Salt & Spine

Hi there,Apologies for the silence last week! The COVID fairy finally pulled my card, and it knocked me (and my family) down for a number of days. We’re all recovering over here, and I’m excited to share this week’s conversation with you now! I hope you’ll forgive the delay. Read on for more on my recent chat with Kwame Onwuachi—and make sure you’re subscribed to our Substack to access exclusive recipes from Kwame’s My America later this week.–BrianEpisode 132: Kwame OnwuachiIt really does feel like we’re living in Kwame Onwuachi’s America.Industry folks run into him around every turn—he’s fresh off the high-profile hosting gig at Monday’s James Beard Awards, for one—and his voice and influence are becoming undeniably one of the most impactful. After opening five restaurants before turning 30, Kwame has earned accolades from nearly every major media outlet (James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef, Food & Wine Best New Chef, Esquire Chef of the Year, Forbes 30 Under 30, the “most important chef in America” by the San Francisco Chronicle, and so on). Now, Kwame is an executive producer for Food & Wine magazine and is responsible for convening the upcoming 2nd Annual Family Reunion, a multi-day event that celebrates racial and ethnic diversity in hospitality.In Kwame’s first book, 2019’s Notes From A Young Black Chef written with Joshua David Stein, he chronicles his life from growing up in New York City, with extended stints in Louisiana and Nigeria, to the path that led him to his first restaurant, the Shaw Bijou. (And that memoir is now being made into a feature film by A24!)He’s followed it up with a new book—this time a cookbook, titled My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, and also co-authored by Stein.Part memoir, part cookbook, My America features recipes from Kwame’s culinary journey—from Suya (Nigerian BBQ) to Egusi Stew, a Nigerian recipe he grew up eating that’s thickened with egusi (melon seed).Recipes This Week:Paid subscribers will get access to two recipes from Kwame’s My America this week: Jamaican Beef Patties and Suya (“the grandfather of American BBQ”):Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.We’ve got a great show for you today: Kwame joined us to discuss his culinary career, his books, and of course, to play our signature culinary game. Thanks for joining us to #TalkCookbooks!–Brian, Clea, and the Salt + Spine team This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Hi there — Happy June! This always feels like the best month to me (spoiler alert: it’s my birthday month! 🦀). It’s probably still a holdout, many many years later, of the school’s-out-and-summer-is-here bliss, but the days feel long, the dinners feel relaxed and homey, and I feel energized.How are you feeling this June?Whatever you’re feeling, we’ve got a great show for you this week:Episode 131: Sheldon SimeonThis week, we’re joined by chef and author Sheldon Simeon to discuss his debut cookbook, Cook Real Hawai’i.Sheldon is a native of Hilo, on the Big Island, and grew up with a love for food. He learned how to cook (and how to cook for others) from his family, parlaying his interest in the craft into an impressive restaurant career.After graduating from the Maui Culinary Academy and an internship at World Disney World, he rose up the ranks of Hawaiian restaurants, serving as executive chef for the opening of Maui’s much anticipated Star Noodle. (He earned his first James Beard nod that year, with a 2011 Rising Star Chef of the Year nomination, and helped Star Noodle secure a Best New Restaurant nomination from the Beard Foundation.) The accolades kept rolling in (Food & Wine People’s Choice Best New Chef of the Pacific & Northwest, for one), and before long, “Top Chef” producers had recruited him to join the show’s 10th season in Seattle. He quickly won audience support and was one of the final three finalists. (Sheldon returned for Season 14 of the Bravo show in Charleston; he won the Fan Favorite award in both seasons.) More restaurants followed, including the beloved Tin Roof, Sheldon’s first solo restaurant which opened in Maui in 2016.And now, a cookbook: We're treated to Cook Real Hawai’i, Sheldon's collection of 100 recipes that he says “embody the beautiful cross-cultural exchange of islands.” From Hawaiian traditions to influences from around the globe—Asia, Portugal, the Philippines—Sheldon offers recipes for everything from wok-fried poke to crispy cauliflower katsu to chocolate birthday cake butter mochi. Get Cooking Today: Buy Cook Real Hawai’i from Bookshop or Omnivore BooksRecipes This Week:Paid subscribers will get access to these three featured recipes from Cook Real Hawai’i this week—Chicken Hekka, Chocolate Birthday Cake Butter Mochi, and Li Hing Mui Palomas. Subscribe today so you never miss a recipe!Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.We've got a great show for you today: Sheldon joins us to talk about his career and his debut cookbook. Of course, we also put him to the test in our signature culinary game.Thanks for joining us to #TalkCookbooks!–Brian & the Salt + Spine teamP.S. This week, I recommend reading the latest from Soleil Ho: The limits of comfort food in a time of national horror This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Hi there,Memorial Day is this weekend and if, like me, you’re just getting around to thinking about food, we can help. We dug into our Salt + Spine archives for some grill-tastic options:* How about some Smoked Chicken or Pork T-Bones (two prime mains from pitmaster Rodney Scott)? * Stacey Adimando’s got a side dish covered with her Blackened Summer Squash with Buttermilk Cream Sauce, Rosemary, and Chives.* And wash it down with Grilled Margaritas from Maggie Hoffman! And to ring in summer, we’re offering a special Memorial Day promotion! Become a paid subscriber before the end of the month and you’ll get 20% off your first year! Remember, paid subscribers get access to our full archive of 200+ recipes from featured cookbooks, as well as other exclusive content.Happy grilling! And now, onto this week’s show:Episode 130: Fanny SingerWe’ve got a fun episode for you today: Fanny Singer, the author of Always Home: A Daughter’s Recipes & Stories, is here to #TalkCookbooks with us.Fanny, of course, is the daughter of legendary restauranteur Alice Waters (who opened Berkeley’s Chez Panisse 50 years ago). Fanny is a writer, editor, art critic, and the founder of Permanent Collection, a clothing and household goods line.As Fanny set out to write Always Home—part memoir, part cookbook, and partially neither of those things—she began negotiating an inheritance that her mother passed down: her relationship to and appreciation for food.Unsurprisingly, food was a central theme in Fanny’s childhood home, though she tells us she mostly learned from her mother via “sort of a process of osmosis.” Always Home is, of course, filled with stories and memories from Fanny’s life, and it’s loaded with vivid descriptions of sensory experiences related to food: meals she’s enjoyed at home and around the world. She writes about her mother’s practice of burning sage or rosemary when they returned home from a trip, and how as a child she once tried fish cooked in a fig leaf—despite first being opposed to the idea—because her mother was able to describe the flavor and scent of the coconut-y leaf. Get Reading Today: Order via Bookshop or Omnivore Books (signed!)This Week’s RecipePaid subscribers this week will get access to an excerpted recipe from Fanny’s Always Home for Coming Home Pasta. Subscribe today to get full access!Salt + Spine is a reader-supported publication. To get full access, including featured recipes, consider becoming a paid subscriber.We’ve got a great chat with Fanny — plus our signature culinary game and a featured recipe later this week.Thanks for joining us to #TalkCookbooks!—Brian & the Salt + Spine Team This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Hi there,Hope you are doing well — I am finally (I hope) recovering from a little non-COVID infection that took my voice fully away for a good 24 hours. Every podcast host’s nightmare! But it’s back-ish (bear with me) in time to tee up this week’s conversation, which I’m thrilled to share with all of you.My long-overdue conversation with chef and author Renee Erickson is hitting the podcast waves today. We recorded our chat quite some time ago and, sadly, the world got in the way and it’s been sitting in our queue. Episode 129: Renee EricksonI think you’ll love hearing from Renee about her growing up near Seattle and how she took a job at the Boat Street restaurant that parlayed itself into ownership of the whole place. At just 25, Renee took the helm and never looked back, growing her restaurant empire to include a good handful of establishments today. Along the way, her fame grew, and locals became enamored with her vision and values, while the culinary world flocked to the PNW to enjoy her French-inspired and Puget Sound-sourced menus. Renee’s first cookbook, A Boat, A Whale, and a Walrus: Menus and Stories, quickly became a classic. (I’ll admit, it’s one of the few that I rotate regularly through my in-kitchen cookbook stand.)And now, Renee’s second cookbook—Getaway: Food & Drink to Transport You—couldn’t come at a better time. As the world keeps reopening, Getaway is Renee’s culinary guide to the places she travels to again and again, and how to eat like you’re there. From Rome to Baja California to, of course, Seattle, Renee showcases her way of travel and dining for us to emulate.Get Cooking Today: Order via Bookshop or Omnivore BooksThis Week’s RecipesPaid subscribers this week will get access to four excerpted recipes from Renee’s Getaway! Subscribe today to get full access! See a peek here:We’ve got a great chat with Renee — plus our signature culinary game and featured recipes. Thanks for joining us to #TalkCookbooks!—The Salt + Spine Team This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Hi there,I’m excited to share today’s episode with you: We’re joined by chef Peter Hoffman—of the legendary New York City restaurant Savoy, and then of others—to discuss his career and first book.Today’s Guest: Peter HoffmanPeter Hoffman was the chef-owner of Savoy, the farm-to-table eatery in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood he opened in 1990 and that upended ideas about fine dining at the time. Savoy ran for two decades before Peter shut the doors in 2011. (His other restaurants closed in subsequent years, with the final one shuttering in 2016.) During its tenure, Savoy was one of the first U.S. restaurants to champion seasonal, local cuisine; dishes typically relied heavily on and were inspired by the produce Peter would find at the Union Square Greenmarket, where he became a fixture. (A typical greeting between farmer & chef at the greenmarket: “What’s good?”)As a child growing up in New Jersey, Peter was introduced to an array of diverse foods. Both of his parents were home cooks—his mother more so than his father—and they inspired him to get comfortable in the kitchen. His mom taught him to read and follow recipes with the Joy of Cooking. And his housekeeper, Hortence, taught him the beauty of butter, an ingredient that gets a whole chapter in his new book. Peter got his start working in kitchens at a Vermont resort after his construction job there ended. As he got more and more excited about a path in food, he trained under several renowned cooks, including Richard Olney. He traveled to Japan to learn and, one summer, even ran a small fish market. Peter says that learning from these chefs and experiences taught him the beauty of local geographies and the ingredients they provide.His first book, What’s Good: A Memoir in 14 Ingredients, is expressive of this type of thinking. It’s part memoir, part cookbook, and features 14 chapters each named after an ingredient that fueled the forward-thinking menus at Savoy. Filled with anecdotes and stories about running a restaurant and his slow-food philosophy, Peter says the book is not just a tribute to the many relationships he formed with farmers, cooks, and the broader community, but it is also a tribute to his journey to discover what seasonality means.Get Cooking: Bookshop | Omnivore Books (signed)!We’ve got a great episode for you today—Peter shares some stories like those that fill the pages of his book with us, stresses the importance of simplicity and sustainability, and reflects on what the past two years have meant for the restaurant industry. And, as always, we put him to the test in our signature culinary game!Featured Recipes This WeekPaid subscribers get access to two featured recipes from What’s Good this week: Susan’s Peach Raspberry Pie (that’s Peter’s wife, Susan), and Peter’s Zhoug. Each week, paid subscribers to Salt + Spine get exclusive recipes from our featured cookbooks. To get full access (including our archive of 200+ recipes) and support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber today.Of the zhoug, Peter writes: I love it with fish either accompanying a piece of grilled fish or drizzled into a fish broth brimming with spring vegetables and gently poached fish but it is great just with bread or over tomatoes. Not bad on a steak too.Here’s a peek at the zhoug atop a lovely piece of sea bass:Thanks for joining us to #TalkCookbooks,Brian This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

"People ask me, 'What's something that's changed a lot in publishing, or what's the most important or hopeful part about publishing?' And my answer is that authors have more control now than they ever have had, but that also means they also have more work to do than they've ever had before." —Monika Woods, literary agentThis is the final episode in our four-part series, Behind the Spine. Over the last four weeks, we've shifted our focus away from the authors to learn more about some of the other talented folks who work behind the scenes on the cookbooks we all love.You’ve already heard from the recipe testers, the photographers, and the designers—in today’s episode, we’ll talk to the people who make cookbooks possible: the agents and the experts. Today, you’ll hear from food writing coach Dianne Jacob, author of Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Restaurant Reviews, Articles, Memoir, Fiction and More, and two literary agents, Rica Allannic and Monika Woods. Each of our guests sat down with our producer, Clea Wurster, for a one-on-one interview to get to the bottom of our question: How exactly does a cookbook get published? From proposal to negotiations over the cover design, these experts break it down for us. We’ll learn about the process of actually writing the book and pitching it to an agent or publisher, and our experts will share with us what they think makes for a successful proposal.Dianne Jacob shared with us the ins and outs of actually sitting down and writing, from breaking up the workload to making the initial decision to writing the cookbook. She says it isn’t for the faint of heart: it’s a lot of work. But, like us, she’s a cookbook lover and has devoted her professional career to helping cookbooks get agents and publishers. Dianne will break down the process of getting published, give advice to authors, and share insights into how the publishing industry has been shifting over the last few years.Monika Woods is a food writing lover and the founder of Triangle House literary magazine who also works as a literary agent. She shared with us how she views herself in relation to the projects she’s working on, how the agent’s role has shifted with the rise of social media, and the role it’s played in diversifying the publishing landscape. Rica Allannic, who has also spent time in professional kitchens, worked as an editor at Clarkson Potter until five years ago when she made the decision to become a literary agent. As an agent, Rica says she has more of an influence on the types of cookbooks that get published. Rica talks with us about the three things a good cookbook pitch needs, advocating for her clients, and the financial realities of publishing deals.We’ve got a wonderful episode for you today packed with information all about publishing a cookbook, so whether you’re a passionate reader and home cook like us or you’d someday like to publish your own cookbook, this episode has something for you. Let’s #TalkCookbooks. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

"And so you're asking a lot of somebody who's reading a cookbook. You're kind of engaging them, you know, head, heart, and hands, really. It's this very different way of relating to a book than you are to an art book. And that's why I love designing cookbooks because there's a creative aspect to it, but there's also a very practical aspect, too. And you have to kind of keep that balance in mind whenever you're designing." —Frances Baca, book designer and creative directorThis is the third episode in our four-part series, Behind the Spine. In this series, we've shifted focus away from the authors to hear from some of the talented folks who work behind the scenes to create the beautiful cookbooks that we all love. You’ve already heard from the recipe testers and photographers, and today we’ll hear from the folks who bring that content together into one book: the graphic designers. We’ll start with a peek into the mind of Frances Baca. She’ll teach us about typographic details that can set a book apart from the rest, how she begins a new design project, and the characteristics that make cookbook design special. Frances designed her first cookbook at 7 years old: “Snacks,” the homemade cookbook, featured a green construction paper cover with a yarn binding. Frances has always known that she wanted to design books—and not just cookbooks, though that’s what we’ll focus on today. She studied design at Rhode Island School of Design, where she learned to pay close attention to the minuscule details that can make books so special. She talks about sticking up for her readers and the unique challenge of designing a cookbook, which she says ought to be a multi-sensory experience. Because cookbooks are also practical books that we use in our day-to-day lives, Frances stresses the importance of accessibility in her work: everything from making the font large enough to read to ensuring the spine lays flat on the countertop.You’ll also hear from San Francisco-based artist and graphic designer, George McCalman whose work spans different industries, though he focuses mostly on clients in food media and the art world. He opened the doors to his own design studio, McCalman Co. in 2011, where he works on branding for clients and does projects like cookbook design. Prior to starting his own business, he worked for award-winning magazines including ReadyMade, Mother Jones, and Entertainment Weekly. Today, we zoom in on his design process for Black Food, the first publication for author Bryant Terry’s imprint, 4 Color Books. George talks to us about flipping the traditional design model upside down, facilitating collaboration between all the folks on the creative team, and how he sees himself as a graphic designer: as a steward of information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

"I put myself in there so people of color can imagine themselves in the kitchen, making those dishes—because food is for everyone to cook. It's not restricted to a certain class of the population. I want everybody who wants to cook to be able to see themselves making things, enjoying them, and trying new things." –Nik Sharma, cookbook author and photographerToday's episode, part two in our Behind the Spine series, is all about the mouthwatering photography that draws us to our favorite cookbooks.Our guests today are cookbook photographer Eva Kolenko and Nik Sharma, a cookbook author and photographer.Eva Kolenko studied advertising photography and worked in editorial photography until eight years ago when she decided to transition into food photography. After shooting a couple of William Sonoma cookbooks, she moved full-time into doing food-centric photography work. Now, she’s shot more than 30 cookbooks, including East Bay Cooks and Food Between Friends. Her work has also been featured in many advertising campaigns and magazines. Eva joined our interview from her new studio in Petaluma, California, and shared with us how exactly she moved into food photography, what happens when she hits a creative block, and she breaks down the process of photographing a cookbook from brainstorming to wrap day.‍Nik Sharma is a cookbook author, food blogger, writer, and photographer of his own cookbooks, Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food, and The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking Explained in More Than 100 Essential Recipes. Nik began food blogging while he was still working full-time as a molecular biologist. He had always taken photos for his blog, but he started to realize that he wanted to improve his photography skills and bought an instructional book published by Kodak. When Nik got his first cookbook deal, he knew he wanted to photograph and style the book, but had no idea how to get started. So, he reached out to photographers until one agreed to let him shadow a project—and that photographer happened to be Eva Kolenko. Now, Nik has successfully shot all the photos for his blog and his two cookbooks, as well as many photos for his recipes that have appeared in numerous food publications from the New York Times to Serious Eats.We've got a great episode for you today! Eva and Nik will talk about the trends they’re seeing in the industry, what types of things they’re thinking about when they’re shooting a recipe, and how the process unfolds, from mood board to publication. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

"No matter how perfectly the recipes are written, no matter how accurate you are with all the measurements—it's a different person, in a different place, using different ingredients so that they end up with something slightly different. And I used to think that that was a problem, that that was something I was trying to account for and correct in the testing and in the recipe writing. But I actually now see it as a really beautiful thing ." —Maria Zizka, recipe tester & developerToday's episode is the first in our four-part series Behind the Spine where we're stepping away from a focus on authors to hear from some of the other talented folks who help create the cookbooks that we all love. Our series will start where most cookbooks begin: with the recipes and the people who perfect them. Our guests today are two incredible recipe testers and developers, Maria Zizka and Lidey Heuck.Maria Zizka is the author of three solo cookbooks and the co-author of numerous award-winning cookbooks like Yotam Ottolenghi's Flavor and Tartine: A Classic Revisited. You'll hear from Maria and what it's like to adapt a restaurant's complex recipes for the home kitchen and where she got her start testing recipes –with a letter to chef Suzanne Goin.Lidey Heuck started working as a recipe tester by writing a letter. Just out of college, she started as Ina Garten's assistant, where she tested and helped develop many of the Barefoot Contessa's recipes. Lidey talked to us about her work with Ina Garten as well as her own process as a cook and a recipe writer for the New York Times and for her blog lideylikes.com. She's currently writing her debut cookbook. Lidey and Maria will get into the nitty-gritty details of recipe writing, how to know when a recipe is finished, and give us some tips on finding the best recipes out there. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Zoe Adjonyoh to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Zoe Adjonyoh is the chef and founder of Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, a pop-up restaurant/supper club that’s taken place in various places around the world—from London, where Zoe lives, to Berlin and New York. Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen has grown into a distributor of African ingredients and spices.In 2014, Zoe gathered her work as a writer and chef together, bringing recipes from her experiences in Ghana and running her supper club together in her debut cookbook, Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen. The book was recently re-issued and adapted for an American audience.START COOKING TODAY: Bookshop | Hardcover Cook | IndieBoundZoe’s well-received pop-up first started out as a way to fund her masters in writing from Goldsmiths, University of London, but the supper club took of and ultimately helped inspire her to find more exciting recipes and to learn more about Ghanaian cuisine that she was cooking. In 2014, Zoe visited Ghana where she set out to learn more about the local cuisine and the ingredients that inspire it. While there, she found the recipes and stories that later came to make up her cookbook and deepened her knowledge of Ghanaian food and culinary traditions.Zoe includes soundtracks with her recipes to invoke a sense of place and flesh out the experience of Ghanaian cuisine. The book includes an extensive guide to ingredients, educating readers about the spices and flavors that are central to Ghanaian food. From cover to cover, the cookbook is filled with colorful pictures of mouthwatering dishes and insightful tips scrawled on each recipe. The book, as Zoe says, is an invitation to learn more about Ghanaian food and to bring the ingredients of West Africa into our day-to-day cooking.Zoe joined us remotely for this week’s show to #TalkCookbooks, including our signature culinary game. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

"Food plays into the rural experience in a really interesting way. I think my personal experience is unique because I grew up in a very rural place. I felt shame around being from there, then I moved to a city. I've very much considered myself urban, and then I moved back and have made most of my adult life in this rural place. So I really kind of understand the sensibilities of both groups. … When we have pride in ourselves and our place, then we feel as if we want to invest in that more, whether it's emotionally or financially. Being rural really is a win-win for everyone, and food is so important here."This week, we're excited to welcome Vivian Howard to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Vivian wears many hats: mom, chef, storyteller, television personality—all of which you’ll hear more about it in our conversation. Most recently, Vivian is the author of her second cookbook, This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking.‍Vivian was born in a rural town in North Carolina called Deep Run, which was the inspiration for her first cookbook: Deep Run Roots. She describes the first book as a love letter to a place—different from her latest book, which is focused on simple home cooking and easy tricks and ingredients to brighten up tried and true recipes. As a kid, Vivian says she couldn’t wait to leave Deep Run and dreamt of living in the city. She moved to New York after college to work in restaurants as a server and later a cook. Though Vivian moved to New York to become a writer, she ended up opening a soup delivery business with her now-husband. And even though she was offered investment to open a brick-and-mortar soup shop, Vivian returned to North Carolina to help her sister open a deli. It wasn’t long before Vivian switched gears: the town needed a restaurant with seasonal ingredients, an innovative menu, and one that paid homage to the beauty of Southern cooking. So, Vivian opened her restaurant, Chef and the Farmer. START COOKING TODAY: Omnivore Books | Bookshop | Hardcover Cook | IndieBound | AmazonVivian hosted five seasons of "A Chef’s Life" on PBS and launched a new show, "Somewhere South," in 2020, which dives deep into the culinary culture and tradition of the American South.Today, Vivian runs multiple restaurants: Chef and the Farmer is still running in Kinston, serving food inspired by the culinary traditions of the South; Benny’s Big Time, a pizzeria, in Wilmington that serves up pies, pasta, and risottos; her latest venture in Charleston, called Lenoir, focuses on bringing Southern food into the future, evolving the food of the agricultural, rural south. Vivian joined us remotely for this week’s show to #TalkCookbooks, including our signature culinary game. Plus, Kitchen Correspondent Sarah Varney cooks from Vivian's latest book with a friend across the globe. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

"I just thought about so many Black women who came before me who have been cooking amazing food in this country for centuries and how we don't know their names. But the stories of the women I do know in my family—my great-great aunt, my two grandmothers, my mother—I could tell the stories that I do know about them. So that was just crucial for me and, you know, it was very emotional as I was writing it."This week, we're excited to welcome Vallery Lomas to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Vallery grew up in Southern Louisiana, learning to cook from her mother and grandmothers—her signature dish as a child was her Grandmother Leona’s Strawberry Delight—but she didn’t always plan to be a baker. Vallery went to USC to study pre-med, and it was only because of a requirement to study foreign languages that she stumbled into learning French and eventually abandoned the pre-med track for French and Psychology. Vallery graduated into the recession of 2008 and finding a job was difficult. The job she landed wasn’t the best fit, so she turned to blogging about baking after seeing "Julie & Julia."The blogging led to more opportunities and stars aligned when she was cast for "The Great American Baking Show," which she won. The season, however, was never aired in response to sexual harassment allegations against one of the hosts—and Valley's victory was essentially swept under the rug. Vallery writes in her book: “My victory, like so many accomplishments of Black women who came before me, had been effectively erased. … I couldn’t help but think I was seen as a cheap victim. If I weren’t a woman—a Black woman—would I have been treated differently?”START COOKING TODAY: Omnivore Books | Bookshop | IndieBound | AmazonBut Vallery didn’t let this stop her. Instead, she pivoted full time into food media and recently published her first cookbook, Life is What You Bake It. In today’s conversation, we discuss making the switch from practicing law to full-time food writer and baker, what it was like to find out that her biggest accomplishment to date would never air on television, and some practical and encouraging advice from one home baker to others.Vallery joined us remotely for this week’s show to #TalkCookbooks, including our signature culinary game. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Abra Berens to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Abra is the chef at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan, and the author of two cookbooks: Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables and Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes.START COOKING TODAY: Omnivore Books | Bookshop | Hardcover Cook. | IndieBoundGrowing up in Michigan on a pickle farm, Abra took an interest in food early on. She worked at the beloved Zingerman's Deli in college and, before long, moved to Ireland to attend the farm-centered Ballymaloe Cooking School. Coming back to the states, she ran her own farm—called Bare Knuckle—for awhile, before landing at Granor Farm, where she hosts regular farm dinners to showcase their farming practices and produce. (Michigan is the second-most agriculturally diverse state in the country, second to California.)Abra joined us remotely for this week’s show to #TalkCookbooks. We've got a great chat, including our signature culinary game. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

**Today's episode is brought to you by Chronicle Books. Salt + Spine listeners can use the code SALT25 to get 25% off orders—with free ground shipping on orders over $25—through the end of 2021.**This week, we're excited to welcome Rodney Scott to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Rodney is the owner of Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ in Charleston, South Carolina (and a new location in Birmingham, Alabama, and a forthcoming spot in Atlanta). His debut cookbook, Rodney Scott's World of BBQ, tells the story of Rodney's life starting with his childhood in South Carolina through his James Beard Best Chef Award and features classic barbecue recipes.START COOKING TODAY: Omnivore Books (signed) | Bookshop | IndieBound | AmazonGrowing up in Hemingway, South Carolina, Rodney's family ran several businesses, from a gas station to a barbecue spot. His parents opened Scott's Variety Store and Bar-B-Q in 1972.In 2017, Rodney moved to Charleston and opened the first Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ in 2017. A year later, he won the James Beard Award for Best Chef, Southeast. ‍Rodney joined us remotely for this week’s show to #TalkCookbooks. We've got a great chat, including our signature culinary game. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

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**Today's episode is brought to you by Chronicle Books. Salt + Spine listeners can use the code SALT25 to get 25% off orders—with free ground shipping on orders over $25—through the end of 2021.**This week, we're excited to welcome Chef Matthew Raiford to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Matthew is a self-titled "CheFarmer"—that is Chef and Farmer—and the author of Bress ‘n’ Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer.Matthew was raised in Brunswick, Georgia, where his formerly enslaved great-great-grandfather, Jupiter Gilliard, had amassed more than 450 acres of land by 1874. Today, about 40 acres remain—where Matthew grew up farming alongside his grandmother, his father, and his sister, who now helps run Gilliard Farms with Matthew. Growing up, Matthew spent a lot of time in the kitchen, too, where he learned from his family how to prepare many of the dishes he still loves today.But before Matthew became a chef, he left the South to join the military and at the time claimed he would never go back. During his three tours, he spent time in Germany, Korea, and the Middle East.And then at age 28, Matthew returned to the States to pursue an education in physiology at Howard University. He quickly realized that becoming a physical therapist would take eight years and gave it up when a close friend told him he ought to go to culinary school instead.After completing a year of culinary school in Virginia, he decided to continue his culinary education at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and later attended the University of California–Santa Cruz where he received a degree in ecological horticulture.Since 2010, when Matthew’s grandmother handed over the deed to the family’s land, Matthew has worked with his sister as the sixth generation to farm their family’s land. For several years, he also ran a restaurant called the Farmer and the Larder in downtown Brunswick, which led to a nomination for a James Beard Best Chef Award.Matthew's debut cookbook, titled Bress ‘n’ Nyam—a Gullah phrase that means “Bless and Eat”—is filled with both recipes and stories passed down through generations. The recipes honor the land and the food that it provides and are cataloged into sections based on the elements: Eart (Earth), De Wata (Water), Fiah (Fire), Win’ (Wind), Sweet’n (Nectar), and De Spirits (Spirits). It opens with an ancestral tree and the story of Matthew’s great-great-grandfather.START COOKING TODAY: Bookshop | IndieBoundAnd the recipes within range from a whole hog, roasted over a pit, to plenty of accessible, humble recipes like Reezy Peezy, a rice and bean dish often called Hoppin John whose roots are with the Gullah Geechee. As Salt + Spine friend chef Todd Richards writes, Bress 'n' Nyam “more than gives people a great appreciation of Black Culture, it further shows the diversity of Black Culture through different shades and hues, with Gullah Geechee cuisine as the Matriarch of the Black Food Family.”‍CheFarmer Matthew Raiford joined us remotely from Gillard Farm for this week’s show to #TalkCookbooks. We've got a great chat, including our signature culinary game. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

NOTE: This is a two-part conversation. We suggest starting with the episode featuring our conversation with Jesse (one earlier in your podcast feed) and continuing with this chat with Julie.This week, we're excited to welcome actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and chef/food writer Julie Tanous to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Jesse and Julie are the co-authors of Food Between Friends, their debut cookbook that features recipes inspired by both of their upbringings and favorite dishes they like to cook together.After a serendipitous meeting at a dinner party, Jesse and Julie formed a quick friendship. Before long, they were cooking together regularly and friends began asking for recipes. A food blog was born. And then, Clarkson Potter took notice and the duo had a cookbook deal.The book is heavy on dishes inspired by the authors' childhoods: Julie's Alabama roots (think a fried green tomato salad or an ode to buttermilk biscuits with three recipes) as well as Jesse's New Mexico upbringing (green chiles pop up in a chicken enchilada pie and a chutney served with pork loin, plus the actor's takes on both sweet and savory sopaipillas).Jesse and Julie also feature a number of jointly developed recipes—a grilled skirt steak paired with pineapple salsa or the ground beef & pickle tacos inspired by LA's now-shuttered Malo.In this week's two episodes, we talk with Julie about her culinary background (graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education, worked in Saveur's test kitchen) and hear from Jesse on lifelong love for cooking and cookbooks. We learn how their friendship formed, how they approached the unique format of their double-billed cookbook, and put them both to the test in our culinary game. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

NOTE: This is a two-part conversation. We suggest starting with this episode featuring our conversation with Jesse and continuing with our conversation with Julie (next in your feed).This week, we're excited to welcome actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and chef/food writer Julie Tanous to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Jesse and Julie are the co-authors of Food Between Friends, their debut cookbook that features recipes inspired by both of their upbringings and favorite dishes they like to cook together.After a serendipitous meeting at a dinner party, Jesse and Julie formed a quick friendship. Before long, they were cooking together regularly and friends began asking for recipes. A food blog was born. And then, Clarkson Potter took notice and the duo had a cookbook deal.The book is heavy on dishes inspired by the authors' childhoods: Julie's Alabama roots (think a fried green tomato salad or an ode to buttermilk biscuits with three recipes) as well as Jesse's New Mexico upbringing (green chiles pop up in a chicken enchilada pie and a chutney served with pork loin, plus the actor's takes on both sweet and savory sopaipillas).Jesse and Julie also feature a number of jointly developed recipes—a grilled skirt steak paired with pineapple salsa or the ground beef & pickle tacos inspired by LA's now-shuttered Malo.In this week's two episodes, we talk with Julie about her culinary background (graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education, worked in Saveur's test kitchen) and hear from Jesse on lifelong love for cooking and cookbooks. We learn how their friendship formed, how they approached the unique format of their double-billed cookbook, and put them both to the test in our culinary game. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Reem Kassis to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Born in Jerusalem, Reem moved to the United States at 17 to attend university—and she was determined not to end up in the kitchen. After receiving an MBA from Wharton Business School and a Master's in cultural psychology from the London School of Economics, Reem spent time working at major corporations from McKinsey to The World Economic Forum.But when Reem had her first daughter, Yasneem, she took the opportunity to slow down and reflect on the legacy that she would leave her children. And that’s when Reem pivoted. In 2017, Reem published her first, incredibly successful cookbook, The Palestinian Table.‍Despite her first book’s success, Reem didn’t expect to write a second cookbook—but her passion for sharing the complicated history of Arab cuisine pushed her to begin researching her latest book, The Arabesque Table. The Arabesque Table is a rich history of Arab food. Reem brings her cultural knowledge and the tireless research she’s done to bear on the recipes within the book, bridging the past and present with classic recipes and contemporary interpretations of favorites.START COOKING TODAY: Bookshop | IndieBoundReem joined us remotely for this week’s episode to #TalkCookbooks. Stick around to hear some of Reem’s thoughts on how to thoughtfully credit and research a recipe, her path to cookbook authorship, and how she thinks food media could improve. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Chef Brandon Jew and food writer Tienlon Ho to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Brandon Jew and co-author, Tienlon Ho, joined us to talk about their recent cookbook: Mister Jiu's in Chinatown: Recipes and Stories from the Birthplace of Chinese American Food.PURCHASE THE COOKBOOK: Bookshop | IndieBoundMister Jiu's—the restaurant on which the book is based—sits in San Francisco's Chinatown on Waverley Place. In 2013, when the famed restaurant Four Seas closed down, Brandon decided to open his own place. But before Mister Jiu's, Brandon was cooking in some of the best kitchens in the Bay; a student of Judy Rogers at Zuni Cafe and Michael Tusk at Quince, Brandon started his cooking career with California cuisine, riffing on French and Italian classics and always, always honoring the ingredients.But when Brandon's paternal grandmother passed away from cancer, he realized that her culinary knowledge and skill could be lost, too. In the book, he describes his grandmother (his Ying-Ying) as the family cook, reminiscing on the incredible food she cooked for the family. After she passed, Brandon says he hit a turning point. He began to look away from Mediterranean cuisine, leaving Quince and flying to Shanghai where he learned more about the complex and diverse culinary history of China.His debut cookbook, written with Ho, tells both the story of Mister Jiu's the restaurant as well as the story of San Francisco's Chinatown—one full of hardships and struggle, but also joy and celebration. Brandon and Tienlon put this tradition and history at the forefront of their work, just as Brandon does in the kitchen at Mister Jiu's.The cookbook features countless recipes, with an entire section devoted to the Chinese American pantry and fermentation. But the recipes are honest and as complex as the food you'll find in Mister Jiu's. For instance, some of the recipes take multiple days to prepare, and one asks for over two dozen ingredients and specialty tools you might not have at the ready in your home kitchens. But many remain very accessible for home cooks.Stick around to hear why it is that Brandon and Tienlon were uncompromising when it came to the recipes, about growing up Chinese American, and about the Mister Jiu's kitchen that—like Zuni Cafe and Chez Panisse before it—is teaching a new generation of cooks how to carry a rich culinary tradition into the future. Plus, as always, we're closing today's episode with a culinary game, and you'll find meticulous and beautiful recipes from Mister Jiu's in Chinatown here on our website. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Lindsay Gardner and Katianna Hong to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Lindsay's debut book, Why We Cook: Women on Food, Identity, and Connection, features interviews, recipes, and essays from more than 100 women in food.PURCHASE THE COOKBOOK: Omnivore Books | Bookshop | IndieBound | AmazonAn artist whose illustrations and watercolor works have appeared in numerous media, Lindsay is an avid home cook herself and began to take a greater interest in cooking after having kids—a milestone that shaped how she began to think about the connections between food and her identity as a woman. Those connections often came back to this question: “We do we cook?” As Lindsay talked with more and more women in food media, restaurants, and the broader industry, she found both similar and totally unique responses to that question.Which led to the concept for her first book. The volume is beautifully illustrated throughout with Lindsay’s work—watercolors of the interviewees and contributors, paintings of memorable meals or stories brought to life. It’s a diverse volume both in format and in contributors, ranging from cookbook authors to professional chefs to fellow home cooks. It’s both a who’s who of women in food—and shines a light on new voices.We’re joined in this episode by Lindsay and one of the book’s contributors, Katianna Hong. Katianna graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and quickly rose in the ranks at Michelin-starred spots like The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley, where she became the first female chef de cuisine at a three-star Michelin restaurant in the U.S. She then led the kitchen at Charter Oak, where she earned numerous accolades.But she stepped away in 2019, for both maternity leave and to reset and come back to the industry in a new way. This year, she’s slated to open Yangban Society—a Korean American-owned deli and market—with her husband John in Los Angeles’s Arts District.Lindsay and Kat joined us remotely to talk about the Why We Cook book, about gender equity in the food industry, and their relationship to cooking. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Farmer Lee Jones to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Lee grew up in Ohio, where his family has farmed for about six generations. Fresh into college at just 19 years old, Lee saw everything his family owned gone in a day—their farm, their house, their car—after a hail storm devastated their crops, and interest rates were sky-high. At that moment, the family pivoted to smaller-scale farming, catering to farmers’ markets.And it was at a farmers market in Cleveland, Ohio, that a chef approached them. asking where she could buy the type of vegetables she was used to cooking with in Europe, meaning organic, heirloom, chemical-free produce. Lee was in his early 20s, and the family took a vote—and decided to transition to growing only quality ingredients for chefs to use in their restaurants. And that paved the path forward.Today, Lee’s family farm has become The Chef’s Garden, which focuses on regenerative farming and supplies some of the world’s greatest chefs with the quality ingredients they rely on. There is also a major focus on research and innovation, with the Culinary Vegetable Institute, a research and training center on the farm that brings chefs and farmers around the globe together to learn about and innovate on vegetables.And now that wealth of generational knowledge is coming together in Lee’s first cookbook, also titled The Chef’s Garden. It’s both a guide (to more than 500 types of produce and herbs, both common and less-known) and a cookbook, with a collection of more than 100 recipes, including many developed by Jamie Simpson, head chef at the Culinary Vegetable Institute.START COOKING TODAY: Bookshop | IndieBound |AmazonIf you thought you knew vegetables, wait until you see recipes for things like a Seared Rack of Brussels Sprouts, or Cornbread-Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms—or even sweets like Onion Caramel and Beet Marshmallows.Lee joined us remotely for this week’s episode to #TalkCookbooks, calling in from the farm and wearing, of course, his signature overalls-and-red-bow-tie getup. Stick around—it’s a great conversation and we’re closing today’s episode with a vegetable game in addition to some great recipes from The Chef’s Garden for you to make at home. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 110👤 THE GUEST: Molly Baz📗 THE BOOK: Cook This Book: Techniques That Teach & Recipes to Repeat🍴 THE RECIPES (for paid subscribers): Strip Steaks au PoivreThis week, we're excited to welcome Molly Baz to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Molly became well-known as an editor in the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, where she hosted videos on the magazine’s Youtube page. You may know herfrom the time she butchered an entire pig or when she learned to cook ostrich eggs.Molly grew up in upstate New York, near the Culinary Institute of America, but it wasn’t until later as a college student that Molly learned to love food while on a study-abroad program in Italy. When Molly graduated from Skidmore College, she took a job at Beacon Hill Bistro, where she says she really got her chops.Now, Molly has published her first cookbook, Cook This Book: Techniques that Teach and Recipes to Repeat. In Cook This Book, Molly tests the bounds of cookbook writing, including QR codes that link to videos teaching you simple skills like dicing onions and seasoning cuts of meat. She believes that we should all be eating delicious food at home and that we ought to be using a lot more salt.START COOKING TODAY: Omnivore Books | Bookshop | Hardcover Cook | IndieBound | AmazonMolly joined us remotely for this week’s episode. Stick around—we’re closing today’s show with our secret ingredient game. So let's head now to our virtual studio where Molly Baz joined us to #TalkCookbooks. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Claire Saffitz to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Claire became a household name during her time at the Bon Appetit test kitchen, where she starred in many of the channels’ videos, including her own series: Gourmet Makes. In that show, she reversed engineered popular processed treats, ranging from Sour Patch Kids to Doritos. After growing up in the Midwest, Claire landed at Harvard where she studied History and Literature before moving to Paris where she studied French cuisine and pastry. And that's not the end of her academic career, but before long, she found her way into food media. Today, Claire has her own YouTube channel. In addition to contributing to the New York Times food section, Claire joined us this week to discuss her debut cookbook, titled Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence, which became an instant New York Times bestseller when it was published last fall. START COOKING TODAY: Bookshop | IndieBound | AmazonClaire believes everyone can be a dessert person, something we'll discuss in today's show. Now Claire joined us remotely for this week's show. Stick around, it's a really great chat. Of course, we're playing a culinary game to close the episode. So let's head now to our virtual studio where Claire Saffitz joined us to #TalkCookbooks. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Hetty McKinnon to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Hetty’s entry to cookbooks began back in 2011, when she started a salad business, delivering lunch via bicycle around her neighborhood in Sydney, Australia. Before long, she found herself writing her first cookbook to catalog her creations and satisfy her customers, who had begun asking for her recipes. That early salad business built a community — the ritual of delivering a salad would lead to, as Hetty writes, “lively conversation, exuberant laughter and a constantly evolving hunting and gathering of stories and histories.”That first cookbook — titled Community: Salad Recipes from Arthur Street Kitchen — quickly became quite popular, leading to a second cookbook aptly titled Neighborhood: Hearty Salads and Plant-Based Recipes from Home and Abroad. (And then her third: Family: New Vegetarian Comfort Food to Nourish Every Day.) And Hetty's publishing path continued, bringing Hetty and her family to Brooklyn, where she now lives and where she wrote (and photographed) her fourth cookbook, To Asia, With Love: Everyday Asian Recipes And Stories From The Heart. It’s a warm, inviting book — and her most personal book yet, which Hetty describes as a “homecoming … a joyous return to all the humble yet deeply nourishing flavors and meals of my childhood.”START COOKING TODAY: Bookshop | Hardcover Cook | IndieBoundLike all of Hetty’s books, the recipes are vegetarian and plant-based — a fact that’s easily glossed over, as we’ll discuss — and you’ll find everything from homemade kimchi to Cacio e Pepe Udon Noodles to Asian-inspired salads like a Smashed Cucumber Salad with Tahini and Spicy Oil.And Hetty’s bringing food stories to life beyond cookbooks: She launched a bi-annual food magazine, Peddler Journal, in 2017, and hosts the publication’s sister podcast, The House Specials.Hetty joined us remotely from her home in Brooklyn for this week’s show. Stick around — it’s a great chat, and we’re playing, of course, a salad-themed game to close the episode. So let’s head now to our virtual studio where Hetty McKinnon joined us to #TalkCookbooks. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Ayesha Curry to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Ayesha is the modern food & lifestyle mogul. Growing up obsessed with cooking, Ayesha always had her eyes set on acting — but her foray into food blogging has launched a massive career.Her first cookbook, The Seasoned Life, cemented her status on the culinary landscape. Soon followed restaurants, television shows, a new lifestyle magazine, a new in-person store, and more! And of course, philanthropy: Ayesha and her husband, Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry, launched Eat. Learn. Play., their charity dedicated to ending childhood hunger, encouraging healthy lifestyles, and improving access to quality education. In fact, since the start of the COVID pandemic, they’ve served more than 16 million meals, partnering with locally-owned restaurants to keep workers employed. Ayesha’s built an empire, and it was fueled by that first cookbook. And now, Ayesha’s published her second cookbook: The Full Plate: Flavor Filled Recipes for Families with No Time and A Lot to Do. It's loaded with the recipes Ayesha makes today as a busy mom of three—fast and delicious recipes from Ayesha’s version of an In-N-Out burger (subbing in turkey) to sheet pan meals ranging from salmon to pork. And a well-tested cocktail section, too, for the parents. START COOKING TODAY: Omnivore Books | Bookshop | IndieBoundAyesha joined us remotely from her home in the Bay Area to #TalkCookbooks for this week’s show—and at the end of the show, we’re putting Ayesha to the test in our culinary game. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Jeff Mauro to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.A Chicago native, Jeff has been beaming into your home TVs via Food Network since 2011, when he was crowned the winner of season seven of "Food Network Star" (and then, later that year, under another crown as the host of "Sandwich King.") And then more shows followed: Food Network’s "The Kitchen," which he’s co-hosted since 2014, and most recently his new show, "Kitchen Crash".A born performer who grew up in a big family, Jeff’s always had a knack for entertaining — both the putting-on-a-show definition and the having-people-over-to-eat definition. That’s translated well into his career and, now, into his first cookbook. It’s titled Come On Over: 111 Fantastic Recipes for the Family That Cooks, Eats, and Laughs Together. And it’s loaded with recipes from Jeff’s childhood — from Chicago classics to smoking & grilling favorites to, of course, sandwiches, to two “boil” recipes.START COOKING TODAY: Bookshop | IndieBoundJeff joined us remotely in the Salt + Spine Virtual Studio for today’s show—and of course, we’re closing with a culinary game (hint: comedy-themed!) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

HAVE A LISTEN: Loading Dock Talks is the new podcast hosted by Salt + Spine friend chef Preeti Mistry, where each week they talk with chefs, cookbook authors, and activists. Subscribe here.ABOUT THIS EPISODE:Preeti talks with Zoe Adjonyoh - chef, activist, and author - about connecting to her ancestral Ghanaian roots and building community through food, being a queer black woman in the industry, and about some of her favorite West African spices and ingredients.For more from Zoe:Her websiteHer spices (and other fun things)Her cookbookTwitter: @ZoeAdjonyohInstagram: @zoeadjonyoh @ghanakitchenBlack Book: Website | Instagram You can find Preeti:Twitter | Instagram | Website Produced by Copper & Heat See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Marcus Samuelsson and Osayi Endolyn to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Chef Marcus Samuelsson has become a household culinary name, building his restaurant empire from Red Rooster in Harlem to now more than a dozen eateries around the globe. He's won multiple James Beard Awards and is a regular on food TV, from winning both "Top Chef Mastersæ and "Chopped All-Stars" to hosting No Passport Required," his show with Vox Media's Eater. And he's written several cookbooks and a New York Times-bestselling memoir, Yes, Chef.For his latest book, The Rise, Marcus teamed up with James Beard-winning food writer Osayi Endolyn whose wide reaching-work includes writings in The Washington Post, TIME, and Food & Wine. She's also working on a forthcoming book, focused on systemic racism in American restaurants and dining culture.PURCHASE THE COOKBOOK: Omnivore Books | Bookshop | IndieBoundIn The Rise, Marcus and Osayi bring together dozens of Black people from across the food industry—chefs, historians, activists—to help tell the story of Black cooks and the story of American cuisine. In these pages, we hear from folks like authors Michael Twitty, Jessica B. Harris, and Toni Tipton-Martin, chefs like JJ Johnson, Mashama Bailey, and the late Leah Chase—to activists, home cooks, farmers, publishers, and more. It's a celebration of Black cooking, a rising class of new Black chefs and voices, and an effort to reclaim and recognize the contributions and talents of generations of Black cooks.NOTE: Marcus and Osayi joined us separately to talk about The Rise and we've edited the interviews together for a better flow, but note that we're not all in conversation together on today's show.Also in this episode: Salt + Spine Kitchen Correspondent Sarah Varney takes The Rise for a ride by making a big pot of crab curry with yams and mustard greens, plus we've got two featured recipes from The Rise for you to make at home. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

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This week, we're excited to welcome Jake Cohen to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.You might recognize Jake from any number of social media platforms, where he regularly creates viral recipes and food content. A native New Yorker, Jake started his career post-culinary school at some of Manhattan’s most revered restaurants — Daniel and ABC Kitchen — before he made the jump to food media. Traversing his way through the offices of outlets like Saveur and Tasting Table, Jake rose in the ranks and became known for his inventive recipes.And now he’s here with his first cookbook — his debut — titled Jew-ish, Reinvented Recipes from a Modern Mensch. It’s an exploration of Jewish food, often with innovative twists, ranging from a recipe for the Perfect Challah to dishes like Matzo Tiramisu.START COOKING TODAY: Omnivore Books | Bookshop | IndieBoundJake joined us remotely in the Salt + Spine Virtual Studio for today’s show to #TalkCookbooks. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

HAVE A LISTEN: Counterjam is the third show on Food52's podcast new network. On Counterjam, host Peter Kim explores culture through food and music. Guests include A Tribe Called Quest founding member Jarobi White, Kelis, comedian Margaret Cho, chef and cookbook author Roy Choi, and many more. Subscribe here.About this episode:Host Peter J. Kim looks at Korean-American food culture—with chef Roy Choi, comedian Margaret Cho, and his mom (!)—in all its stinky, fermented, fishy beauty.Referenced in this episode:Peter's Instant Ramyun “Carbonara”Follow Counterjam on Spotify for more tracks from CLARA, DANakaDAN, Omega60, and so many other wonderful Korean-American artists that we couldn't squeeze into this episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Mashama is the executive chef and partner of The Grey, which she runs with her business partner, John O. Morisano. The Savannah, Georgia restaurant is set inside a once-segregated, former Greyhound bus station and has been dubbed Restaurant of the Year by Eater and named one of TIME magazine’s "greatest places." The Grey serves up Mashama’s menu, which draws influences from all over and in particular the South, Italy, and Africa. In 2019, the James Beard Foundation awarded Mashama its Best Chef: Southeast award. Together, Mashama and John built The Grey — and now, they’re taking a unique approach with their memoir-cookbook by telling the story together, too.Their book — titled Black, White, and The Grey: The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant — chronicles how the pair came together, relocated to Savannah, and opened a celebrated restaurant. But it’s more than the story of The Grey — it’s also a conversation about race, class, gender, and American culture. And interlaced throughout are recipes to accompany the chapters.Mashama and John joined us remotely in our virtual studio for this week’s show.BUY THE BOOK: Omnivore Books | Bookshop | IndieBound This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

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This week, we're excited to welcome Pilar Hernandez and Eileen Smith to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Episode info coming soon. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Angela Garbacz is the founder of the Lincoln, Nebraska pastry shop Goldenrod Pastries, which is focused on “inclusive baking,” the term Angela uses to describe her menu full of baked goods without dairy or gluten. Angela’s distilled her recipes and two decades of professional baking experience into her first cookbook, Perfectly Golden, which offers everything from confetti cookies to her grandmothers’s famous peach coffee cake. And all the recipes are easily adaptable — you can use butter or dairy, if you’d like, or make them gluten- and/or dairy-free.Named one of Time magazine’s “most innovative women in food and drink," and included on Cherry Bombe magazine's "100 List" of influential women in the industry, Angela has been leading the conversation on dietary-sensitive baking and female empowerment for years. And while Perfectly Golden will bring those stellar baked goods into your kitchen, it’s also a book rooted in family and female empowerment, as Angela shares stories of baking with her grandmother, turns the pen over to her mother, and celebrates the women who run her shop.Angela joined us remotely from her bakery early in the pandemic to #TalkCookbooks— if you hear some bustling in the background, her team was hard at work adapting to the new normal. And stick around as we’re closing today’s show by playing a baking game with Angela. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we're excited to welcome Julia Turshen to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Julia is returning to Salt + Spine today to talk about her latest cookbook, Simply Julia. Julia is the well-known author of other cookbooks, including two highly praised solo books: Small Victories and Now & Again.And she’s a prolific writer in the industry, bringing together a range of voices and recipes for 2017’s Feed the Resistance cookbook as well as authoring The Interview, a Food & Wine magazine column that features compelling people in food. And the list goes on: cofounder of Equity at the Table, host of the podcast Keep Calm and Cook On, and so on.Called one of the 100 “Greatest Home Cooks of All Time” by Epicurious, Julia brings the simplicity and crave-ability she’s known for to the recipes in her latest, Simply Julia. With a focus on healthy comfort food, you’ll find weeknight go-tos like Tex-Mex Turkey Meatballs, soups and stews like a Smoked Trout Chowder, morning starters like Breakfast Nachos, and memorable sweets like a Cornmeal Cobbler that employs whatever frozen fruit is on hand. Julia joined us remotely from her home in the Hudson Valley for this week’s episode. Stick around — we’re closing today’s by playing a secret ingredient game with Julia. So let’s head now to our virtual studio where Julia Turshen joined us to #TalkCookbooks. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

🥧 It's Pie Week 2021 🥧This week, we're excited to welcome Petra Paredez to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks, for our Spring 2021 Pie Week!Petra’s life story is looped around pie from the very beginning. Before she was even born, her parents opened Mom’s Apple Pie Company in Leesburg, Virginia, and Petra and her family’s lives revolved around pie ever since. Be it the right fat-to-flour ratio for dough (hers is different than her dad’s) or the produce grown on the family farm and destined for scrumptious fillings. But as you’ll hear, Petra wasn’t certain that pie would be her career path. She took a detour—but before long, she was opening her own pie shop in New York City: Petee’s Pie Company.And now in her first cookbook, Pie for Everyone, she’s pulling together the last seven years of professional knowledge from running her now-two locations of Petee's—the name, by the way, is a ode to her childhood nickname—as well as her life-long, family-instilled intuition for what makes great pie. With more than 80 recipes for both sweet and savory, plus short essays on Petra’s life and some of her trusted produce purveyors, Pie for Everyone is a deep dive into the story of pie and how to make it a staple in your home.Petra joined us remotely for this week’s show. And, of course, we’re playing a pie game at the end of the episode, plus we’ve got featured recipes from Pie for Everyone for you. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 2 of our Spring 2021 Pie Week 🥧Called a “pie guru” by Sunset magazine and the “pie-making queen” by Chowhound, Kate’s name has become synonymous with the practice of home-baking pies infused with care and confidence. Thousands of people have joined her workshops, including her 3-day Pie Camp, in Washington State and around the world.Her first cookbook — Art of the Pie — was nominated for a James Beard award. She followed it up with Home Cooking, breaking from pie just long enough to offer fans delectable recipes for some of her best comfort foods.And now she’s back with her third cookbook, Pie Camp. With a greater focus on technique, Pie Camp brings many of the most-sought pie lessons to your home. Recipes range from Buttermilk Bourbon Pumpkin to Raspberry-Peach Sunset Chiffon to Double Chocolate Banana… See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Danielle Renov is the author of Peas Love & Carrots, her first cookbook. She is well known for her food blog and Instagram of the same name. She joins us this week to #TalkCookbooks. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

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This week, we're excited to welcome Hawa Hassan to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Hawa is the founder and CEO of Basbaas Sauce, a selection of condiments that are inspired by Somalia, the country where she was born. Hawa left Somalia with her family in the midst of the country’s civil war: first to a refugee camp and then to the U.S. She built a life in America, including a modeling career, and 15 years later, she reunited with her family for the first time. Through it all was food — the family foods she remembers from her childhood, the 7/11 snacks she’d pick up in Seattle, the dinner parties she’d host in New York City.And now, her first cookbook. Hawa joined us to talk about her first cookbook, In Bibi’s Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries that Touch the Indian Ocean. Co-authored with Salt + Spine friend Julia Turshen, the book introduces us to bibis (grandmother in Swahili) up and down the East African coast — from Somalia to Kenya to Mozambique to Madagascar. You’ll find heartwarming interviews with bibis from these eight countries and learn about the culinary histories of their families and their countries. And of course, recipes: 75 dishes that are both enticing and full of meaning. Hawa writes, “This isn’t just any old book with fun ideas of what to make for dinner (though you should make the recipes—they’re great!). It’s also a collection of stories about war, loss, migration, refuge, and sanctuary. It’s a book about families and their connections to home.”There are few cookbooks by major publishers today that focus on African cuisine — a glaring hole in the industry we discuss in this episode — and it’s powerful and inspiring to see these stories and recipes captured in In Bibi’s Kitchen. Hawa joined us remotely to talk about her life and career, creating this new book, and more. And of course, we’re playing a culinary game with Hawa — and we have featured recipes from In Bibi’s Kitchen for you to try at home. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Carolyn Federman is the author of New Favorites for New Cooks and the creator of the Charlie Cart Project. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Kristina Gill is the co-author of Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors and Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City. A native of Nashville, Kristina relocated to Rome in 1999. Kristina joined us remotely from, of course, Rome, to talk about the role food has played in her life, how she approaches her work, and where she turns for inspiration. Plus, of course, we’re playing a game and putting Kristina to the culinary test. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

In the final installment of our Food Media Awakening Series—and the beginning of our fall 2020 season—we're talking with teenage food professionals about what drew them to food and food writing and what they see for the food media and restaurant industries as their generation enters the workforce. Oakland-based Rahanna Bisseret Martinez shares her perspective on restaurant kitchens, New York City's Food and Finance High School student Michael Stanton discusses their junior class project and telling the stories of trailblazing people of color in food, and cookbook author and activist Haile Thomas talks about what drew her to wellness, a vegan diet, and advocacy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

In Part 3 of our Food Media Awakening Series, we're talking all about food media: specifically, food media that is not owned or led by white people. With power and editorial control largely in the hands of white people at "mainstream" food media outlets, we're talking with editors, publishers, and writers about the importance of having and investing in Black- and POC-led food media. Food writer and cookbook author Klancy Miller joins to discuss her forthcoming magazine, For The Culture, which tells the stories of Black women in food and wine by Black female writers, photographers, and illustrators. Editors Sheree Williams of Cuisine Noir and Rochelle Oliver of Island & Spice discuss their work and editorial processes. And we hear analysis from Jamila Robinson, food editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer and chair of the James Beard Awards' journalism committee, and food writer Osayi Endolyn. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

We're stepping away from our normal one-on-one author interviews this month to hold space for deeper conversations around equity and representation in food media and the cookbook industry. Stay tuned as we talk with cookbook authors, food writers, editors, podcast hosts, and the generation of young cooks and food writers.In the second episode of our Food Media Awakening series, we're taking a closer look at the cookbook industry. What issues around representation exist in cookbook publishing? How have authors and others working in the field navigated these challenges? What needs to change – and what would a more equitable cookbook industry look like?We called up several guests to discuss these topics: cookbook author and photographer Kristina Gill (co-author of Tasting Rome), literary agents Rica Allannic and Sally Ekus, cookbook editor Cristina Garces of Chronicle Books, and food writers Osayi Endolyn and Illyanna Maisonet.Additional Reading and Resources:How Food Media Fails BIPOC, by Leah Bhabha [Grub Street]A (food media) resignation letter, by Osayi Endolyn [Twitter]Between Friends: Your Stories About Race and Friendship, Podcast [NPR Code Switch / Death, Sex & Money]To Change Racial Disparity in Food, Let’s Start With Cookbooks, by Julia Turshen [Eater]‍ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

We're stepping away from our normal one-on-one author interviews this month to hold space for deeper conversations around equity and representation in food media and the cookbook industry. Stay tuned as we talk with cookbook authors, food writers, editors, podcast hosts, and the generation of young cooks and food writers.In today's episode, we're starting by taking a look at the reckoning that's taking place at Bon Appetit and other food media outlets. We're joined by food writer Tammie Teclemariam, Bon Appetit's research director Joey Hernandez, and podcast host Cathy Erway. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Sonoko Sakai is a writer and teacher based in California. Over the course of her career, she’s developed recipes, taught cooking classes, and written articles and cookbooks to promote Japanese food and culture. Her first cookbook—The Poetical Pursuit of Food: Japanese Recipes for American Cooks—was published in 1986, and her most recent, Japanese Home Cooking, features 100 recipes that get to the heart of accessible Japanese cuisine. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Jesse Szewczyk is a New York-based food writer and stylist with bylines in outlets from Food52, The Kitchn, Tasty, and Jarry. Jesse joined us to talk about his first cookbook, Tasty Pride, a compilation of 75 recipes and stories from the queer food community. June is Pride Month and we were thrilled to welcome Jesse to the show. In addition to bringing together queer voices for this cookbook, Jesse's publishers -- Clarkson potter & Tasty -- also made a $50,000 donation to GLADD on the book's publication. We talk with Jesse about growing up in the Midwest, what it was like to work in restaurant kitchens and food media as a young, gay man, and the process of putting together this cookbook. Jesse dedicates the book to "All the queer cooks who have longed to see themselves represented in mainstream food media." He writes: "We are in every restaurant, test kitchen, hotel, catering company, studio, and publication. This book and the stories within in prove that there is a seat at the table for all of us."In addition to Jesse, we're joined by other contributors to Tasty Pride, including food writers John Birdsall, Aaron Hutcherson, and Eric Kim — and we hear from some of our past conversations with queer authors Lazarus Lynch and Julia Turshen. And of course we're featuring recipes from Tasty Pride -- find Von Diaz's Puerto Rican–Style Pimento Cheese and Ben Mims' Dry-Rub BBQ Chicken on our website.***Salt + Spine is produced by Brian Hogan Stewart and Madeleine Forbes. Our Kitchen Correspondent is Sarah Varney. Our original theme song was created by Brunch for Lunch. Additional music in today's show is "Spend My Life With You" by The Tall Pines (Free Music Archive). Thanks to Jen Nurse, Chris Bonomo, and The Civic Kitchen team and to Celia Sack at Omnivore Books. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe