to move to New Jersey, she didn’t know exactly what to expect. What she built over the past few years is pretty extraordinary. The best grandma slice in Jersey? Some would say. In this episode, Mya shares her journey and the pizza style that has earned her the attention of many in and around the New York metro area.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. MORE FROM MYA ANITAI:A Conversation with Mya Anitai [Pizza Today]Franny’s Off the Beach [TikTok]

Pizza Week continues! The title on Anthony Falco’s business card is “global pizza consultant,” and, true to form, Anthony has helped people achieve their dreams of starting pizzerias and perfecting their craft around the globe. In this highly entertaining conversation, Falco shares some of his favorite gigs and talks about his time helping launch and grow the pizza operation at Roberta’s, the singular Bushwick pizzeria that inspired the launch of thousands of Neapolitan pizza shops around the globe. Anthony is the author of Pizza Czar: Recipes and Know-How from a World-Traveling Pizza Chef, and we talk about translating these big ideas to a home setting. It’s great catching up with this legend in the pizza game, and we hope you enjoy it.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. MORE FROM ANTHONY FALCO:Anthony Falco Left Roberta’s. Now He’s an “International Pizza Consultant” [BA]Odd Job: Meet an International Pizza Consultant [Vox]

Welcome to Pizza Week! From time to time we like to break into a thematic groove, and this is one of those weeks. We have a bunch of fun interviews planned. First up is Dan Richer, the owner of Razza in Jersey City, New Jersey. Yeah yeah, New York Times critic Pete Wells once called Razza the best New York City pizza (not in New York), and the 2017 assessment brought a swell of pizza freaks across the river to sample Richer’s pie. In this interview, we talk about the review that changed everything, and we dig into how Richer describes his pizza, his obsession with bread, and his great cookbook, The Joy of Pizza: Everything You Need to Know. We loved having Dan in the studio to kick off our week of pizza talks.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. MORE FROM DAN RICHER:Is New York’s Best Pizza in New Jersey? [NYT]Dan Richer’s Everyday Pizza Dough [Ooni]Franco Pepe and Dan Richer Share Deep Pizza Thoughts [Appetito]

Here are two classic conversations. Tina Choi is the Seoul-based genius behind one of our favorite food YouTube channels around, Doobydobap. Pierce Abernathy is a trained cook, a big-time TikTok and Instagram creator, and a former Buzzfeeder, and he’s been known to model and work with fashion brands in interesting ways. We hope you enjoy these talks.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. MORE FROM TINA CHOI AND PIERCE ABERNATHY:How Koreans Meal Prep [YouTube]How Koreans Kimchi [YouTube]Leek Butter [TikTok]

Peter Luger is Brooklyn history and one of the most iconic New York City restaurants. Between hand-selected steaks, a signature bacon and burger service, and a tight-knit family that has run the place since 1950, it’s a rich topic to talk about. And talk we did with Daniel Turtel, who works alongside his family at the Williamsburg institution. Daniel is involved in the daily selection of steaks that are served to hungry guests each day, and we talk about the restaurant’s legacy as well as its bright future in Las Vegas. We also discuss what it took to come back from a tough New York Times review. Daniel is a really interesting guy, and I hope you enjoy this conversation.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. MORE FROM PETER LUGER:How to Get a Table at Peter Luger [Forbes]The One Peter Luger Dish You Can Only Get in Vegas [Tasting Table]Peter Luger Merch Is Good [official]

Jermaine Stone has an extraordinary story about how a fluke job at a wine warehouse led him to his unique place in the wine world. He’s the host of Street Somm on Tastemade, a show in which he interviews some of the biggest names in hip-hop about all things wine. He’s also the founder of Cru Luv Selections, a New York–based wine branding and marketing agency dedicated to engaging hip-hop fans in the world of wine. It’s really fun having Jermaine in the studio, and I hope you enjoy this conversation.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. MORE FROM JERMAINE STONE:On His Podcast ‘Wine and Hip Hop,’ Jermaine Stone Aims to Bridge Cultures [NYT]Wine and Hip Hop [Apple Podcasts]

There aren’t a lot of things on the internet that have been around since 1999. But David Lebovitz’s blog (and now Substack), full of quips, stories, and recipes from his life in Paris, is one of them. David is the author of many cookbooks, including The Perfect Scoop, Ready For Dessert, Drinking French, and the iconic My Paris Kitchen. This is such a fun conversation, full of life and stories about pastry in San Francisco and Paris. David is one of our all-time favorites, and it was so fun having him in the studio. We hope you enjoy this conversation. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. MORE FROM DAVID LEBOVITZ:Chocolate Chip “Kitchen Sink” Cookies [David Lebovitz]TASTE Travels France: Exploring Camembert, Calvados, and The French CountrysideThis Is TASTE 323: We ❤️ Saveur with Dorothy Kalins [TASTE]The Making of My Paris Kitchen [David Lebovitz]

Alison Cayne is the founder of Haven's Kitchen, a pioneering culinary school, café, and consumer brand that has been at the center of the New York City food world for nearly a decade. We absolutely loved catching up with Alison about her journey to launching the company and some of the wild events she has hosted over the years. We also talk about her pivot to the world of consumer packaged goods and how she makes it all work in this very competitive world. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. MORE FROM HAVEN’S KITCHEN:How the Haven’s Kitchen Team DIY’d Their Way to a New Test Kitchen [AD]How Alison Cayne Handles a Cooking School, a Café, a Sauce Business, and Five Kids [BA]In The Sauce [Apple Podcasts]

Banza is the chickpea pasta with the bright orange boxes that have become nothing short of a phenomenon, changing the way we think about gluten-free pasta forever. Matt is a legit fan of the rotini and the penne, as well as the brand’s expansion into pizza, and he invited Banza’s founder, Brian Rudolph, into the studio. They talk about the founding of the company, how Brian landed on the iconic branding, and what makes a great pasta sauce. We hope you enjoy this conversion.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. MORE FROM BANZA:Olive Oil and Chickpea Pasta Got Cool. You Can Blame This Agency. [TASTE]Banza’s Founder Is Growing a Household Brand by Betting Big on Chickpeas [Forbes]Solving the Pasta Problem [Emory Wheel]

Eunjo Park doesn’t necessarily need kimbap, but kimbap most certainly needs her—or fans of kimbap need her, at least. When Eunjo, a veteran of Per Se and the three-Michelin-starred Gaon in Seoul, was opening the first Momofuku restaurant to explicitly focus on Korean food, Momofuku Kāwi, located on the far west side of New York in Hudson Yards, one of the very first dishes she and her boss, David Chang, wanted to focus on was kimbap. And focus she did, which we talk about on this great episode. We also talk about her amazing career, and how she is thinking deeply about modern Korean cooking. We love Eunjo and hope you enjoy this talk.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from youMORE FROM EUNJO PARK:BLT Kimbap [YouTube]One of Momofuku’s Top Chefs Is Leaving the Restaurant Group [Eater]Pre-order: Koreaworld: A Cookbook [Now Serving]

Rie McClenny is a video host and cookbook author who rose to acclaim in the test kitchen at BuzzFeed, where she hosted video series including Make It Fancy. On this episode, we find out about her journey from Japan to professional kitchens in Los Angeles to YouTube stardom. We also talk about her terrific debut cookbook, Make It Japanese: Simple Recipes for Everyone. We hope you enjoy this conversation. Also on the show, Matt catches up with his old friend Evan Wittenberg. Evan is passionate about the Philadelphia food scene, the Netflix works of Phil Rosenthal, Cormac McCarthy novels, and playing the drums. He is also 13. It’s fun catching up with one of our younger listeners to find out what is good.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. MORE FROM RIE MCCLENNY:A Japanese Homestyle Meatball Clinches the Comfort Food Crown [TASTE]Let’s Make Gyoza [TikTok]Phil Rosenthal vs. a 7-Year-Old [TASTE]

Sana Javeri Kadri is the founder of Diaspora Co., an equitable—and highly useful—spice company paying an average of six times the commodity price to 150 farm partners across India and Sri Lanka. On this episode Sana unpacks exactly how Diaspora Co. has expanded their scope and scale while remaining true to their mission, plus moving back to Mumbai and much more. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from youMORE FROM SANA JAVERI KADRI:In Los Angeles, an Indian Chinese Feast Celebrating Female Founders [New York Times]It’s 2023. Do You Know Where Your Spices Come From? [Afar]

After a two-year vacation (LOL), Anna and Matt are back! If you're a fan of smart and cool and weird and lively conversations about food and culture, this is the place. We interview the most interesting characters in the world of food, media, and cookbooks and release episodes several times a month. The program is co-hosted by TASTE editors Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard, and is sometimes recorded live at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, NY. Visit TASTE online: tastecooking.com

For Samin Nosrat, the James Beard Award-winning author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, the majority of great meals spring from a combination of those four foundational elements. We talked to Samin about too-mami (cooking with too much umami), angry letters, and the differences in brands of kosher salt. That is, not all kosher salt is the same.Also, Smitten Kitchen creator Deb Perelman answers a reader question about the art of lasagna.

Alison Roman wants to change the way you think about granola (it doesn’t have to be sweet), dinner parties (they don’t have to be fancy), and boiled potatoes (there should be a stockpile in the refrigerator at all times). We talked to Alison about her new cookbook, Dining In, and what it’s like to cook and entertain in small spaces.Also, Smitten Kitchen founder Deb Perelman answers a reader question: Which touristy food places are worth going to in New York City?

We’ve been reading Smitten Kitchen for more than a decade now. At its helm is the hilarious and candid Deb Perelman, who joined us on this episode to talk about her favorite mushy carbs, keeping up with reader comments, and whether the Instant Pot is really worth the hype. Later, TASTE Editor in Chief Matt Rodbard shares a personal story about the great Anthony Bourdain.

We’ve followed the career of cookbook author and op-ed columnist Mark Bittman for nearly two decades, through his How to Cook Everything series and his writing in The New York Times and other publications. In this lively interview, Mark discusses how he started writing about food (it’s a great story), reading the comments (he doesn’t), and if the Amazon–Whole Foods hookup will end up on the right, or wrong, side of history.We also speak with our current TASTE Cook In Residence Therese Nelson. She tells us about the website she founded, Black Culinary History, as well as the stories she’s been working on for TASTE, including one on the legacy of George Washington Carver.

Gail Simmons is a very cool human being. While many know her best from Top Chef, her career in food expands way beyond a judge’s table. She trained at culinary school and went on to assist legendary food writer and columnist Jeffrey Steingarten. She also worked the line in busy New York City restaurants and is the author of two books, including her latest, Bringing It Home. In this very candid conversation, Simmons shares her story—from living in Montreal and Israel to working in the kitchens of Daniel Boulud for three years. Also, Smitten Kitchen founder Deb Perelman answers a reader question: If you had to write a cookbook based on one ingredient, what would it be?

In her years as a New York Times reporter, Julia Moskin has traveled to Provence to write about cooking in Julia Child’s kitchen, introduced us to the concept of “procrasti-baking,” and taste-tested commercial brands of hot dogs so that we don’t have to. On this episode, we talk to Moskin about her life working on the Food desk and her recent Pulitzer Prize win. She talks about some of the glamorous and not-so-glamorous parts of her job, including what she calls her “house cocktail” of cereals that she likes to eat when she gets home at the end of a long day.Later on in the show, we talk to TASTE Cook In Residence Jenn de la Vega about Filipino food, cooking underground, and why she owns a shaved-ice machine.

Andy Ricker’s headstone: Let’s talk about that. The Thai restaurateur, cookbook author, rock guitarist, and drinking-vinegar empire builder has done a lot. But we’re going to take a shot at that headstone. Thai Cuisine: Not a Monolith! For over a decade, we’ve heard Ricker make this case about Thailand's diverse and unique foods many times over, and he continues in this interview—where he is joined by his longtime book collaborator, JJ Goode. It’s a great listen. Later, Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman answers the question: What condiment are you most obsessed with?

Alon Shaya is one of the leading voices in a newly crystalized Israeli-American food movement going down Stateside. Born in Israel and raised on cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, Shaya now calls New Orleans his home where he operates restaurants that blur borders. You’ll find blue crab and sweet corn hummus next to harrisa roasted chicken next to caviar on potato chips. On this episode, Shaya talks about his amazing journey, as detailed in his memoir (with recipes), Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel. Also on the program, Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen talks about her favorite cookbooks.

A brilliant chef, motivator, entrepreneur, and storyteller, Angie Mar is a force of nature. Her inspired meat cookery at the restaurant she owns and operates in New York City, the Beatrice Inn, has won awards and recognition from fickle New York City critics. On this episode she shares her story of being reviewed by The New York Times (it’s a crazy story), as well as the day she was forced to fire her entire kitchen staff just hours before service (equally intense). Also on this episode, Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen tells us what the heck is stuck in the back of her freezer.

There aren’t a lot of things on the Internet that have been around since 1999. But David Lebovitz’s blog, full of quips, stories, and recipes from his life in Paris, is one of them. On this episode, we talk to David about why soft serve really mostly exists as a vessel for sprinkles, why it’s so hard to take photos of chocolate, and the newest edition of his book about ice cream, The Perfect Scoop.Later in the show, we talk to Jessie Sheehan, author of The Vintage Baker, and Erin Patinkin of Ovenly about Jell-O, flourless chocolate cake, and some of the most absurd retro recipes they’ve encountered in their careers.

For years, Peter Meehan was a mystery. As the New York Times’s "$25 and Under" columnist in the early 2000’s, he dined anonymously everywhere from Roberta’s to Momofuku Noodle Bar to hidden gems like Uminoie in the East Village. As an author of cookbooks and while helping run the show at Lucky Peach magazine (RIP), he avoided cameras out of some combination of annoyance and muscle memory. We caught up with him to discuss his upcoming barbecue cookbook, the terror of doing food TV, and the legacy (and life after) Lucky Peach.Later on the episode, we talked to Julia Sherman, the author of Salad for President, about the unexpected intersections between art and salad.

For six years, Angela Dimayuga served as the creative nerve center of New York City’s Mission Chinese Food, rising to executive chef and winning fans with her inventive culinary takes (shiso and umeboshi butter fried rice is in the fried rice hall of fame) and contagious free spirit. But in late 2017 she walked away from Mission to branch out on her own. She participated in a series of fundraising pop-ups, including an ACLU benefit at Art Basel in Miami, where she linked up with the guy running hotel and hospitality group Standard International. Now, nearly a year later, she’s been named the group’s creative director of food and culture and is determined to shake shit up. We find out about her big ideas (Asian bears in space!) in this colorful interview.Also in this episode, Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen answers a reader question: What is your favorite non-photogenic food?

The Netflix culinary travel series Somebody Feed Phil proves that food television can be both accessible and interesting. Populist and high-brow. Much of the show’s success is credited to its host, the delightful human being Phil Rosenthal. The creator and showrunner of sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Rosenthal made a few bucks on the series and could have basically retired and traveled the world. Instead, the 58-year-old brings a camera along on travels around the world (along with his scene-stealing brother Richard) to destinations like Lisbon, Mexico City, and Tel Aviv. All pretension is left at baggage claim, which is why we love this show so much. Rosenthal joins us for this episode to talk about the booming Los Angeles restaurant scene, the best craft service in Hollywood, and where he’s traveling next season.Also in this episode, Games of Thrones author George R. R. Martin joins us to talk about the pizza scene in New York City. Dude has some opinions!

Brooks Headley does not take vacations, read Yelp reviews, or make his burgers with beef. The chef-owner of New York City’s Superiority Burger and author of the new Superiority Burger Cookbook joined us for the latest episode to talk about vegetarian cooking, from fake meats to savory zucchini sludges that are cooked for hours. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of cooking at a restaurant small enough to see the facial expressions of diners reacting to the food, and the inevitable occasional shock when an unsuspecting carnivore bites into a burger and finds there’s no meat inside.Also in this episode, we talked vegan cooking with Chloe Coscarelli, the author of Chloe Flavor.

Is there an introduction needed here? Over her groundbreaking career, Ruth Reichl has served as the food editor of the Los Angeles Times, the restaurant critic of the New York Times, and the editor in chief of the legendary magazine Gourmet. She’s written juicy memoirs, mentored a generation of writers and editors, and still writes with regularity, curiosity, and a love for real journalism. She also whispers in beautiful character-count limits on Twitter if you haven’t checked that out.So what did we talk about? Reichl discusses editing the The Best American Food Writing 2018, grades the current New York Timesrestaurant critics, reflects on her time at the Los Angeles Times, when she would publish 60 pages a week and oversaw 20 full-time employees (food-media glory days!), discusses the terrible economic reality facing restaurants, and remembers her first cookbook, published in 1972. She also might surprise some with her take on journalism in the #MeToo era. Also on this episode, Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman answers the question: What’s an unpopular food that is due for a comeback?

Natasha Pickowicz is the super talented pastry chef at New York City restaurants Flora Bar and Café Altro Paradiso, where fans (and oh, does she have fans) have been impressed with her ambitious cooking. Her dessert style? Italian-ish and simple-ish and generally not overpoweringly sweet. But before she was running the show in NYC kitchens, she worked as a journalist, writing about food and music mostly, in Montreal. She served as a Canadian pizza correspondent for Serious Eats and has a unique take on the relationship between professional chefs and the media. Here she talks about a crazy tryout she once had for a job and what she actually makes for dinner at home once her long day is over (she cooks at home regularly, slightly atypical for a professional).Also on the program, EyeSwoon creator Athena Calderone and Food52’s Kristen Miglore talk about their recent books, Cook Beautiful and Genius Desserts.

Deuki Hong is a San Francisco–based chef and restaurant-empire-builder in the making. He’s also the coauthor of Koreatown: A Cookbook. Here he catches up with his longtime collaborator for a wide-ranging conversation. They hadn’t seen each other in a minute! They discuss the exciting state of Korean cooking in America—and how it’s evolved significantly since the book’s release in early 2016. They also discuss Deuki’s first trip back to Korea since he was born. He covered the Olympics for the Today show, and, as he tells Matt, “It broke everything for me, in a good way. I realized I know nothing about Korean food.” Untrue, but the trip was an amazing revelation for the young chef.Also on the program is Jordana Rothman, restaurant editor of Food and Wine. She and Matt go back a long way, and they discuss the shifts in covering restaurants in the food media world over the past decade. She also discusses the exciting things happening in the restaurant world in lesser-covered cities like Detroit and St. Louis, as well as her strong Instagram game. Hashtag: #BaroqueBreakfast.

Daniela Soto-Innes is the chef-partner at two New York baby institutions, Cosme and Atla. These young and progressive restaurants—a modern Mexican cantina featuring supremely delicious tortillas and corn meringue firmly supplanted in my dessert hall of fame, and a Mexican/Latin all-day café—are reshaping the way the city thinks about “Mexican food” writ large.Soto-Innes, winner of the prestigious James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef of the Year award in 2016, was born in Mexico City and raised in Houston, where she worked in kitchens before linking up with Enrique Olvera, and later partnering on the NYC restaurants. It’s a colorful conversation. I ask her about the ashwagandha root popping up on her IG feed. About her Mexican roots, and the regionality of Mexican cuisine—the vanilla of Veracruz and the wines of Ensenada—and the high percentage of women who make up her kitchen workforce. “It’s just the way it worked out; we hire nice people,” she says of her staff.Also on the show is Michael Harlan Turkell. He’s a photographer, radio show host, and author of a ridiculously cool book about vinegar, Acid Trip. We talk about his travels to Italy and Japan and why the inky bottle of “balsamic” you last put on your salad at Whole Foods is sorta not really what you thought it was.

Mike Solomonov planted his flag in Philadelphia more than a decade ago with the groundbreaking Israeli-American restaurant Zahav, and people went nuts. Two words: pomegranate lamb. He’s since won many awards, opened restaurants focusing on Israeli staples hummus and falafel, and essentially put Israeli cuisine in the American zeitgeist, sitting right next to Italian and Mexican. He’s the author of several books, including the new Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious.In this fun and wide-ranging conversation, we talk about Israel’s major food groups—falafel, pita, sabich, and schnitzel—and dive into the history of the often-overlooked Ashkenazi food traditions in Israel. We swap stories about some of our favorite Tel Aviv and Jerusalem restaurants, and Mike shares the details of his five-minute hummus recipe—which is accurately called a “medium step forward for mankind.” And his dad used to own Subway restaurants! This is a cool fact. We discuss how this may have just informed the way he looks at his growing falafel and tahini-shake empire, Goldie. Are falafels the next Cold Cut Combo?Also on the show, Anna catches up with Dana Frank and Andrea Slonecker, authors of Wine Food: New Adventures in Drinking and Cooking. The pair offer some really unique takes on the merging of wine and food cultures in our modern world—as well as why pairing wine with chocolate is just a terrible idea. Plus, is rosé over?

Christina Tosi is a chef, TV personality, Milk Bar CEO and CCCO (Chief Compost Cookie Officer), and the author of a new cookbook, All About Cake. And indeed, during this lively episode taped live in front of a packed house at our offices at Penguin Random House, we talk about cake. Like, we get her hot take on what is up with the addictive boxed yellow cake flavor? Which great American classic cake would she eff, marry, and kill? We also find out if the kids of MasterChef Junior really make all that food. Plus, we get some memories from the Tosi childhood: Otis Spunkmeyer, Orange Julius, and bowl cuts at the mall. It's all in here.Also on the show I get to ask my buddy chef Daniel Holzman a burning question for our column 100 Questions For My Friend the Chef. It involves what he calls the “fertile crescent of pizza”—which may or may not be in Italy.

You might know him from the Eat column in The New York Times, for which he went into dozens of restaurants, home kitchens, and church basements to report on some of the untold food stories from New York’s many immigrant communities. Or you might know him as the voice you hear when you tune into The Splendid Table, interviewing everyone from activist Cecile Richards to chef Jacques Pépin. But I was especially excited to talk to Francis Lam about his work as a book editor at Clarkson Potter, collaborating and conspiring with hilarious, colorful personalities like Christina Tosi, Tyler Kord, and Chrissy Teigen.In this episode, Francis talks about why he thinks it’s important as an editor to let your authors be a little bit weird. We also look back on some of his writing for the Times and talk about why he misses reporting so much more than he misses writing. Oh, and he tells the story of the time he hung out with Chrissy Teigen’s mom and she wouldn’t stop feeding him.Also on this episode, Matt catches up with Lisa Lillien, the founder of Hungry Girl—a project started in 2004 that has ballooned into a hugely popular magazine, podcast, and series of cookbooks. They look back at the early days of blogging, before cauliflower rice, Instagram, and rainbow everything.

Just imagine: It’s the tail end of a dinner party you just cooked for, you’re dangerously full of food, and you realize you made about three times too much food. What are you going to do with that half-eaten plate of lukewarm crab toasts? If Julia Turshen had anything to say about it, you’re going to throw them in the refrigerator until tomorrow night, when you’re going to pulverize them to bits and turn them into buttery crab cakes for dinner.Turshen’s new book, Now & Again, thinks about leftovers not as inevitable detritus of entertaining, but as ingredients themselves that you can mix up and have fun with. On this episode, we talk about some of these party (and postparty) tricks, getting her start working with Gwyneth Paltrow, and why she decided to start Equity at the Table, a database of food professionals in the POC and LGBTQ community.Later on the episode, Matt talks to chef Daniel Holzman in their ongoing series, 100 Questions for My Friend the Chef. This time they’re talking about MSG and how to cook with it at home.

Stay calm and…just act like Eric Ripert. Young cooks, are you listening? Ripert, a celebrated chef and TV personality, is a balancing force in this trash-fire age. And he’s also just a really good interview, as we find out. He joins the podcast to talk about communication. How one at the top of the kitchen chain needn’t yell to get his point across. “I don’t believe the pilots in the plane are having a screaming match,” he observes. True.We also discuss the Michelin stars at his restaurant, Le Bernardin, and how he finds out if he still has them. (He’s had the maximum three stars since the guide launched in New York City). And we talk about his love of Korean food and culture—from the late-night partying to the vegetarian temple style of cooking that aligns with the Buddhist religion that is so important to the chef. He loves it all, and we remember a trip we took to Seoul a couple years back.Also on the program, we ask Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman which of her favorite NYC restaurant dishes has she been able to re-create at home.

There isn’t a restaurant in New York City that’s having a bigger and brighter fall 2018 than Atomix. It’s supremely ambitious, highly polished, and uncompromisingly Korean. We love it! After it got rock-solid reviews in Eater, The Washington Post, and New York, the New York Times critic Pete Wells last week dropped 3 stars on the restaurant, anointing it as one of the city’s top tasting menus. Period. “The way the Parks put Korean culture in the foreground recalls the early days of the Four Seasons,” writes Wells. The Parks here are Ellia and Junghyun Park, and we got to talk to them about the art of banchan, the distinct aesthetics they maintain in both of their spaces, and what Americans need to know most about Korean cooking in general.Later on the episode, Matt talks to chef Daniel Holzman in our ongoing series, 100 Questions for My Friend the Chef. This time we're talking about XO Sauce.

Let’s get this out of the way first. Jeremiah Stone and Fabian Von Hauske are sweet dudes: extremely hardworking, generous, with lots and lots and lots of friends in the food world—in the United States, France, Mexico, and the darkest corners of the Noma fermentation lab (all spots the pair have worked in their short and ambitious careers). They own a trio of influential restaurants on New York’s Lower East Side: Contra, Wildair, and the newly reopened Una Pizza Napoletana. And they have just released their first cookbook, A Very Serious Cookbook (there’s a wink in there somewhere).On the show we dive into their story (how they met in a chat room that may or may not be branded America Online) and explore how they organized their very serious cookbook into very unique chapters. Plus, Jeremiah Stone in praise of Maryland blue crabs: “It’s in your blood when you grow up around Washington, D.C.”Also on the show, we talk with Sohui Kim, the chef behind Brooklyn's Insa and the Good Fork, as well as the author of the new book Korean Home Cooking. We chat about karaoke, kimchi, and why we should all eat more tomatoes for dessert.

You may know her from her New York Times column, On Dessert, or you may know her from trying one of her unbelievably chocolaty, world-famous World Peace Cookies at a party that one time. But before Dorie Greenspan was famous for her cakes and shortbreads, she was an early pioneer of food television and a coconspirator (and coauthor) with Julia Child.On this episode, Anna catches up with Dorie to talk about her new book, Everyday Dorie, and ask about what she actually does cook every day. We also talk about why gooey, underbaked cookies’ days are numbered but lava cake is here to stay.Later on the show, Anna chats with Lisa Ludwinski, the owner of Detroit’s Sister Pie bakery and the author of the new cookbook Sister Pie. We talk about the evolving Detroit food scene, malted milk powder, and why making pie crust is easier than people think.

London chef and author Yotam Ottolenghi puts out cookbooks that meet at the intersection of cool and practical—with a recipe development process that is part Warhol Factory, part Bon Appétit Test Kitchen, and pure Ottolenghi. After tackling baking with his last book (Sweet), and before that putting Israeli cooking on the international stage (Jerusalem), he most recently tackled the concept of simplicity—and how Simple (the book’s title and mission statement) means something different to all home cooks. You mean a 30-minute simple meal isn’t exactly simple for everybody single person attempting to make it? What a notion!Also on this episode, we speak with Sarah Gavigan, the talented chef and author of a new cookbook: Ramen Otaku. The book promises to guide readers through the totally worthwhile process of making bowls of ramen at home. The pressure cooker is your friend! It’s a great read.This episode is sponsored by Joule by ChefSteps.

As Max Ng tells it, his start at Momofuku—where he has risen to executive chef at the restaurant group’s New York City flagship, Ssam Bar—began when he showed up, as a young CIA student, with a backpack, knives, and a chef coat. Unannounced. On a busy Saturday afternoon. Asking for a “trail”—restaurant parlance for an unpaid tryout. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, this is a fucking Saturday and you are demanding a trail,” Max, laughing, recalls a cook telling him. “Come back in a week.” Ng did return, and has never left, and I wanted to talk to him this week about his experience working for David Chang and his time living in the United States far from his home in Singapore. It was so good to get to know this rising star in the chef world.Also on the show we have the editors of influential coffee blog Sprudge, Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman. During a live taping at the Counter Culture Training Center in New York, they discuss their new book, The New Rules of Coffee.This episode is sponsored by Joule by ChefSteps.

If there’s one thing Naomi Pomeroy has noticed in her years of cooking and running restaurants, it’s that people don’t seem to have time to eat anymore. Whether it’s the traffic in Portland, Oregon, where she is a restaurateur, or whether we’ve all just subconsciously sped up over time, it’s getting harder and harder to convince people to settle in for a leisurely several-hour-long dinner.This hasn’t stopped her from serving a six-course tasting menu at Beast, the restaurant she’s owned for more than 10 years, or from serving leisurely drinks and snacks (like her famous take on James Beard’s raw-onion sandwich) at Expatriate, the restaurant across the street.But slowing down and enjoying things is important to her, whether it’s the meals she eats with her kitchen staff or the time she spends on floral design at her new plant shop, Colibri. On this episode, we talked about what’s changed in Portland since she opened her first restaurant, what’s changing in restaurant work culture, and what cooking and flowers have in common.Also on the episode, Matt talks to chef Daniel Holzman as part of their ongoing series, 100 Questions for My Friend the Chef. This week, they’re talking about the virtues of homemade hummus.This episode is sponsored by Joule by ChefSteps.

Let’s just not dwell on the fact that Flynn McGarry is only 20. He’s young. The end. This is because McGarry, the chef and owner of the ambitious and well-reviewed New York City tasting-menu restaurant Gem, is an incredibly talented dude. Period. This is a really fascinating conversation, one that surprised us in many ways. We go over his time working in Los Angeles restaurant Alma at age 13—while being homeschooled—and his famous pop-ups even earlier in his career. “My formative years were spent in some of the most stressful environments,” McGarry admits. The journey is all documented in a new film, Chef Flynn, and we get into McGarry’s many travels and eventual opening in NYC—the most competitive and ruthlessly cutthroat restaurant city in America. There’s a fearlessness in McGarry that’s extraordinary.Also on this episode, we get to catch up with Steven Hall, a longtime NYC restaurant publicist and consultant. He tells some old war stories about NYC dining in the 1980s (he almost poisoned Mike Nichols) and details his work with many of the city’s best Japanese restaurants. We also rate the current roster of New York City restaurant critics: Pete Wells, Hannah Goldfield, Adam Platt, Ligaya Mishan.This episode is sponsored by Joule by ChefSteps.

The chef and cookbook author Anita Lo occupies a very special place in the hearts of many in the New York City restaurant world—chefs, journalists, civilians who merely dine at restaurants (that is, most people). Lo is a supreme talent, having run one of the city’s top restaurants—Annisa—for 17 years. She’s also a mentor to many in the industry. A leading light and an example of how to do things the right way. Stories of this journey, as well as some pretty cool recipes, are detailed in her new cookbook—Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One—disguised as a personal history. It's memoir light. During our interview at Books Are Magic, we talk about some of the recent controversies in the world of food, and her take on “the boys” and how there’s a clear double standard when it comes to business opportunities, etc. Lo also talks about the joy of cooking for one.Later we get to talk with Matt Startwell, managing partner at legendary New York City cookbook store Kitchen Arts & Letters. We tackle a number of fun topics: the shop's famous customers, like James Beard and Julia Child; the most requested books; books he thinks need to be published; and a rundown of the big books from the busy holiday season. Have you picked up a cookbook today?This episode is sponsored by Joule by ChefSteps.

Maybe you’ve been making macarons your whole life, could temper chocolate with your eyes closed, and have enough cake pans to fill a walk-in closet. But maybe, more realistically, you’re like the rest of us who love cake, have no idea what mousseline is, and are still fuzzy on the difference between cocoa and Dutch process cocoa.No matter which of these categories you fall into, Rose Levy Beranbaum’s books are written for you. Beranbaum’s books, like The Pie and Pastry Bible, The Cake Bible, and her newest, Rose’s Baking Basics, cover classic techniques and pastries with scrupulously detailed instructions. Nothing’s dumbed down, and everything is photographed. Anna talks to Beranbaum, along with her longtime collaborator and coauthor Woody Wolston, about how baking has changed over the decades. Hint: Egg yolks are getting smaller, and people are buying more kitchen scales.Later on the episode, Matt talks to author and artist Timothy Pakron about growing up in the South and the inspiration for his new book, Mississippi Vegan.

Dirt Candy is a restaurant that has become famous over the course of the past decade on New York’s Lower East Side for making eggplant tiramisu, rosemary cotton candy, and tomato fruit leather. But its chef Amanda Cohen makes one thing very clear—it’s not about vegetarianism or health or politics. It’s just about making vegetables taste really good.On this episode, we talk to Amanda about what’s changed over the years—especially as Dirt Candy has rolled out their tasting menu full of tricks, surprises, and, yes, even table-side flames. We also talked about the changing landscape of restaurant review coverage, and why restaurant critics in 2018 have a responsibility to tell a story that goes beyond the food.Later on the episode, we ask Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman about her go-to dessert to bring to parties.

Before he edited Epicurious, sharply reviewed restaurants in Chicago, and wrote a cool new cookbook, Cook90: The 30-Day Plan for Faster, Healthier, Happier Meals, David Tamarkin worked as a story producer on the first incarnation of Queer Eye. David is an interesting dude! In this fun interview we discuss what it means to cook 90 meals over a 30-day period—and how this Herculean-sounding task is actually quite doable and offers several lasting benefits to the home cook—as well discussing some of the popular (and controversial) recipes he’s published on Epi this year. Does a sheet-pan pancake make you happy? Mad?Also on the show, Tatiana sits down with Diane Chang—a caterer and private chef behind the incredibly cool company Eating Po Pos. Diane talks about what inspires her cooking, from Filipino desserts to dehydrated fruits. And about her time cooking for Gwyneth Paltrow.

Helen Rosner is a journalist, Twitter commentator, and the editorial force behind much of the New Yorker’s food coverage. This year, we were treated with her writing about iceberg lettuce, fermenting blueberries with René Redzepi, a visit to an MSG factory in Japan, and a method for preparing chicken that involves a hair dryer. I sat down with Helen to talk about her work, and to look back at some of the highlights of 2018 in food writing, cookbooks, and Twitter outrage.Also on this episode, Anna spoke to Josh Gee, the writer behind the food-focused newsletter Snack Cart. They caught up about some of the best restaurant reviews of the year, and speculated a little bit about how food writing might evolve in 2019.

While the name Zabar is most associated with a delicatessen empire based on New York’s Upper West Side, it’s Eli Zabar (the punk rock Zabar of all in the Zabar clan) who has the most interesting story to tell. He founded one of NYC’s first specialty food stores in 1973, introducing the city to exotic imports like balsamic vinegar and fraises des bois shipped in from France. And he’s sharpened his bread-baking skills through thousands and thousands of loaves. Eli Zabar is low-key one of the city’s finest bread bakers.On this episode I interview him about his earliest memories of smoked fish, the changing landscape of the grocery business, and what it’s like running a restaurant and bakery with his son Oliver.Later on the episode, Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman answers a reader question: If you could take a cooking class to learn about anything in the food world, what would it be?

What a treat! Today on the show we have Meredith Erickson. She’s a journalist, cookbook writer, cycling fan, and the co-author of the new book Joe Beef: Surviving the Apocalypse. We talk about her many chef collaborations—she compares her writing style to that of creating a mixtape—and discuss a big project she’s been working on for years: documenting the foods of the Alps. Erickson also chats about splitting time between Milan and Montreal, which is just about the best way to split time.Also on the show we have Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman answering a reader question: What’s something that you know how to cook now that you wished you could cook in college? The answer is really great.

Laurie Woolever is a fresh and highly original voice in the food writing game. She’s a journalist—having worked as an editor at Art Culinaire and Wine Spectator—and was Anthony Bourdain’s longtime assistant. On this episode we talk to Woolever about the two Bourdain book projects she is busy working on and a story she wrote for TASTE about cooking the whole damn heart. She also talks about Carbface, the podcast she does with Chris Thornton (aka Shit Food Blogger). And finally, we get her take on a variety of random topics that only Laurie can respond to. Pigs in a blanket, grocery-store ham, and the idea of the “poor man’s recipe.”Also on the show we have Ryan Angulo and Doug Crowell, the duo behind the new cookbook Salt & Kindness. They talk about their popular Brooklyn restaurants, Buttermilk Channel and French Louie, and about that one night a certain very famous couple (coughBey and Jay) celebrated New Year’s Eve in their restaurant.

The Ivan Orkin story has been well documented. In summary—and you can read it in the excellent memoir-cookbook he wrote with Lucky Peach editor Chris Ying, or stream it on Orkin’s also excellent episode of Chef’s Table—ebullient white man lives in Japan, makes magic with ramen, stays humble, works hard; the crowds and critics and media swarm. In this episode of the TASTE Podcast, we catch up with Orkin to tell the story of how he first brought his unique style of ramen to America, through a legendary pop-up at Momofuku Noodle Bar in 2012. We also hear about his popular restaurants in America, including a new slice shop.Also on the show, Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman plays the game F, Marry, Kill: Sandwich edition. Grilled cheese, corned beef, pb&j?

Nicole Rucker is a star baker and the co-owner of Los Angeles restaurant Fiona. She’s also competed in national pie-making competitions and will publish her first cookbook about fruit pastry in the fall. And she’s simply a pleasure to speak with: She’s honest, she’s articulate, and she’s got some amazingly honest thoughts about running a restaurant and the buildup to her recent review in the Los Angeles Times. “Tacos are a public service,” she says, wisely, of the city’s most iconic foodstuff, comparing it to the slice in NYC. “I’m not a taco head, because I grew up with it. They are like cereal to me.” So yes, tacos are discussed as well.Also on the show, Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman gives her advice on transforming a couple of cans of tuna into an exciting dinner. We challenged Deb Perelman, and she very much delivered.

Listener, subscriber: This is a good one. Pete Wells is the longtime restaurant critic at the New York Times and a man of slight mystery and sound judgment—or bad taste, if you ask some of the chefs he’s goose-egged during his prodigious reviewing career. Before being named critic in 2011, he was an editor at Details and Food & Wine, and we talk about the process of writing the review week after week—and how he thinks like an editor with weekly writing.I also ask him: What should the next New York City mayor do to help improve safety and financial stability for the city’s restaurants? The situation is pretty apocalyptic, and his answers are really interesting. And Pete gives his hot takes on the dollar slice, barbecue, and Mexican food in New York. Oh yeah, about the illustration? There’s a story for that too.Also on the show, Anna interviews Charlene Johnson-Hadley, executive chef of the Brownsville Community Culinary Center, a culinary training program that educates and inspires participants to excel in the food-service industry.

Los Angeles chef Minh Phan has a really cool story to share with us. She is the owner of a highly original restaurant, Porridge + Puffs, located in the city’s Historic Filipino Town neighborhood. It’s a mushy good time—you know you like mushy foods. We all do. And the Puffs part, what does that mean? Tune in to find out. Phan talks about P+P’s journey from farmer’s market pop-up to breakout hit restaurant and how her time working in Denmark shaped her vision as a chef. Also on the show chef Daniel Holzman answers my burning food question: Why is Etxebarri the most important grill restaurant in the world?

British journalist and cookbook author Yasmin Khan writes about Palestinian food tasting alive. But what does that mean? So much, it turns out, and we have a really great conversation about this incredible cuisine and history. Khan spent years reporting for her new book, Zaitoun: Recipes from the Palestinian Kitchen, and she discusses her on-the-ground reporting process. And she does something remarkable: Explaining za’atar (a cool though sometimes confusing Middle Eastern spice blend) in the most succinct, clear manner I’ve ever read. In recipe form! Tune in to find out all about that. Oh yeah, New Yorkers: The best knafeh can be found hidden in Park Slope. Tune in to find out!Also on the show is writer Rebekah Peppler, author of a great new book: Apéritif: Cocktail Hour the French Way. She talks about the three meanings of the apéritif.

The Los Angeles food world has the most low-key power couple. And they are very OK keeping it low-key. Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis are the chefs and owners of two of the buzziest and most influential restaurants in the city: Bestia and Bavel. They are also the authors of a cool new cookbook: Bestia: Italian Recipes Created in the Heart of L.A. During this interview, conducted before service at Bavel, we talk about Ori’s time spent in the Israeli army and how the experience informed the way he cooks today. They also list their favorite L.A. restaurants (they name the names!), Ori reveals what Instagram is saying about Genevieve’s pastries (she isn’t on social media so has no idea), and Ori breaks down the anatomy, and runaway success, of his most popular dish: the lamb neck shawarma. I love these people.Also on the episode, Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman plays the game F, Marry, Kill with three favorite chocolates. I love Deb, too!

I swear Akira Akuto and I only talked a little bit about the sandwich. What sandwich? The Sandwich. You can read about it in The New York Times: The Egg Salad Sandwich That Drew Eyes on Instagram. Sandwiches are beautiful; sandwiches are fine. But Akuto, a crazy-talented Los Angeles chef with New York City lineage, sure doesn’t want to make them all the time. In this wide-ranging interview, we talk about the opening of his new Echo Park restaurant, Konbi, and how he ditched the world of investment banking and got his start cooking in NYC at Momofuku and Franny’s. He also talks honestly about what it’s actually like to open a restaurant in L.A. these days.Also on today’s show, TASTE contributor Max Falkowitz answers a burning reader question: What exactly is uni? There’s a lot to…unpack here.

There is no journalist I would rather talk to about Italy—and, really, talk about food in general—than Katie Parla. Her mind, her spirit, her willingness to drive around the wonderfully off-the-grid cow towns of Calabria for the sake of a book project. It’s all really special. In this episode, we talk about her decade-long obsession with the Italian South (and how this is a different thing entirely than “southern Italy”).We discuss her visiting places in Italy that “haven’t seen the Google van” and how her new cookbook, Food of the Italian South, documents it all through a really smart and articulate selection of recipes and stories. Also, Parla debunks a big myth surrounding Italian wedding soup. And that is: Most Italians wouldn’t be caught dead serving soup at a wedding. So where does its name come from? There is a story!Later on I catch up with Amy Zitelman of the remarkable Philadelphia company Soom Foods. She and her two sisters make what many (this writer included) consider to be the best tahini available in the United States. Her story about the rise of tahini in American restaurants is fascinating. And she gives some great advice about how to cook with it at home.

Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau are two sisters on a mission. They want the wide world of home cooks to think of Caribbean food as more than just jerk chicken. As they explore in their latest book, Provisions: The Roots of Caribbean Cooking, the food from the West Indies is layered with the history of colonialism, slavery, plantations, and the food businesses and home cooking that arose after emancipation.On this episode, we talk about some of the women throughout history responsible for preserving these traditions and propelling the food into the 21st century. We also talk about some of the ingredients (think breadfruit, plantains, culantro) that have created a common thread in the cuisines of these islands.Later on in the episode, Matt speaks to author Gretchen Rubin, author of books including, most recently, Outer Order, Inner Calm. They talk about some of the surprising ways that a philosophy of calmness and order can apply to cooking.

The Four Horsemen in Brooklyn. Have you been there? Have you drank some wine there? Had some of the restaurant’s bread and cultured butter? It’s an amazing place, up on Grand Street, and I had a great time talking with the chef, Nick Curtola, and co-owner, James Murphy. James of the band LCD Soundsystem and fan of drinking natural wines by the Jeroboam. Nick of making really great bread—among other fine things. We talked about the unique way they run their place (we talk fancy water filtration), and also about the time James appeared on French national television and was asked to taste wines blindly. Awkward. He tells the story.Also on today’s show, TASTE contributor Max Falkowitz answers a burning reader question: What is Chicago pizza, exactly?

After studying architecture at UC-Berkeley, Pichet Ong eventually made it to New York and worked as a chef with Jean-Georges Vongerichten from 1998 to 2004, cooking at the restaurant 66 (shout out to Sex and the City) and Spice Market, located in the then up-and-coming meatpacking district. Soon Ong established himself as one of the city’s most innovative pastry minds, weaving the flavors of Southeast Asia into classic French desserts. He also low-key popularized the salt-and-caramel flavor pairing that is now ubiquitous. We discuss it all in this lively conversation.Also on the show, Anna talks Austrian food with Markus Glocker, executive chef at Augustine and chef-owner of Bâtard. They talk about intricate Viennese pastries and messy, comforting spaetzle.

When Nasim Alikhani opened Sofreh, an Iranian restaurant in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights, she was 59 years old. She was an experienced home cook but had never worked in a restaurant in her life. We sit down to talk about some of the biggest surprises along the way and most important things she learned about keeping herself sane and keeping the restaurant steady. And, we talk about the subtle changes she and her chefs have made to a whole suite of classic homey Iranian dishes to make them restaurant-ready.Later on in this episode, Matt has a conversation with Diana Kuan, the author of Red Hot Kitchen. Her latest book dives into the world of classic chile sauces from across Asia. She and Matt talk about what makes a good XO sauce, why yuzu kosho tastes surprisingly great on tacos, and why some sauces are so much better when they’re homemade.

Longtime New York City restaurant critic and neighborhood wanderer Robert Sietsema used to fear for his job. “I feared for decades that I would get off the train and spot a dozen other food writers combing the neighborhood and beating the bush for restaurants, and I would have to engage them in fisticuffs to decide who got to go into this new restaurant from Indonesia in Elmhurst.” LOL. The fact of the matter is, as the extraordinarily articulate Sietsema explains in this sprawling and highly enjoyable conversation about his 25 years covering the city, that there is nobody who covers the outer boroughs like Robert.We talk about his later-in-life journey to food writing—including his influential food fanzine from the late 1980s, Down the Hatch—and his time working at the Village Voice and Eater, as well as his current quest to spot the city’s best sandwiches.Also on the show is Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman. She answers a reader’s burning question: What’s the most delicious thing you’ve eaten in New York City for under $3?

For near five years, journalist and former chef Bill Addison traveled America as Eater’s first, and only, roving restaurant critic. It was an epic and sometimes grueling run, one that I am sure will end up on the shelf of Kitchen Arts and Letters in memoir form in due time. Bill has since landed a new job in a city many consider to be the beating heart of American food culture today: Los Angeles!In this candid interview, Addison talks about his new gig as co-restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times, where he and Patricia Escárcega have been tasked with replacing the legendary Jonathan Gold while also having a fresh take on the beat. We talk about Addison’s marching orders—the territory he will be covering and what defines L.A. proper—and some of the cuisines he will be targeting in a city of hundreds. Hint: Syrian home cooking has been getting a closer look as of late. I also ask him about the best restaurant he has visited in his short time as critic and the one pastry he cannot wait to bake in his new home kitchen.Also on the show I speak with Kim and Tyler Malek, the founders of beloved ice cream company Salt and Straw. We talk about their cool new cookbook and how they invent their hundreds of new flavors each year.

The sudden and rather intense rise of Carla Lalli Music and her test kitchen crew at Bon Appétit to legit food-world celebs has been simply amazing to watch from the sidelines. Lalli Music is the longtime food director at the publication and stars in many of the YouTube videos BA puts out each month. On this highly entertaining episode of the podcast, Lalli Music talks about what’s in the special sauce for viral-video glory. And, oh yeah, she has written one of the year’s best cookbooks: Where Cooking Begins. It’s an argument for better and happier shopping, which ultimately leads to better cooking. This may seem a little abstract, but it all makes too much sense.Also on the episode, contributor Max Falkowitz answers a reader’s burning food question: Do spices actually expire?

Mike Fadem and Marie Tribouilloy love bitter amaros, buttery mortadella, and what some people might call “salad” but Marie calls “room temperature vegetables.” Their unpretentious Bushwick pizza restaurant, Ops, was just named as a James Beard Award semifinalist for its unique wine program. Most of the selections are natural wines picked by Mike (who also makes the pizzas), and when part of a bottle is leftover at the end of a night, Marie turns them into homemade vinegars. We talked about their Brooklyn neighborhood (Bushwick), charcuterie, and why cheap beer and amaro are a great combination.Later in this episode, Matt talks to Sumi Ali and Tony (Tonx) Konecny from Yes Plz Coffee, a weekly coffee subscription service that comes with some mighty fine reading material—newsprint zine. We love these guys.

Chef and restaurateur Meherwan Irani is on a mission to change the perception of Indian food in America. Born in London, raised in India, and living in America for many decades, Irani’s experience with his native food is textured. At his outstanding and innovative Asheville and Atlanta restaurants, Chai Pani, he articulates a clear vision in the form of street food, which on this lively episode of the show we discuss in detail.From his Internet famous kale pakora, to the idea of jugaad—which basically means the ingenious ethic of hacking things to make them work—to his clear argument that there really isn’t something called Indian food. I love this guy.Also on the show, Anna has a fun and revealing interview with Donald Moore, the Chief Culinary Officer at The Cheesecake Factory. And, yes! They discuss the origins of the cheeseburger springroll.

You might remember her cardamom-pistachio Swiss rolls from the Great British Baking Show, or the orange savarin that blew Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood away. But in her new book, Chetna Makan is moving from all the butter and sugar onto another topic: Healthy Indian. We talked about daily baking habits, canned chickpeas, and why her black lentil recipe is better than her mom’s. She also told the story of a recent Great British Baking Showreunion at a wedding that involved not one, but 10 cakes.Later on the show, we grill TASTE contributor Max Falkowitz with a hard-hitting question about hot dogs.

After working as a fact checker for years at The New Yorker and contributing to the magazine’s Tables for Two column, Hannah Goldfield was named the magazine’s first full-time restaurant critic in 2018. What a gig! It was great fun having her on, and we talked about how the column has evolved—it has gotten longer and tackles big ideas happening in food today through the lens of New York City restaurants. She reveals some of her favorite, and not favorite, meals from the past year and how she keeps her eating schedule in check. “Every day is a different calculation,” she reveals. We talk deadlines, linguistics, rent hikes, saving NYC, and why it was so very terrible to fish for your dinner (inside a fancy NYC restaurant, that is).Also on the show, Anna talks to cookbook author Danielle Walkerabout her new book, Eat What You Love, and the secret to her grain-free pizza dough.

Soleil Ho isn’t like other restaurant critics. She doesn’t use a star system to rate restaurants. She doesn’t use terms like “up-and-coming” or “ethnic” or “addictive,” and there’s a reason for that. Since she became the restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle a few months ago, she’s been shaking things up, rethinking the system, and…yeah, pissing some people off.We talked about this approach and what a restaurant critic’s responsibility is to their city. We also got to catch up about some of Soleil’s writing for TASTE, about eating dogs, and about the difference between “fusion” and the food that results from assimilation.Later on the show, Matt asks Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman a question from a listener.

What exactly does it mean for food to be “modern”? Who better to ask than Anna Jones, the author of A Modern Way to Eat, A Modern Way to Cook, and most recently, The Modern Cook’s Year. In this conversation, we talk about what the word means to her, and she explains why she decided not to label any of her three books “vegetarian” even though none of them contain any meat.We also talked about why lettuces and salad greens are better when they’re charred, wilted, and a little bit warm.Also on this episode, Matt talks the stock market and the booming dumplings game with Hannah Cheng of New York’s Mimi Cheng’s.

So that thing about needing to rest your cooked petite filet for 20 minutes before slicing? The quest for cartoonish grill marks on your rib eye? Sous vide as the means to tenderloin glory? It’s all sorta false. Aaron Franklin has some strong opinions about all things steak (which he writes about in his new book, Franklin Steak), and we unpack many in this entertaining episode. Franklin, of waiting in a long line for barbecue in Austin, Texas, fame, also talks about the status of cutting that line and shares some thoughts on why a trip to Japan might just ruin him forever.Also on this episode, we had a great time speaking with some of the top minds in specialty coffee (jump to 21:34), including Christopher “Nicely” Abel Alameda (Menotti’s Coffee Stop), Kyle Glanville (Go Get Em Tiger), Bronwen Serna (Counter Culture Coffee), and Geoff Watts (Intelligentsia Coffee). Topics covered include farmer compensation, the pros and cons of espresso, the cost of a cup of coffee, and the rise of good coffee in Los Angeles, where this conversation was recorded at NeueHouse Hollywood.

Holy smokes, Priya Krishna and her new book, Indian-ish, have had quite a spring. She appeared on Today, toured America, sold a few copies along the way, and maybe pissed off a few people along the way, too (never a bad thing). I catch up with Krishna, a journalist and frequent TASTE contributor, about a month after the book’s release, and we went over it all. We talk about her great saag feta recipe and why the technique known as chhonk (tempering) is key in Indian home cooking. Also, why you should buy some asafoetida today.In addition we talk about her recent TASTE stories diving into yogurt culture (ha!), budino, and sun-dried tomatoes. What a cool conversation we had. Also on the show, Max Falkowitz answers a reader question: What is the difference between ice cream and gelato?

“Rice is culture”—the spiritual spine of a new restaurant in Harlem—is one of the many big ideas chef and award-winning cookbook author JJ Johnson tackles in this spirited episode. We also go over how the media covers African-American food and the economics of running restaurants in New York City, and he relives a recent trip he took to Puerto Rico.Also on the show, writer Maggie Hoffman talks about her new book, Batch Cocktails. Just in time for all of those backyard parties.

Hello summer, and hello vegetables! Michigan chef and cookbook author Abra Berens loves vegetables and has an inspiring new cookbook that presents them in the coolest way: braised, blistered, roasted, and raw. On this episode we talk about Ruffage, and Berens's journey from working the counter at Zingerman’s Deli to culinary school in Ireland to her current post cooking and farming in an exceptional way that recalls Dan Barber’s Blue Hill.Also on the show, TASTE’s Tatiana Bautista has a great conversation with Auria Abraham, the supercool founder behind Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen. They talk cooking with sambal and kaya, two amazingly diverse ingredients. And Auria makes the best around.

As the cofounder of online restaurant watchdog/chronicler Eater, and reservations booker Resy, Ben Leventhal has been at the center of all things dining out for over a decade. On this episode, we go back to the early days of Eater and talk about the rapid shift toward food as pop culture—which is not to be confused with pop culture’s crossover with food. That is, society’s deep interest in New York City’s Taiwanese restaurant boom, and not what that Foodgod guy is guiding this week. We clarify the difference.Ben also tackles the state of the restaurant reservation, and how restaurant owners are making it work in a very competitive climate. Note: This interview was conducted before Resy was acquired by American Express on May 15.Also on today’s show, Max Falkowitz answers a burning reader question about figs and veganism.

Big ideas, strong opinions, and a deadpan Instagram. These are a few of my favorite things. Former pastry chef and current Empellon boss man Alex Stupak is a complicated—and incredibly sincere—dude, and in this episode we have a really spirited conversation about chicken sandwiches, aquafaba, his time at WD-50, Maggi seasoning, his cookbook, Tacos, and making Mexican food at home. Phew! It’s a really cool talk.Also on the show, we ask Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman a reader question. Hint: There are donuts involved.

Odette Williams is the author of Simple Cake and delivers on the book’s lofty promise: that baking cake can be simple! The book is organized into 10 base cakes and 15 toppings, and readers are encouraged to mix and match at their baking leisure. In this episode, we dive into what inspired the Australian bakeware designer to make the leap to publishing—and what is so rad about baking cakes for everyday snacking. Indeed, she’s a very big proponent of the snacking cake. What an idea.Also on this episode, photographer and author Austin Bush joins to talk about his incredible book, The Food of Northern Thailand. He shares stories of adventure and pork rinds, and what goes into the writing and reporting of a guidebooks. He’s currently working on editions for Laos and Vietnam. He also shares details about an upcoming book project.

David Kinch is the chef-owner of acclaimed Northern California restaurant Manresa and a legend in American fine-dining circles. On this episode, we head back to New York City in the 1980s and talk about his time working at the influential restaurant Quilted Giraffe—and how his post-shift meals at Midtown izakayas back then reflected the city’s changing culinary landscape. We also discuss his upcoming opening, Menton, and how he’s been traveling around America researching pasta.Also on the episode is Isaac Toups, the James Beard Award–nominated chef-owner of Toups’ Meatery in New Orleans and the author of Chasing the Gator. We discuss the definition of Cajun cuisine and how it occupies such a unique place in American culinary history. Plus, we talk about a trip he took to Lyon, France and the surprising connections he made.Lastly, Max Falkowitz answers a burning reader question about the price of vanilla.

What a lineup on today’s episode! First up, Tartine’s Chad Robertson sits down for an interview at his brand-new Manufactory in downtown Los Angeles. We talk a bit about the grand expansion of Tartine but also go back to his early days of baking in his backyard in Northern California—and how he might just crave that simpler time. We also talk about his company’s move to Korea, and what it’s like to operate there. What a cool interview.Next up, I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Serious Eats founder Ed Levine. We talk about his early days in food journalism and the ups and downs of running a media start-up in a wildly competitive, and changing, landscape. We also dive into his great new memoir, Serious Eater.Lastly we speak with Donna Leonard, the owner of legendary New York City restaurants Il Buco and Il Buco Alimentari. We talk about some of the amazing chefs who have cooked at the restaurants, and she closes with a ghost story.

Friend of TASTE Daniel Holzman joins for a hilarious and truly meaningful conversation about the life of a traveling chef. Holzman, cofounder of the Meatball Shop and veteran of high-end kitchens in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, is also a TASTE columnist and a gifted photographer. We talk about his journey from working at Le Bernardin in high school, to his time as a young cook with Jean-Louis Palladin, to opening a restaurant with his best friend.Also on the show, journalists Matt and Ted Lee join to talk about their latest book, Hotbox: Inside Catering, the Food World's Riskiest Business. It’s a deep and meaningful look at the world of corporate catering. They talk about what it was like to go undercover.

The TASTE Podcast has brought some incredible friends and heroes into the studio, and we wanted to relive some of our favorite conversations, including candid and sometimes hilarious talks with Ruth Reichl, Pete Wells, Helen Rosner, Dorie Greenspan, Julia Moskin, and Francis Lam.We also talk about all the exciting things in the works for TASTE, including our upcoming cookbook, Lasagna, and a bunch of other projects. This is not goodbye. This is see you on the Internet, or in person, very soon. You can follow us on Twitter at: @HezelAnna and @MattRodbard. And of course, visit TASTE online: tastecooking.com.

We are BACK, and have some incredible interviews lined up on the freshly relaunched TASTE Podcast. One of those interviews is with Eric Kim. Eric has a signature style with his food writing and journalism, which has appeared frequently in the New York Times, Food52, and other publications. He blends a truly lyrical style of prose with deep reporting chops and a knack for simple and highly focused recipe development—a rare triple threat! In this conversation, Eric talks about some of his hit recipes in the Times, and he shares details about his forthcoming cookbook Korean American, out next March. We also talk about how crushing deadlines can sometimes inspire a genius recipe idea.Also on the show, cohosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard discuss what they’ve been up to for the past two years and how the TASTE Podcast is coming back bigger, bolder, and featuring 100 percent more ranch dressing.Additional Eric Kim reading:The Perfect Dinner for Two [New York Times Magazine]What’s in Your Second Fridge? [TASTE]The Best Coffee Break Is an Affogato [New York Times]Preorder Eric's book: Korean American

You may know him as the friendly face who joins Julia Child on-screen to cook crêpes Suzette with precision and to improvise with big hunks of pork in Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home. Or you may know him from one of the most viral omelet instructional videos of all time. But lately, the celebrated 85-year-old chef, TV personality, and author has been focusing on cooking what’s growing in his garden, painting chickens, and showing the internet how to prepare a meal on a tight budget. In this episode, Anna Hezel speaks to Jacques Pépin about some of these recent passions—and why nonstick pans are so key to making a perfect omelet.Also on the show, Matt Rodbard catches up with Adam Reiner, the founder of the Restaurant Manifesto and the author of a recent TASTE story about the brilliant cookbook manuscript left behind by late pastry chef Gina DePalma.Additional reading:When Jacques Pépin Made All the World an Omelet [TASTE]The Pastry Chef’s Lost Cookbook [TASTE]

Jesse Szewczyk is a talented food stylist, recipe developer, and author of a new cookbook, Cookies: The New Classics. Were you hoping for some inspiration for your planned holiday cookie swap? He has some really creative takes on classic cookies, including Smoked Butter Chocolate Chunks and Cacio e Pepe Slice and Bakes. In this episode, we talk about his unique creative process, in which he comes up with the cookie name first and then backs into the actual recipe development—a bold move indeed. We discuss his former life as a corporate recipe developer, helping develop concepts for major fast food and QSR chains like Buffalo Wild Wings, Sizzler, and the granddaddy of them all, Taco Bell.Also on the show, cohosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard talk about some of their favorite cookbooks, both big and small, being released this fall. They discuss books about Chicago pizza, New York pizza, Southern baking, sustainable meat, and the latest from Dorie Greenspan and Sandor Katz.Additional reading:Brown Butter–Bourbon Rice Krispies Treats [Food52]Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies [The Kitchn]Parmesan Cheesecake Bars [TASTE]Buy the book: Cookies: The New Classics

Our old friend and former TASTE columnist Priya Krishna has had a meteoric rise in food media, starting in the marketing department at Lucky Peach and going on to roles at Bon Appétit and, most recently, the New York Times, where she is a star reporter on the Food desk. In this interview, we talk about the new book she wrote with David Chang, Cooking at Home, and how they both set out to write a book that was original, opinionated, and clearly not the Momofuku Cookbook 2.0. We also talk about some of her recent stories at the New York Times, as well as in the pages of TASTE.Also on the show, Anna Hezel speaks with Adam Erace, author of a recent hit story about the godfather sandwich, a mainstay in delis on the East Coast. We found out how the sandwich takes on many personalities—and was not necessarily inspired by the film that shares its name.Additional reading:Was Cast Iron Almost Canceled? [TASTE]The Vegan Jerky Industrial Complex [TASTE]Why Do American Grocery Stores Still Have an Ethnic Aisle? [The New York Times]The Godfather Sandwich Is Everything and Nothing [TASTE]Buy the book: Cooking at Home

There are plenty of things we take for granted about walking into a grocery store: the fluorescent lights, the astoundingly inexpensive milk, the neatly stacked boxes of Nabisco cookies. But as Benjamin Lorr uncovers in his book The Secret Life of Groceries, there’s more than meets the eye. Lorr went undercover as a Whole Foods fishmonger, boarded a shrimp-fishing boat in Thailand, and rode along with a truck driver in a quest to understand some of the unseen economics and labor that fuel our everyday commodities. In this episode, we talk about supply chain disruptions, neighborhood grocery tastemakers, and the origins of Trader Joe’s.Also on the show, Anna sits down with author and journalist Leah Koenig to discuss the burgeoning world of TikTok and Instagram foraging.Additional reading:It Was a Big Year for TikTok Foraging [TASTE]Benjamin Lorr’s ‘The Secret Life of Groceries’ Book Being Adapted As TV Docuseries [Deadline]Buy the book: The Secret Life of Groceries

Vallery Lomas is a former Washington, DC, lawyer, a current New York City food writer and restaurant chronicler, and the author of a wonderful new cookbook, Life Is What You Bake It. Vallery also competed on—and won— season 3 of The Great American Baking Show. In this interview, we talk a little bit about her season of the show, which unfortunately never aired because of many allegations made against one of the judges. We also tackle some of the baking world’s biggest questions—we’re talking cookie vs. brownie and mint vs. white chocolate.Also on the show, cohosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard talk about one of the greatest culinary achievements in the history of food (at least to one of the hosts): ranch dressing. They discuss what defines ranch, the beauty of ranch on pizza, and how ranch may need a little PR. Well, here is some PR!Additional reading:Vallery Lomas and Ruby Tandoh on New Cookbooks and Old Food Media [TASTE]Leah Chase Expanded Horizons for Black Women in Food [TASTE]Ranch Isn’t a Dressing. It’s a Lifestyle. [TASTE]  Buy the book: Life Is What You Bake It   

Archestratus is Paige Lipari’s Greenpoint, Brooklyn, café and cookbook store. For over six years, the store—stacked neatly with copies of new and used titles, as well as dusty magazines and long-forgotten reference materials, with a stellar Sicilian restaurant attached—has become one of New York City’s go-to spots for exceptionally curated book browsing paired with molten arancini. In this episode, we speak with Lipari about how one of the country’s finest cookbook stores survived the pandemic—and eventually grew, with a recent expansion. We also talk about many of her favorite fall cookbooks, just in time for the holiday book buying season. Have you picked up a title today? Archestratus will have what you are looking for.Also on the show, we speak with Cathy Erway. She’s a journalist, podcast hosting legend, and TASTE columnist. We talk about some of her recent work, including stories about sugar, sesame oil, and chile powder. We also discuss her recent cookbook collaboration, and the process of collaborating on cookbooks with chefs more broadly.Additional reading:How Many Chile Powders Does Your Kitchen Need? [TASTE]When White Sugar Won’t Do [TASTE]Spring for the Good Sesame Oil Already [TASTE]Visit Archestratus online at: archestrat.us/

The truly unique food worldview of chef and entrepreneur Lucas Sin is shaped by a Hong Kong upbringing, a US education, and a deep love for culinary history, which we talk about in this entertaining interview with one of the food world’s rising stars. We also discuss his love of the Midwest—Michigan in particular—and how his work at his restaurants, Junzi and Nice Day, is partially based on a drive to “reeducate” Americans about Chinese American food, which represents over 45,000 independent mom-and-pop restaurants around the country. And if you haven’t followed Lucas on Instagram, you are missing out.Also on this episode, cohosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard talk about cooking the whole fish! There are many techniques being presented in the recent crop of cookbooks released this fall. They debunk some of the myths about the difficulty of cooking the whole fish (it needn’t be hard), and they each share some of their fondest memories of cooking whole fish at home and enjoying it around the world.Additional reading:A Course Correction for American Chinese Food [TASTE]Best New Chefs 2021: Lucas Sin [Food & Wine]1 Fried Rice, 4 Ways [YouTube]Grab That Whole Fish By the Tail [TASTE]

Our guest today needs little introduction—but if you didn’t grow up watching cooking on television over the past 20 years, here’s the deal. Jamie Oliver pioneered a form of food television that brought cameras into the home in a way not previously seen. When the Naked Chef debuted on BBC Two in the UK and the Food Network in the United States in 1999, home cooking on TV was a stand-and-stir affair. Here, a young and floppy Oliver was cooking real food from a cool East London flat, talking viewers through the relative simplicity of making dinner. Oliver has gone on to write numerous cookbooks (selling 50 million in the UK alone) and create food TV that expanded beyond cooking, producing documentaries about the sugar industry and school lunches that transitioned his work from dude food evangelist to heartier activism. Oliver was a joy to have on the program, and we talk about the early days of his television career, working at the River Café with the legends Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray, and a pressing question: Blur vs. Oasis (while discussing bassist turned cheese maker Alex James). We also learn about his latest book, Together: Memorable Meals Made Easy. Additional reading and viewing:Jamie Oliver’s first TV appearance in 1997 [YouTube]It’s Not Always Excellent to Be Jamie Oliver [The New York Times]Keep Cooking and Carry On [Jamie Oliver website]

Samah Dada is the brainpower behind Dada Eats, a recipe blog that has blossomed into a plant-based lifestyle brand. We got to know Samah a few years back at a TASTE Podcast taping at Books Are Magic, and we have been following her career as she’s grown from Today Show production assistant to author of Dada Eats: Love to Cook It. In this interview, we talk about her recipes for chocolate chip cookie pie and the “best dal ever” (controversial!) while diving into her understated and, we'd say, highly seasoned take on plant-based cooking. Samah’s vibe is fun and approachable, and the lack of meat and dairy in her recipes is sorta less emphasized. We also talk about the challenge of baking with avocado and her time working food TV.Additional reading:How Samah Dada Got The Confidence To Share More Personal Recipes [Cherry Bombe]Chocolate chip cookie pie [Dada Eats]2 Easy Plant-Based Dinner Recipes For When You're Cooking Solo [Today]Buy the book: Dada Eats: Love to Cook It

If you’ve caught some of the exciting new writing coming from the relaunch of Gawker, you may have read some food writing by Tammie Teclemariam, who’s been taking down moka pots, making the case for buying a whole ham, and lauding the Black Russian as a far superior alternative to the espresso martini craze. Tammie’s also written for TASTE about the virtues of fried chicken livers, how Caraflex is the ultimate cabbage flex, and why mozzarella in carrozza is the fanciest iteration of a grilled cheese. We talked about some of the joys (and terrors) of whole-ham ownership, as well as a few unexpectedly cool ideas for holiday drinking.After recording the episode, it was announced that Tammie will be New York Magazine’s first ever Diner-at-Large. You can follow along with her eating and writing in 2022 here.Also on this episode, hosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard dive into the topic of nonalcoholic drinks for celebratory occasions—all of the sodas, seltzers, and beers that are worth pulling out for a toast, including drinks from Kimino, Casamara Club, and Athletic Brewing. Finally, Matt recalls his grandma Gert’s stash of Canfield’s Diet Chocolate Fudge in Highland Park, Illinois.    Additional reading:On the Acquisition and Maintenance of a Ham [Gawker]Moka Pots Make Shitty Coffee [Gawker]If You “Like” Espresso Martinis You’ll Love the Black Russian [Gawker]Have You Fried a Chicken Liver Lately? [TASTE]The Grilled Cheese Gets Regal [TASTE]The Year I Ate New York [New York Magazine]

Matt met author and television writer Jean Kyoung Frazier through Instagram during last year’s NBA playoffs. She is a Los Angeles Clippers fan, he’s a Brooklyn Nets fan, and they had a lot to talk about. But what most inspired the exchange, and eventually this episode, is Jean’s novel Pizza Girl, which is based partially in a suburban Los Angeles pizzeria. We speak with Jean about how she writes about food in her fiction, as well as not writing about food on Law & Order: Organized Crime. We also talk about her upbringing in Southern California—the food, the hoops, and how pizza topped with pickles plays as a critical plot point in her work.  Also on the show, hosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard talk about some of the winter cooking projects and goals they will be undertaking during the colder months ahead. We go through a year of buying cookbooks and clipping recipes on the internet, but sometimes we run out of time to actually make them. Winter is a time to make things happen, and your cohosts have some thoughts about cannelloni, kimbap, khao soi, chocoflan, fresh tortillas, and pan pizza.Additional reading:Writing Toward Feeling: An Interview with Jean Kyoung Frazier [The Rumpus]Long Distance with Jean Kyoung Frazier [Literary Arts]Buy the book: Pizza Girl

One morning this fall, Matt found himself in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, seated in the front yard of Edy’s Grocer, the remarkable deli and specialty food shop run by the amazing young entrepreneur Edy Massih, who joins him on the show today. Massih formerly worked as a caterer, and during the pandemic, he took over a storefront and began selling all sorts of delicious foods—all with a modern and exciting point of view. There’s a long list of mezze—Lebanese small plates like baba ganoush, rosy ricotta, and za’atar goat cheese—as well as harissa paste, jams, oils, and packaged spice rubs. It’s a delightful shop, cared for with the greatest eye for detail and deliciousness. We find out how the store began and how its ambitious owner is making things work during this challenging time to be running a food business. Additional reading:Edy Massih Wants to Be 'the Middle Eastern Martha Stewart' [Grub Street]The Dish: Chef Edy Massih on Lebanese roots, new shop [CBS This Morning]He Rescued an NYC Deli So He Could Share Lebanese Food With the World [The Manual]

On today’s episode, Anna sits down with longtime chef and sustainable seafood advocate Bart van Olphen. The Dutch chef has written many cookbooks for an international audience (including several on the topic of tinned fish), and he’s the founder of Sea Tales, a company that sells sustainable canned tuna, anchovies, and sardines. They talked about why tinned fish is having a moment, how to shop responsibly for seafood, and Bart’s newest book, Veggies & Fish.Later on the show, Anna talks to author and alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra about mindful holiday eating and why the self-care industrial complex might not be such a bad thing. Deepak has some thoughts about how to eat well (and thoughtfully), even in the midst of a hectic travel schedule or a deluge of holiday celebrations.Buy the books: Veggies & Fish, by Bart van OlphenTotal Meditation, by Deepak Chopra

Today on the show, we have a colorful conversation with Cara Nicoletti, a fourth-generation butcher, writer, and cofounder of the vegetable-centric sausage company Seemore Meats & Veggies. We’ve fallen hard for these sausages, which are made with 35 percent vegetables, and we wanted to have Cara on the podcast to talk about how she went from working at the legendary Meat Hook butcher shop in Brooklyn to disrupting the sausage game. We also talk about the many problems with the massive investment and growth of the plant-based meat megacompanies, and how TASTE readers can buy better at their local butcher shops.Also on the program, hosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard discuss all things chicken soup: the many versions made around the world, and how the recipe is interpreted in some of our favorite recent cookbooks. Matt also remembers many a fine bowl of Detroit Lions’ loss chicken soup. Additional reading:Can Chicken Soup Save Us? [TASTE]Samgyetang: Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup [TASTE]Cooking At Home by David Change and Priya Krishna

Today on the show, we’re talking to Hrishikesh Hirway, the musician behind The One AM Radio, the podcaster behind The West Wing Weekly and Song Exploder, and the host of Netflix’s adaptation of Song Exploder. In addition to collaborating with Yo-Yo Ma and interviewing musicians like Michael Stipe and Alicia Keys, Hrishikesh is also the cohost, with Samin Nosrat, of Home Cooking, which has quickly become one of our favorite food podcasts during the pandemic. We talked about the joys of savory oatmeal, lessons learned from hosting a call-in show about cooking, and a very special mango pie. We also got to hear about an exciting new EP that’s hot off the presses.Additional reading and listening:Accept Cookies [Substack]A Very American Mango Pie, Inspired by Indian Aunties [The New York Times]Song Exploder, The West Wing Weekly, Home Cooking

On today’s episode of the podcast, we’re talking to Fany Gerson, the pastry chef mastermind behind La Newyorkina, Dough, and, most recently, Fan-Fan Doughnuts in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. In addition to making some of New York’s most legendary doughnuts, Fany has written extensively about the paletas, ice creams, and other sweets of Mexico, where she grew up. We talked about the secret ingredient that makes her yeasted doughnuts special, how the fan-fan (her signature eclair-like doughnut baton) came about, and some of the best, often-overlooked Mexican food in New York.Later on the show, hosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard discuss the ever-present, ever-evolving world of fad diets.Additional Reading:Mexican Desserts and the Magical Can [TASTE]Inside Fany Gerson’s Brand-new Doughnut Shop [Grub Street]The Best Advice After Trying Every Fad Diet? Just Eat. [TASTE]When SnackWell’s Was the Flavor of Permissible Indulgence [TASTE]The Summer of Halo Top [TASTE]Buy Fany’s cookbooks: My Sweet Mexico, Paletas, Mexican Ice Cream

Today on the show, we’re catching up with Gary Shteyngart, a New York Times best-selling novelist and food writer who has written memorable books including The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Super Sad True Love Story, and his most recent work, the rollicking pandemic satire Our Country Friends. In this episode, we talk about some of Shteyngart’s world travels, both as a hired gun and for fun, as well as what he’s eating and drinking in his Upstate New York home. We also remember New York City restaurants from the 1990s and early 2000s, including fond memories of the long-lost Meatpacking District bistro Florent, which plays a role in his most recent novel.Check out Gary Shteyngart’s recent book Our Country Friends. 

For the past year and a half, Daniela Galarza has written one of our favorite things on the internet: a four-day-a-week cooking column for the Washington Post food section, Eat Voraciously. In this episode, we hear about Daniela’s journey from pastry cook and private chef to holding down editorial jobs at LA Weekly, Eater, and the Post. We also talk about some of the great work she’s done as a writer for TASTE, particularly focusing on pastry and desserts. And she answers the burning questions of the day: What makes a great recipe, and what makes a great food newsletter? Additional reading:The Tart That Launched a Thousand Tarts [TASTE]Spain’s Burnt Cheesecake Breaks All the Rules [TASTE]Big Crisp Energy [TASTE]How do you like to cook your least favorite veggies? We’ve got ideas, too. [WaPo]

In this episode, we’re sitting down with Mark Canha, the biggest food personality in Major League Baseball. Mark is an itinerant diner who documents his eating and cooking on Instagram as @bigleaguefoodie. We asked him about his pregame eating rituals, as well as some of the restaurants in New York that he’s most excited to check out as a new player for the New York Mets. We also talked about some untapped markets for Italian stadium food served in plastic souvenir helmet bowls.Later in this episode, hosts Matt Rodbard and Anna Hezel catch up about the most exciting things they’ve cooked and eaten in the last few weeks.Additional Reading:In Singapore, Lunar New Year is a Multicultural Feast [New York Times]Skillet Greens with Runny Eggs, Peas, and Pancetta [New York Times]NY Indonesian Food Bazaar [Facebook]Smorgasburg LADanny Boy’s Famous Original 

Today on the show we are speaking with one of the clearest and most singular voices in Italian cooking in New York City, Missy Robbins. In the episode, we turn back the clock to the heady days of Missy running two major NYC restaurants in the late aughts, as well as discuss her current hit Brooklyn restaurants Lilia and Misi. We also talk about her new cookbook, Pasta: The Spirit and Craft of Italy’s Greatest Food, with Recipes, which she wrote with our former TASTE colleague and friend Talia Baiocchi. We find out about the duo’s extensive research and reporting, and how the book has taken off online since it was released last fall. Have you spotted folks stamping out pasta coins on the internet? We have.Additional Reading:45 Pasta Shapes and Counting [TASTE]Recipe: Spaghetti alla Puttanesca [Pasta]Recipe: Spaghetti with Colatura and Bread Crumbs [Pasta]Buy the book: Pasta: The Spirit and Craft of Italy’s Greatest Food, with Recipes

On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with longtime food writer and cookbook author Cathy Barrow. Cathy’s the author of Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry, Pie Squared, and When Pies Fly. Her most recent book, Bagels, Schmears, and a Nice Piece of Fish, makes the case for bagels at home. As she points out, if you throw together the dough before bed and proof it in the refrigerator overnight, boiling and baking in the morning is a complete breeze. We discussed some of the biggest bagel myths and truths out there. It turns out that using New York City tap water isn’t really a necessity, but getting the right flour is.Check out Cathy’s book: Bagels, Schmears, and a Nice Piece of Fish Pick up Some Ingredients for Bagels at Home:High-Gluten FlourNon-Diastatic Malt PowderPumpernickel Flour

On today’s episode, we have a really fun conversation with the one and only J. Kenji López-Alt. As the author of The Food Lab, Kenji has been a guiding force in home cooking for over a decade. He’s back with a new book, The Wok: Recipes and Techniques, and we discuss creative ways to cook with one of the best tools around. We go all the way back to the heady days of early Serious Eats, a time when food blogging was starting to find its footing, and Kenji reflects on his time working at the scrappy start-up. We also talk about some of his favorite condiments and spices and what foods he enjoys most in the kitchen.Additional Reading: A Lamb Stew With a French Onion Twist [New York Times]The Scientific Methods of J. Kenji López-Alt [Seattle Met]J. Kenji López-Alt says Seattle’s bagels are as good as New York’s [Seattle Times]

Today on the TASTE Podcast, we’re talking to Nisha Melvani, the author of Practically Vegan. Nisha is the creator of the website and Instagram account Cooking for Peanuts, a source for colorful, practical, no-nonsense plant-based recipes. We talk about how much range cashews have as an ingredient for creamy dishes, and about why tempeh has such a bad reputation (and how to make it taste truly delicious). We also discuss how using less salt can actually make you a much better cook.Also on the show, TASTE editors Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard return with a Three Things segment. Matt is excited about two upcoming barbecue cookbooks and Anna discusses her tinned fish storage situ, while shouting out some favorite recipes from Caroline Schiff and Sohla El-Waylly.Check out Nisha’s book: Practically VeganAdditional Reading:Caroline Schiff’s Salted Honey Focaccia [TASTE]Yurrita Boquerones in Vinegar [Fresh Direct]Sohla El-Waylly’s Braised Lamb Shoulder with Dried Chiles and Dates [Serious Eats]

On today’s episode, we have a great conversation with Emily Weinstein, the Food and Cooking editor of the New York Times. We’ve been great admirers of the work at NYT Cooking, and we took the opportunity to cover many subjects in home cooking and food media. We talk about what makes a great story and some of the cooking trends Weinstein is most interested in covering. We also discuss Weinstein’s long journey working at the paper, starting as a dining listings fact-checker and rising to various editorial roles, eventually taking the top spot. Also on the episode, TASTE editors Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard have a discussion about language, particularly the words they’ve effectively banned from the pages of TASTE. Can you guess what they are?Additional Reading:Subscribe to Emily’s newsletter: Five Weeknight Dishes The Fish That Makes Me Want to Cook [New York Times]One Huge Hog, One Long Day and a Nourishing Southern Tradition [New York Times]Why Does Every Recipe Have to Be Magic? [TASTE]

We’ve long been fans of Jenny G. Zhang’s incisive journalism and podcasting, and we couldn’t wait to have the current Gawker editor and writer on the show. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about food in the time of TikTok, Zhang’s memorable 2018 Eater story about Pizza Hut in China, and the regular food she covers in her Gawker column Regular Food Reviews. We also talk about the world of NFTs in food. Additional Reading and Listening:American Pie [Eater]Why do people on TikTok Chew Like This? [Gawker]I’m Sick of Scrolling Past Essays to Get to Recipes I’m Not Paying For [Eater]Give Your Dumpling a Crispy Skirt [TASTE]

If you’re a fan of recipes that make clever use of a handful of ingredients and a few swift moves in the kitchen, then chances are, you’ve probably cooked an Ali Slagle recipe. Maybe it was her margherita pizza reimagined as beans on toast, or maybe it was her oat milk chocolate pudding. Ali’s new book, I Dream of Dinner, is full of these types of recipes that manage to be both wildly efficient and gently playful at the same time. In this episode, we talk about the book and Ali’s life on the road this past year, developing recipes from a camper van.Also in this episode, TASTE editors Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard discuss three things each of them have been excited to eat, cook, or read lately.Check out Ali’s Book: I Dream of DinnerAdditional Reading:I’ve Made Everything from Gnocchi to Mapo To ] fu in My Camper Van’s Kitchen [The Strategist]Masa Harina Cornbread [Los Angeles Times]Eric Kim’s Maple Milk Bread [The New York Times]

For many followers of the home cooking internet, Jenny Rosenstrach’s Dinner: A Love Story has been a steady hand holding the whisk for the past decade. She recently released the New York Times best seller The Weekday Vegetarians. As the name suggests, Jenny’s vision is of a world where plant-based eating becomes more of a Monday-through-Friday habit than a life-altering stricture. In this fun conversation, we talk about cookbooks, writing a weekly newsletter, and what’s next for one of our favorite food writers around.Also in this episode, TASTE editors Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard discuss three things each of them have been excited to eat, cook, match, and read lately.Additional Reading, Listening, and Cooking:The Weekday Approach to Eating Less Meat [TASTE]The Roast Chicken Conspiracy [Cup of Jo]Black Calamari Orzo [Kalustyans]Should You Write a Cookbook? [Everything Cookbooks]

For coffee fans and professionals, there is no more critical resource than the website and media company Sprudge, and we were really happy to have a lively conversation with Sprudge’s cofounder Jordan Michelman. While we do discuss the evolution of the so-called third-wave coffee bar around the globe, we also dive into Jordan’s career in journalism and discuss some of his memorable stories for TASTE and beyond. He won a James Beard Award for his PUNCH story on mineral water, and we talk about how he reports on topics with an interest that borders on obsession.Buy: The New Rules of Coffee Additional Reading:The Future of Ice Cream Is Here, and It’s Vegan [TASTE]Seltzer Is Over. Mineral Water Is Forever. [PUNCH]My Favorite Cold Brew Isn’t Cold Brew at All [TASTE]What Your Hangover Food Says About You [TASTE]

We’ve made it to 100 episodes, and it feels like we’re just getting started. Thank you for listening—we have some amazing things in the works and can’t wait to share them with you. Our guest this episode is a legend in the food podcasting world. Dan Pashman is the creator and host of the long-running podcast The Sporkful. In this fun conversation, we learn about how Dan pivoted his career from producing radio (including a stint with Marc Maron at Air America) to launching his own series that dives deep into all areas of food. We discuss what makes a great Sporkful episode and learn about Dan’s recent adventure of inventing a pasta shape. How do you invent a pasta shape? We’ll find out. We also ask Dan about some of his home cooking adventures and hear about an exciting new book in the works.Additional Reading and Listening:Everything You Need to Know About Cascatelli [The Sporkful]Are The Jell-O Heirs Cursed? [The Sporkful]Are Shallots Bull$#!t?  [The Sporkful]

On this episode of the TASTE Podcast, we talk to chef, writer, and activist Jenny Dorsey. Jenny has beat Bobby Flay on Beat Bobby Flay and shown the internet how to make Spam-filled wontons, but she’s also the founder of the nonprofit Studio ATAO, which creates educational tools for food publications and organizations to think inclusively and equitably about their work. We talked about how VR goggles can shift the social dynamics at a dinner table, what makes a good neighborhood restaurant, and the astounding amount of research she put into writing the official cookbook for Avatar: The Last Airbender.Buy: Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Official CookbookAdditional Reading: The Virtuous, and Virtual, Activism of Studio ATAO [TASTE]Toolkit for Recognizing, Disrupting, and Preventing Tokenism in Food Media [Studio ATAO]

It was such a treat to have Sara Jenkins on the TASTE Podcast, and this conversation really delivers. Matt has followed Sara’s career for over a decade, dating back to her amazing restaurants Porchetta and Porsena in New York’s East Village. We talk about her childhood growing up in Beirut and Italy—and how, to this day, she returns to the Tuscan farmhouse her family bought in the 1970s for their annual olive harvest and some of her recent writing on TASTE.Also in this episode, TASTE editors Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard discuss three things each of them have been excited to eat, cook, watch, and read lately.Additional Reading and Listening:Who Called the Carbonara Police? [TASTE]A Very Roman Rice Ball [TASTE] Substack’s Food Fellows [release]TASTE Podcast 71: Eric Kim Buy: Olives and Oranges and The Four Seasons of Pasta

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We’ve been talking a lot about food TikTok in the office, and we’ve written about TikTok, too, but we haven’t had a bona fide TikTok star on the show until now. Eitan Bernath has over two million followers on the platform, and we talk about what makes a great TikTok video, what he ate growing up in Teaneck, New Jersey, and how his first cookbook, Eitan Eats the World, expresses his love of many foods, including a deep interest in Indian cuisine. It’s a really great conversation.Buy: Eitan Eats the World  More from Eitan Bernath:  @eitan [TikTok] $500 Wagyu Steak: Amateur vs. Chef [YouTube]Spaghetti & Meatballs

Andy Baraghani started his professional cooking career as a teenager at the legendary Berkeley, California, restaurant Chez Panisse, and he was truly just getting started. After working as a line cook at Estela in New York City, he was hired as the food editor at Tasting Table and eventually found his way to the Bon Appétit test kitchen, where he worked for over six years and won the hearts of many with his exceptional cooking instruction and kind heart. Andy’s rich story and sharp recipe writing chops come together so beautifully in his new book, The Cook You Want to Be. In this episode, we talk about the book and some of the recipes inspired by his Iranian heritage, as well as learning some of Andy’s golden cooking rules. We also find out about the three-course tasting menu that he cooked to land his gig at BA so many years ago. What a great conversation!Buy: The Cook You Want to Be Additional Reading:Andy Baraghani’s Essential Kitchen Tools [Bon Appetit]How Andy Baraghani Became the Internet Boyfriend of Our Dreams [Out]Andybaraghani.substack.com [Substack]

For Peter Reinhart, life is just one big pizza quest—a journey of flavors and textures that he encapsulates in his latest cookbook, Pizza Quest. The book offers at-home riffs on some of the most inventive, original pizzas from around the country, remixing classic regional styles with lowcountry seafood boils, bagel toppings, and (why not) potato chips. We talked about the convivial, collaborative nature of the pizza community and the pitfalls of trying to pick a favorite pie.Also on the show, hosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard talk about some of the ingredients, coffee news, and vintage reality TV that’s been fueling their cooking lately.Buy: Pizza Quest and Perfect Pan PizzaAdditional Reading:The Future of Pizza Is Crunchy and Square [TASTE]The Flour Tortilla Has Ascended [TASTE]Morgan Eckroth’s 2022 US Barista Championship Winning Routine [YouTube]

To the Last Bite is home cook and Tasty video star Alexis deBoschnek’s homage to her home region of New York, the Catskills! In this really fun episode, we talk about Alexis’s life growing up in a rural mountain town and how that upbringing informed the way she cooks. We also discuss her career at Tasty, where she worked on some of the internet’s most popular cooking videos of all time, including the legendary “Can This Chef Cook a 3-Course Meal With Power Tools?” video stunt. Spoiler: The chef (Alexis) most definitely can.Later in the episode, hosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard talk about the weird and wonderful interactions of the chocolate chip cookie and why theses recipes and technique make for such great content.Buy: To the Last Bite     Additional Reading:Can This Chef Make a 3-Course Meal in a Coffee Maker? [Youtube]My Favorite Brussels Sprouts Recipe [Youtube]Welcome to the Chocolate Chip Cookie Wars [TASTE]Looking for Cookies in All the Wrong Places [TASTE]

We’ve long admired the work of chef and author Einat Admony, who is behind one of America’s best falafels (New York’s Taïm) and the cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk. In this lively conversation, we talk about Einat’s life growing up in Israel and the fine-dining career that led her to working at some heavy institutions in New York City. We also discuss her frequent television appearances and why she is the ultimate balaboosta, which is the Yiddish word that translates to “perfect housewife.” What a great talk.More from Einat Admony and Israeli food on TASTE:Chef Einat Admony Cooks From Home – and the Heart – in Kerhonkson [HV Mag]A Pita Is Born in New Jersey [TASTE]The Israel Issue [TASTE]

When Yellow Rose opened shop in the East Village in 2020, the fresh flour tortillas and silky bean-and-cheese filling took the city by storm—never mind the early-pandemic limitations that left restaurateurs juggling between takeout and outdoor dining. In this episode of the TASTE Podcast, we talk to co-owner and chef Dave Rizo about some of these challenges, and why he and co-owner Krystiana Rizo decided to bring their style of Texan cooking to the East Village.Also on this episode, hosts Anna Hezel and Matt Rodbard make a special announcement, and producer Pat Stango joins us for a brief departure from regular programming.More from the living legend Anna Hezel:The New Rules of Nonstick [TASTE]The Great Camp Cooking Boom [TASTE]Wait, Canned Salmon Is Good? [TASTE]Why Does This One Couch From West Elm Suck So Much? [The Awl] 

Today on the show, Matt is speaking with Rick Martínez, a chef, Youtube food creator, and author of the wonderful New York Times Bestselling book Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture From My Kitchen in Mexico. We’ve long followed Rick’s career at Bon Appétit and Food52, but we got to know him a lot better during this candid conversation. We talked about what food was like growing up in Austin, Texas, and how he switched from working a high-flying career in advertising (and living a very Mad Men–style existence, by Rick’s account) to dropping everything to work in restaurant kitchens, including at ABC Kitchen. That’s when things got interesting.Rick began working in food editorial at the Food Network and later Bon Appétit, where he worked in and out of the test kitchen—and on and off camera. We also talk about his book, which makes a great cookbook and an even better travel book. Plus, we dig into some of the regional dishes he channeled in his fresh and flavorful recipe writing. More from Rick Martínez:Regional Mexican Cooking, the Rick Martínez Way [TASTE]Author Rick Martinez on Traveling 20,000 Miles Through Mexico [CN Traveler]Rick Martínez Is on a Mission to Smash Misconceptions About Mexican Cuisine [Today]Diana Kennedy Says Goodbye to her Cookbooks [TASTE]Buy: Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture From My Kitchen in Mexico

Today we have some serious pizza talk—Chicago pizza talk, specifically—with a legitimate Chicago pizza expert. His name is Steve Dolinsky, and in Chicagoland, he’s known simply as the “Food Guy” (formerly the “Hungry Hound”). Steve is an absolute legend in the food writing game, and Matt talked to him about his two books on Chicago pizza, as well as diving into some other cool spots in the Windy City, one of America’s greatest food cities. We also smash a slight beef between Dolinsky and TASTE’s Anna Hezel while clearing up some misinformation about the Chicago pie (or is it a “casserole”?) that might be on your mind. More from Steve Dolinsky:A Chicago Tradition for 75 Years and Counting [NBC 5]Tavern-style Chicago Pizzas in the Pacific Northwest [Pizza City Podcast]Buy: The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide

Today on the show, we welcome Molly Stevens into the studio. Molly is the cookbook author behind the “All About” trilogy—that would be All About Braising, All About Roasting, and All About Dinner. Molly is also a food educator and one of the cohosts of an amazing podcast, Everything Cookbooks, that covers the ins and outs of writing cookbooks—the highs, the lows, and the many edits. Stevens has great insight into the cookbook industry, and we were thrilled to share the mic with her.Also on today’s show, we have a talk with Lorenzo Carcaterra, the writer behind the book Sleepers, which was adapted into a 1996 film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. We talk about what food was like when he was growing up in Hell’s Kitchen and about his latest book, Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride.More from Molly Stevens:Grown-Up Chicken Nuggets with Herb and Radish Salad [Food and Wine]Molly Stevens Makes Roasted Carrots [YouTube]Buy: All About Braising, All About Roasting, All About Dinner 

Today we’re so excited to be speaking with the Michigan chef Ji Hye Kim. We’ve followed Ji Hye’s incredible career in Ann Arbor, where she runs the wonderful Korean restaurant Miss Kim. Ji Hye is a Food & Wine Best New Chef and has been nominated for multiple James Beard Foundation Awards. But what makes Matt most excited about this conversation on Korean food is the chef’s deep knowledge of Korean food’s modern (and less modern) history. We talk about some of our mutual favorite Korean dishes—gamjatang certainly comes up—and we discuss how Ji Hye worked her way through the Zingerman’s training program and eventually opened her own place.Also on the show, we catch up with Jane Kelly and Jenny Hartin, two dedicated cookbook fans behind the active online community Eat Your Books. We talk about some of their favorite books from the busy spring season and the types of books they wish they saw more of in cookbook publishing.More from Ji Hye Kim:

Today we’re excited to welcome Dawn Davis to the show. Dawn is the editor in chief of Bon Appétit and Epicurious and a really fun person to get to know a little better. Before joining Condé Nast in August 2020, she was a longtime book editor, most recently at Simon & Schuster. So what was it like to move from the relatively glacial world of books to always-on digital and print media? It’s been a transition, no doubt. We find out how Dawn edits a modern food publication and what the modern home cook actually looks like (spoiler: there are many modern home cooks). We also find out about Dawn’s childhood in Los Angeles and what food was like growing up in one of the world’s most interesting food cities. Finally, what is Dawn’s go-to busy mom dinner? Find out.Also on today’s show, we have a great conversation with Hanna Raskin, the well-regarded journalist behind The Food Section, a Substack covering the food and culture of the American South. We talk about the ups and downs of independent publishing, and how one food reporter is driven by scoops and sunshine laws over recipe aggregation.         More from Dawn Davis and The Food Section:The Five Courses of Giancarlo Esposito’s Fantasy Garden Soirée [BA]A Restaurant Called JewFro [BA]A community over The Barrel [The Food Section]Taking down a mammy complex [The Food Section]

Today we have a really cool conversation with Andrea Nguyen, the author of many popular cookbooks, including Vietnamese Food Any Day, The Pho Cookbook, The Banh Mi Handbook, Asian Dumplings, and Asian Tofu. Andrea is a writer we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know over the years, and this conversation dives into her incredible history as a cookbook author and food educator. We talk about the story behind her first book, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, with then indie publisher Ten Speed Press, and her interaction with the enigmatic Ten Speed founder Phil Wood. We also hear Andrea’s candid thoughts on the loneliness of cookbook writing, and how her thirst for community inspired her excellent new podcast, Everything Cookbooks. It’s a really amazing chat.Also on the show, we catch up with Bianca Cruz. Bianca is an editorial assistant at Clarkson Potter and also currently attending culinary school. We wanted to have her on to talk about the ins and outs of her culinary education and what it’s like to take an actual culinary school exam. More from Andrea Nguyen:One Bottle of Fish Sauce Is Not Enough [TASTE]Killer Tofu [Chef Steps]Photographing Your Cookbook [Everything Cookbooks]Buy Andrea’s books!

Today is Jesse Sparks day on the TASTE Podcast. Do you know Jesse Sparks? Do you love Jesse Sparks? We certainly do. Jesse is a senior editor at Eater and the host of a really terrific new podcast, The One Recipe, a sister to the long-running Splendid Table. We talk about Jesse’s life growing up in Houston and how his college days in Chicago molded him as both a writer and an eater. We also discuss his weekend baking projects and what excites him about food and restaurants today. This is such a cool conversation!More from Jesse Sparks:Tammie Teclemariam’s Minty Pork Meatballs [The One Recipe]For These LGBTQ+ Creatives, Home Is a Source of Pride and Celebration [BHG]Real Talk: Do You Need A Stand Mixer? [Bon Appetit]

Today on the show, we have the pleasure of getting to know cookbook author and food TV icon Alton Brown. Brown is behind popular and pioneering food television shows like Good Eats and Iron Chef America, which has returned with a new season on Netflix. We talk about how Alton has evolved over the years as a writer and food educator, and what inspired his unique play-by-play announcer style. We also discuss his background in theater and how Pee-Wee’s Playhouse has inspired both his live shows and TV performances. What a great episode!More from Alton Brown:20 Second Scrambled Eggs [Alton Brown online]We Test an Air Fryer [Youtube]PK Grills [official site]Buy: Good Eats: The Final Years

Today, we have a really fun conversation with Jonathan Kung, a Detroit-based chef and TikTok creator we’ve fallen hard for over the past couple years. We wanted to reach out to Jonathan to talk a little bit about TikTok, but also to get to know a bit about his history with Chinese home cooking and with working and living in one of America’s great food cities: Detroit. We talk about the bounty of Michigan agriculture, which can be a chef’s secret weapon. We also discuss the cookbook he’s writing, the ownership of kimchi, and how Jonathan wrote a recipe that he calls a “solidarity dish,” which merges kimchi jjigae and mapo tofu. What? It’s such a great story. Please get to know this rising star in food!More from Jonathan Kung:I Have COVID So I Made Garlic Soup [YouTube]Jonathan Kung’s Guide to Making Dumplings Blow Up on TikTok [Interview]Kung Food Market Studio [official]@chefJonKung [TikTok]

Today is Nicole Enayati Day on the TASTE Podcast, and we’re so happy to welcome one of our favorite voices in food to the program. Nicole is one half of the popular food podcast A Hot Dog Is a Sandwich, and she can be found all over the Mythical Kitchen YouTube page serving as senior culinary producer. We debate and discuss some of food’s biggest controversies, and we dig into her background as a young eater growing up in Los Angeles. We also talk about “geriatric cereals” and the book she wrote, Bake Up!, a baking cookbook geared toward teens and tweens. Nicole tells us the single recipe that can unlock the joy of baking for any young cook. It’s a wild ride with Nicole Enayati, and we’re really happy to welcome her to the show.Also we are joined by chef Alon Shaya and 91-year-old Holocaust survivor Steven Fenves. The pair struck up a friendship over an effort to preserve and digitize the recipes of Steven’s youth before his family was taken to Auschwitz. The journey of this family cookbook is absolutely remarkable. More from Nicole Enayati: Is Cold Brew a Scam? [A Hot Dog Is a Sandwich]Cooking With The Internet's Worst Food Crimes [YouTube]TASTE Podcast 08: Alon Shaya [TASTE]United States Holocaust Memorial Museum [official website]Buy: Bake Up: Kids Cookbook: Go from Beginner to Pro with Recipes and Essential Techniques

Have you ever wondered how chefs rise from relative obscurity to the pages of your favorite glossy magazine or online publication? Longtime food writer Kate Krader has the answer. Kate worked at Food & Wine for over two decades and served as the magazine’s restaurant editor for years, overseeing the Best New Chefs program that spotted talent from New York City to Honolulu. We talk about Kate’s career, from studying at La Varenne in Paris to her current position as food editor at Bloomberg. Kate will soon be moving from New York to London, and we talk about some hot food topics, including Tesla moving into the restaurant business and why nobody can land a restaurant reservation these days. We also talk rivalries: Eater vs. Grub Street. Bon Appétit vs. Gourmet vs. Food & Wine. And with Kate’s pending move to the UK, naturally, Blur and XTC were discussed. It’s a great conversation.More from Kate Krader:The Best Restaurant in the UK Isn’t in London. It’s in Wales. [Bloomberg]Snagging a Table at a Hot Restaurant Will Be Even Tougher This Summer [Bloomberg]Talking Italian Restaurants [Charlie Rose]

Writer, podcaster, and cookbook collaborator Andrew Friedman has a unique vantage in talking about chefs and food writing as a profession. He’s worked with some of the more interesting voices in the restaurant world (particularly going back a decade and longer), including Daniel Boulud, Alfred Portale, Michelle Bernstein, Bill Telepan, and David Waltuck. In this episode, we talk to Andrew about collaborating vs. full authorship, and about his most recent work, Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll, a sweeping account of the chef world in 1970s and 1980s America. Andrew also talks about the chef “takedown” piece—a particular style of article that litigates a wide variety of behaviors in and out of the kitchen. Are they all merited? We have an open conversation about the responsibility of writers, chefs, and the many judgment calls being made by journalists and editors covering the industry. Also on the show, Clarkson Potter’s Bianca Cruz returns to talk about her journey in culinary school. We hear about her current section, pastry, and how one might study for an exam. We also discuss the recent book she worked on, As Cooked on TikTok. More from Andrew Friedman:Who Let the Cool Chefs Write Cookbooks? [TASTE]The Secret Lives of Private Chefs [TASTE]Listen to: Andrew Talks to Chefs

Yes, yes, yes! Dana Brown is here for an entertaining and mildly gossipy episode. We’ve long followed Dana’s career at Vanity Fair, where he served many roles during his more than 20 years at the magazine. Dana has published a page-turning memoir, Dilettante, and we dive into his story, which starts with him working at the legendary “Conde Nast cafeteria” Forty Four, where he was scooped up by a young magazine editor, Graydon Carter, to serve as his assistant in 1992. Dana talks about so many things: editing A. A. Gill, food at the legendary VF Oscar party, NYC sushi in the ’90s, trashing the restaurant 66, the “Graydon Carter lunch order,” the power of a Waverly Inn reservation, Keith McNally vs. the world (including Graydon Carter). We also hear about Dana’s recent meal at the Noma pop-up in Brooklyn. What a fun conversation!    More from Dana Brown: Bonfire of the Vanity Fair [Book & Film Globe]Graydon Carter Hosts a Vanity Fair Ancien Régime Reunion [NY Mag]Tour De Gall [Vanity Fair]Divine Intervention [Air Mail]Buy: Dilettante: True Tales of Excess, Triumph, and Disaster

Bartees Strange is one of the most promising and confident voices in music today, and we wanted to have him on the show to talk about his new album, Farm to Table. The title suggests an interest in food and cooking, and we dive into some of the dishes he enjoyed growing up around the world in Oklahoma, Europe, and most recently living in Washington DC. He makes a strong case for Ben’s Chili Bowl and for traveling to Northern Virginia for Chinese seafood. But we also find out about what his food life is like on the road. We loved getting to know Bartees Strange during this lively conversation.Also on the show Matt is joined by producer Pat Stango to talk about The Bear, a new restaurant world drama on FX/Hulu that has exploded on the scene in recent weeks. We love it. How does the show get restaurant life oh so right? Matt and Pat chop it up.  More from Bartees Strange:Bartees Strange Ponders Success in Dire Times [New York Times]Bartees Strange Explores His Journey [NPR]Kelly Rowland [Youtube]Buy or stream: Farm to Table

On this episode we're speaking with actor and comic Ayo Edebiri. Have you checked out The Bear, a new show on FX that is one of the finest representations of the white-knuckle restaurant world in popular culture since, well, Kitchen Confidential was first published? Ayo joins us to talk about her important role on the show and how she prepared to play the role of Sydney Adamu. We also find out about Ayo’s real-life work in restaurants, and we get into some behind-the-scenes talk about filming on location in Chicago. Last, we learn about shooting what many (us, at least) consider the greatest episode of television to air this year. This is such a great conversation!  More from Ayo Edebiri: Meet Ayo Edebiri, the Breakout Star of FX’s Intense New Show The Bear [Glamour] The Bear Renewed for Season 2 at FX [Variety]In The Bear on Hulu, a Kitchen Staff Is Nearly Eaten Alive [New York Times]Watch: The Bear

She calls herself the Bob Ross of salads, and for very good reason. Jess Damuck is the salad freak behind the new cookbook Salad Freak and a really fun guest on our show today. Of course, we get into the Xs and Os of salad making, but we also find out about her journey—which included working closely with Martha Stewart for over a decade. We learn about the best way to store salad greens, the best way to use a salad spinner, serving salad hot, and the single mistake that most salad preppers are making. It’s a revealing conversation.More from Jess Damuck:Working for Martha Stewart Turned This Cookbook Author Into a ‘Salad Freak’ [Time]A Self-Proclaimed Salad Freak’s Kitchen Leads Right to the Garden [Domino]Essential Tools for a Better Salad [Food Network]Buy: Salad Freak

Today on the show, we welcome Linda Holmes. Linda is a pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of the popular Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. She’s also a novelist, and we talk about her recent book release, Flying Solo. We also discuss some cool topics in the crossover of food and pop culture, including meal kits, olestra, The Flavor Bible, macaron rules that need to be broken, food on TikTok (specifically cinnamon rolls covered in apple pie filling), the New York City diner breakfast that needs no notes, the supremacy of Is It Cake?, and wrestling with the legacy of Anthony Bourdain.More from Linda Holmes:Love in the Time of Hollering: The Age of Enthusiasm [NPR]After Beanie Feldstein's departure, can Lea Michele really save 'Funny Girl'? [NPR]Buy: Flying Solo

Yay, Adam Roberts is here for a very special episode. You may know Adam from his pioneering food blog Amateur Gourmet, or from his stint doing videos for the Food Network, which he talks about candidly in this episode (spoiler: it didn’t go so well). What has gone well is Adam’s new newsletter, naturally called the Amateur Gourmet, which is so worth checking out. We touch on many topics, including gossip about his early blogging days, some Food Network memories, his time working in television, his love of British cookbooks, the Broadway cookbook he wrote with Gideon Glick, what he’s cooking, and where to eat in his hometown of Los Angeles. It’s action-packed with Adam Roberts!More from Adam Roberts:Blow-Your-Mind Baked Beans [Amateur Gourmet]Homemade Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting [Youtube]The Amateur Gourmet Podcast Pre-order: Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway

Emily Schildt wants food shopping to be a more fun and mind-expanding experience, and with her company, Pop Up Grocer, she’s getting customers closer to the destination. As the name suggests, PUG travels the country and sets up shop for 30-day runs in cities like Miami, New York, and Washington, DC. Each pop-up sells hundreds of the most interesting and emerging food brands around (some of which we’ve covered on the TASTE Podcast), all heavily curated and many run by women and BIPOC founders. We speak with Emily about the company’s big ideas, even bigger plans, and some of the products she is most excited about selling. What a great conversation with Emily!More from Emily Schildt:Emily Schildt on Rethinking the Grocery Experience [Modern Retail]The Utopian Promises and Novelty Cheese of a Discount Grocery Store [TASTE]How Pop Up Grocer Curates its Aisles with Emerging Food Brands [Forbes]Pop Up Grocer [official website]

What a thrill to have Stephen Satterfield on the show. Stephen has many layers in his long career in journalism, wine, and television—and we discuss them all. He is the founder of Whetstone, a media company founded in 2017 that produces journals, podcasts, and an anchor magazine that is one of our favorites on the rack. He’s also the host of the Netflix series High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America, winner of a Peabody Award for documentary. This conversation is wide-ranging and dips into Stephen’s sommelier past, as well as digging into his approach for producing the magazine Whetstone. It’s a really great conversation.More from Stephen Satterfield:  F&W Game Changers: Stephen Satterfield [Food & Wine] The Lasting Impact of ‘High on the Hog’ [Eater]The Profound Significance of ‘High on the Hog’ [New York Times]

We don’t talk much about the wine world on the show, but we couldn’t pass up the chance to have the legendary wine critic and big-ideas person Jancis Robinson in the studio. Wine talk can be a real snooze, but this wide-ranging chat is hardly the audio version of swirling and spitting. We talk about Jancis’s pioneering wine show on the BBC and how she translated wine to a wide audience. We also discuss what it’s like to select wines for Her Royal Highness and how the wines are highly scrutinized by the press and “royal watchers” (and we debate the accuracy of The Crown). We talk about natural wine and how the conventional wine world has been challenged by a seismic change in the industry. We learned a great deal from this conversation!More from Jancis Robinson:The 24 Hour Wine Expert [Talks at Google] What Wine Twitter Taught Me About Wine [PUNCH]What Does It Take to Be a Great Wine Reference Book Today? [PUNCH]Visit Jancis online at: jancisrobinson.com

A writer, editor, illustrator, cookbook author, children’s book author, and really fun guy to get to know, Joshua David Stein really has all the goods. In this truly epic episode we cover Joshua’s long and interesting career, from the early days of Gawker and the New York Observer to writing cookbooks with Kwame Onwuachi, Wilson Tang, and Joe Campanale. We talk about why writing about restaurants is such a compelling act of cultural anthropology, and why writing cookbooks was the natural progression for Joshua. And how the years-long process of writing a cookbook is the type of project, a huge one at that, that is both satisfying and an exercise of letting go. We also talk about the hustle required to hack it in food writing today. This is an amazing talk with one of our favorites.More from Joshua David Stein:When Jacques Pépin Made All the World an Omelet [TASTE]Chef Michael White's New York Comeback [Esquire] This Is the Story of the Rainbow Room [PUNCH]Buy: Vino: The Essential Guide to Real Italian Wine

It’s really fun having Alex Delany on the show and getting to know the food and drink (and menswear and rare book) writer and collector a little bit better. You may know Alex from his time working at Bon Appétit as a writer covering home cooking, wine, cocktails, and naturally processed coffee (respect), as well as a series of memorable YouTube videos. But since leaving BA in early 2021, Alex has been busy working as a consultant, podcaster, wine educator, and most recently as the author of a really cool city guide called “Everything Good.” As the name suggests, the free Google Doc notes the good things happening in neighborhoods around New York City. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about his time working at Details (RIP) and later BA, where he rose to become drinks editor and write exhaustive guides about amaro, coffee subscriptions, and regional pizza styles. We also go over some of Alex’s favorite places on his beloved Lower East Side (aka Dimes Square, aka one of NYC’s most vibrant and controversial neighborhoods). It’s really fun catching up with Alex.More from Alex Delany:Everything Good on the Lower East Side [Google Doc]Everything Good in Soho and Noho [Google Doc]I Never Thought I Would Say This: I’m Into This Non-Alcoholic Beer [BA]Sound Radio [Spotify]What Is Natural Process Coffee? [Sprudge]

Journalist and cookbook author Eric Kim is back on the show, and we had such a great time catching up with him. So much has happened since we had him in last fall, and we talk about so many things, including his recent work at the New York Times and the release and warm reception of his NYT bestseller, the cookbook Korean American. We also talk about the Chicago hot dog, one of our favorite foods, and his and Matt’s complicated feelings behind the assertion that “Korean food is having a moment.” Eric has an open invitation to be on the show, and we’re so glad he accepted again.Also on the show, the return of 3 things! Contributing editor Aliza Abarbanel joins Matt to talk about what’s on their minds: donut peaches, eating out in Portland, Oregon, the forthcoming cookbook Rambutan, the best peanut butter, and Spago Rock.      More from Eric Kim:Welcome to Chicago, Hot Dog Town, U.S.A. [New York Times]A Chocolate Cake for the Queen of ASMR Eating [New York Times Magazine]What’s in Your Second Fridge? [TASTE]Cake Zine [Official website]The Melt [Substack]Buy: Korean American 

When Mission Chinese opened in New York in a crowded, slightly dank subterranean space on Orchard Street a decade ago, the food world collectively paused to praise the inventive and fully out-there cooking of a young chef named Danny Bowien. On this episode we catch up with Danny to hear about the up-and-down decade that followed and what it was like to recently close his last Mission location in NYC. We also talk about the 2020 Grub Street article that painted a portrait of abuse in the kitchens run under his watch. And we dive into his great new cookbook, Mission Vegan. This episode is a long time coming, and we hope you enjoy it.More from Danny Bowien:Goodbye to Mission Chinese Food and Its Complicated NYC Legacy [Bon Appetit]The Nightmare Inside Mission Chinese Food [Grub Street] Danny Bowien on the Hard-Partying Chef Life—Now Fueled by SoulCycle and Spirulina [Vogue]Twice-Cooked Bacon is the Best Kind of Bacon [Saveur]Buy: Mission Vegan

What does a cookbook editor actually do day-to-day in the year 2022? It turns out, more than you could ever imagine. On this episode of the show, we catch up with our old friend Raquel Pelzel. She’s the editorial director at Clarkson Potter and has authored more than a dozen cookbooks of her own. It’s clear that Raquel has tremendous respect for her authors, including Eric Kim, Rick Martinez, and Claire Saffitz, and we find out how she allows her authors’ voice to shine through. We also talk about the way she edits a recipe, which goes back to her time working at the demanding Cooks Illustrated. Was her mom “the worst cook in the world”? Yes, she was, and we find out about Raquel’s interesting upbringing living on the North Side of Chicago. This is such a great conversation about making and loving cookbooks!More from Raquel Pelzel:High Cuisine: How I Wrote a Serious Pot Cookbook [TASTE]Thank You, WhatsApp. Or, How to Crowd-Source an Israeli Family Recipe. [TASTE]What Cookbook Author and Publishing Maven Raquel Pelzel Cooks for Her Family in a Week [Epicurious]

How do you introduce Melissa Clark, a prolific cookbook author, longtime New York Times columnist, and one of the most respected food writers around? Well, first you must know that one of our absolute favorite cookbooks of all time is her 2017 tome Dinner: Changing the Game. In this episode, we talk about what inspires her weekly recipe column in the paper of record and how her latest book, Dinner in One, may be one of her most personal books yet. We also go back to her days collaborating with great chefs including Daniel Boulud, David Bouley, and Claudia Fleming. We hope you enjoy getting to know Melissa Clark a little better. Also on the show Matt catches up with Contributing Editor Aliza Abarbanel to talk all about this McTorta moment we are all living in, as well as ranking the top fast food menu items of the land.More from Melissa Clark:Take Your Cakes to the Upside Down [New York Times]   Elbowing for Scallops With Melissa Clark [TASTE]How to Roast the Perfect Chicken [Youtube]The McTorta Moment [TASTE]Buy: Dinner in One

How fun to have Paula Forbes on the show! Paula is a longtime journalist covering the cookbook publishing industry, among many other topics, and is the founder of Stained Page News. On this episode, we find out what draws Paula to review, critique, and obsess over cookbooks—as well as what she enjoys cooking at home. We also dive into the busy fall season and find out what Paula is most looking forward to. It’s a great time catching up with our old friend.Later on the episode, we speak with chef Tanya Holland, author of the new cookbook Tanya Holland’s California Soul. It’s a beautiful tribute to the Black food traditions of California. We find out some of Holland’s own personal history and what drove her to write about this incredible topic.More from Paula and Tanya:Fall Preview 2022: Chef & Restaurant Books [Stained Page News]Fall Preview 2022: Baking and Pastry [Stained Page News]Time to Put Equity on the Plate in Our Restaurant Industry [Newsweek]Buy: Tanya Holland’s California Soul

We welcome one of our favorite chefs in the game, JJ Johnson, back to the program. JJ is the James Beard Award–winning chef behind the fast-casual restaurant Field Trip and a coauthor of the cookbook Between Harlem and Heaven. In this episode, we catch up about JJ’s time attending the Culinary Institute of America and what it was like being one of the few Black chefs in the program. Then we fast-forward to the present day and talk about JJ’s big ambition with food television and his growing empire of rice-focused restaurants. We love chatting with JJ whenever we can, and we hope you enjoy this conversation.More from JJ Johnson:Chef JJ Johnson Is Making Rice Cool Again [Nations Restaurant News]JJ Johnson’s Field Trip To Malliouhana [Forbes]JJ Johnson Is a Young Chef on the Rise, to a Hip-Hop Beat [New York Times]TASTE Podcast 62: JJ Johnson [TASTE]

Alice Feiring is our guest today, and we have a great conversation that goes to some unfamiliar places. Alice is a journalist and celebrated wine writer, and she’s also the author of many great wine books, including 2019’s Natural Wine for the People, a prophetic look at the natural wine movement that has swept the drinking world away. She also wrote The Battle for Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World from Parkerization. That would be a reference to wine critic Robert Parker, and we talk about major shifts in the wine world over the past decade, as well as Alice’s interest in the wines of the country of Georgia. But we mostly talk about her incredible new memoir, To Fall in Love, Drink This. We read it in two sittings, and it has so many great stories to cover. What a fun episode.More from Alice Feiring:The Feiring Line [official]How a Wine Writer Spends Her Sundays [NYT]So Everything’s a Natural Wine Bar Now? [PUNCH]Buy: To Fall in Love, Drink This

Have you found your way into the world of Suzy Karadsheh and the megapopular YouTube channel and website The Mediterranean Dish? We sure have, and it’s changing the way we cook. Born and raised in the cosmopolitan Mediterranean city of Port Said, Egypt, Suzy was just a boat ride away from countries like Italy, Turkey, Lebanon, Greece, and Israel. In this episode, we hear Suzy’s unique story that had her leaving Egypt to attend college in the United States and eventually settle in Atlanta, Georgia. We talk about her new cookbook, The Mediterranean Dish, and what excites her in the kitchen today. Also, loud hummus!Also on the show, we catch up with Salvadoran poet and author Javier Zamora about his remarkable new book, Solito. This is such a great episode, and we hope you enjoy it.More from Suzy Karadsheh:Kofta-Seasoned Ground Beef Pita Sandwich [Mediterranean Dish]Mediterranean Cooking Expert Suzy Karadsheh’s Favorite Things [Barrons]Buy: The Mediterranean Dish and Solito.

The Bear. We all love The Bear, the hit restaurant drama from FX. And we love The Bear for good reason. The show was the talk of TV this summer, and it’s still gaining popularity. Courtney Storer is a Los Angeles–based chef and the show’s culinary producer. That means she’s behind the show’s hyperrealistic cooking scenes that are now legendary. On the show today, we find out how Courtney translates her decade of professional cooking experience for the actors, and how growing up in Chicago informed the way she thinks about food. Get to know Courtney Storer on this entertaining episode of the TASTE Podcast.More from Courtney Storer:The Bear Glossary [Uproxx]At Home with Courtney Storer [L&G]TASTE Podcast 123: Ayo Edebiri [TASTE]

Bettina Makalintal is a reporter at Eater who previously served as associate print editor at Bon Appétit and a staff writer at VICE’s Munchies. We’re big fans of Bettina’s erudite and internet-first journalism, and we wanted to have her on the show to discuss it all. We talk about her home cooking feeds on Instagram and TikTok, and we dive into how her natural curiosity drives her to find answers to the most esoteric food and cooking questions. Why are so many cakes shaped like domes? Why are reservations for hot tables so impossible to land these days? This is such a great conversation with one of food media’s strongest voices today.Also on the show Matt catches up with Contributing Editor Aliza Abarbanel to talk about two recent New York Times articles that got them thinking.More from Bettina Makalintal and NYT Food:The Unlimited Potential of Meat-Free Asian Cookbooks [Eater]The Return of the Hot Table [Eater]It’s Time to Take Suburban Food More Seriously [Vice]Does Anyone Drink Hot Coffee Anymore? [NYT]The Endless Torment of the ‘Recipe?’ Guy [NYT]

Stefano Secchi is a modern pasta master and the chef behind New York City’s hit restaurant Rezdôra. In this entertaining episode, we dive into the ins and outs of making hundreds (sometimes thousands) of fresh tortellini, ravioli, and gnocchi a day. We also talk about what it’s like running the restaurant attached to one of New York’s most difficult reservations, and how screening an episode of the TV show The Bear might hit a little too close to home for the chef. We loved getting to know Stefano, and we hope you do, too.More from Stefano Secchi:At Rezdôra, a Fresh Voice in Italian Cooking for New York [New York Times]Make Fresh Pasta in Literally 5 Minutes [Youtube]Where to Eat in Piedmont, According to a Chef Who Mastered His Craft There [Bon Appetit]

We’ve long been fans of cookbook author and creative thinker Molly Baz, and many of you have, too. With a signature voice and absolutely wild recipe development skills (as well as years of professional cooking under her belt), Molly has won over millions of fans worldwide. Her book Cook This Book was a New York Times Best Seller, and we talk about some of the many things she’s been up to since its release a little over a year ago. We find out about her move from New York to the West Coast, as well as what it was like growing up in New York’s Hudson Valley. We really enjoyed catching up with Molly on this really great episode.Also on the show, contributing editor Aliza Abarbanel joins Matt to talk about what’s on their minds: Quarter Sheets, late-summer apples, samgyetang roasted chicken, A24 merch, the great B. O. Boys podcast. They also play a game involving Chex Original Party Mix and ASMR. More from Molly Baz:The Club by Molly Baz [official]Hit the Kitch [Youtube]Baz to Basics [TASTE]Into It With Sam Sanders [official]

It’s not often that we get to speak with an NBA legend on the show, but Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler is no average NBA legend. He’s a coffee geek, just like us, and we talk about his exciting new company, BIGFACE, and what inspires Jimmy’s love for all aspects of coffee, including the farming, cupping, and barista work. We also talk about food in the NBA and hear about the coffee orders of some of his Heat teammates. Also on the show, we catch up with Ashley Rodriguez. Ashley is the boss barista behind the popular podcast and newsletter Boss Barista, and we welcome her to the show to talk about all things coffee. We learn about Ashley’s long history working in coffee—as a writer and leader in a movement toward education and equality. We talk about the idea of “sweetness” in coffee, and together we go through her method in tasting and grading coffee. We also tackle the big topic of espresso. Is it a net positive for coffee? I loved catching up with Ashley and hope you learn a little bit more about one of the world’s most popular beverages.More from Jimmy Butler and Ashley Rodriguez:Jimmy Butler Wants to Sell You a $100 Cup of Coffee [Fast Company]Loyalty Isn't Real [Boss Barista]How to Actually Taste Coffee and Forget About Those “Notes of Blueberries” [TASTE]The Coffee Issue [TASTE]

Reem Assil’s cookbook, Arabiyya, shows that great hospitality is easy to pull off—as long as you have enough pomegranate molasses to go around. In this lively episode, we talk to the Bay Area chef and activist about her inspiring career, which has taken her between the kitchen and the community—and sometimes to the poker table. Yes, Reem is a hell of a poker player, and we dive into that. We also talk about her zaatar hookup and how she is crystallizing  a “Pali-Cali” (that would be Palestinian-Californian) style of cooking. Get to know Reem Assil a little better on this fun episode.More from Reem Assil:Sumac Spiced Chicken and Muhammara [Today Show]Reem’s California [official]Telling the Story of Arab Home Cooking, from Beirut to the East Bay [TASTE]Ramy [Hulu]

Tokyo-based journalist Craig Mod is part journalist, part ethnographer, and part performance artist, and we’re really happy that he stopped by the studio for a lively chat. While he may not be a household name (yet), those in the know about such topics as digital book publishing, Japan, and multiday walks around Japan respect Craig’s incredible body of work. This is a wide and deep conversation about food trends in Japan, where you should visit in the country outside Tokyo, and Craig’s unique style of publishing—all based around his Special Projects membership program. It was such a pleasure to get to know Craig Mod, and we hope you enjoy this conversation. And subscribe to Craig’s latest walk around the Kii Peninsula, taking place October 4-17.More from Craig Mod:Electric Bike, Stupid Love of My Life [official]I Walked 600 Miles Across Japan for Pizza Toast [Eater]The Life of One Den [Ridgeline]A Long Walk in a Fading Corner of Japan [New York Times]

Genevieve Ko is a deputy editor of New York Times Cooking and the Food section, as well as a prolific cookbook author and collaborator. Here we have such a great time catching up about all things cookbooks, food media, and what it’s like to help run one of the best, and most popular, sections at the New York Times. We talk about Genevieve’s collaborations with chefs like George Mendes, Pichet Ong, and many others. We also discuss the problem with calling an ingredient “trendy” and share some thoughts on the recipe reply guy. I really loved catching up with Genevieve, and I hope you enjoy this talk.Read more from Genevieve Ko:Pulled Pork Is Easier Than You Think [New York Times]The Irresistible Thrill of Kung Pao [New York Times]The Endless Torment of the ‘Recipe?’ Guy [New York Times]Read: My Portugal: Recipes and Stories

Yes, Gideon Glick joined us in the studio for one of our favorite conversations in recent memory. Gideon is a prolific actor, having starred in memorable roles on Broadway (including in Little Shop of Horrors, in To Kill a Mockingbird, and in the original Broadway cast of Spring Awakening) and on television, including the mysterious magician Alfie on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, currently filming its final season. Gideon is the coauthor of the excellent new cookbook Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway: The Broadway Lover's Cookbook, and we talk about the art of creating a great theater-themed recipe pun. We also talk about the food situation on set and during the marathon-like eight-shows-per-week Broadway schedule. Having Gideon join us in the studio was such a ray of sunshine, and we hope the theater lovers out there enjoy this conversation with a living legend.Also on the show we catch up with Brian Noyes, author of The Red Truck Bakery Farmhouse Cookbook and a certified pie master.More from Gideon Glick:The Queer, Half-Deaf Actor Redefining the Idea of a Leading Man [New York Times]‘Spring Awakening’ Cast Reunites at Tony Awards [TV Insider]

It was with great anticipation, and some unknowns, that we spoke with George Saunders, the author of many works, including the Booker Prize–winning Lincoln in the Bardo. This is a really great conversation that switches gears often. We talk about pizza and Italian delis on the South Side of Chicago, as well as lunch in the Texas oil fields. We talk about success in the kitchen and how intuition crashes together with luck. We talk about food in the year 2300. We talk about the near future and mustard collections in a short story from his new work, Liberation Day. We talk about perfectionism, Santa Cruz coffee, and time traveling to find out how dinner has been prepared over thousands of years. The great George Saunders is on the show. Enjoy it.More from George Saunders: Ghoul [The New Yorker]Story Club with George Saunders [Substack]Eat, Memory: The Absolutely No-Anything Diet [New York Times Magazine]

Helen Rosner returns to the TASTE Podcast, and we couldn’t be happier. Helen is a journalist, Twitter commentator, and staff writer covering food at the New Yorker. We wanted to have Helen into the studio to talk about some of her recent stories, including writing about roasting duck at home, the Chicago-style hot dog, and the busy fall cookbook season. We also discuss the epic Twitter thread, bursting with wisdom and common sense, that she wrote on her 40th birthday. But we mostly just wanted to catch up with one of our oldest friends from food media. More from Helen Rosner:Things I’ve Learned [Twitter]The Unbreakable Rules of the Chicago Hot Dog [The New Yorker]Sunday Reading: The World of Helen Rosner [The New Yorker]Food Is Stupid [Substack]

What a joy it is to have Claudia Fleming live in the studio. Claudia is the executive pastry director of Union Square Hospitality Group and the author of the new cookbook Delectable: Sweet and Savory Baking. But many listeners may know Claudia best from her iconic (and once out of print) first cookbook, The Last Course. In this episode, we dive into Claudia’s long career working in New York City restaurants and writing books. We find out how the pandemic brought a great opportunity to write Delectable, a book that I think should be considered a modern baking classic. I also pick her brain about some of life’s biggest baking mysteries. It’s so cool getting to know Claudia Fleming a bit better. Also on the show, we catch up with the cofounders of the amazing food magazine Cake Zine. Aliza Abarbanel and Tanya Bush talk about the theme of their latest issue and what makes their partnership so sweet. It’s a great talk with two rising stars in food media.More from Claudia Fleming:The Tart That Launched a Thousand Tarts [TASTE]A Legendary Pastry Chef Returns to New York City [Food & Wine]   Rekindling the Flame at Danny Meyer’s Ci Siamo [The New York Times]How the Budino Craze Swept Across America [TASTE]Buy: Cake Zine

If you’ve checked out Instagram lately, chances are you’ve spotted one of Hannah Ziskin’s slab cakes, princess cakes, and fruit custard tarts making the algorithm rounds. Hannah is the co-owner and pastry chef at Echo Park’s Quarter Sheets Pizza in Los Angeles. She runs Quarter Sheets with her partner, Aaron Lindell, and on this episode, we talk about the unlikely marriage of pan pizza and sheet cake. We also find out what it’s like running one of LA’s buzziest restaurants, and how she gets it all done with such a tiny staff. We really loved getting to know Hannah on this fun episode.More from Hannah Ziskin:Pastry Chef Hannah Ziskin Seasons Her Sweets Like Salads [TASTE]How LA cake virtuosos learned to thrive on Instagram [LA Times]House of Gluten [IG]

It was really fun having Molly Yeh join us in the studio for an absolute riot of a conversation. Molly is legitimately one of the funniest writers (and guests) that we’ve encountered in a long time, and we get into all sorts of topics on the show. We talk about what makes a great Hallmark Channel movie, and we theorize about how she will possibly star in one one day. We also talk about Little House on the Prairie (the TV show) and how Molly is living her best life in North Dakota, and we dive into her truly incredible new book, Home Is Where the Eggs Are. What a fun conversation—I hope you enjoy it.Also on the show, the return of Three Things. Aliza and Matt catch up about campfire s'mores injuries, a visit to '90s media power lunch spot Michael's, okonomiyaki, Matt's trip to Lysée, oat cortado vs. cow cortado, Aliza's barista past, the hot coffee era is here, Waffle House and losing bets, WWE Superstars, fantasy basketball picks, go Nets!  More from Molly Yeh:Molly Yeh’s Margherita and Prosciutto Pizzettes [YouTube]Girl Meets Farm [The Food Network]In Her New Book, Molly Yeh Goes Back to Basics [Modern Farmer]Buy: Home Is Where the Eggs Are

Kaitlin and Sarah Leung join us in the studio to talk about their long-running online food blog The Woks of Life. For anybody who has ever held a wok over high heat, The Woks of Life has been a steady hand helping you along the way. In this fun episode, we talk about how the pair went professional with their blog and how they wrote their new cookbook, The Woks of Life, with their parents. That’s four authors—two parents and two siblings—for those who are counting. We also find out some answers to life’s biggest burning Chinese home cooking questions.  Read more from the Woks of Life:How to Make Wontons [The Woks of Life]Behind the Blog: The Woks of Life [The Food Network]Pulling Noodles at Xi’an Famous Foods [Food Network]

Today on the show, we have Claire Saffitz stopping by for a really entertaining conversation. Claire is the author of a new cookbook, What’s For Dessert, and she’s truly one of our favorite cooking instructors and personalities on the internet. We talk about how to visualize a recipe before baking it, as well as some of the common bakeware mistakes we are all making. Dark bakeware is a big no-no! We also hear a little bit about her journey from Harvard to the kitchens of France to millions of YouTube streams. We all love Claire Saffitz at TASTE, and we hope you enjoy this talk.More from Claire Saffitz:Claire Saffitz Makes Tiramisu Icebox Cake [Youtube]The Life and Death of Tart Frozen Yogurt [TASTE]Claire Saffitz Goes Outside Her Comfort Zone to Embrace Ours [TASTE]

Osayi Endolyn is a journalist, cookbook author, and cultural commentator of the highest degree. In this action-packed episode, we talk about her latest cookbook project, Ghetto Gastro Presents Black Power Kitchen. We find out about what goes into writing a cookbook that isn’t structured like a typical cookbook, and we go back to hear about Osayi’s life growing up around California, her early work in TV and film, and her assessment of what the Ghetto Gastro authors describe as “hood Chinese” food. This talk is a long time coming, and we hope you enjoy getting to know one of food media’s great voices.Also on the show, restaurateur and former Eleven Madison Park owner Will Guidara stops by to talk about his new book, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect.More from Osayi Endolyn:Assisted Living [Oxford American]Christmas With Musicians Is as Sweet as It Sounds [Food & Wine]I Drove 300 Miles Through the Low Country for Life-Changing Food [CN Traveler]

Pierce Abernathy is a really interesting and multitalented dude, and we were really happy to have him join us in the studio. Pierce is a trained cook, a big-time TikTok and Instagram creator, and a former Buzzfeeder, and he’s been known to model and work with fashion brands in interesting ways. We love the way Pierce thinks and talks about food, and we tap into his background living in Kentucky, cooking in New York, and walking the runway in Italy. Pierce is a rising star in food for all the right reasons, and we hope you enjoy getting to know him a bit better.Also on the show, cookbook author Ixta Belfrage stops by to talk about her very cool new book, Mezcla: Recipes to Excite.More from Pierce Abernathy:Leek butter! [TikTok]Pierce Abernathy Is All About Cool Dips [Food52]#199: Pierce Abernathy [Perfectly Imperfect]

How cool it is to have Gregory Gourdet on the show. Gregory is a chef and cookbook author based in Portland, Oregon. Many of you may know Gregory from his memorable appearances on Top Chef—as both a contestant and a judge. In this lively conversation, we discuss his ambitious new restaurant in Portland, Kann, his '90s raver past, and vintage Nike fits in the Kann dining room. We also talk about his plans for bringing the spotlight to Haitian cuisine, as well as living a fulfilled life of sobriety.More from Gregory Gourdet: Gregory Gourdet Is Ready to Define Dining His Way [Resy]Watermelon-Berry Salad with Chile Dressing [gregorygourdet.com]Buy: Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health

Tina Choi is the Seoul-based genius behind one of our favorite food YouTube channels around, Doobydobap. In this episode, we find out how Tina grew her incredible following through hard work, a lot of style, and many trips to Korean Costco. We also talk about her food science education at Cornell, and why one of Matt’s favorite cities to visit, Seoul, South Korea, is full of energy and innovation that cannot be matched. We hope you enjoy this extremely fun conversation with Tina Choi.Also on this episode, Matt catches up with writer Jordan Michelman to talk about the state of natural wine (#nattywine) and how his recent writing in Bon Appétit has shaken things up a bit. We always love having Jordan on, and he has lots to say.More from Doobydobap and Jordan Michelman:Our New Normal [youtube]White Sesame Chocolate Cookies [official]Gimjang and Lockdown [official]Is Natural Wine Losing Its Cool Factor? [Bon Appetit]

Sonia Chopra joined Bon Appétit and Epicurious as executive editor in August 2020, previously working in various roles at Eater for nearly a decade. In this entertaining episode, we find out about Sonia’s journey through food media and how she and her colleagues are putting their own stamp on BA. We also talk about the world’s best toaster oven, as well as the magazine’s big Thanksgiving issue, and how it reflects a change in the way Americans are cooking the big meal this year and for years into the future. We really enjoyed catching up with our friend.Also on the show, Cheryl Rodbard (aka Mombard) catches up with Matt in the studio. They talk about family holiday traditions, including some strong opinions about turkey, how to do the sides, and the famous “pink shit” (aka the best cranberry condiment) that lands on the Thanksgiving table each year—and, of course, we dive into Cheryl’s take on holiday English toffee. More from Sonia Chopra:Guy Fieri’s Nonstop, All-Day Dream Dinner Party [Bon Appetit]What Bon Appétit executive editor Sonia Chopra does in a workday [Washington Post]The Best Toaster Oven Is Versatile, Compact, and Can Replace Your Full-Size Oven [Bon Appetit]Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish Recipe [NPR]

Today on the show, we welcome back one of the most interesting and entertaining voices in food, Lucas Sin. He’s a chef and creator, and he’s behind some of the biggest ideas in home and restaurant cooking. This conversation was recorded the day before Lucas left his longtime home of New York City for a planned multiyear trip around Asia. We get into those details and how this Yale grad and culinary superstar stays fresh. We think you’re going to really dig this talk.More from Lucas Sin:Food & Wine Best New Chef: Lucas Sin [F&W]Thanksgiving Teriyaki Carrots [Eater]Chef’s Night Out with Lucas Sin & Eric Sze [Munchies]TASTE Podcast 78: Lucas Sin [TASTE]

Wow, we love David Tamarkin so much, and this is such a great interview. We’re old friends and have been reading David since he worked at Time Out Chicago and Epicurious—and he’s now the editorial director at King Arthur Baking Company. How did an award-winning journalist end up working for Big Flour? It’s easy. The guy likes to bake. We talk about the job, a new cookbook King Arthur Baking just released, and look back at the time David was perhaps a little too snarky, a little too tough, on restaurants while working as a restaurant critic. He also talks about the 100%-employee-owned model at King Arthur and how that culture is baked (ha) into everything the company does. David is always welcome on the show, and we enjoyed catching up with him.We also have a great conversion with the writer Tarajia Morrell and hear about the very special book she has written, Savor: A Chef's Hunger For More. It's a collaboration with the chef and Top Chef fan favorite Fatima Ali. We talk about writing a book with somebody with only months to live. This is a really touching and human talk about loss and legacy and should not be missed.More from David Tamarkin and Tarajia Morrell:Vanquish the Bananas [The Occasional Tamarkin]Inside David Tamarkin’s Kitchen [Epicurious]King Arthur Baking School [official]TASTE Podcast 34: David Tamarkin [TASTE]A Memoir From a Young Chef Who Fought to the Bitter End [New York Times]

Jason Stewart is a DJ (playing as Them Jeans) and cohost of How Long Gone, a podcast that dips in and out of the food world with surprising and entertaining frequency. It was so great to have Jason stop by to talk about many things: punching up vs. punching down, cool email jobs, regional Mexican food chain Del Taco, breaking veganism, how Italian food in Italy is mid, Erewhon vs. Gelson’s vs. Ralphs, and Brooks Headley’s Fancy Desserts. If you don’t know TJ, now you do. A real pleasure to have him on.More from Jason Stewart:We Pay Attention to What Podcast Host Jason Stewart Is Roasting [TASTE]   ‘How Long Gone’ Is in It for the Long Haul [New York Times]Brooks Headley Is Moving On to Focaccia [TASTE]How Long Gone 363: John Early [hlg]

We welcome back our good friend Akira Akuto to the show. Akira is the co-owner of Los Angeles sandwich and pastry counter (and so much more) Konbi and one of the more clairvoyant voices in the restaurant world. We talk about many things on this entertaining episode, including lunch vs. dinner bias, paying for good coffee, his go-to LA restaurant rotation, and some strong opinions about New York City. We loved catching up with Akira, and we think you will enjoy this.Also on the show, TASTE contributing editor Aliza Abarbanel joins Matt to talk about some things that are on their minds including: smoking turkey, poached pears obsession, Nothing Hidden Ranch, NA beers getting better, the lack of food in The White Lotus.  More from Akira AkutoThe New (Old) Konbi Will Have Reservations, Steak Frites [Eater LA]Konbi Has a Secret Croissant Machine [TASTE]TASTE Podcast 45: Akira Akuto [TASTE]

Fly By Jing is one of the most exciting brands in food, and we were lucky to have the company’s founder, Jing Gao, stop by the studio for a really cool conversation. We find out how the company has grown and grown, from a tiny Kickstarter selling chile crisp to a major player in the competitive condiment wars, now being sold in a great many Targets and Whole Foods in the United States. We also hear about Jing’s upbringing in China and when she knew that Fly By Jing was a winner. We always have a jar of Fly By Jing close by, and it was great catching up with the brand’s founder.More from Fly By Jing:Launching a Hot Chile Crisp Brand on the Internet [Eater]The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp is coming [IG]This Chili Oil Is So Good, Even My Taiwanese Mom Is Obsessed With It [F&W]

Ken Forkish is a legend in bread baking and the Ken behind Ken’s Artisan Bakery and Ken’s Artisan Pizza in Portland, Oregon. He’s also a prolific cookbook writer of favorites like Flour Water Salt Yeast, The Elements of Pizza, and his latest release, Evolutions in Bread: Artisan Pan Breads and Dutch-Oven Loaves at Home. In this entertaining episode, we find out about what it was like for Ken to leave Portland for his new home in Hawaii, and how he launched one of the country’s most influential bakeries. We also find out some of Ken’s strong opinions about baking trends and science. This is a great talk with one of our favorite cookbook authors today.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt catch up about Matt’s recent trip to Korea, where he visited for two weeks while working on his book with Deuki Hong and Alex Lau, Koreaworld. What did he find? What did he eat?More from Ken Forkish:Bread Legend Ken Forkish Doesn’t Know How to Retire [TASTE]Influential Baker Ken Forkish Leaves the Restaurant Industry [Eater]Evolutions in Bread How-To Videos [Youtube]Seoul Coffee Edition [WITI]

Today, we welcome Rita Sodi and Jody Williams on the show. They are the duo behind some of New York City’s favorite restaurants, including Buvette, the Commerce Inn, I Sodi, and Via Carota—“New York’s Most Perfect Restaurant,” according to the New Yorker. In this episode, we talk about the couple’s new cookbook, a tribute to the West Village’s Via Carota. We also find out how the restaurant stays fresh, what it’s like to expand a brand overseas, and some of their favorite recipes from regional Italy. It was so great getting to know two legends in the chef world.Also on the show, we catch up with Tara Schuster, author, playwright, and accomplished entertainment executive. Schuster served as VP of talent and development at Comedy Central, where she was the executive in charge of the Emmy and Peabody Award–winning Key & Peele. We talk about writing for comedy as well as her book, Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies: And Other Rituals to Fix Your Life, from Someone Who’s Been There.Buy: Via CarotaMore from Rita Sodi and Jody Williams:On Doing Things Their Own Way [Cherry Bombe]Will Shaker Food Be the New Shaker Furniture? [WSJ]Recipe: Dark Chocolate Semifreddo [Bon Appetit]

Today, we welcome Matt Sartwell into the studio. Matt is the owner of the legendary New York City bookstore Kitchen Arts & Letters, and he’s one of the biggest supporters of cookbook publishing in the business. On this episode, we find out what it’s like to run an independent cookbook store today, and we go over some of Matt’s favorite cookbooks of the year—including what is selling briskly in the Upper East Side store. Matt also shares his thoughts about what the publishing industry is missing (hint: it’s hot and rhymes with “schloup”). It was really fun catching up with Matt and talking about cookbooks.More from Matt Sartwell:A Q&A with Matt Sartwell [Shelf Awareness]Browse the KAL books by category [KAL]Subscribe: Kitchen Arts & Letters newsletter

Since Cynthia Shanmugalingam was young, she has witnessed the food of her ancestral home, Sri Lanka, through her immigrant parents’ kitchen in London. In this really fun episode, we talk with Cynthia about living in both worlds, as well as how she transitioned from working in finance to writing a cookbook, Rambutan, and opening a restaurant, all in the same year. We also find out what it was like to photograph the book on location with a friend of the show, Alex Lau. Also on, Matt catches up with three of our favorite cookbook authors to talk all about holiday cooking, gifting, and how to save the day—when the day needs saving. We hope you enjoy Matt’s conversation with Melissa Clark, Suzy Karadsheh, and Claire Saffitz. More from Cynthia Shanmugalingam:A Chef’s Secret Ingredient: Fresh Curry Leaves [The Guardian]Cynthia Shanmugalingam Thinks Fish Curry Is ‘One of Life’s Great Pleasures’ [Eater]Buy: Rambutan

Today on the show, we welcome one of our favorite writers in the game, Jason Diamond. Jason runs the wonderful newsletter The Melt and has written two books, Searching for John Hughes and The Sprawl: Reconsidering the Weird American Suburbs. In this action-packed episode, we cover a great many topics: Spago Rock, time travel, forgotten foods of Chicago, burger night in the Diamond household, and the enigmatic restaurateur Keith McNally. This is only a fraction of what we discuss, and I really hope you enjoy our talk.More from Jason Diamond:That Wolfgang Puck Sound [The Melt]  Auteurcore: How Vintage Movie Merch Became Cool [GQ] Is PJ Clarke’s the Perfect NYC Dining Experience? [The Melt]A Kinder, Gentler Explorecore [The Melt]

Today on the show, we have a really amazing conversation with Zosia Mamet. Zosia is an actor, best known for roles on Mad Men, The Flight Attendant, and Girls. She’s also the editor of My First Popsicle: An Anthology of Food and Feelings, a really wonderful collection of short (sometimes very short) stories from a unique cast of characters—fellow actors, food writers, comedians, and novelists. These include Tony Hale, Patti LuPone, Ted Danson, Ruth Reichl, and Jia Tolentino, and we talk about this unique collaboration. We also find out about who does the best craft service (“crafty”) on set, stealing cereal from The Michael J Fox Show, filming in Japan, and knowing her way around a pie or pumpkin bread. Fun stuff. Also on the show, we continue our conversation about culinary school with Clarkson Potter editorial assistant Bianca Cruz. We’ve been following Bianca’s journey from school to stage and we find out how she did on her final exam and which big-time NYC kitchen she’s currently working in. More from Zosia Mamet:Zosia Mamet Shares Swedish Fish With Her Horse [Grub Street] Some Favorite Food Spots [Apple Maps]Eclectic, Nourishing Collection of Essays on Food and Feelings [Shondaland]Zosia Mamet’s Week: Log Cabin Living [NYT]

Today on the show, we have a great time catching up with Tammie Teclemariam. Tammie is a New York–based writer who, for the past year, served as New York magazine’s The Year I Ate New York columnist—which, as the name suggests, was a rigorous look at New York’s techno-colored dining scene. We find out how she pulled it off, talk about some of her best and worst meals, and learn what’s next for one of our favorite food writers in the game.More from Tammie Teclemariam:The Best (and Worst) of the Year I Ate New York [NY Mag]What’s Wrong with Cocktails Right Now? [NY Mag]Caraflex Is the Ultimate Cabbage Flex [TASTE]Scalloped > Mashed [TASTE]

"Slow down and have coffee” are some great words to live by, especially if you love coffee as much as Nigel Price—the owner and creative force behind one of the most exciting coffee operations in America: Drip Coffee Makers. On this very exciting episode, we catch up with one of the coolest guys in coffee. We talk about why Nigel loves pour-over coffee so much, as well as some of the big problems with espresso. We also discuss how New Yorkers are embracing his very unique style of service. We’re huge fans of Nigel’s work, and we were so happy he stopped by the studio. Follow Drip on Instagram.More from Nigel Price:A Strong Case for Slow Coffee [TASTE]Now Pouring at Drip: Coffee Worth Slowing Down For [Bushwick Daily]TASTE Podcast 144: Jimmy Butler [TASTE]

John deBary is a bartender extraordinaire, a cookbook author, and a great spokesperson for the bar and restaurant world. This being the start of “dry January” (for those who celebrate), we wanted to have John on to talk about the rise of the nonalcoholic (NA) movement and how spiritless drinking is hardly without spirit. We find out what it was like launching his own NA brand and what the future holds for the term “mixologist.” We always love catching up with John and hope you enjoy this conversation.More from John DeBary:From Bartending to Building a Drinks Company [Eater]Recipe: The SharkPre-order: Saved by the Bellini

From Otafuku’s OtaJoy yakisoba to Maya Kaimal tikka masala to Hamburger Helper, the dump-and-stir sauté sauce has been part of our cooking vocabulary for a generation—and for good reason. Packed with powerful flavors and the vapors of nostalgia blowing through a kitchen within minutes, these pouches, bottles, and jars can transform a kitchen in Tulsa to a stove in Kerala, Osaka, Seoul, or Tuscany. Kim Pham, cofounder of start-up food company Omsom, grew up with these sauces in her life, too. In this really cool episode, we speak with Kim about what the journey has been to found one of the most exciting brands in food. We find out about what inspires the company’s sauce research and development process, and we tap into the empathy needed to run a startup in 2023. We hope you enjoy this wonderful talk.More from Kim Pham:A Quest to Reinvent the Homemade Sauce [TASTE] Meet the Tastemaker: Deuki Hong of Sunday Family [Omsom]

Eunji Lee is a pastry chef running one of New York City’s most exciting new dessert spots, Lysée. Eunji was born in Korea and trained in France before working at some of the world’s top restaurants, including at Alain Ducasse’s Le Meurice in Paris and serving as the pastry chef at Jungsik in New York. Now she has her own dessert studio, Lysée, which has become one of the hottest tickets in the city. On this episode, we find out what it was like competing on one of France’s most popular cooking reality shows and what drives her to create some of America’s finest desserts. This is such a sweet conversation. We hope you enjoy it.More from Eunji Lee:An Ambitious Pastry Chef Debuts Her Own Dessert Palace in Flatiron [Eater]It’s Corn [Instagram]Lysée’s Pastries Reflect Korea, France and New York [NYT]Buy: Plating Dessert

Frankie Gaw is the author of a new cookbook, First Generation, and one of the most original voices writing in food today. In this episode, we talk about his journey from working at Facebook to authoring his book, which is part recipe collection and part memoir. We also talk about his love of Costco, and cooking with Reese’s Puffs cereal (two things we can also get behind). We hope you enjoy this conversation—it’s a good one.More from Frankie Gaw:Frankie Gaw’s Kitchen Is Filled With Dumplings and Dorito Dust [TASTE]Frankie Gaw’s Ideal Seattle Day Is Packed Full of Food [Dwell]Little Fat Boy [official]

Jamie Oliver returns to the show, and we could not be happier to talk with him about so many things. For those who didn’t grow up watching food TV, here’s the deal. Jamie pioneered a form of food television that brought cameras into the home in a way not previously seen. When The Naked Chef debuted on BBC Two in the UK and the Food Network in the United States in 1999, home cooking on TV was a stand-and-stir affair. Here, a young and floppy Oliver was cooking real food from a cool East London flat, talking viewers through the relative simplicity of making dinner. Oliver has gone on to write numerous cookbooks (selling 50 million in the UK alone) and create food TV that expanded beyond cooking, producing documentaries about the sugar industry and school lunches that transitioned his work from dude food evangelist to heartier activism. His latest book, One: Simple One-Pan Wonders, is out now.Oliver was a joy to have on the program, and we talked about spice blends, Cool Britannia, the sugar tax, Jamie’s future in UK politics, and what sparks creativity for a guy who is always working on three projects at once. This was such a great talk, and we hope you enjoy it.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt catch up to talk about what’s underrated and overrated (protein bars, savory granola), before diving into a discussion about starlight mints, the Werther’s children, and the Holiday Inn Holidome.More from Jamie Oliver:Jamie Oliver’s Sneaker Game Needs No Seasoning [High Snobbery]Jamie Oliver Dishes Up Easy & Affordable One-Pot Recipes [The View]Miso Roasted Chicken [GMA]Superiority Burger [IG]

The social media meme can be funny, biting, poignant, and oftentimes ubiquitous. Eli Sussman, a talented chef and cookbook author, has mastered the art of the culinary meme, and we talk about it on this very special episode. Eli has been a friend of ours for years, and we had fun catching up about his journey from Michigan short-order cook to LA music marketer to NYC restaurateur, provocateur, and meme maker. Eli is truly one of one in the food world, and we hope you dig this conversation.More from Eli Sussman:@TheSussmans [IG]The Sussmans Are Way More Than Just Meme Kings [Food and Wine]Max and Eli Sussman Strike Out on Their Own [Food Republic]

Odette Williams is the author of Simple Cake and Simple Pasta, and she was really fun to have back in the studio. We talk about her journey from novice pasta maker to authoring a cookbook on the subject. We also discuss the art of simplification, and how her Australian upbringing has shaped the way she eats and cooks.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things that are on their minds, including Masalawala & Sons, Reyes Deli, the new J Ryan Stradal novel, Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, citrus salads, and stick around for a poem at the end.    More from Odette Williams:How to Host a Lasagna Making Party [NY Mag]Winter Chicories With Date and Anchovy Dressing [Epicurious]Odette Williams x Carla Lalli Music at Books Are Magic [YouTube]TASTE Podcast 66: Odette Williams [TASTE]

Christina Tosi is a chef and TV personality as well as Milk Bar’s CEO and CCCO (Chief Compost Cookie Officer) and the author of a new cookbook, All About Cookies (among many others). On this lively episode, we talk to her about all things cookies and cake, moving upstate, grocery shopping at dawn, baking David Chang birthday cakes every year, and Milk Bar life (as a mother). We always enjoy having Christina on the show. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about travel. We just launched our first TASTE Travels trip to Puglia with author Suzy Karadsheh and talk about some other places we will be visiting this spring including Mexico City, Israel, Los Angeles, and rural Italy.More from Christina Tosi:Christina Tosi’s World Spins Around Cakes and Cereal Milk [TASTE]How Christina Tosi Gets It Done [The Cut]TASTE Podcast 20: Christina Tosi [TASTE]TASTE Travels Italy: Cooking and Eating Through Puglia with Suzy Karadsheh [TASTE]

You’ve spotted their iconic squeeze bottle on the shelves of Whole Foods and seen it used by your favorite food influencers and chefs on Instagram. But do you know the story behind Spanish olive oil company Graza, one of our favorite upstart food brands around? On this episode, we speak with Graza’s charismatic cofounder Andrew Benin to talk about the ups and downs of running a quickly growing food company. We find out about how the company landed on their logo and look, and Andrew answers the question: But isn't there already too much olive oil in the market?More from Graza:If the Olive Oil Aisle Gives You Anxiety, Graza Is for You [BA]Olive Oil Has Never Been Cooler [Eater]Customers Reward CEO’s Honest Emailed Apology [Pymnts]Graza oil oil review [The Strategist]

If you’ve ever clicked onto the NYT Cooking or Bon Appétit websites looking for something to make for dinner, you’ve probably seen Hetty McKinnon’s name. The prolific plant-based recipe developer and cookbook author is one of the busiest people in food media, contributing reliable and highly craveable recipes across the internet while releasing cult books like Neighborhood and Family. On this episode, Aliza talks with Hetty about how she keeps up the seemingly endless stream of ideas and stays excited about cooking with vegetables, even in the middle of the deep winter freeze. (Hint: Sometimes you just need to let go of seasonality.) Plus a bit about her upcoming spring release, Tenderheart.Also on the show, Matt has a cool conversation with Gotham chef Ron Paprocki. Gotham is a legendary NYC restaurant and Ron has much to say about the life of a working chef.More from Hetty McKinnon:Lunar New Year Delight [To Vegetables, With Love]Tofu Larb [NYT Cooking]Kale Kimchi [official site]

Himanshu Suri is best known by his rap name Heems, and he is our guest on this entertaining episode of the show. We wanted to have Heems on not just because we are a fan of his former group Das Racist (you may remember their song “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”) but because we wanted to talk to him about Punjabi food. About growing up in Queens. About his new passion for gardening. We really enjoyed catching up with Heems.More from Heems:Dosa Hunt! [Official]Swet Shop Boys - "T5" [YouTube]Heems on Rap, Race and Identity [NPR]Das Racist - Rapping 2 U Live in Sydney [YouTube]

We wanted to have journalist Anne Helen Petersen on the show not only to talk about modern office lunch culture...we wanted to have journalist Anne Helen Peterson on the show to talk about soup! Peterson is the author of the amazing newsletter Culture Study, and she has much to say about the intersection of food and pop culture. She also name checks some of her favorite cookbooks from Ali Slagle, Alison Roman, and Jenny Rosenstrach to name a few. This is such a rich and textured conversation from one of the sharpest observers around. We hope you enjoy it.More from Anne Helen Petersen:There Is No Such Thing as “Junk” Food [BA]When Did Fitness Become a Luxury Item? [Culture Study]New Year, New Job, New Me [Work Appropriate]CrispyEgg420 [Instagram]

Yes, it’s James Hoffmann day on TASTE, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. James is one of the coolest dudes on the Coffee internet, and we wanted to have him on the show to talk about all things coffee at home. On this episode, we talk about what actually makes great coffee at home (the topic of a new book), his big thoughts on espresso, how he rated the best grocery store coffee brands, and what it’s like running his crazy popular YouTube channel—a space that is educating millions of coffee drinkers around the world to drink better coffee. It was a real treat to catch up with James, and I hope you enjoy it.MORE FROM JAMES HOFFMANN:Meet the CEO of Coffee YouTube [TASTE]The Coffee Issue [TASTE]The Best USA Grocery Store Coffee [YouTube]TASTE Podcast 144: Jimmy Butler and Ashley Rodriguez [TASTE]FOLLOW FOLLOW FOLLOW:instagram.com/jimseveninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Stay calm and…just act like Eric Ripert. Young cooks, are you listening? Ripert, a celebrated chef and TV personality, is a balancing force. We talk about how he keeps the exquisite (and massive) Le Bernardin empire running, day after day. We talk about recruiting talent, and he’s also just a really good interview, as we find out in his return to the show. And we also discuss his meals at Noma, and his love of Korean food and culture—from the late-night partying to the vegetarian temple style of cooking that aligns with the Buddhist religion that’s so important to the chef. He loves it all, and we remember a trip we took together to Seoul a couple years ago.Buy: Vegetable SimpleMORE FROM ERIC RIPERT:Eric Ripert Is Cooking Through It [TASTE]Le Bernardin Holds On to Its Craft (and Its Four Stars) [NYT]L’ Ami Pierre [official]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/ericripertinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

On this episode, we catch up with Ben Van Leeuwen, the cofounder of a namesake chain of ice cream shops with an accompanying grocery store freezer section line. We invited Ben on the show to talk about what inspires his exacting, hypercreative flavor creation. We also talk about the ups and downs that come with running a growing consumer food brand. Was he freaked out about the Halo Top takeover a few years back? Most certainly. We also talk about flavor booms and busts, and how to sell ice cream in winter. Stick around to hear one of the more inspiring stories in food.Also on the show, Matt and producer Shalea Harris talk about Shalea’s recent kitchen journey making mchuzi wa nyama ya mbuzi, and shopping for fresh goat meat. MORE FROM BEN VAN LEEUWEN:Food Truck Week: Van Leeuwen Ice Cream [PBS]Finally Ready to Go Big [Brooklyn Magazine]The Summer of Halo Top [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/benwvlinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

We’re thrilled to welcome Sohla El-Waylly to the show for the first time. Sohla is a prodigious recipe developer, a fixture of food YouTube, and a judge on HBO’s cooking competition The Big Brunch—plus a friend of Aliza’s. This week, Aliza and Sohla unpack Sohla’s background before becoming one of the most viral stars in food media today, her thoughts on the ever-controversial brunch, the concept behind her debut cookbook, and much more.  MORE FROM SOHLA EL-WAYLLY:Sohla and Ham Turn Hot Pockets Into A 3-Course Meal [The New York Times]Caramelized Onion and Toasted Rice Porridge [Hot Dish with Sohla]The Big Brunch [HBO]

Justin Smillie is the chef of Il Buco Alimentari and the author of the now-classic live-fire cooking book Slow Fires: Mastering New Ways to Braise, Roast, and Grill. We wanted to have Justin on the show to talk about his life in and out of the kitchen and what is currently exciting him while running one of New York’s most popular restaurants. We also discuss his previous restaurant, Upland, and what it was like to have the Obama family as frequent diners. What was it like having an official Presidential taster alongside him at the pass? We always love catching up with Justin Smillie, and we hope you enjoy our talk.MORE FROM JUSTIN SMILLIE:The 10 Dishes That Made My Career: Justin Smillie of Upland [FWF]Montauk Squid seared with fermented yuzu, parsley, moscatel vinegar [IG]TASTE Podcast 68: Donna Leonard [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/chefjsmillieinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

On this very special episode, we catch up with the one and only Cathy Erway. Cathy is a prolific writer and cookbook author behind the great new book Win Son Presents a Taiwanese American Cookbook, which she wrote with the cofounders of Brooklyn restaurant Win Son. During this wide-ranging conversation, we find out about Cathy’s cookbook writing career and her James Beard Award–winning work on TASTE. We also dive into her column, Shelve It, and find out how grocery store shelves tell us so much about our modern culture.Buy: Sheet Pan ChickenMORE FROM CATHY ERWAY:Let’s Unpack Sardines [TASTE]The Case for the Supermarket Supershopper [TASTE]The Korean Immigrant and Michigan Farm Boy Who Taught Americans How to Cook Chow Mein [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/cathyerwayinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

After working as a fact checker for years at the New Yorker and contributing to the magazine’s Tables for Two column, Hannah Goldfield was named the magazine’s first full-time restaurant critic in 2018. We welcome Hannah back to discuss her life as a New York City restaurant critic. We talk about some of her recent reviews and get some of her thoughts on that little film called The Menu—where a big-city restaurant critic is portrayed in the most curious of ways. Does Hannah find it accurate? Our producer Pat Stango joins to discuss. MORE FROM HANNAH GOLDFIELD:The Hannah Goldfield New Yorker archive [TNY]Your Food’s Alter Ego [TNY]Le Rock Goes Long on Midtown [TNY]B.O. Boys [Apple Podcasts]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/hannahgoldfieldinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/tasteMORE FROM RESTAURANT CRITIC WEEK:TASTE Podcast 193: Eater's Ryan Sutton TASTE Podcast 194: The Los Angeles Times' Bill Addison

For years, Ryan Sutton was the chief restaurant critic at Eater New York, before his position was recently eliminated. Ryan is one of the most respected critics in the game, and we wanted to invite him to the studio to talk about his career and some of the memorable stories he’s worked on. Does Ryan have any reviews that he regrets? How does he stay excited about dining out each and every night? And what is next for Ryan Sutton? He answers most of our questions in this amazing episode. We hope you enjoy it.MORE FROM RYAN SUTTON:How to Get Into the Restaurant You Can’t Get Into [Eater NY]The Case Against Hudson Yards Dining [Eater NY]Manhattan’s Next Great Steakhouse Isn’t a Steakhouse [Eater NY]Eleven Madison Park Isn’t Ready to Be a World-Class Vegan Restaurant [Eater NY]MORE FROM RESTAURANT CRITIC WEEK:TASTE Podcast 192: The New Yorker's Hannah Goldfield TASTE Podcast 194: The Los Angeles Times' Bill Addison

Yes, Bill Addison is back on TASTE. We’ve long been a fan of Bill’s writing, going back to his well-considered restaurant criticism in Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco, Eater as a roving national critic, and for the past three-plus years as the head restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times. Bill is our favorite critic, writing about our favorite food city in the United States, and we talk about what’s exciting about LA right now. We also get into his writing routine, some of his favorite slept-on gems, and what the hell is going on at The ROW? And what is up with Craig’s? This is such a great conversation, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.And to close out Restaurant Critic Week, Aliza and Matt talk about the state of the restaurant critic in 2023. Who are their favorites in the game? Which writers should be given a reviewing beat? And what about Tik Tok reviewers? There’s a lot to go over, and we cover it all.MORE FROM BILL ADDISON:The 12 Most Loved Restaurant Dishes of 2022 [LA Times]The Latest Blockbuster from the Couple Behind Bestia and Bavel [LA Times]How Damian grew to be one of L.A.’s finest modern California-Mexican restaurants [LA Times]The Year I Ate Pico Boulevard (Aliza was right!) [LA Weekly]MORE FROM RESTAURANT CRITIC WEEK:TASTE Podcast 192: The New Yorker's Hannah Goldfield TASTE Podcast 193: Eater's Ryan SuttonFOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/bill_addisoninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Indian chef and Unapologetic Foods cofounder Chintan Pandya is a James Beard Award–winning chef and runs some of the best restaurants in NYC, including Adda, Dhamaka, Semma, Rowdy Rooster, and his latest Bengali triumph, Masalawala & Sons. We invited Chintan into the studio because, dude, we wanted to know how he keeps opening hit after hit. We wanted to talk about regional Indian cooking and how most American Indian restaurants focus on such a narrow spectrum of the recipe canon. And we wanted to find out about expansion plans—and a cookbook. And an upcoming trip to India. We really enjoyed catching up with one of the bright stars in the New York City restaurant scene.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about some recent favorites including S&P Lunch, pop rock cake pops for ravers, Queens SF, How Far the Light Reaches, and Cadbury Curly Wurly Squirlies.  MORE FROM CHINTAN PANDYA:Masalawala & Sons, Where the Food Is Bengali and the Mustard Oil Flows [NYT]F&W Game Changers: Chintan Pandya and Roni Mazumdar [Food & Wine]The Dish: Chef Chintan Pandya, Roni Mazumdar [CBS]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/chefchintaninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Yay, it’s Smitten Kitchen day, and we’re really, really excited to welcome back our friend Deb Perelman. Deb is the writer, photographer, recipe developer, and driving force behind one of the internet’s most popular home cooking destinations. We talk about what she’s been cooking and how she’s been living her best life with two kids in New York’s East Village, and we discuss her wonderful new book, Smitten Kitchen Keepers. What makes a “keeper” recipe, you might ask. We get into that and a lot more on this really fun episode.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about spice blends, and how they finally deserve much more respect.More from The Smitten Kitchen:Deb Perelman’s Work Diary [The New York Times] Apple Cider Doughnuts [SK official]Black Bean Pumpkin Soup [SK official]You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Spice Rack [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/smittenkitcheninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

How cool to have our old friend and former colleague Talia Baiocchi on the show. Talia has one of the sharpest minds in food media, and we talk about the publication she has run for nearly a decade, PUNCH. We wanted to ask Talia about so many topics related to modern drinking culture, including the explosion of nonalcoholic drinks, the issues with natural wine, and her take on the future of the cocktail. We also talk about her cookbook, Pasta, that she wrote with New York City chef Missy Robbins. It was a blast having Talia on, and we hope you enjoy it.MORE FROM TALIA BAIOCCHI & PUNCH:Athleisure Now Comes Canned [PUNCH]Where to Drink in 2013 [PUNCH]Is Natural Wine Losing Its Cool Factor? [BA]TASTE Podcast 91: Missy Robbins [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/taliabaiocchiinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Trigg Brown is the chef and co-owner of Win Son and the coauthor of a really great new book, Win Son Presents a Taiwanese American Cookbook. Trigg and Matt share many mutual friends, and it was really cool for them to meet for the first time on the mic. We talk about Trigg’s early cooking career in Charlottesville, Virgina, and working in New York City with the Colichio crew at Craft and Colichio & Sons (shout-out to Damon Wise) before opening his own restaurant, Win Son, to great acclaim. We also discuss his time traveling through Taiwan and what makes a modern restaurant work. Also on the show, we have a great conversation with Rani Cheema. Rani is the founder of Cheema’s Travel, a boutique travel agency specializing in food trips. We talk about some of the destinations that are trending around the globe and get into how we can all travel better (with food on the mind). It’s a great conversation as we gear up for summer travel planning.MORE FROM TRIGG BROWN:Food & Wine Best New Chefs 2020: Trigg Brown [Food & Wine]Trigg Brown – Taiwanese Food through American Lens [Flavor Unknown]How Win Son Bakery Makes One of Brooklyn’s Best Breakfast Sandwiches [Food52]TASTE Podcast 191: Cathy Erway [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/trigg.browninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Chef and budding TV personality Daniel Harthausen is one of the most exciting voices in food, having just won the first season of HBO’s very good cooking competition show The Big Brunch and running the roving pop-up Young Mother in Richmond, Virginia. Harthausen was raised by a Korean mother and a half-Korean father and “had a baseline of what really good Korean food tasted like, without really knowing it at the time,” he told Matt during a Zoom conversation earlier this year. He was visiting New York recently, and we asked him to stop by the studio for a really cool conversation about his travels, his loot (he won $300,000 on the show), and the delicate topic of Korean-Japanese relations. He’s got a lot to say, and we were so excited to have him in.MORE FROM DANIEL HARTHAUSEN:Daniel Harthausen’s Big Korean-Japanese Brunch Is Special [TASTE]Brunch Time [Richmond Magazine]Richmond’s Daniel Harthausen wins big [Richmond Times Dispatch]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/danielharthauseninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Gail Simmons is a very cool human being—had to say that from the jump! While many know her best from Top Chef, Gail’s career in food expands way beyond a judge’s table. She trained at culinary school and went on to assist legendary food writer and columnist Jeffrey Steingarten. She also worked the line in busy New York City restaurants and is the author of two books, including her latest, Bringing It Home. We wanted to have her on the show to talk about her past in New York City restaurant kitchens and what we can expect on the new season of Top Chef.And, hey, this is our 200th episode! While this is simply a round number and that’s it, Matt wants to acknowledge the team who helps bring the show to the feed many times a week. This show does not happen without cohost Aliza Abarbanel; our amazing producers, Shalea Harris and Pat Stango; our incredible editor, Clayton Gumbert; our amazing illustrator, Ellie Skrzat; and, most of all, all of you listeners out there. Thanks for tuning in each week. Thanks for all the messages on IG and the emails. And thanks for telling your friends about the show.MORE FROM GAIL SIMMONS:Make chicken schnitzel with Gail Simmons of ‘Top Chef’ [Today]Inside the ‘Top Chef’ Industrial Complex [New York Times]TASTE Podcast 05: Gail Simmons [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/gailsimmonseatsinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

How does a venture capitalist working in and around food actually grocery shop? Elly Truesdell, founder and managing partner of New Fare Partners, joins us on the show to tell us all about it. Elly got her start working in the corporate office of Whole Foods, and we find out about her nearly 10 years there discovering some of our favorite food brands. We also find out what a VC actually does, and how she hunts for the next big thing in CPG—short for consumer packaged goods, i.e., the products lining the shelves of your local grocery store. This is a cool conversation with one of the sharpest minds in food.Also on the show, we catch up with cookbook collaborator, podcast host, and former Food & Wine editor Kristin Donnelly. We discuss all things cookbooks, including some exciting projects she has in the works. We also go back to her time at Food & Wine and talk about changes in food media. It’s so great having Kristin on the show.MORE FROM ELLY TRUESDELL and KRISTIN DONNELLY:New Fare Partners is latest female-led VC to close first fund [Tech Crunch]Grocery Wars: A Natural Foods Reckoning [Food Tech Connect]Writing a Bestselling Cookbook in Your 80s [Everything Cookbooks]Modern Potluck: Beautiful Food to Share [Amazon]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/ellytruesdellinstagram.com/kristincdonnellyinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

There is no food writer we would rather talk to about Italy—and, really, talk to about food in general—than Katie Parla. Her mind, her spirit, and her willingness to drive around the wonderfully off-the-grid cow towns of Puglia for the sake of a book project—it’s all really special. In this episode, we talk about her decades-long obsession with Italian food and culture, and what has gone into her latest book, Food of the Italian Islands. We also discuss her TV work and her tours of Rome that have become legendary around the world. It’s so good catching up with Katie Parla, and we hope you enjoy this conversation.MORE FROM KATIE PARLA:Italian Culinary Guides [official]Skip the Flight and the Ferry With ‘Food of the Italian Islands’ [NYT]Drinking With Italian Food and Wine Expert Katie Parla [PUNCH]Buy: Tasting Rome and Food of the Italian South

It’s a great day when our friend Alison Roman turns up at our New York City studio. We’ve really enjoyed reading and cooking through her new baking book, Sweet Enough, and we wanted to ask her about what it’s like to write three cookbooks in five and a half years, as well as talk about the TV show she made, her spirited newsletter writing, kosher salt wars, sheet pan shortcake, and where to eat in New York City right now. Alison is one of our all-time favorite guests, and we simply love the way she writes—and talks—about food. We hope you enjoy this conversation.Check out Alison’s tour dates: alisoneroman.com/tourMORE FROM ALISON ROMAN:A Newsletter [Substack]I Love Baking, I Hate Baking [Youtube]A Cabinet Full of Crunch [TASTE]Alison Roman on Resy, Air Fryers, and Erewhon [Interview]TASTE Podcast 02: Alison Roman [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/alisoneromaninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Grabbing ingredients off a moving platform to cook a dish for Gordon Ramsay to judge truly sounds like a stress dream we’ve had before—but for Mehreen Karim, it’s a good time. Mehreen is a recipe developer and home cook who is competing on the current season of Next Level Chef, a high-stress cooking show designed to conjure up culinary brilliance from serious constraints. She’s also a close friend of Aliza’s, so we invited Mehreen onto the podcast to ask her questions like: “Why did you want to do this?” And: “What’s it really like to cook for the most feared judge in food?” MORE FROM MEHREEN KARIM:Olive Oil Is the Cake Cheat Code [TASTE]Next Level Chef [Official]Crispy Salmon Curry [Official]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/reeniekariminstagram.com/alizaraeinstagram.com/taste

Rich Torrisi is a prolific New York City chef and empire builder behind some of the most buzzed-about restaurants in the United States, including Parm, Sadelle’s, The Pool, Carbone, and his newest and most personal venture, Torrisi. Matt was a fan of Rich’s breakout restaurant, Torrisi Italian Specialties, when it opened at 250 Mulberry St. in 2009. What a restaurant. That mozzarella! In this episode, we talk about those early days but also more modern times—and how the late-night dining scene in New York is starting to get its groove back. We also discuss Rich’s time working at Cafe Boulud, and what it’s like to be caught between two generations. We hope you enjoy this candid conversation.MORE FROM RICH TORRISI:At Torrisi, the Room Is Showy but the Cooking Is Subtle [NYT ???]Rich Torrisi Bets Bigger On New York [Forbes]Getting Lost in the World’s Largest Stack of Menus [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW: instagram.com/richtorrisiinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

The name Maya Kaimal may be familiar to many. She runs an amazing packaged foods company that sells delicious premade South Asian sauces and dals in more than 10,000 stores across the United States. She is grocery store royalty. But we wanted to have Maya on the show to talk about her time working at Saveur in the early 2000s and how she transitioned from that job to launching her eponymous food brand. We also talk about her excellent new cookbook, Indian Flavor Every Day. We really hope you enjoy our conversation.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt catch up about three things they are into right now, including Razza, tropical fruit smoothies, Lexie Park of @eatnunchi, hop tea, and Adeena Sussman’s forthcoming fall book, Shabbat.  MORE FROM MAYA KAIMAL:The Queen of Indian Sauces [TASTE]Feast of Harmony [Saveur]3 Food & Drink Brands With Hudson Valley Roots [HV Mag]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/mayakaimalinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Delia Cai is a journalist, the newsletter savant behind the popular Deez Links send, a Vanity Fair staffer, and the author of a great debut novel, Central Places. On this episode, we cover many excellent topics, including her Midwestern upbringing, her thoughts on the state of the Food Internet, and learning about the customs of dining out the hard way. Also on the show, international food and travel writer Sylvie Bigar was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and is based in New York City, where we caught up in the studio for this wonderful conversation. We find out what inspired Sylvie’s new memoir, Cassoulet Confessions. We also talk about how cassoulet, a traditionally French stew, has ties to her Jewish heritage. I hope you enjoy getting to know Sylvie a lot better.MORE FROM DELIA CAI AND SYLVIE BIGAR:Is TikTok Turning Fashion into Pure Chaos [Vanity Fair]September Stuff [Deez Links]It’s Barbie’s World Now. We Just Live Here [Vanity Fair]In the Kitchen with Sylvie Bigar [WSJ]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/deeeliacaiinstagram.com/sylviebigarinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Alex Prud’homme’s new book, Dinner with the President, is a history of American food, politics, and 26 presidents, from George Washington starving at Valley Forge in 1777 to Donald Trump’s burger banquets. It was such a good time having Alex on the show to talk about how food has been used as a diplomatic tool since the founding of the United States, as well as some underrated cooks living in the White House. Finally, Grace Coolidge gets the respect she deserves. We also talk with Alex about his journalism, how he wrote a New Yorker article that would go on to inspire the Soup Nazi character on Seinfeld, and the book he wrote with his great-aunt Julia Child that would inspire many movies and TV shows. Alex is such a great guest, and I hope you enjoy our talk.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about their recent trips to Miami and Tel Aviv, while discussing the value of fresh-cut tropical fruit and raspberry yogurt.MORE FROM ALEX PRUD’HOMME:The Man Behind the Soups [The New Yorker]    Alex Prud’homme Wishes He Was in the Room Where It Happened [NYT]Jacques Pépin and Alex Prud'homme on entertaining Julia Child-style [GBH]The Israel Issue [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/alex.prudhommeinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Nobody makes cake—or cookies, or tarts, or anything else in the pastry case—quite like Natasha Pickowicz. The former pastry chef at Flora Bar and Altro Paradiso, who now helms the acclaimed pop-up Never Ending Taste and organizes mega bake sales raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for reproductive health justice, Natasha makes extremely cool pastries, like crackly shoyu peanut cookies and cakes crowned with radicchio. Now she’s releasing a debut cookbook to share her recipes with the world, More Than Cake, and we’re stoked to have her back in the studio to talk about bringing her distinct pastry style to life, baking as activism, and the state of dessert in restaurants right now.MORE FROM NATASHA PICKOWICZ:How I Protest with Pastries [Bon Appetit]How to Make Delicious Scones at Home [Desert People]TASTE Podcast 16: Natasha Pickowicz [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/natashapickowiczinstagram.com/alizaraeinstagram.com/taste

Today is a special episode devoted to our love of the SPAM® brand—the multifunctional and influential canned meat that is used creatively in kitchens around the world every day. Whether it’s Korean budae jjigae or musubi rolls spotted in the 7-Eleven in Hawaii, SPAM® is an American heritage food brand that we want to celebrate. Up first, we speak with New York City chef and Iron Chef competitor Esther Choi. We discuss her childhood love of SPAM® products and how she cooks with them at her restaurants today. Next, we catch up with SPAM® brand director of marketing, Jason Baskin, who offers fun facts about the brand and answers some questions we fried up just for him. How does the brand team develop recipes in their Minnesota test kitchen? And how does the SPAM® brand spot exciting trends around the world? We hope you enjoy this very fun episode.This episode was produced in partnership with our friends at Hormel Foods, makers of the SPAM® brand. FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:  instagram.com/spambrandinstagram.com/choibitesinstagram.com/mattrodbard

Chanie Apfelbaum is the author of a really cool new book, Totally Kosher, and the force behind Busy in Brooklyn, a go-to resource for kosher recipes and thoughts on modern Jewish living. We wanted to have Chanie into the studio to talk about the many nuances of modern kosher cooking, and to ask her some pointed questions about her modern Orthodox life. Chanie was super game to talk about many topics, including how the recipes in her book are not only for the religious set. We hope you enjoy this talk.Also on the show, we catch up with Sawako Okochi and Aaron Israel, founders of Brooklyn restaurant Shalom Japan. They speak about their great new book, Love Japan.MORE FROM CHANIE APFELBAUM:Busy in Budapest [BIB]This Streusel-Topped One Might Be My New Favorite [The Kitchn]A Brief Chat With the Author Who Wants to Modernize Kosher Cooking [NY Mag]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/busyinbrooklyninstagram.com/shalomjapaninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

There are some restaurants where skipping dessert is just not an option—and if you’re in New York City, Gage & Tollner is at the top of that list. Pastry chef Caroline Schiff has created an all-star lineup of sweets that nod to the chop house’s historic past—it dates back to the late 1800s—while feeling totally fresh. On today’s episode, she shares with Aliza her pastry philosophy, her take on the most iconic desserts in the city, the origin behind her book, The Sweet Side of Sourdough, and more. Caroline is a true pastry wizard, and I hope you’ll enjoy this episode. Also on the show, Matt has Ellie Skrzat into the studio. Ellie is an illustrator, director, and the creative force behind much of the visual work we publish on TASTE, including all of the podcast illustrations that pop out in your feed. Some of her favorite guests to draw include Zosia Mamet, Ayo Edebiri, and Bartees Strange. Who does she want to draw? We find out in this run conversation. MORE FROM CAROLINE SCHIFF:Sourdough Has a Surprising Sweet Side [TASTE]Pastry Chef Caroline Schiff Ends Her Day with Sourdough Pancakes [Grub Street]A Day at a 143-Year-Old Restaurant With NYC's Most Iconic Desserts [Bon Appetit]Best New Chefs 2022: Caroline Schiff [Food and Wine]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/pastryschiffinstagram.com/skrzatinstagram.com/alizaraeinstagram.com/mattrodbard

It’s a good day when we can get an expert at the top of their game to join us in the studio. Writer and editor Jon Bonné is just that in the wine game—but he’s also an erudite observer of food and culture trends. In this action-packed episode, we talk about his monumental new book, the two-volume The New French Wine. We discuss France as a source but also a construct, and we dive into some of Jon’s restaurant reporting at Resy, where he serves as managing editor. We also talk about his work at TASTE, including his longtime obsession with salade composée.Also on the episode, Aliza and Matt talk about three things they are each liking, including Anna Hezel's new book, Eric Kim's gochujang noodles, Dan Ahdoot writing a cool thing, GT's Synergy classic kombucha, save the diner!MORE FROM JON BONNE:Americans Now Own the Salade Composée [TASTE]Midtown’s French Legends Are Gone, But La Bonne Soupe Ladles On [Resy]The Great Regression [TASTE]Buy: The New French Wine

Comedians writing books about food is nothing new, and in some cases, we are pretty allergic to the practice. But with Dan Ahdoot’s smart and candid memoir, Undercooked, the Cobra Kai actor and longtime stand-up comedian has written with truth and wit, and we couldn’t put the book down. In this episode, we talk with Dan about his time working at the infamous Spotted Pig in New York, and we ask for some of his go-to spots for Persian and Korean food in Los Angeles. We also find out what pops on the craft service table and how a recent encounter with Jerry Seinfeld was just as you would expect it: awkward and hilarious. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt join producers Pat Stango and Shalea Harris for what can only be described as a fantasy football-style draft of the farmers market produce. With the number one pick in the 2023 fruit and vegetable draft…tune in to find out where strawberries, Golden Crisps, and concord grapes land.Get your tickets for Matt Rodbard and Daniel Holzman live at the Los Angeles Public Library on April 23.MORE FROM DAN AHDOOT:Dan Ahdoot Is Sticking With Grocery Delivery [Grub Street]TASTE Podcast 171: Zosia Mamet [TASTE]Green Eggs and Dan [Apple Podcasts]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/standupdaninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/tasteBuy: Undercooked

We’re big fans of Marissa Mullen, and we are really super excited to have her in the studio to talk about her career working in the music industry (she worked at both The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert), but mostly to talk about cheese. She’s the author of two books revolving around modern entertaining and the art of the cheese plate. Her latest, That Cheese Plate Wants to Party, is a sharp and highly enjoyable guide to buying cheese for all sorts of occasions, including a solo evening at home. Also on the show we catch up with Daisy Alioto, the co-founder of innovative media company, Dirt, which has been called the "Village Voice of the Internet" (a big compliment). We talk about how food lives and breathes on the Internet, and dive into Web3’s influence on the restaurant industry. Are we ready for a "post-food" reality?Get your tickets for Matt Rodbard and Daniel Holzman live at the Los Angeles Public Library on April 23.MORE FROM MARISSA MULLEN: How to Cut Every Type of Cheese [Salon]Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cheddar [F52]Death of the Podcast [Dirt]A-List Mukbang [Dirt]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/thatcheeseplateinstagram.com/daisandconfusedinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Did you catch longtime New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells dropping a monumental story this week, the 100 Best Restaurants in New York City? This is the first time in Pete’s 12-year career that he’s published such a list, and we had him back in the studio to talk about his method and some of his favorite places. We also dove into his reviewing career, as well as how he schedules all the meals and keeps tabs on the trends. We get some quick hits from Pete, including the best pizza, the best Midtown lunch, and the best ice cream. Pete is one of our favorite critics writing today, and it was such fun having him back.MORE FROM PETE WELLS:Mam Serves the Most Exciting Vietnamese Food in New York [NYT]In Queens, Kimchi Is Just the Start [NYT]TASTE Podcast 41: Pete Wells [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/pete_wellsinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Snaxshot, the curatorial and slightly mercurial grocery newsletter and community, has grown into an industry force, read by CPG executives and members of food media on a near-religious level. (We are one of these people.) There’s real Blackbird Spyplane energy with the work that founder and solo writer Andrea Hernández creates, and we had her in the studio to talk about what is interesting to her in the grocery store. We also discuss the major changes afoot in the trillion-dollar grocery industry and how she views the rapidly changing retail space. Is the grocery store as we know it dying? Andrea has some thoughts. Also: "Walmart is the new pantry Kith." You heard it from Andrea first.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt cover some of their recent favorite grocery store finds, including Mama Lam's curry paste, Heyday Canning Co. harissa lemon chickpeas, Talkhouse Encore, Little Sesame hummus, and something to drizzle.MORE FROM SNAXSHOT:A 2021 Prediction [Twitter]TASTE Podcast 127: Pop Up Grocer [TASTE]Foxtrot [official]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/thesnaxshotinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

André Hueston Mack is a sommelier, wine educator, whiskey maker, restaurateur, a Bon Appétit on-air host, and one of the freshest voices in all of food. He’s the author of the incredible book 99 Bottles: A Black Sheep’s Guide to Life-Changing Wines, and we had him in the studio to talk through his many career highlights. This includes his time running the beverage program at Per Se, opening his own wine and ham bar in Brooklyn, and his journey to YouTube, where he is currently one of the most popular personalities in the BA universe, hosting the great show World of Wine. What a great interview. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt catch up about three things they are enjoying including maitake mushrooms at Sofreh, fennel pesto, Alison Roman short ribs, a very special cheesecake, New York's Hong Chun Cheon Dak Galbi.     MORE FROM ANDRÉ MACK:Sommelier Compares Cheap vs Expensive Wines ($18-$300) [YT]Sommelier Tries 14 Celebrity Wines [YT]Interview: Donald Moore of The Cheesecake Factory [TASTE]

Emma Lovewell is a star instructor at Peloton and a driving force for fitness and inspiration for millions. Emma is our favorite instructor (we rank our favorites on this episode!), and it was a lot of fun to have her in the studio to talk about her gardening skills, what she likes to cook, and what she eats before and after teaching her classes, as well as some of her favorite New York City restaurants. We also talk about her great new book, Live Learn Love Well: Lessons from a Life of Progress Not Perfection.MORE FROM EMMA LOVEWELL:Peloton’s Emma Lovewell to Share Her Life Lessons in New Memoir [People]Tamarind Beef Chili [official] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/emmalovewellinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Yes, it’s Anna Hezel day on TASTE! We welcome back our old colleague and friend to catch up about not just tinned fish (the subject of her new book, Tin to Table) but also what she’s been up to since signing off as cohost of this show. Anna’s new cookbook is an instant classic, and you should go out and buy it today. Also on the show, we have a great talk with Evan Hanczor. Evan is the founder of Tables of Contents, a home for delicious gatherings at the intersection of food, literature, arts, and culture. We talk about the reboot of his Brooklyn restaurant, Egg, now known as Little Egg. Exciting things are happening in Brooklyn. We hope you enjoy these conversations.MORE FROM ANNA HEZEL AND EVAN HANCZOR:Wait, Canned Salmon Is Good? [TASTE]Bucatini with Sardines & Caramelized Fennel [TASTE]Stop Everything and Put Your Anchovies in the Fridge [Epicurious]A New Literary Community Cookbook [New York Times]

Alicia Kennedy is a writer and academic living in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and she’s the voice behind one of our favorite newsletters, From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy. On this great episode, we talk about Alicia’s recent work and what she is reading, as well as diving back into her writing for New York magazine, the Village Voice, and here at TASTE. We discuss the course she recently taught on food travel writing and the guilt of not reading enough. Finally, we share a moment of love for the Monocle monoculture and print media. It’s so wonderful having Alicia in the studio. Also on the show, we catch up with Paris-based writer Ajiri Aki. Aliza speaks with Ajiri about her great new book, Joie. MORE FROM ALICIA KENNEDY:The Hippie Sandwich Abides [TASTE]Adobo Seasoning and the Art of Puerto Rican Dry Marinade [TASTE]On Cookbooks As Culinary Tourism [From the Desk]

Emma Orlow is a reporter for Eater New York whose colorful aesthetic is matched only by her thoughtful reporting—and her love of Jell-O. As the city’s dining scene heats up alongside the weather, we invited Emma onto the show to share her constantly updating perspective on the state of New York City restaurants, why so much exciting food is happening at pop-ups, the rise of worker-owned food businesses, and more. It’s a great conversation, and we hope you’ll enjoy it.MORE FROM EMMA:The Hottest Pop-Ups in NYC Right Now [Eater NY]Welcome to the Great Shroom Boom [TASTE]The Apple Expert Who Turned NYC Into His Personal Orchard [Grub Street]More Restaurants and Bars Are Becoming Worker-Owned in NYC [Eater NY]

Michigan chef and cookbook author Abra Berens returns to the studio to talk about her third book in a trilogy on Midwestern farming and cooking that started first with vegetables and followed up with grains and legumes. Her new book, Pulp, tackles fruit with some bold recipes and sound advice. In this episode, we get personal in praising Michigan for its superior apples, incredible blueberries, and possibly overrated cherries. We also talk about Abra’s restaurant at Granor Farm, which is one of our favorite places to eat in the state. We hope you enjoy this episode.MORE FROM ABRA BERENS:Farm Dinners at Granor Farm [official]11 Best Fruits For Grilling [Tasting Table]This Strawberry Sundae Is My New Go-To Summer Dessert [The Kitchn]

Danny Trejo is an actor and the author of several cookbooks, including Trejo’s Tacos and his latest, Trejo’s Cantina. We had Danny in the studio recently, and he honestly let it rip. Such great stories! He talks about working with Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, what makes a great taco, food for the incarcerated, and what food was like growing up on the Eastside of LA. We really hope you enjoy this conversation with one of America’s most colorful actors.MORE FROM DANNY TREJO:Danny Trejo Makes Agua Fresca and Danger Dogs [The Late Show]Danny Trejo Talks New Cookbook [CBS]

Sandor Katz is an activist, a fermentation guru, and the author of many influential books, including The Art of Fermentation and the deeply reported The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved. We had Sandor in the studio to talk about life and writing and what he’s been up to on his Tennessee farm. We also get into what fuels his big and ambitious book projects. Also on the show, we have a great conversation with Martha Hoover, a chef and restaurateur from Indianapolis. We talk about how she’s grown an equitable and sustainable business through years of patience and empathy. It was great to get to know Martha a little bit better.MORE FROM SANDOR KATZ AND MARTHA HOOVER:People's Republic of Fermentation [YouTube]Sandor Katz on Why Fermentation Isn’t a Fad [The Guardian]‘Fermentation’: When Food Goes Bad But Stays Good [Fresh Air]Martha Hoover: Restaurant Empire Builder of the Year [Eater]

We’ve long admired Chris Crowley’s reporting at Grub Street, the food and drink arm of the great New York magazine. So it was a real treat to have Chris in to talk about his career in food media and the big stories unfolding right now in New York City. We go over some of his favorite slept-on restaurants before digging into the big questions in life: mainly, what is New York City’s best slice? We also talk about how restaurant PR plays into the editorial decisions, and go back to the good old days: Eater vs. Grub Street. What a great conversation with one of the industry's sharpest observers.MORE FROM CHRIS CROWLEY:The Blood Feud Brewing Inside Nom Wah Tea Parlor [Grub Street]I Ate the $29 Ham-and-Cheese Sandwich [Grub Street]No More ‘Caesars’ — Please [Grub Street]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/chrisecrowleyinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

It was so much fun having Jamie Loftus in the studio. Jamie is a comedy writer and podcast host behind some of our favorite series, including My Year in Mensa and Aack Cast, a very “Cathy” podcast. On this episode, we tackle all sorts of topics, and talk about Jamie's incredible new book, Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs. Yes, Jamie spent a solid year traveling around America, diving into the world of tube steaks. We find out about banishing ketchup from the bun and what makes a great mall food court. MORE FROM JAMIE LOFTUS:Fountains of Youth [Eater]#eatinfinitejest: the first tear [YouTube]In Aack Cast, Jamie Loftus Goes to Bat for ‘Cathy’ [Vulture]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/jamiechristsuperstarinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

The future of food is fungi—at least if you ask Adam DeMartino and Andrew Carter, the cofounders of Smallhold. The new-school farming company grows delicate maitake, spongy lion’s mane, blue oysters, and more of our favorite mushrooms in patented aquarium-like tanks and mega farms across the country. They’re a favorite of buzzy chefs and major grocery chains alike, so today we’re going deep on this mushroom moment and how they’re forecasting the future of fungi. Also on the show, we catch up with Abby Endler, the host of the great new podcast, Criminal Types. In each episode Abby digs into the real-world cases, research, and obsessions that keep your favorite crime writers up at night. Check out her episode with John Grisham! We also talk about Anthony Bourdain’s underrated crime fiction career.NYC! Come out to a live taping of the show with special guests Eric Kim and Ali Slagle. May 25 at Rizzoli Bookstore in Manhattan. 6pm. Tickets are free.MORE FROM SMALLHOLD:The Mushrooms Will Survive Us [New York Times)]Mushroom Boom Leads Brooklyn Grower to Plant Its Organic Farms in the West [Forbes]How We Grow Happy Mushrooms [Smallhold]Anthony Bourdain’s Literary Legacy in 13 Books [Eater]

Samantha Irby is a humorist, a TV writer, and the author of an incredible new essay collection, Quietly Hostile. On this episode, we talk about so many things: Chicago pizza, living in Michigan, Bosnian food in Grand Rapids, car wash dudes in Kalamazoo, and what it’s like to write lines for Carrie Bradshaw (as well as give her diarrhea). We have long been huge fans of Sam’s work, and it was a real joy to have her in the studio. I hope you enjoy this conversation.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things they are each enjoying, including the great Las Vegas restaurant Lotus of Siam, hot dogs in New Jersey, monster trucks, Your Pasta, rhubarb all day, Confusion Snacks (our favorite new popcorn), the chicken wing of the sea.   MORE FROM SAMANTHA IRBY:The Person Who Wrote It Is Eating Ramen: Samantha Irby on Writing for TV [LitHub]My Taste Is Basic. So What? [Harpers Bazaar]TASTE Podcast 123: Ayo Edebiri [TASTE]

Today on the show, we welcome in James Harris, one half of Throwing Fits, a very funny podcast and online community dedicated to all things menswear. We wanted to invite James in not just to talk about chef fashion but also to find out about where he’s eating and drinking around his hometown of New York City. We also get into Fanelli vs. Lucien, not being able to get into Gem Wine thanks to TikTok, eating fried prawn heads, Japanese food at home vs. in restaurants, and eating the miso black cod at Nobu as a kid. We also get the Throwing Fits line on Dimes Square. This is a great episode with James, a real one-of-one guest.MORE FROM JAMES HARRIS:Throwing Fits for Men’s Fashion [NYT]From Nike to Nautica, Here Are the ’90s Brands that Defined the Decade [Complex]TASTE Podcast 48: James Murphy & Nick Curtola [TASTE]TASTE Podcast 131: Alex Delany [TASTE]

Andrea Nguyen is back on the podcast to talk about her latest—perhaps even greatest—cookbook: Ever-Green Vietnamese. Andrea is a prolific cookbook author behind favorites like Vietnamese Food Any Day and Into The Vietnamese Kitchen. Her latest book dives deep into Vietnamese food’s rich palate of plants from the land and sea, offering up ingenious recipes for things like homemade vegan fish sauce and a Grand Slam bánh mì breakfast combo. It’s such a fun, craving-inducing conversation, and we hope you’ll enjoy it. Also on the show, we catch up with cookbook author Colu Henry to talk about her latest book, Colu Cooks: Easy Fancy Food, and life in Canada.MORE FROM ANDREA NGUYEN AND COLU HENRY:Viet World Kitchen [Official]19 Andrea Nguyen Recipes for Bao, Banh Mi, and Beyond [Epicurious]TASTE Podcast 114: Andrea Nguyen [TASTE]The Emilia-Romagna Issue [TASTE]Easy Fancy Snacks to Impress Your Guests [Vogue]

Sandro Roco is the founder of Sanzo, which has been our go-to flavored sparkling water of choice. We wanted to invite Sandro into the studio not only because we are big fans of his cans of lychee- and calamansi-spiked bubbles. We like the way he runs his business, as well as the story of how he bootstrapped this company in one of the most crowded categories in all of grocery: beverages. We also talk about how he was able to get Jeremy Lin to appear on the Sanzo can. It was so cool getting to know Sandro a bit better. I hope you enjoy this episode. MORE FROM SANDRO ROCCO:How to Raise $1.3M in Venture Capital with Sandro Roco [YouTube]From Nuclear Engineer to Cult-Favorite Seltzer Founder [Eater]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/drinksanzoinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Wylie Dufresne is a legendary force in the New York City chef world. As the owner of wd

Dan Frommer is the founder and editor in chief of the The New Consumer, an influential publication that covers the intersection of technology and consumer brands—and many of these brands live in the food world. We wanted to have Dan on the show to talk about some recent grocery store news and trends including Graza vs. Brightland, and to find out how the celebrated tech journalist started scrutinizing the canned foods aisle. We hope you enjoy this super entertaining talk with Dan. MORE FROM DAN FROMMER:Can Canned Beans Have Their Tinned-Fish Moment? [TNC]Foxtrot has a New CEO. What’s Changing and What Isn’t? [TNC]A New Premium Card for the Erewhon Set [TNC]This Week’s Tiniest Social Media Drama Is About Olive Oil [NYT]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/fromedomeinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Here’s a bonus episode from our recent conversation with cookbook authors Eric Kim and Ali Slagle, live at Rizzoli Bookstore in NYC. Eric is a New York Times Magazine columnist and the author of the best-selling book Korean American. Ali is a recipe developer, consultant, and author of the best-selling I Dream of Dinner. Stay tuned for future episodes recorded live at Rizzoli. Subscribe to our newsletter for all of those details.MORE FROM ERIC KIM AND ALI SLAGLE:4 Books Eric Kim Can’t Live (or Cook) Without [Epicurious]The Secret to Mastering Your Cocktail Order [NYT Magazine]3 Perfect Grilled Cheese Recipes [NYT]This Fuss-Free Cookbook Has Eased My Weeknight Dinner Angst [BA]

Emily Sundberg has a knack for writing stories that get people talking. The freelance writer and mind behind the business newsletter Feed Me has an expert eye for trends in the food space and beyond, like the return of whole milk and the rise of the “shoppy shop”—you know, those cute, curated grocery stores that all seem to carry the same made-for-Instagram products. We’re thrilled to have her on the podcast to forecast the drink of the summer, the current state of founders in the direct-to-consumer space, and much more.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt predict the biggest foods and drinks of the summer. What will be the next Dirty Shirley? MORE FROM EMILY SUNDBERG: Feed Me [Substack]Wellness Is Dead. Long Live the Martini  [New York Magazine]Welcome to the Shoppy Shop [New York Magazine]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/emilysundberginstagram.com/alizaraeinstagram.com/taste

Is there an introduction needed here? Over her groundbreaking career, Ruth Reichl has served as the food editor of the Los Angeles Times, the restaurant critic of the New York Times, and the editor in chief of the legendary magazine Gourmet. She’s written juicy memoirs, mentored a generation of writers and editors, and still writes with regularity, curiosity, and a love for real journalism in her wonderful Substack newsletter, La Briffe. On this episode, Ruth joins us in the studio for a deep and lively conversation that covers everything from the legacy of Wolfgang Puck and Noma to visiting China in 1980 and her memories of the late, great Gourmet magazine. Last, we find out about a new documentary film Ruth worked on for several years. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Ruth Reichl.Also, allow us to introduce our new name (but same great TASTE!). Aliza and Matt get on the mic to talk about what This Is TASTE means, as well as some exciting plans for the future. Thank you to all of our incredible listeners!MORE FROM RUTH REICHL:Who Decides Style? [La Briffe]The Sushi Effect [La Briffe]A Dynamic Doc Profiling the Precarious State of America’s Food System [HR]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/ruth.reichlinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Rick Easton is co-owner of Bread and Salt Bakery in Jersey City, New Jersey. He’s also the coauthor of a fascinating new cookbook, Bread and How to Eat It, which he wrote with his partner, the great journalist Melissa McCart. On this episode, we talk about Rick’s love of baking, sandwiches, and not following convention. We also find out how working in Italy informed his unique style that has made Bread and Salt one of the region’s most beloved spots. We hope you enjoy learning more about Rick Easton.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt are joined by producers Pat and Shalea for a sandwich draft. That’s right, it’s an NBA-style snake draft, separating the BLTs from the PB&Js. Where will the Italian hoagie land? Will avocado toast be left waiting to be picked?MORE FROM RICK EASTON:Rick Easton’s Pizza With Peppers [NYT Cooking]Chef Rick Easton Is Chasing After His Dream Sausage [Grub Street]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/breadandsaltbakeryinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

We are always so happy to hang out with Jenny Rosenstrach, the talented writer and editor behind a highly enjoyable newsletter and a series of cookbooks. For many followers of the home cooking internet, her blog Dinner: A Love Story has been a steady hand holding the whisk for the past decade. Two years ago, she released the New York Times best seller The Weekday Vegetarians, and she is now working on a follow-up that we discuss on this episode. We also dig into her upcoming move back to New York City after nearly two decades living in the suburbs. What will city cooking be like? Different. We hope you enjoy our talk with Jenny Rosenstrach.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt catch up about Matt’s recent trip to Chicago, and some favorite Chi places for food and drink. These include Lickity Split Frozen Custard, Lula Cafe, Vita & Nick's, and Kasama to name a few. MORE FROM JENNY ROSENSTRACH:Great Grilled Chicken (For Real) [Dinner: A Love Story]The Weekday Approach to Eating Less Meat [TASTE]Angel Hair Has a New Look [TASTE]Print Is Dead. (Long Live Print!) [Apple Podcasts]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/dinneralovestoryinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Big ideas, strong opinions, and a deadpan Instagram: These are a few of our favorite things. Former pastry chef and current Empellon and Mischa boss man Alex Stupak is a complicated—and incredibly sincere—dude, and in this episode, we have a really spirited conversation about what it’s like to open a new restaurant that isn’t part of the Empellon Mexican multiverse. The food at Mischa is Eastern European, and it’s Stupak’s most personal project to date. We get into that, as well as some big ideas for the future. We hope you enjoy our talk with Alex.MORE FROM ALEX STUPAK:Mischa Opens in Midtown East [NYT]Hang on to Your Wallets, NYC — Here Comes the $29 Hot Dog [NY Post]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/alexstupakinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

It’s so great having our buddy Nils Bernstein drop by the studio. Nils is a man of many skills, and we talk about his great new book, The Joy of Oysters. Nils is the food editor for Wine Enthusiast magazine, and he has written and developed recipes for places like Bon Appétit, Epicurious, GQ, and the New York Times. But Matt knows Nils best as a former music publicist, working with bands like Interpol, Stephen Malkmus, and Nirvana while holding key positions at Sub Pop and Matador Records. We talk about his musical past, what is was like being in the room when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was first played live, as well as a deep love of the bivalve. We loved catching up with Nils Bernstein, and we hope you enjoy this conversation.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things that are getting them excited right now, including chicken sandwiches at the Fly, Bawi Agua Fresca, a new NA beer, and Nightingale Ice Cream Sandwiches. MORE FROM NILS BERNSTEIN:Shell Shocked: Why It’s More Important Than Ever to Consider the Oyster [Wine Enthusiast]All the Ways to Pair Pinot Grigio with Food, from Cheese to Fish [Wine Enthusiast]A Taco-Filled Eating Tour of California’s Salinas Valley [Wine Enthusiast]Bad Waitress [Dirt]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/nilsbernsteininstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Not all cake is created equal, and Jenneh Kaikai is always raising her game. The baker and owner of Pelah Kitchen, a Brooklyn-based micro bakery offering up cakes crowned with flowers and filled with flavors of the African diaspora, makes some of my favorite sweets in the city. It’s a joy to have her on the podcast to talk about evolving her business from a side project to a main gig, the booming food scene in Accra, Ghana, pop-up solidarity, and more.MORE FROM JENNEH KAIKAI:Issue Nº 18: Beautiful Baked Goods [Cherry Bombe]Inside the World of Fancy Instagram Cakes [Bon Appetit]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/pelahkitcheninstagram.com/alizaraeinstagram.com/taste

The Bear. We all love The Bear, the hit restaurant drama from FX that begins its second season on June 22. And we love The Bear for good reason. The show was the talk of TV and one of the most realistic portrayals of restaurant life on TV. Courtney Storer is a Los Angeles–based chef who works as the show’s culinary producer. That means she’s behind its hyperrealistic (now legendary) cooking scenes. On today’s episode, we talk about how Courtney gets the cast ready to cook. We also dive into the important—and tricky—topic of what makes a great chef. MORE FROM COURTNEY STORER:On Balancing Pizza, Produce, and Gender Roles [BA]Making Italian Beef with FX's "The Bear" Culinary Producer Courtney Storer [LAT]What Does a Culinary Producer Do? [Indie Wire]

Today is Cake Zine day on the show, and Matt is so excited to welcome in his cohost, Aliza Abarbanel, along with Cake Zine coeditor Tanya Bush to the studio. Cake Zine is an independent magazine and a “hedonistic exploration of history, pop culture, literature, and art through sweets.” The latest issue’s theme is Humble Pie, and we speak with Aliza and Tanya about some of the issue’s features that highlight “broad interpretations of humiliation and piping-hot servings of contrition.” This is such a great talk.Also on the show, Aliza has an excellent conversation with Stacey Mei Yan Fong, author of the new book 50 Pies, 50 States. MORE FROM CAKE ZINE AND STACEY MEI YAN FONG:The Zine That Cake Instagram Made [Eater]“Cake Zine” Is the Brilliant New ‘Zine That’s All About…Cake [Bust]Baker Stacey Mei Yan Fong Makes 50 Pies for All 50 States [Eater]?Pre-order: Cake Zine Volume 3 Humble PieFOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/cake_zineinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Wow, the hamburger god George Motz is our guest on today’s show, and it doesn’t disappoint. George is a writer, a TV host, and the guy with the cool hair and an endless well of knowledge about the hamburger. On this episode we go over some big topics, including the origins of the burger in America, Shake Shack vs. In-N-Out, and the best burger blend to buy for at-home grilling. He also talks about his new NYC restaurant, Hamburger America, and what makes the perfect restaurant burger. We hope you enjoy our talk with George.MORE FROM GEORGE MOTZ: How to Cook the Perfect Burger [The Manual]The Carolina Slaw Burger [Garden and Gun]How George Motz Spends His Sundays [NYT]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/motzburgerinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

We all love The Bear, which means we all love Lionel Boyce. The multitalented writer, actor, and former Odd Future member’s sweet, truly hilarious depiction of Marcus, a middling line cook turned burgeoning pastry chef, stole hearts and laughs in Season One. The show’s new season, streaming now, pushes Lionel to further culinary and comedic heights, and we’re thrilled to have him on the podcast to talk about it. MORE FROM LIONEL BOYCE:Lionel Boyce of “The Bear” on an Inglewood Food Crawl [Los Angeles Times]The Bear’s Lionel Boyce Didn’t Bake Those Doughnuts, but He Did Glaze Them [Vulture]The Bear Is a Gritty Fairy Tale of Cooking and Grief [New Yorker]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/lionel.boyceinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

John deBary is a bartender extraordinaire, a cookbook author, a spokesperson for the bar and restaurant world, and one of our favorite guests on the show. He’s back to talk about his really great new book, Saved by the Bellini: & Other 90s-Inspired Cocktails. In this episode we talk about deadstock sodas, muse on summer drinking, and dive into what he loves so much about the 1990s. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt share some of their discoveries while walking the floor at the Fancy Food Show, the annual grocery trade show at New York’s Javits Center. The mushroom chips flowed early and often. MORE FROM JOHN DEBARY:I’m a Bartender and Yes, I Use Gatorade in Cocktails [BA]Dunkaroos Alexander [Food52]Drag Legend Sherry Vine Calls Burbank the Next Queer Hotspot [Thrillist]Strawberry and Kiwi: Why? [TASTE] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW: instagram.com/jnd3001instagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

For Rachel Karten, “link in bio” isn’t just a social media call to action—it’s a career. The former head of social at Bon Appétit and Epicurious is now a social media consultant and the creator of the newsletter Link in Bio, which dispenses insights and interviews on the cutting edge of social media in food and far beyond. Rachel is my go-to person for demystifying things like the TikTok and Instagram algorithms (well, as much as anyone can), so I’m thrilled to have her on the show to talk about the current state of brand social media, why Instagram matters for restaurants, and much more. Also on the show, Matt talks about the first, sold-out, and extremely fun TASTE Travels cookbook trip with author Suzy Karadsheh. They visited Puglia last month and ate a lifetime's worth of orecchiette. Not a bad thing at all.MORE FROM RACHEL KARTEN:Social Media Consultant Rachel Karten on Viral Trends and Social Strategies [Ad Age]Lean In or Log Off [Eater]Brand Social Trend Report [Link In Bio]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/milkkarteninstagram.com/alizaraeinstagram.com/taste

Running one pastry program alone is a feat of organization and carbohydrates—but two? Well, that’s all in a day’s work for Camari Mick. She’s the executive pastry chef at the Musket Room, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood, and she’s also creating breakfast pastries like candied orange almond croissants for the newly opened Raf’s up the block. Camari is a star in New York’s white-hot pastry scene, so Aliza’s thrilled to have her on the show to talk about developing dessert tasting menus, being nominated for a James Beard Award, and how she’s making the industry more equitable.  MORE FROM CAMARI MICK:Raf’s Conjures Swirling Abundance from a Wood-Fired Oven [NYT]Where the Musket Room's Camari Mick Goes in NYC [Michelin Guide]Raf’s Pastry Chef Camari Mick Is Perfecting the Classics [Airmail]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/camari_mickinstagram.com/alizaraeinstagram.com/taste

As the founder of Blue Bottle Coffee, James Freeman has seen the rise of specialty coffee from a very unique vantage point. Freeman joins us in the studio to talk about his company’s influence, as well as where coffee is heading today. We find out about his dream café project in Japan and what excites him most about making coffee at home. We also talk about James’s excellent book, The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee. This is a seriously interesting talk with one of the great characters in the world of food and drink.MORE FROM JAMES FREEMAN:Blue Bottle Studio Opens in Kyoto [Sprudge]This Is TASTE 144: Jimmy Butler and Ashley Rodriguez [TASTE]This Is TASTE 186: James Hoffmann [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/wjamesfreemaninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

The proud son of Filipino immigrants, Dale Talde grew up immersed in his family’s cultural heritage, while also enjoying the life of a typical American kid. Dale is the chef and owner of Goosefeather, a signature restaurant located in Tarrytown, outside New York City. He’s also the host of Tastemade’s “All Up in My Grill,” and he appeared as a three-time cheftestant and judge on Bravo’s Emmy Award–winning culinary show Top Chef. On this episode we talk to Dale about his life in and out of the kitchen, his Chicago upbringing, and what makes a great food TV competitor.MORE FROM DALE TALDE:Dale Talde goes from “Top Chef” to Pot Chef [Sun Times]Talde Grilling Tips [Uproxx]Buy: Asian-American: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes from the Philippines to Brooklyn

Chitra Agrawal is an author and entrepreneur behind the beloved Brooklyn Delhi, a packaged foods brand that is based partially around achaar, a beloved and staple South Asian condiment. We talk about the founding of the company and our collective love of Indian spices and flavors, as well as a copycat product from one of the country’s most prominent grocery chains. We also discuss her cookbook, Vibrant India, in which Chitra takes readers on a journey to her mother’s hometown of Bangalore and back to Brooklyn, where she adapts her family’s South Indian recipes for home cooks.Also on the show, we catch up with Aadit Patel, founder of an amazing new company called Confusion Snacks. The name of the game now is black truffle masala, chili chaat, and chaat mint popcorn, and it’s one of our favorite new brands to jump into the field. We talk with Aadit about the challenges of launching a food company today, and we also find out how he works closely with his mother to exact the recipe for his wonderful snacks.MORE FROM CHITRA AGRAWAL AND AADIT PATEL:Chitra Agrawal on the Changing Grocery Landscape for Startups [Modern Retail]Can Brooklyn Delhi Take on Trader Joe's? [The Quint]Are You Ready for Hot Snack Summer? [TikTok]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/brooklyndelhiinstagram.com/confusionsnacksinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

As the cofounder of online restaurant watchdog and chronicler Eater, as well as reservations booker Resy, Ben Leventhal has been at the center of all things dining out for nearly 20 years. On this episode we catch up with Ben about his latest company, Blackbird, a restaurant loyalty program that is rethinking the way hospitality and online culture converge. We talk about the founding of Blackbird and how restaurants are rapidly changing the way they make money through CPG and brand extension. We also discuss the early days of Eater, the future of controversial Los Angeles restaurant Horses, and the biggest story that nobody is covering. It’s great catching up with Ben!Also on the show we catch up with Food & Wine’s super talented Senior Drinks Editor Oset Babür-Winter. We talk about summer drinking, New York City restaurants, and what is exciting her in the world of spirits, wine, and cocktails. More From Ben Leventhal and Oset Babür-Winter:He Started Resy: Now He Wants You to Take Restaurant NFTs Seriously [EaterThis Is TASTE 64: Ben Leventhal [TASTE]Why Is Everyone Drinking Chartreuse This Summer? [F&W]We're Calling It Now, the Espresso Tonic Is the Drink of the Summer [F&W]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/benleventhalinstagram.com/baburosetinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Snaxshot, the curatorial and slightly mercurial grocery newsletter and community, has grown into an industry force, read by consumer packaged goods executives and members of food media on a near-religious level. Andrea Hernández is the muscle behind this influential publication, and we were lucky to have her back in the studio to talk about what is interesting to her in the grocery store, or, shall we say, the “millennial bodega.” We also talk about nonalcoholic beers, Threads, our happy birthday Grimace hangover, grocercore, and how “Walmart is the new pantry Kith.” More From Snaxshot:Snack Boys, Snack Daddies, & Snaxshot with Andrea Hernández [YT]Edible Cogitations: Weekly Wrap-Up [Snaxshot]Mars to Buy Healthy Food Maker Kevin’s Natural Foods [Reuters]This Is TASTE 217: Snaxshot [TASTE] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/thesnaxshotinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Cal Peternell was the head chef of legendary Bay Area restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, for over 20 years, where he served celebrity patrons and trained a new generation of chefs. He’s the New York Times best-selling author of Twelve Recipes and A Recipe for Cooking. His most recent book is the revealing and erudite Burnt Toast and Other Disasters. On this episode, we hear some good Chez Panisse stories, and we talk about Cal’s move to the East Coast. We also discuss his cookbook career—and his interpretation of that “figs on a plate” incident from a few years back. Also on the show we have a fascinating conversation with Nasim Alikhani, the chef and cookbook author behind Brooklyn’s mega-popular Iranian restaurant, Sofreh. You should check out her new book.More From Cal Peternell and Nasim Alikhani:Celery, Radishes, and Anchovy Butter [official]A Berkeley Chef Feeds the Homeless [LA Times]Olives With Citrus Zests and Fried Herbs [Washington Post]Nasim Alikhani Is Leaving Her Mark [Eater]

Have you ever eaten prune whip pie? How about pickle cheesecake? Well, B. Dylan Hollis absolutely has. The popular TikTok and YouTube creator has racked up millions (and millions) of views by baking his way through vintage cookbooks that fit his “three Ws”: wacky, weird, and wonderful. Now he has a book of his very own. It’s called Baking Yesteryear, and we’re thrilled to have him on the podcast to talk about the appeal behind historic baking and much more.Also on the show, Aliza has returned from a trip to Paris and Portugal and fills Matt in on all the cool things she ate and drank. And as you heard at the top, it's the return of TASTE Live, an IRL events series with our friends at Rizzoli Bookstore in Manhattan. Our next event is August 17 with authors Natasha Pickowicz and Claire Saffitz. Natasha and Claire will discuss what they are baking this summer, the making of their latest cookbooks, and much more. The event will be recorded live for this very podcast. Reserve a spot now, first come, first served.More From B. Dylan Hollis:70 Years Later, This Is Still the Best Summer Dessert  [The Wall Street Journal[Meet the TikToker Going Viral by Baking His Way Through Great Depression-Era Cookbooks [Eater]Food for the Gods - 1909 Recipe [YouTube]Reserve a spot for TASTE Live at Rizzoli on August 17.

How cool was it to have Anya von Bremzen in the studio? In this fast-paced episode, we cover Anya’s tremendous journalism career, which has brought her multiple James Beard Awards and a handful of reported books that are considered modern classics. These include the memoir Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking and her latest, National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home. We talk about what makes (or doesn’t make) a culture’s national dish, and how food writing has undergone great change in the past two decades. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt catch up about the new SPAM® flavor, Cardamaro, a visit to the Albanese gummy bear factory store, goat butter ice cream, a great new book Imagine a City: A Pilot's Journey Across the Urban World, a great new movie Theater Camp, and a really smart sunburn recovery hack.  MORE FROM ANYA VON BREMZEN:How Do Certain Foods Become National Dishes? [NYT]The Problem with National Dishes [Saveur]Say Ciao to Roscioli NYC, Direct From Rome [Resy]People Love to Hate the Garlic Press [TASTE]

Nicole A. Taylor is a food writer, recipe developer, and master home cook. Her latest book is Watermelon & Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations. Now, we’ve known Nicole for a while, but this conversation was the first time we were able to sit down and talk about food in her native Georgia, her work as a writer and editor in New York City, and the meaning of Juneteenth. We also go behind the scenes at one of America’s most well-known food magazines, where Nicole has been working. What a great interview. Also on the show we have a great conversation with José R. Ralat. José is the current Taco Editor at Texas Monthly and the winner of multiple James Beard Awards for his deeply reported journalism. Check out his book American Tacos, a modern classic. We talk about the state of the taco in America, among many other topics.More From Nicole A. Taylor and José R. Ralat:A Juneteenth of Joy and Resistance [NYT]Hibiscus Snow Cones [Food & Wine]A Major Ingredient Is the Cook w/ Cal Peternell, Matt Rodbard, Nicole A. Taylor [YT]Defining ‘Guisado’ Is Just as Messy as the Dish Itself [Texas Monthly]

Here are two classic conversations. Ayo Adebiri plays Sydney Adamu on the beloved FX show The Bear. She tells us about her real-life work in New York City restaurants, and we get into some behind-the-scenes talk about filming on location in Chicago. Also on the show is a fast and furious talk with cookbook author and food TV personality Molly Yeh. Molly is legitimately one of the funniest writers (and guests) that I’ve encountered in a long time, and we get into all sorts of topics on the show. We discuss what makes a great Hallmark Channel movie, and we theorize about how she will possibly star in one someday. We also talk about Little House on the Prairie (the TV show) and how Molly is living her best life in North Dakota. Check out her incredible book, Home Is Where the Eggs Are. FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/ayoedebiriinstagram.com/mollyyehinstagram.com/mattrodbardThese episodes originally aired on July 15, 2022 and October 25, 2022.

Lior Lev Sercarz is the chef, spice blender, and owner of La Boi?te, a world-renowned spice company located in New York City. On this episode, we catch up with Lior about his unique path from Israel to some of the most famous restaurant kitchens in New York. We talk about the culinary school he’s founding in Northern Israel and dive into his incredible new book, A Middle Eastern Pantry. For real, this is one of our favorite books of the year, and together we go over many of the spices and condiments that shape this amazing culinary history. Lior is a true original, and we hope you enjoy our conversation.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt give some very early thoughts on the upcoming fall cookbook season, including exciting new books from Yossy Arefi, Rie McClenny, Yewande Komolafe, Andrew Tarlow, Pierre Thiam, Jing Gao, Dwight Garner, and C Pam Zhang.FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/chefliorinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the founders of not one but two of America’s most exciting independent media brands, each working deeply in and around food. In 2013, former media and beauty executive Kerry Diamond founded Cherry Bombe as a response to the overwhelmingly male-dominated chef and restaurant world. The publication has grown into a serious player, launching podcasts and events that rival some of the major glossies. Kyle Tibbs Jones is a cofounder and director of media at The Bitter Southerner, an iconoclastic magazine and media brand that was founded as a response to the caricatured portrayals of Southern life in mainstream media. The Bitter Southerner has won multiple James Beard Awards and, like Cherry Bombe, is a favorite read for many—including the editors of TASTE. And as you heard at the top, it's the return of TASTE Live, an IRL events series with our friends at Rizzoli Bookstore in Manhattan. Our next event is August 17 with authors Natasha Pickowicz and Claire Saffitz. Natasha and Claire will discuss what they are baking this summer, the making of their latest cookbooks, and much more. The event will be recorded live for this very podcast. Reserve a spot now, first come, first served.More from Cherry Bombe and The Bitter Southerner:Happy Birthday, Cherry Bombe [Forbes]The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network [official]The Global Love of Boiled Peanuts [official]Blood, Sweat, and Tears [official]

Lyndsay C. Green is the restaurant critic at the Detroit Free Press, and she is tasked with shining a light on one of America’s most vibrant and also misunderstood food cities. It’s quite the job, and Green, a native of New York City, has embraced the role to its fullest. In this episode, we talk about Detroit’s many diverse neighborhoods and how the city’s food scene was built by immigrants from Mexico, Greece, China, and the Middle East. I ask her about her most recent top ten restaurants list, and we dig into her food writing process and style. It’s really great getting to know Lyndsay, and I hope you enjoy this conversation.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about what’s interesting and exciting, including the Kreung Cambodian pop-up, the recent Borscht Belt Festival, Jamie Oliver's new TV channel, OddFellows Ice Cream, and save us the plums! MORE FROM LYNDSAY GREEN:My Year in Review as Free Press Restaurant Critic: Accidentally Anonymous [Freep]La Cuscatleca Inc. Is Southwest Detroit’s Best Kept Secret [Freep]   Detroit’s Street Barbecue Subculture [Freep]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/ladyluffinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Chef Eric Adjepong was a finalist on season 16 of Bravo's Top Chef and a contestant on season 17 of Top Chef All-Stars, where he earned consistent acclaim from judges and popularity among viewers. As a first-generation Ghanaian-American born and raised in New York City, Eric sources the flavors and influences in his cooking from many of the West African dishes he grew up eating. He is passionate about introducing diners to West African cuisine and the impact its diaspora has had on South American, Latin American, Caribbean, and American food, all in his elegant, artfully plated style. On this episode we talk about Eric's new children's book, Sankofa: A Culinary Story of Resilience and Belonging. We also talk about is forthcoming cookbook, as well as what it was like to compete on Top Chef. What a great conversation.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt continue to preview the exciting fall cookbook season, including early thoughts on new releases from Klancy Miller, Molly Baz, Nancy Silverton, Erika Council, Cheap Old Houses, Andrew Friedman, and Leah Koenig.MORE FROM ERIC ADJEPONG: ReachTV Orders ‘Cultural Eats’ Starring Chef Eric Adjepong, From Chris Paul’s Production Company [Variety]Sankofa [Official]

Dan Pelosi is the self-proclaimed “Italian American meatball" behind the popular social media account and home entertainment mood board GrossyPelosi. In this episode, we catch up with Dan to talk about his journey from working at a creative agency to running a megapopular online food community. We talk about some of his favorite summer and fall recipes and dig into his debut cookbook, Let’s Eat. We hope you enjoy this fun conversation.MORE FROM GROSSY PELOSI:Grossy’s Guide to Grilling [official]Summer Corn Tomato Pasta [official]Grilled Dumplings with Natasha Pickowicz [YouTube]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/grossypelosiinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Hillary Sterling is a longtime New York City chef who is currently the executive chef at Ci Siamo, one of our favorite restaurants in all the land. We’ve known Hillary for years, and it was really fun to dig into her history to find out about her early food memories growing up deep in Brooklyn and her many cooking jobs in Chicago and NYC. We talk about traveling around Italy for research and her friendly rivalry (more of a friendly meeting of the minds) with chef Missy Robbins. We also find out what she loves most about running one of NYC’s hottest (literally—it’s live fire, baby) restaurants.MORE FROM HILLARY STERLING:Rekindling the Flame at Danny Meyer’s Ci Siamo [NYT]Italian Passion Front and Center at Ci Siamo [Gay City News]How Chef Hillary Sterling Runs Her 120-Seat NYC Restaurant Using Live Fire [Eater] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/chefhillarysterlinginstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Ham El-Waylly is a chef, recipe developer, and video creator based in New York City. You may know him from the NYT Cooking channel, where he shares ingenious tips and whips up opulent feasts from niche ingredients alongside his wife, Sohla. But you probably don’t know Ham’s rich history in food, from growing up in Doha, Qatar, with Bolivian-Egyptian parents in the food business to running research and development at Momofuku’s Ando. Today we dig into it all, plus his love of graphic tees and live music, and I hope you’ll enjoy it. And as you heard at the top, it's the return of TASTE Live, an IRL events series with our friends at Rizzoli Bookstore in Manhattan. Our next event is August 17 with authors Natasha Pickowicz and Claire Saffitz. Natasha and Claire will discuss what they are baking this summer, the making of their latest cookbooks, and much more. The event will be recorded live for this very podcast.MORE FROM HAM EL-WAYLLY:Chicken Stroganoff [New York Times Cooking]The World’s Smelliest Fruit? Sohla and Ham Try Cooking With Durian [Mystery Menu]What Happens When a Brown Chef Cooks White Food? [GQ]

Dirt Candy is a vegetarian restaurant on New York’s Lower East Side that has become famous over the past decade for making eggplant tiramisu, kimchi donuts, and tomato fruit leather. But its chef, Amanda Cohen, makes one thing very clear—the restaurant’s mission is not about vegetarianism or health or politics. It’s just about making vegetables taste really good. In this episode, we talk with Amanda about the 15-year run of one of New York’s most important restaurants. We discuss her early experiences working with Moby and her deep understanding of how to run a restaurant in these modern times. Also, cookbooks! Will she write another one? We find out.MORE FROM AMANDA COHEN:Dirt Candy: A Visual Veggie Cookbook With a Memoir Mixed In [NPR]For Chef Amanda Cohen, Everything Is Out in the Open [NRN]This Is TASTE 33: Amanda Cohen [TASTE]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/dirtcandynycinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Today we have an amazing conversation with Naama Shefi. Naama is the founder of the Jewish Food Society, a nonprofit organization that works to preserve, celebrate, and revitalize Jewish cuisine to build and promote a meaningful connection to Jewish and Israeli culture. She is also the chair of Asif Culinary Institute of Israel.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt discuss three things they each are interested in right now. These include: Piñas at Connolly’s, Emily Sundberg’s Feed Me newsletter, Abi Balingit’s rose water meringue, Cherry Bombe is doing a WeFunder, Eric Kim tomato furikake sandwich, LA Chef Conference is October 30.   More From Naama Shefi:Schmaltzy [Apple]The Legacy of a 1970s Bar Mitzvah Cake [JFS]The New Magazine Taking a Different View on Jewish Food Culture [Vogue]Pre-order: Shabbat

Here are two classic conversations from This Is TASTE featuring two literary titans. George Saunders is the author of many works, including the Booker Prize–winning Lincoln in the Bardo. Here we talk about pizza and Italian delis on the South Side of Chicago, as well as lunch in the Texas oil fields. We discuss success in the kitchen and how intuition crashes together with luck, and we speculate on the shape of food in the year 2300.Also on the show is Gary Shteyngart, a New York Times best-selling novelist and food writer who has written memorable books including The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Super Sad True Love Story, and his most recent work, the rollicking pandemic satire Our Country Friends. In this episode, we talk about some of Gary’s world travels, both as a hired gun and for fun, as well as what he’s eating and drinking in his Upstate New York home. We also remember New York City restaurants from the 1990s and early 2000s, including fond memories of the long-lost Meatpacking District bistro Florent, which plays a role in Gary’s most recent novel.More from George Saunders & Gary Shteyngart: Story Club with George Saunders [Substack]Eat, Memory: The Absolutely No-Anything Diet [New York Times Magazine]I Watched Russian Television for Five Days Straight [The Atlantic]

It’s really fun having Alex Delany back on the show and getting to know the food and drink writer (and rare book collector) a little bit better. You may know Alex from his time working at Bon Appétit as a writer covering home cooking, wine, cocktails, and naturally processed coffee (respect), as well as a series of memorable YouTube videos. But since leaving BA in early 2021, Alex has been busy working as a consultant, podcaster, wine educator, and most recently as the author of a really cool city guide called “Everything Good.” On this episode we talk about the summer of NA beer, the summer of Superiority Burger, love for Richmond, Karma vs. Mast, Andy Warhol’s lost cookbook, love for Beefeater, and what’s next. Cool catching up with Alex again. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM ALEX DELANY:Everything Good: Tribeca Fidi [Google Docs]Everything Good on the Lower East Side [Google Doc]This Is TASTE 131: Alex Delany [TASTE]Andy Warhol’s Wild Raspberries [Biblio]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/alex_delanyinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

C Pam Zhang is the author of the acclaimed novel How Much of These Hills Is Gold. Her new book, Land of Milk and Honey, is set in a near future where smog has choked out almost all agriculture, and where a chef is lured to cook at a reclusive mountain institute for the global elite with the promise of produce. It’s a gripping book about power and politics and, mostly, a love letter to food, and we’re thrilled to have her on the show to discuss it.Also on the episode, Aliza and Matt preview more fall cookbooks they are really enjoying including new books from Jon Kung, Sohla El-Waylly, two Italian wine experts, James Park, the Pie Hole in Los Angeles, and Alicia Kennedy. Don’t forget to smash that pre-order button. Fall cookbook season is here. MORE FROM C PAM ZHANG:See It Slant [The Cut]The Pen Ten: An Interview with C Pam Zhang [Pen America]Buy: Land of Milk and Honey

Today’s special episode is from our recent conversation with baking cookbook authors Natasha Pickowicz and Claire Saffitz, live at Rizzoli Bookstore in NYC. Natasha is a chef, the founder of the pop-up Never Ending Taste, and the author of More Than Cake. Claire is a recipe developer and the author of the best-selling cookbooks

Becca Millstein is cofounder and CEO of Fishwife, one of the buzziest brands in not just the emerging tinned seafood market but all of food. We had such a fun time catching up with Becca to talk about her brand’s journey from big idea to big-time retail. We also find out where the tinned fish movement is heading and hear about some of the bumps along the road that the company has had to overcome. Finally, we talk about the company’s now-iconic branding—such great branding! We hope you enjoy this conversation.Also on the show, Matt recaps his recent trip to Seattle, including stops at The Walrus and the Carpenter, Hood Famous, Watson’s Counter, Book Larder, Camber, Hamdi, and Saint Bread.MORE FROM BECCA MILLSTEIN:Wait, Canned Salmon Is Good? [TASTE]Creating America’s First Chic Tinned Fish Company [Eater] Meet Fishwife, the Stylish, Sustainably Sourced Tinned Fish You Want in Your Kitchen [Vogue]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/bbmillsteininstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Susan Spungen is an author, a food stylist, and a real food media legend. She was the founding food editor at Martha Stewart Living, and she has worked in television and film, including teaching Meryl Streep how to flip an omelet. On this episode, we learn about food in 1980s New York, about Susan’s job interview process with Martha, and about her famous sister. We also talk about her wonderful new book, Veg Forward, and why tomatoes will always be our favorite vegetable. Or is it a fruit?MORE FROM SUSAN SPUNGEN:Food Stylist Susan Spungen Releases New Cookbook [Forbes] Tomato, Pickled Melon and Burrata Salad [Bon Appetit]Grilled Cheese with Apples and Apple Butter [NYT]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/susanspungeninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Chandra Ram is the associate editorial director at Food & Wine and coauthor of cookbooks like Korean BBQ and The Complete Indian Instant Pot Cookbook. On this episode, Chandra takes us into the test kitchen at Food & Wine, and we hear about some of the cool stories she’s been working on. We also talk about how postwar and post-pandemic times share similarities in the way the events have changed the way we cook forever. It’s really great catching up with Chandra.MORE FROM CHANDRA RAM:It’s Time to Start Pickling at Home [F&W]After 8 Years of Marriage, I’m Teaching My Husband How to Cook [F52]Decoding Carmy’s Cookbook Shelves on ‘The Bear’ [F&W]

Ben McKean is the founder of Hungryroot, an online grocery retailer that has changed the way millions of Americans cook dinner (and lunch, and breakfast) and taught them to love plant-based cookie dough. On this episode, Ben shares his journey to launching Hungryroot, and we dig into how the modern grocery store is quite broken. We also talk about what it’s like running his company nearly a decade in. Interested? Use promo code TASTE30 for 30% off the first box.MORE FROM BEN MCKEAN:How I Turned My Hobby Into a Career [Medium]Hungryroot Review: Is This Popular Meal Kit Service Worth the Hype? [Real Simple]Hungryroot: Our Honest Review [CNet]

James Park is a content creator and the author of Chili Crisp, a sharp look at one of America’s favorite ingredients today. On this episode we speak with James about the different types of chili crisp to buy and make at home, as well as some unexpected discoveries he’s made. We also talk about his upbringing in Korea and dig into the exciting things happening in Korean food these days. We hope you enjoy this talk with James, one of our favorite dudes in food.MORE FROM JAMES PARK:Yes, Chile Crisp Deserves a Whole Cookbook [Eater]Does Chili Crisp Go With Everything? This Author Thinks So [Epicurious]Chili Crisp Compound Butter [Material]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/jamesyworldinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Ellen Yin is the founder and co-owner of Philadelphia’s High Street Hospitality Group. She’s behind some of the best restaurants in not just Philly but the entire country, including Fork, High Street on Market, and High Street Provisions. On this episode we speak with Ellen about her journey to hospitality, what’s special about the Philly restaurant scene, and what it was like to win a James Beard Award for America’s top restaurateur. We also talk about the incredible cookbook festival she's organized, Cookbooks and Convos, which runs from late September through late October. It’s so great catching up with Ellen, and we hope you enjoy this conversation.Also on the show, Aliza catches up with Andrew Tarlow, the author of a new book, Diner: Day for Night, which pays tribute to his legendary Brooklyn restaurant. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.More From Ellen Yin:Ellen Yin Talks Pineapple Pizza and 25 Years of Fork [Philadelphia Mag]Philly Chef Wins Big at the James Beard Awards [Billy Penn]Cookbooks and Convos [Philadelphia Inquirer]

What a thrill it is to have our friend Adeena Sussman back on the show. Adeena is the author of numerous cookbooks, having cowritten three with Chrissy Teigen, and the voice behind the best-selling Israeli food tome Sababa. Sussman is back with a great new book, Shabbat, and in this episode we talk about the multitudes of Jewish food around the world. We discuss what is so exciting about food in her home base of Tel Aviv and also go over some of the comforting and innovative new recipes in Shabbat. MORE FROM ADEENA SUSSMAN:Embracing My Whole Self, Through Food [Tablet]The Perfect Shabbat Dinner Meets You Where You Are [Conde Nast Traveler]Adeena Sussman’s new cookbook includes Shabbat recipes from around the world [NPR]Mike and Adeena’s Excellent Israeli Culinary Adventure [Via Sabra]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/adeenasussmaninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/tasteDo you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.

Sue S. Chan is an expert marketer, brand builder, and all-around busy bee on the global food scene. She was Momofuku’s first brand director, and in this episode we go back to her time helping to build the David Chang empire (and figuring out how to tell DC what to do). She later founded her own agency, Care of Chan, which has become a go-to for major fashion and retail brands looking to engage with the food world. Her current clients include A24, NYT Cooking, Gucci Osteria, Nike, J.Crew, and Hermam Miler. This conversation is fast and furious, but we always pause when Sue has a restaurant to talk about. We so enjoyed catching up with a real food-world one of one, and we hope you enjoy it too.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM SUE CHAN:The Food-World Entrepreneur Who Loves Clear Heels [The Cut]Mermaid Spa Brooklyn [CoC]Breaking Down with Sue Chan [Busyboy]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/sueperchaninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

Writer, podcaster, and cookbook collaborator Andrew Friedman has a unique vantage point in talking about chefs and food writing as a profession. He’s worked with some of the most interesting voices in the restaurant world (going back a decade and longer), including Daniel Boulud, Alfred Portale, Michelle Bernstein, Bill Telepan, and David Waltuck. In this episode we talk to Andrew about his most recent work, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food, a page-turning, behind-the-scenes look at what makes a single restaurant dish. We discuss the book’s unique reporting process and how Andrew views his work in the larger context of food media. We also get some restaurant picks—and pay tribute to one of the industry’s most influential and frankly forgotten players. Also on the show, Aliza shares some highlights from her recent trip to Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles. Stay for a report from the LA bagel wars, a camping beer hack, and what is exciting her on the the west coast.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM ANDREW FRIEDMAN:Andrew Talks to Chefs [official]Who Let the Cool Chefs Write Cookbooks? [TASTE]The Secret Lives of Private Chefs [TASTE]

Jason Hammel is the executive chef and owner of award-winning Lula Cafe in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Jason grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, and is the product of a tight-knit Italian family. He studied writing at Brown University and then traveled in Italy, where an accidental stay in an apartment above a produce market left a lasting impression and presaged his career as a chef. In this episode we hear about the 24-year run of Lula Cafe, and about how Jason’s instinct to write blends with his culinary background. We also talk about his debut cookbook, The Lula Cafe Cookbook.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things they are feeling, including a memorable Table of Contents event in Brooklyn, speaking at the Chow Chow Festival in Asheville, NC, the nostalgia of Save Me the Plums, Helen Rosner is on a roll at The New Yorker, Birdie’s pasta extruder in the dining room is a baller move.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.         MORE FROM JASON HAMMEL:Jason Hammel’s Dear Chicago [Star Chefs]Still Setting the Standard in Logan Square [Chicago Tribune]Konbi Has a Secret Croissant Machine [TASTE]

Michael Symon is the star of Symon’s Dinners Cooking Out and the author of a great new cookbook, Simply Symon Suppers, as well as a longtime TV host, Iron Chef, and food commentator. But we know Michael best as a really, really great chef who’s run well-regarded restaurants in New York City and Cleveland, where he was born. On this action-packed episode, we talk about Symon’s Greek and Sicilian background and how he hosts raucous dinner parties in all seasons. We discuss his star turn and what celebrity chefdom has meant for this true Midwesterner. It’s a great talk, and we hope you enjoy it.Also on the show, we have a great conversation with The Bear's set decorator, Eric Frankel. Eric, along with his team, is responsible for creating the kitchen and restaurant spaces on the hit show, and we find out how building the set was very similar to opening a real restaurant (with real fire and flame). We also learn about how he selected the many cookbooks featured on the show.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.   MORE FROM MICHAEL SYMON AND THE BEAR:2 Easy Recipes For Fall [Good Morning America]Michael Symon’s Deviled Eggs [Food Network]Here’s the Complete List of Every Cookbook Featured on ‘The Bear’ [Eater]

Clare de Boer is the chef-owner of Stissing House, a restaurant located in New York’s Hudson Valley and one we like very, very much. Clare is also the chef-owner of two New York City restaurants, King and Jupiter. On this episode, we speak with Clare about her time cooking at the River Cafe in London and her journey to America to open some of the country’s best restaurants. We also talk about her writing career, a forthcoming King cookbook, and some of the restaurants she is excited about right now.Also on the show, Matt catches up with Brad Metzger, a Los Angeles–based restaurant recruiter and the creative force behind the LA Chef Conference, a gathering of chefs and food media members taking place October 30. We talk about the role of recruiting in the restaurant industry and hear about Brad’s journey to launch the conference. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.    MORE FROM CLARE DE BOER:Hello From My Island [Substack]A Manhattan Chef Heads Upstate. A Country Tavern Follows. [NYT]LA Chefs Conference [official]

Here are three classic conversations from This Is TASTE with three key members of the New York Times food desk. Melissa Clark is a prolific cookbook author, longtime NYT columnist, and one of the most respected food writers in the game. In this interview, we talk about her days collaborating with great chefs including Daniel Boulud, David Bouley, and Claudia Fleming, as well as her action-packed cookbook career. Genevieve Ko is a deputy editor of New York Times Cooking and the Food section, as well as a prolific cookbook author and collaborator. Here we have such a great time catching up about all things cookbooks, food media, and what it’s like to help run one of the best, and most popular, sections at the NYT.  Lastly we sit down with Emily Weinstein, the food and cooking editor of the New York Times. We’ve been a great admirer of her and her colleagues’ work at NYT Cooking, and we took the opportunity to talk about what makes a great story as well as some of the cooking trends Weinstein is most interested in covering. We also discuss Weinstein’s long journey working at the paper, starting as a dining listings fact-checker and rising to various editorial roles, eventually taking the top spot.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  

Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel is the chef and co-owner of Birdie’s, an Austin, Texas, restaurant that is innovative and exciting, and by far one of our favorite meals of the year. On this episode, we speak with Tracy about her journey from cooking at Lula Cafe in Chicago to working the line at some of New York’s most acclaimed places—Del Posto, Blue Hill, and Gramercy Tavern—and how she met her partner in life and business, Arjav. We talk about what excites her about restaurants and dig into some of Birdie’s most popular dishes. Also, stick around for Matt’s thoughts on a recent trip to Austin, Texas—featuring some of the restaurants and trucks that got him most excited, including Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop, Distant Relatives, Franklin Barbecue, Cuantos Tacos, Birdie’s, Canje, and Nido. The TASTE Texas Tour was supported by our friends at Travel Texas. Stay tuned for dispatches from Houston and San Antonio. MORE FROM TRACY MALECHEK-EZEKIEL:   Food & Wine Restaurant of the Year: Birdie's [Food & Wine]Food & Wine names East Austin spot Restaurant of the Year [Austin American-Statesman] Inside Birdie’s Journey [Tribeza]

Pat LaFrieda is one of the world’s most celebrated butchers and sells ground beef, strip steaks, and rib eyes to more than a thousand New York City restaurants alone. On this episode we talk about the birth of the boutique burger blend, tracing its lineage back to Minetta Tavern, and dig deep into the meat business. We also discuss Pat’s own personal favorite way to cook a steak, roast a chicken, and dress a hamburger, with a couple of very specific choices. It was really fun getting to know the one and only Pat LaFrieda, and we hope you enjoy this conversation.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.   MORE FROM PAT LAFRIEDA:Pat LaFrieda on Expanding His Meat Empire [CBS Saturday Morning]How Pat LaFrieda Produces $270 million of Meat Per Year [Insider]Budget Grilling Ideas [Rachael Ray]

How much do you know about olive oil? After this episode, a lot more. Skyler Mapes, cofounder of EXAU Olive Oil and coauthor of the new book The Olive Oil Enthusiast, joined us from her home in Calabria, Italy, to drop invaluable olive oil knowledge from harvest to bottle, plus Italy travel tips and more. It’s a fun episode, and we hope you’ll enjoy it.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt go over three things they each are enjoying, including: The Neon Croissant, JJ Johnson's great new book The Simple Art of Rice, IG of note @haileecatalano, Dwight Garner's The Upstairs Delicatessen, C Pam Zhang's How Much of These Hills Is Gold, the TikTokers are coming!Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM SKYLER MAPES:Meet the Woman Bringing Calabrian Olive Oil to the U.S. [Conde Nast Traveler]Forbes 30 Under 30, 2021 [Forbes]Demystifying Extra Virgin Olive Oil With Skyler Mapes and Giuseppe Morisani [Italy Magazine]

Chris Shepherd is a chef and writer based in Houston, Texas, and the cofounder of Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit geared toward helping members of the restaurant community. On this episode we have a lively conversation about the food scene in Chris’s hometown, what it was like leaving his restaurant group, and his cookbook: Cook Like a Local. This is such an inspiring talk, and we hope you enjoy it.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about Matt’s trip to Houston, where he had an incredible 48 hours, making stops at: Kâu Ba, Trill Burgers, Tatemó, Tres Chiles, The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation, Villa Arcos, Blacksmith, and Crawfish & Noodles.   The TASTE Texas Tour was supported by our friends at Travel Texas. See our dispatch from Austin, and stay tuned for San Antonio.MORE FROM CHRIS SHEPHERD:Houston Chef Chris Shepherd Is Enjoying His New Season [Eater]Southern Smoke Festival [official]

Laurent Dagenais is one of our favorite chefs online today, and many others agree. He has grown his following to more than three million across his social media accounts and carved out a really cool space that blends streetwear, French Canadian cooking, and good vibes. Laurent was born and raised in Montreal, and in this episode, we find out about his path from journeyman line cook to blowing up on TikTok and IG. We find out what makes a great video and what inspired his new cookbook, Always Hungry!, and we dig into his life online and offline. We also talk about one of Canada’s other great exports: the rapper Snow. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM LAURENT DAGENAIS:Laurent Dagenais Keeps the Cooking Real [Fine Dining Lovers]Stacked Ham and Brie Sandwich [Today]Steak Sandwich [YouTube]

Hillary Dixler Canavan is Eater’s restaurant editor and the author of the publication’s debut book, Eater: 100 Essential Restaurant Recipes From the Authority on Where to Eat and Why It Matters. On this lively episode we talk about Hillary’s reporting for Eater’s debut cookbook, and how one wrangles recipes from chefs without going nuts. We also hear about Hillary’s work covering the national restaurant scene, and, of course, get her favorites in New York, Los Angeles, and beyond. This is a great conversation, and we hope you enjoy it.Also on the show, Matt recaps a recent trip to Virginia Beach, VA and the surrounding area. There's great food down there! He discusses visits to: Love Song, The Pink Dinghy, a fried chicken vibe check starring BoBo's Fine Chicken and Pollard's. He also stopped by Four Eleven York in Norfolk, Heirloom, and Gelati Celesti.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM HILLARY DIXLER CANAVAN:Turn Your Kitchen Into a Proper Bistro with Frenchette’s Tartare Frites [Eater]How a Veteran Food Editor Adapted 100 Beloved Restaurant Recipes [Cultured]15 Best New Restaurants in America [Eater]

Dwight Garner has been a book critic for the New York Times since 2008, and he has now written one of our favorite food books in years (not an exaggeration). The Upstairs Delicatessen is a book about “eating, reading, reading about eating, and eating while reading.” This is completely, 100% our bag, and Dwight’s style and rhythm had us reading until we were full (and then some). In this extremely fun episode, Dwight shares the book’s origins and digs into some of his most memorable meals and books, and books about meals, and meals…you get the point. It’s a fun conversation with one of the sharpest minds in the media.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM DWIGHT GARNER:Dwight Garner Always Has a Muffuletta in the Freezer [Grub Street]A Remembrance of Diet Cokes Past [FT]A Lightning Rod Defends His Legacy (and Has a Few Regrets) [NYT]

We’ve long been fans of cookbook author and creative thinker Molly Baz, and many of you have too. With a signature voice and absolutely wild recipe development skills (as well as years of professional cooking under her belt), Molly has won over millions of fans worldwide. Her debut book Cook This Book was a New York Times Best Seller, and she’s back with a new one, More Is More, that taps into the food world’s more maximalist urges. This is a really fun talk with one of the strongest voices in cookbooks.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM MOLLY BAZA Cacio e Pepe Gets Drunk and Breaks the Rules [TASTE]This Is TASTE 143: Molly Baz [TASTE]Molly Baz Shares the Must-Have Recipe of the Season [Glamour]Baz to Basics [TASTE]

Robert Simonson writes about cocktails, spirits, bars, and bartenders for the New York Times and is the creator and author of the Substack newsletter The Mix With Robert Simonson. In this episode we talk about his terrific new book, The Encyclopedia of Cocktails: The People, Bars & Drinks, with More Than 100 Recipes. The book is amazing in that it covers the world of modern drinking (the people, places, and watering holes) without being dry or overly earnest. Simonson cuts to the heart of the past 100 years of the cocktail, and we go over many of the entries and also dive into Robert’s history of covering the scene for nearly 20 years. It’s a great episode, and we hope you enjoy it.Also on the show, Matt talks about his recent trip to San Antonio, which included stops at the Jerk Shack, Landrace, Cured, Con Huevos Tacos, and Ray’s Drive Inn. The TASTE Texas Tour was supported by our friends at Travel Texas. Check out Matt's dispatches from Austin and Houston.  Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM ROBERT SIMONSON:Montana’s Great Lost Barman [PUNCH]Your Favorite Classic Cocktails Are More Modern Than You Think [TASTE]Making Sense of the Maximalist Cocktail [PUNCH]

As writer and podcast host Chris Black tells it, he sits at the heart of American culture. “The bridge between the high and the low; the very high and the very low.” This is a very good—and often entertaining—place to live, and in this episode we get to know Chris a bit better through his particular takes on restaurant culture, home cooking, cookbooks, and the two cities he spends the most time in: New York and Los Angeles. Chris is the cohost of How Long Gone (along with Noma beat reporter Jason Stewart) and consults for brands like J.Crew, Thom Browne, Stüssy, Balenciaga, and Reigning Champ. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM CHRIS BLACK:‘How Long Gone’ Is in It for the Long Haul [NYT] Bring Back the Power Lunch [GQ]This Is TASTE 163: Jason Stewart [TASTE]How Long Gone 306: Matt Rodbard [official]

What a fun time it is having Max La Manna in the studio. Max is a recipe developer and former NYC and Los Angeles line cook. He’s also big on TikTok and various other social media channels, and we get into what makes a great food video as well as hearing about Max’s journey. We also talk about Max’s new cookbook, You Can Cook This! Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM MAX LA MANNA:Sun-Dried Tomato “Meatballs” [official]Vegan Tofu Butter Chicken [YouTube]10 Tips For Reducing Food Waste [Veg News]

Luke Fortney is a reporter at Eater New York, where he keeps an eagle eye on openings and closings, plus trends like the city’s burgeoning breakfast burrito scene. Aliza had him on the show to talk about what it’s like staying on top of New York’s ever-shifting dining landscape. Whether you live in New York City or you’re thinking about taking a trip there, it’s a must-listen.Also on the show Matt catches up with British cookbook author, journalist, and chef Ravinder Bhogal to speak about her great new cookbook, Comfort and Joy: Irresistible Pleasures from a Vegetarian Kitchen.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM LUKE FORTNEY & RAVINDER BHOGAL:New York’s Illegal Weed Market Is Propped Up by Imported Chips That Taste Like Tacos [Eater]New York’s Most Exciting Restaurant Openings This Fall [Eater]Ravinder Bhogal’s Pumpkin and Squash For Autumn [The Guardian]

Here are two classic conversations with two of our favorite people in food. Jamie Oliver returns to the show, and we could not be happier to talk with him about so many things. For those who didn’t grow up watching food TV, here’s the deal. Jamie pioneered a form of food television that brought cameras into the home in a way not previously seen. When The Naked Chef debuted on BBC Two in the UK and the Food Network in the United States in 1999, home cooking on TV was a stand-and-stir affair. Here, a young and floppy Oliver was cooking real food from a cool East London flat, talking viewers through the relative simplicity of making dinner.Oliver has gone on to write numerous cookbooks (selling 50 million in the UK alone) and create food TV that expanded beyond cooking, producing documentaries about the sugar industry and school lunches that transitioned his work from dude food evangelist to heartier activism. His latest book, One: Simple One-Pan Wonders, is out now.And it’s a great day when our friend Alison Roman turns up at our New York City studio. We’ve really enjoyed reading and cooking through her recent baking book, Sweet Enough, and we wanted to ask her about what it’s like to write three cookbooks in five and a half years, as well as to talk about the TV show she made, her spirited newsletter writing, the kosher salt wars, sheet pan shortcake, and where to eat in New York City right now. 

Yewande Komolafe is a recipe developer, food stylist, and author of the New York Times “10 Essential Nigerian Recipes”. She also has a terrific new cookbook out now, My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora. On this episode we talk about Yewande’s journey to writing this groundbreaking work, and how the book's recipes cover the converging cuisines of her hometown of Lagos. We also talk about her life in and out of the kitchen. It’s a great talk and we hope you enjoy it.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM YEWANDE KOMOLAFE:The Plantain Has Your Back [TASTE]In ‘My Everyday Lagos,’ Yewande Komolafe Searches for Home [Eater]Nigerian Clay Pot Chicken [F&W]

We’re thrilled to welcome Sohla El-Waylly back to the show. Sohla is a prodigious recipe developer, a fixture of food YouTube, and a judge on HBO’s cooking competition The Big Brunch. Next week she will release her debut cookbook, Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook. It’s a terrific book, and we discuss many of the recipes and techniques, and how Sohla photographed the book in her New York City apartment. We also talk about her love of Top Chef, her own reality cooking show turn, and what excites her most—including breakfast at Veselka. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.  MORE FROM SOHLA EL-WAYLLY:Pizza Salad [NYT Cooking]Mystery Menu With Sohla and Ham El-Waylly [NYT Cooking]This Is TASTE 189: Sohla El-Waylly [TASTE]

How fun it was to have our old friend Chris Ying on the show. Chris is a cookbook author, podcast host, and the cofounder and former editor in chief of Lucky Peach. He’s currently running point at Majordomo Media, and he cohosts the podcast The Dave Chang Show with you can guess who. On this episode we find out about Chris’s cookbook writing career, including the fact that he’s authored one of our favorite books of all time (no joke). We talk about what makes great “food content” in 2023, working on a show with David Chang, Koreatown's LA expansion, and Chris’s big plans at Majordomo Media. Also on the show we have a lively conversation with the authors of a great new book, But First, Coffee: A Guide to Brewing from the Kitchen to the Bar. Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen are old friends, and run the influential coffee publication, Sprudge. We talk about all things coffee, including making it at home and drinking better in cafes. Make sure to check out their new book, as well as The New Rules Of Coffee, published by Ten Speed Press in 2019. This conversation is part of our ongoing TASTE Live at Rizzoli series in New York City. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you. MORE FROM CHRIS YING:Meat and Threes, Underappreciated Po’boys, and Dave’s Boba Order [David Chang Podcast]Recipe Club: Instant Potato Flakes [The Ringer] This Is TASTE 194: Bill Addison [TASTE]Buy: The Wurst of Lucky Peach, Ivan Ramen

Joshua Weissman is one of the strongest (and largest) voices on the food internet and the host of a series of YouTube shows that clock more than eight million subscribers. He has an abounding love of food and proper technique, and we get into what makes a great cooking video, how Joshua likes to spend his off time in Austin, Texas, and his great new cookbook, Texture Over Taste. We also talk about how he ranks fast-food burgers and foods from all 50 states. It’s really fun having Joshua in the studio, and we hope you enjoy this conversation.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things they each are feeling. In this episode, Bolivian Llama Party, Panettone Season, J. Kenji López-Alt's Garlic Noodles, good book alert: Negatives: A Photographic Archive of Emo (1996-2006), the fried paw paws and more at Hainan Chicken House in Sunset Park, good fish alert: Hudson Valley Steelhead Trout.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM JOSHUA WEISSMAN:I Tried Food From Every State In America [YouTube]  100 Food Hacks I Learned in Restaurants [YouTube]Making the Burger King Whopper Meal at Home [YouTube]

For over a decade Ben Goodwin, the cofounder of Olipop, has been building a better-for-you soda that aims to change the soda game, disrupting the big boys at Coca-Cola and Pepsi and offering a high-fiber, unusually addictive beverage to discerning millennials. Well, dang, 2023 was most certainly the year of Olipop and Ben joins us in the studio to talk about it all. He details how he developed flavors like Vintage Cola, Crisp Apple, and Tropical Punch, and digs into the challenges facing beverage founders. It’s really fun getting to know Ben. I hope you enjoy this episode.Also on the show, Aliza shares about her first trip to Costco! Has she been bitten by the big-box bug?Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on  Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM OLIPOP:We’ve Hit Peak Beverage [TASTE]We Built Olipop: A $20 million a Month Soda Company in 5 years [CNBC]Lessons from Scaling Olipop [The New Consumer]What Your Local Costco Says About You [TASTE]

If you’d call yourself a “fruit person,” you’ll eat this episode up. William Mullan is a photographer and marketing manager whose book, Odd Apples, documents the stunning, strange world of heirloom apple varietals. His love of fruit extends to caring for urban apple trees in South Brooklyn and brewing his own cider—clearly there’s a lot to discuss! It was so fun to have William on the show to nerd out on fall fruit, the wine harvest, and more.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt are joined by producer Clayton Gumbert to dig into the sometimes maligned, oftentimes overlooked grocery store sandwich.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on  Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM WILLIAM MULLEN:

Andrew Rea is the man with the sharp knives behind Binging with Babish, a wildly popular YouTube channel and series of food and food-adjacent productions (we can call them short films). On this episode we catch up with Andrew about his great new book, Basics with Babish. We also go back to find out about the founding of his community and what he’s been cooking and eating around New York City. It’s a lot of fun catching up with Andrew, and I hope you enjoy this talk.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on  Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM BABISH:The Perfect Burrito-Cheeseburger Fusion [YouTube]Binging with Babish: Tyler’'s Bullsh*t from The Menu [YouTube]Babish Breaks Down His Tattoos [GQ]

Christina Ward is the author of Holy Food: How Cults, Communes, and Religious Movements Influenced What We Eat. It’s a fascinating book that digs deep into how the fringe and mainstream spiritual practices of Americas past shaped modern food culture, from trends to products still in the grocery aisle today. It’s a conversation you won’t soon forget and we hope you enjoy.   MORE FROM CHRISTINA WARD:A New Book Shows How Chicago’s Food History Intertwines With Cults, Communes, and Religious Movements [Eater Chicago]In the Name of the Fork: How Religion Shaped What America Eats [KCRW]Buy: American Advertising Cookbooks: How Corporations Taught Us to Love Bananas, Spam, and Jell-O

Yossy Arefi is a master of the one-bowl bake. The recipe developer behind cookbooks like Sweeter Off the Vine and Snacking Cakes is back with Snacking Bakes, a treasure trove of truly simple recipes designed to take you from zero to cookie in no time. In this episode, we talk about the advantages of developing accessible recipes in a cramped New York City kitchen, what to do with fall fruit, and more. Natasha Kravchuk is the creator of the popular website Natasha’s Kitchen, and the author of the NYT Best Seller of the same name. Through approachable, budget-minded recipes and a sense of style and place, Natasha has won over millions of fans, and has become one of the leading voices in food. But do you really know Natasha? On this episode we answer many questions, and get a sense of what inspires the Ukraine-born, Idaho-residing home cook, recipe developer, and entrepreneur.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on  Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM YOSSY AREFI AND NATASHA'S KITCHEN:Peach Crisp [NY Times]Cocoa Yogurt Snacking Cake [Washington Post]Homestyle Chicken Soup and Milk Bread Rolls [GMA]Easy Pumpkin Cake Roll with Creamy Filling [YouTube]

Today on the show we are featuring three classic conversations from some big names in coffee: James Hoffmann, Nigel Price, and James Freeman. Each has carved out a unique place in specialty coffee, and I really hope you enjoy getting to know some of the most interesting people in the business.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on  Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE ABOUT COFFEE ON TASTE:Meet the CEO of Coffee YouTube A Strong Case for Slow CoffeeThe Coffee Issue 

Abena Anim-Somuah is the James Beard Award–winning host of The Future of Food Is You, a Cherry Bombe podcast network show in which she interviews rising talent in the food space. She’s also behind the Eden Place, a food-focused community series, and always has her eye out for what’s new and next. We had her on the show to talk about the future of food podcasting, spending time in Mexico City, and much more.Also on this show Matt catches up with Margie Nomura. Margie is a UK chef and the host of a great podcast and Instagram, Desert Island Dishes. We talk about what is good right now in London, and what makes a great desert island dish.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM ABENA ANIM-SOMUAH & MARGIE NOMURAThe Future of Food Is You [Cherry Bombe]Cool Stuff NYC: Abena Anim-Somuah [Cool Stuff NYC]Dinner Tonight [Substack]

Today on the show we welcome Ethan Frisch and Ori Zohar, the cofounders of Burlap & Barrel, a very well-regarded spice company that might just play a starring role in your kitchen. We wanted to have these guys in to talk about the early days of their company and how both left successful careers in restaurant cooking and advertising to launch it. We also find out about their meticulous approach to sourcing Guatemalan cardamom and Turkish black Urfa chili, as well as digging into more spices they think we should be cooking with. We hope you enjoy this conversation.Also on the show, Brad Metzger discusses some of the big themes that arose during the latest LA Chef Conference. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on  Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM BURLAP & BARREL:How Burlap & Barrel is Shaking up the Spice Industry [Fast Company]New Spice Company Sells Seasonings From the Source [NYT]The Musakhan Queens of Ramallah [TASTE]

Sanaë Lemoine is a novelist and cookbook author whose work is united in its ability to make you very, very hungry. Before she wrote her novel The Margot Affair, Sanaë was a cookbook editor at Martha Stewart Books and Phaidon Press; now she combines her love of food and literature in her own writing and through cowriting cookbooks, like Make It Japanese with Rie McClenny. It’s a joy to have Sanaë on the show to talk about her creative process, her favorite spots for croissants in the city, and more. MORE FROM SANAE LEMOINE:Mathilde’s Tomato Tart [Smitten Kitchen]A Japanese Homestyle Meatball Clinches The Comfort Food Crown [TASTE]Buy: The Margot Affair,

Fly By Jing is one of the most exciting brands in food, and we were lucky to have the company’s founder, Jing Gao, live in conversation at Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City. This conversation was part of our TASTE Live at Rizzoli author series, and we had Jing speaking about her amazing new cookbook, The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM FLY BY JING:Sleek Suá Superette From the Chile Crisp Queen Is Now Open in Larchmont Village [Eater LA]Fly By Jing and Shake Shack Ready a Chili Crisp Menu [Hype Beast]This Chili Oil Is So Good, Even My Taiwanese Mom Is Obsessed With It [F&W]

Maurizio Leo is the big bread brain behind The Perfect Loaf, an incredibly popular online community of bread fans and home bakers. He’s also the author of The Perfect Loaf: The Craft and Science of Sourdough Breads, Sweets, and More, winner of both James Beard Foundation and IACP awards and an instant classic. On this episode we talk about what excites Maurizio in bread today, and his unique journey to teaching and writing cookbooks. Also on the show Aliza and Matt go over three things they each are feeling, including: New releases from Alaya Tea, McDonald's Crocs, the many birthdays at 99 Flavor Taste, New York's Don Don is the Korean barbecue restaurant of our dreams, the Send Chinatown Love cookbook, Abi Balingit's Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed, and happy 10 years to our friends at PUNCH.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you. MORE FROM MAURIZIO LEO:7 Easy Steps to Making an Incredible Sourdough Starter From Scratch [official]The Case for Making Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough [Salon] Meet the Man Behind the Sourdough Bread Craze [YouTube]A Look Back at 10 Years at PUNCH [PUNCH]

Today on the show, we have Claire Saffitz back in the studio for a really entertaining conversation. Claire is the author of a great recent cookbook, What’s For Dessert, and she’s truly one of our favorite cooking instructors and personalities on the internet. We talk about how to visualize a recipe before baking it, as well as some of the common bakeware mistakes we are all making. Dark bakeware is a big no-no! We also hear a little bit about her journey from Harvard to the kitchens of France to millions of YouTube streams. We all love Claire Saffitz at TASTE, and we hope you enjoy this talk.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.More from Claire Saffitz:Claire Saffitz Makes Tiramisu Icebox Cake [Youtube]The Life and Death of Tart Frozen Yogurt [TASTE]Claire Saffitz Goes Outside Her Comfort Zone to Embrace Ours [TASTE]

Leah Koenig is the author of six cookbooks, including The Jewish Cookbook and Modern Jewish Cooking. Her latest book, Portico, is one of my favorites of the busy fall and taps into the rich history of Jewish food in Rome. On this episode Leah and I talk about the iconic dishes from Rome's Jewish ghetto, and talk about the years she took reporting this wonderful book. I hope you enjoy our conversation.Also on the show, Matt has a great talk with New York Times reporter Amelia Nierenberg. Amelia has long written compelling pieces that tie together food and current events, and we speak about her journalism career before digging into her latest story: How to Hijack a Quarter of a Million Dollars in Rare Japanese Kit Kats. It’s great catching up with Amelia.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM LEAH KOENIG:This Cookbook Is a Must-Read Love Letter to Roman Jewish Cuisine [Saveur]Stop Being a Snob and Use Onion Powder [TASTE]Beef and White Bean Stew With Cumin [Bon Appetit]Abambar [Epicurious]

Today on the show we have a really fun conversation with Jon Kung, a Detroit-based chef and TikTok creator we’ve fallen hard for over the past couple years. We wanted to have Jon in the studio to talk a little bit about his cooking videos on YouTube and his life online and off, but mostly we wanted to dig into his terrific new book, Kung Food: Chinese American Recipes from a Third-Culture Kitchen. We hope you enjoy this conversation.Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us onSpotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM JON KUNG:Baba Ghanoush: The Perfect Twist for Your Toast [YouTube]Jon Kung, the Self-Taught Chef Who Went Viral [Financial Times]Marriage Proposal Hidden in the Detroit Chef’s Debut Cookbook [Hour Detroit]This Is TASTE 223: Abra Berens [TASTE]

Bryan Washington is a writer from Houston whose latest novel, Family Meal, is an intimate portrayal of friendship, queerness, and pastries. He also writes about things like Japanese curry bread and queer bars for the New Yorker, and today we’re thrilled to have him on the show to talk about food as a plot device, his favorite okonomiyaki spots in Osaka, and more. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We'd love to hear from you.MORE FROM BRYAN WASHINGTON:Server [The New Yorker]In Bryan Washington’s ‘Family Meal,’ Food Is a Language [Eater]Buy: Family Meal

Shelly Fireman is the owner of several New York City restaurants of acclaim and heritage, including Redeye Grill, Bond 45, and Cafe Fiorello. He’s also a very accomplished sculptor with a studio in Tuscany. On this truly amazing episode, we hear some great stories from an industry legend, like about opening the first stand-alone bagel shop in New York in the early 1960s, the Hip Bagel, as well as many more from over 50 years in the business. Get to know Shelly Fireman in this great episode.Also on the show we have a fun interview with Lorenzo Espada, a 25 year old self-taught chef who has blown up on TikTok and has a cool debut cookbook, Somethin' Outta Nothin': 100 Creative Comfort Food Recipes for Everyone.MORE FROM SHELLY FIREMAN AND LORENZO ESPADA:Why Shelly Fireman Is the King of Pre Theater Dining [Town and Country]The Hip Bagel Menu Is AMAZING [Vintage Menu Art]Local Chef Turned His Cooking Into a Viral Sensation [Spectrum]