This Is TASTE

What an absolutely amazing conversation we have here. Malcolm Livingston II is a chef with some serious chops, having spent time in the kitchens at Per Se and Le Cirque and running the pastry program at wd~50 before being named head pastry chef at Noma—all by the age of 28. In this episode, we hear all about Malcolm’s time working at some of the world’s top restaurants, and why he decided to enter the plant-based ice cream game with August. We also find out that Malcolm’s life story is the inspiration for the character Marcus, played superbly by Lionel Boyce, on the TV series The Bear. If you didn’t already know about Malcolm’s incredible career and deep creativity, check out this episode. MORE wd~50 ALUMNI ON THIS IS TASTE: This Is TASTE 500: Christina Tosi This Is TASTE 240: Alex Stupak This Is TASTE 233: Wylie Dufresne All of us at TASTE are thinking about our friends in Southern California. If you would like to support wildfire relief efforts, some great places to start are the Displaced Black Families of Altadena GoFund Me Directory and the Los Angeles Food Bank. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To many, German food is humble comfort food, the kind of food that may not win a beauty award, but more than makes up for it with its power to soothe, nourish and cheer. In her latest book Classic German Cooking, author Luisa Weiss has collected and mastered the essential everyday recipes of Germany and Austria. In this terrific conversation, Luisa shares her personal connection to German cooking while shattering some myths about one of the world’s great cuisines. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinYee Yuan is the founder and editor of MOLD, a critically acclaimed online and print publication about design and the future of food, and the founder of Field Meridians, an artist collective committed to strengthening local food ecologies in Brooklyn. It’s so special to have her in the studio for an expansive conversation about using a design framework to reimagine our food systems and the power of examining nature in urban settings. 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 LINYEE YUAN: Planting a Food Forest [MOLD] A ‘Nature School’ Meets in Brooklyn [NYTimes] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the show we have conversations with two terrific chefs in New York City. First up is Suzanne Cupps. She’s the chef-owner of Lola’s in the Flatiron District. The cooking there made Matt’s top meals list of 2024, and in this conversation she opens up about her cooking career, and her unique place in the NYC restaurant scene. Also on the show is a great conversation with Harold Dieterle. He is the winner of Top Chef Season 1, and we talk all about his long career in New York City and the ups and downs of chef life. We are such big Harold fans at TASTE. Note: Il Totano closed on January 6, 2025. We await an exciting reboot. 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 SUZANNE CUPPS & HAROLD DIETERLE: Home Cooking So Good, Only a Restaurant Could Do It [NYT] Ryan Sutton on Harold Dieterle [Eater] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

London chef and author Yotam Ottolenghi puts out cookbooks that meet at the intersection of practical and cool—with a recipe development process that is part Warhol’s Factory, part Bon Appétit Test Kitchen, and pure Ottolenghi. After tackling baking with his terrific book Sweet, and before that putting Israeli cooking on the international stage with Jerusalem, he most recently tackled the concept of comfort with his incredible new book Comfort. In this conversation, we consider the many ways comfort food is served around the world, and how personal preference plays a major part in the quest for ultimate comfort. The result is a conversation that circles the globe and brings one of my all-time favorite recipe writers into focus. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We loved catching up with legendary Seattle chef Renee Erickson. She is the chef-owner of The Walrus and the Carpenter, The Whale Wins, Barnacle, and several other restaurants in that great American restaurant city. She is also the author of a unique new book, Sunlight and Breadcrumbs, that explores creativity in and out of the kitchen and how the process of making everyday food can result in much more than dinner. It’s a really smart way to think about home cooking, and I enjoyed catching up with Renee to talk about her collection of recipes. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s episode is really special. It’s a conversation with Innis Lawrence, who runs restaurants in one of our favorite towns in New York: Kingston! Innis operates the restaurants Ollie’s, Eliza, and the market and charcuterie shop Fletcher & Lu, three anchors in the upstate New York scene. On this episode we talk all about Kingston, a wonderful place just outside New York City that is home to some incredible restaurants and people. We talk about why there are so many chefs moving to this town upstate, and go over several must-visit spots. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry Tannenbaum is the cofounder and president of Mill, a tech company aiming to reduce food waste with a “food recycler” that turns kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich grounds. Prior to Mill, he led analytics and e-commerce at Nest and worked on Google’s hardware team. It’s so fascinating having Harry on the show to nerd out on sustainability, food waste, 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. READ MORE ABOUT HARRY TANNENBAUM: I’m a Private Chef, and I Saved 622 Pounds of Food Waste From the Landfill [Saveur] One Year Later Mill Has An Even Better Next-Gen Food Recycler [Forbes] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Hoffman is a Minnesota tax preparer and food writer. And according to Steve, “When he dies, the tax-preparer-food-writer industry will die with him.” He is a French speaker and a shameless Francophile, and his love of France shines through in his terrific memoir, A Season for That: Lost and Found in the Other Southern France. Steve writes with great detail and care about uprooting his family to live in rural France and the many twists and turns—and disappointments and revelations—that came with this big life change. If you ever dream of moving abroad to live a different life, this is the episode for you. A cautionary tale? Perhaps. But Steve is such a delight in telling his story that it may have you considering moving anyway. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Four Horsemen is a restaurant 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 in Williamsburg, and it has marked ten years in the game with an incredible new cookbook. In this episode, we speak with the restaurant’s longtime chef, Nick Curtola. Nick is one of New York’s most consistent and skilled chefs and a real culinary force. We talk about the restaurant’s legacy and how its humble beginnings have led to greatness, and we dig into his own personal journey in the restaurant business. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt pay tribute to the iconic Williamsburg wine bar and share some favorite memories from dining there over the years. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. READ MORE ABOUT THE FOUR HORSEMEN: Remembering Justin Chearno, Natural Wine Advocate [F&W] This Is TASTE 48: James Murphy & Nick Curtola [Apple] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today is Christmas, and chances are that in the next week you will enjoy seafood of some kind—freshly shucked oysters, line-caught halibut, or perhaps some smoked salmon stacked atop a bagel. We love seafood to cook at home or to order at restaurants, but do we recognize the people who bring this incredible product to our fish markets and to Whole Foods? Enter Hannah Heimbuch, an Alaskan salmon fisherman with quite the story to tell. In this conversation, we find out about how she works tirelessly during the summer salmon run, and how wild-caught Alaskan seafood has a long journey to our ovens and grills. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We really enjoyed having our friend the chef Danny Lee into the studio. Danny is one of the most influential chefs and restaurant operators in Washington, DC, running some of our all-time favorite Korean restaurants in America, including Mandu and Anju, the award-winning restaurant he operates with chef Angel Barreto. In this episode, we talk about Danny’s journey and what it’s like to run a restaurant with his mom. We also discuss the rise of Korean American food and culture in the United States. It’s such a great conversation with one of the brightest stars in all of food. I hope you enjoy it. Also on the show we have a terrific interview with Simon Kim. Simon is the guy behind some of the buzziest restaurants in New York, including Cote Korean Steakhouse and the new fried chicken palace Coqodaq. Simon and Matt go way back, and this conversation covers Simon’s rise through the restaurant ranks, having worked for Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Thomas Keller before debuting with the stellar Piora in 2013. We talk about how he grew up on Long Island and helped his mom open the pioneer Tribeca Korean restaurant Kori, while finding out what the rise of Korean food in America has meant to him. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Keeling is the cofounder and editor of Noble Rot magazine, a restaurateur behind the Noble Rot restaurant group in London, and the cofounder of Keeling Andrew wine importer. He’s also the author of a great new book about wine: Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti?: A Shortcut to Drinking Great Wines. We spoke with Dan about his singular point of view on wine, his past life as head of artists and repertoire at Parlophone Records, and how to go about finding a great glass at the bar. Also on the show, Alana Yazzi tells us about her terrific new book, The Modern Navajo Kitchen: Homestyle Recipes that Celebrate the Flavors and Traditions of the Diné. 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 KEELING: How I Learned That Serious Wine Doesn’t Have to Be Stuffy [Slate] All the Natural Wine That’s Fit To Print [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been a very busy year for our two guests, Chris Hansell of Chrissy’s Pizza and Brooks Headley of Superiority Burger. Brooks finally came back on the show! I really, really enjoyed this conversation with two big thinkers and, dare I say, dreamers. As former musicians, each is rooted in the punk-rock ethic and aesthetic, and we talk about how visual identity and dedication to craft dovetail with music and food in a unique way. Chris shares the story of his journey to pizza, from apartment pop-up to one of the buzziest openings in New York this year. And Brooks reflects on two years of Superiority Burger on Avenue A and his continued obsession for finding the highest-quality produce for his cooking in the East Village. What a fun 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kamal Kamal is a food collaborator and art director based in New York. He’s a co-owner of Baba’s Pantry, his family’s beloved Palestinian restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, which is a flourishing community space that has won fans and acclaim since opening in 2022. It’s so special to have Kamal on the show to talk about his family’s food traditions and plans for expansion. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt go over some of their favorite meals from 2024, featuring both new and established restaurants. These include: Strange Delight, Lola's, Familyfriend, Yang's Kitchen, Quarter Sheets, Ruen Pair, Shang Artisan Noodle, Win Kee HK BBQ and Noodle, Pantera Pizza Garbatella, Taqueria Ramirez, Mariscos El Submarino, Agi's Counter, Shree Thaker Bhojanalay, Jeju, Flavourtown, and Cafe Yen. 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 KAMAL KAMAL: It's 'Not Just a Middle Eastern Restaurant.' It's Palestinian [Bon Appétit] How One Family Dropped Everything to Help Their Father Open a Palestinian Cafe [Bon Appétit] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve long been fans of the Big Green Egg, the kamado-style ceramic charcoal grill and smoker that has a legitimate cult following. The fans are called Eggheads (for real), and leading the company is CEO Dan Gertsacov, who joins us for a really great conversation. Dan is the rare corporate executive who is truly a home cooking and food geek, in the best way. We talk to Dan about how we became fans of the Atlanta-based company, and its unique approach to generating loyalty. We also get into Dan’s world travels and his previous time leading strategy at McDonald’s. Also on the show, cookbook author Bryan Ford tells us about his terrific new book, Pan y Dulce: The Latin American Baking Book (Pastries, Desserts, Rustic Breads, Savory Baking, 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mahira Rivers is a freelance writer and restaurant critic based in New York City. Formerly an anonymous inspector for the Michelin Guide, she’s now writing the desserts-focused newsletter Sweet City and contributing to many publications, including TASTE. We had Mahira on the show to talk about her distinct point of view on food culture today, from her childhood in Hong Kong to challenging Eurocentricity in restaurant writing. It’s a great episode for anyone curious about food. Also on the show, Jordan Michelman stops by for an entertaining chat about how mineral water is bubbling up in the zeitgeist (though not fast enough), as well as thoughts on his recent profile of a tea influencer, the Chateau Marmont, modern coffee, and many other topics. 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 MAHIRA RIVERS & JORDAN MICHELMAN: Turns Out Now Is the Golden Era for Fusion Cuisine [Resy] We Need More Shrimp Burgers In Our Lives [TASTE] The Extremely Online Tea Guy [TASTE] Mineral Water Gets the Silent Treatment [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 that destination. Emily is back in our studio to talk about some of her favorite products that she’s selling at her amazing New York City store, and how she sorts through the thousands of new brands to land on her always-rotating shelves. Also on the show is the founder of one of Emily’s favorite brands. PJ Monte is behind Monte’s Fine Foods, a historically rich (and legitimately incredible) New York City pasta sauce company. PJ has an amazing story to tell, and we get into how he took his family’s sauce recipe, made famous at their restaurant on Long Island, and hustled it onto the shelves of major retailers. And finally, we hear from Tuệ Nguyễn, a.k.a. TwayDaBae, about her terrific new book: Đi Ăn: The Salty, Sour, Sweet and Spicy Flavors of Vietnamese Cooking With TwayDaBae. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. READ MORE ABOUT POP-UP GROCER AND MONTE'S FINE FOODS: The 2024 Guide to Holiday Gifting [Pop Up Grocer] How Monte’s Fine Foods is Embracing ‘Tomato Girl Summer’ [Marketing Brew] This Is TASTE 127: Pop Up Grocer [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 among these readers.) Andrea Hernández returns to the show to go over the big headlines from the year at the grocery store and in the CPG trenches. We cover so many buzzy brands and established warhorses in this conversation, and we tap into some generational divides when it comes to the quick-moving world of grocery. If you have any interest in the future of packaged foods as well as restaurant chains, this is the episode for you. Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Culinary Class Wars hell yes, Vinson Cunningham's amazing debut novel, Great Expectations, is full of surprises, B&H Dairy in the East Village is a living legend, The Odeon kind of rules right now, Mezcla energy bars is plant-protein at its best, Tony's Chocolonely milk chocolate gingerbread bars leads to a conversation about Harry Potter! Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. READ MORE FROM SNAXSHOT: The New Grocer [Snaxshot] Kardashian Snack Brand [Snaxshot] This Is TASTE 217: Snaxshot [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We had to break in on a Saturday with this very cool conversation with Melissa Clark. Melissa is a prolific cookbook author who wears several hats at the New York Times, where she’s currently a food reporter, recipe columnist, and the interim restaurant critic, serving alongside Priya Krishna. We’ve really enjoyed Melissa’s recent string of reviews, most of all her latest report from New York City and Napa, where she gave Thomas Keller’s pioneering restaurants, Per Se and the French Laundry, a fresh set of eyes. The review is a wild ride, and the internet was all over it. How did Melissa find her meals, and what does the current state of the Keller empire say about the modern age of fine dining? We go over it all in this great 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 MELISSA CLARK: Are the French Laundry and Per Se Still Worth a Splurge? [NYT] Iced Peppermint Cookies [NYT] This Is TASTE 454: Dining in Disguise with Priya Kirshna, Interim New York Times Restaurant Critic [Apple] This Is TASTE 216: Pete Wells [Apple] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yemi Amu is the founder and director of Oko Farms, a beloved community-based aquaponics farm cultivating fish alongside produce in New York City. After a decade of growing food in several locations across Brooklyn, including three years in Williamsburg, Oko Farms unexpectedly had their lease terminated this November. They’re forced to pack up the farm and find a new location, and today on the show, Yemi is sharing more about their search and the power of aquaponics. Also on the show Matt has a great conversation with writer Joshua David Stein about Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America package, which was released this week. We go over some of his favorite restaurants around the country. Cincinnati represent! We also talk about his recent cookbook work, and what it’s like to collaborate with Tom Colicchio. 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 YEMI AMU: A New Way of Raising Fish—and Vegetables—in New York [The Guardian] A Farm Grows in Bushwick Thanks to One Woman’s Vision [Vogue] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Bonné is an erudite observer of food and culture trends and the author of many books, including the monumental, two-volume The New French Wine. In this episode, we talk about what Jon’s been eating, drinking, and writing about in the world of restaurants, wine, and food culture. We discuss the many perceptions of the “wine bar,” and we dive into some of Jon’s restaurant reporting at Resy, where he serves as managing editor. Also on the show we hear from Leila Heller talking about her new book, Persian Feasts: Recipes & Stories from a Family Table. 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 Jon Bonné: This Is TASTE 213: Jon Bonné [TASTE] 10 Changes That Defined the Last Decade of Dining in America [Resy] Is Oregon Wine’s True Soulmate the Loire Valley? [PUNCH] A Good NA Martini Is Possible [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vaughn Vreeland is a supervising video producer overseeing the test kitchen studio team for NYT Cooking. He’s also a passionate baker and home cook, and he develops recipes for the Times. Today we had Vaughn in the studio to talk about what happens behind the scenes and about bringing the annual cookie package to life. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk through their go-to holiday baking recipes, as well as mention a couple they each will be trying out. Lastly, they strategize their entries for the 2nd annual Crown Publishing Group office cookie contest, which they will be entering in. 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 VAUGHN: Meet Your New Thanksgiving Pie [NYT Cooking] How to Make the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie ... Even Better? [YouTube] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All fall, Aliza and Matt have been talking about many of the season’s new cookbooks, from the biggest “influencer” books to baking, memoir, biography, and the return of restaurant books to the mix. Here is a recap of some of their favorites from the busy fall—and a solid reminder that cookbooks make amazing gifts! If you like one of the titles mentioned, pick up a copy at one of our favorites stores, including Now Serving (Los Angeles), Omnivore Books (San Francisco), Kitchen Arts & Letters (New York City), Book Larder (Seattle), Golden Hour Books (Newburgh, NY), Bookbug (Kalamazoo, MI), or your preferred independent bookstore. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Gelb is the the creator of Chef’s Table, the long-running Netflix documentary series that takes viewers inside the world of restaurants and chefs. David is also the director of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the acclaimed documentary capturing the idiosyncratic world of master sushi chef Jiro Ono. In this episode, we talk about the creation of Chef’s Table and how the show invented a new vocabulary for food documentary filmmaking. We discuss the latest season as well as special seasons dedicated to barbecue, noodles, pizza, and French chefs. David is one of my favorite creators in the food world, and I loved catching up with him. Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: The horchata latte at Ursula in Brooklyn, Mundos Roasters in Traverse City, Michigan is doing great work. Also, Lucas Sin's Street Eats series on YouTube is such a great resource, a Chrissy's Pizza scene report, and there's a new NA Negroni in town: Lapo's. Lastly, an Oscars race update with Clayton jumping on the mic. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gary He wrote the coolest book! Gary is an accomplished journalist and photographer who has contributed memorable stories to Eater for years. But his book about McDonald’s, McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches, is truly groundbreaking in its scope, telling the story of the multinational chain from Mexico and Denmark to India and Japan. In this episode, we talk about Gary’s travels to McDonald’s in over 50 countries on six continents, and we get to hear more about how specialty menu items change with the culture and terroir. It’s a fascinating deep dive into one of the world’s most iconic brands. Also on the show we hear from Alexander Smalls talking about his new book, The Contemporary African Kitchen: Home Cooking Recipes from the Leading Chefs of Africa. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s our 500th episode! Thank you to everyone who has been following along since 2018 and to those who are brand-new to our universe. We had to mark this big episode with one of our absolute favorites in the world of baking, business, and cookbook writing. Christina Tosi is the founder of the singular Milk Bar bakery and the author of many must-own cookbooks. Her latest is her best one yet: Bake Club: 101 Must-Have Moves for Your Kitchen tackles all the baking questions (and perhaps struggles) home bakers might have. We talk about what makes a great weekend baking project and how some recipes are ideal for the time-strapped. Tosi talks about the good-old Momofuku days and how a big life change is making her rethink her own cooking habits. Also, the holiday Reese's ranked! Thank you again for all the wonderful messages over the years! We love hearing from you and bringing you our show a couple times each week. Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Aliza's birthday, including trips to Pastis and the Alvin Ailey retrospective at The Whitney, the Baldor x The Sussmans collab is really fun, as is The Shirtosphere. Also, a box grater PSA, Malcolm Livingston II's August Novelties is incredible, JJ Johnson is previewing a cool new restaurant concept, Aquavit's bar room menu is the perfect way to try high-caliber Swedish cooking in NYC. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year we await the release of The Best American Food Writing. It’s a sharp collection of works from around the world of food media, and it always brings surprises. This year was no different, and the collection’s new editor, Jaya Saxena, tells us about her selection process. We also dig into her own journalism career. She’s one of our favorite writers at Eater, and we talk about some memorable stories she’s written there as well as for TASTE. Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Clayton and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: the B.O. Boys, Saturday Night is actually good, the Seoul Meets Bagel at Between the Bagel, Bruce Eric Kaplan's look inside Hollywood screenwriting in They Went Another Way. Two more books: Mammoth by Eva Baltasar and William by Mason Coile. Also, a reminder that Zingerman's has the best holiday gifts, Little Flower Cafe in Astoria is a lovely place, Daniela Galarza's broccolini parmesan soup rules, and Mombard has invented quite the 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a fun conversation with the one and only Bobby Flay. Bobby joins us in the studio to talk about his New York City restaurant career, including highly memorable restaurants Mesa Grill, Bolo, Gato, and Bar Americain. We dig into why Mesa Grill was such a groundbreaking idea in the early 1990s and how his cooking there brought Southwest flavors into the mainstream. We also discuss how beating Bobby actually means beating Bobby, and we talk about some classic Iron Chef episodes as well as his great new cookbook, Bobby Flay: Chapter One. Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: It's persimmon season (we have thoughts), Atlanta's Breaker Breaker is extremely chill, New York's 99 Favor Taste is the best birthday spot, Camilla Marcus wrote a really cool book, My Regenerative Kitchen. Also, some thoughts on cooking beans, when are beans really a "meal", and a reminder about how much we love the book Cool Beans. Lastly, the chicken Big Mac is very bad, and the new episodes of Chef's Table are very, very good. Stay tuned for an episode with Chef's Table creator David Gelb very soon. 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 BOBBY FLAY: Bobby Flay Taught Ina Garten His Go-To Easy Pasta [F&W] Bobby Flay owes his career to an Easy-Bake Oven [Today] Don't Sleep on Pinto Beans [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 cookbooks Cook This Book and More Is More are both New York Times Best Sellers, and she returns to the show to give us some big updates, including what restaurants she has been enjoying in Los Angeles. We also talk about her jump into the CPG game with the launch of a new line of flavored mayonnaise: Ayoh! Also on the show, Clayton and Matt taste their way through Ayoh! to see if the dill pickle flavor is really hitting. 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 BAZ A Cacio e Pepe Gets Drunk and Breaks the Rules [TASTE] Molly Baz Shares the Must-Have Recipe of the Season [Glamour] Baz to Basics [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we approach our 500th episode, we are bringing back two memorable episodes from 2018, our first year of the podcast. Samin Nosrat is a chef and the author of the legendary cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat. This episode was our very first, and it was recorded at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn on July 12, 2018. We talked to Samin about “too-mami” (cooking with too much umami), angry letters, and the differences between brands of kosher salt—that is, not all kosher salt is the same. Also on the show is a great conversation with Flynn McGarry. He’s the chef-owner of Gem Wine and Gem Home in New York City. In this episode, we discuss his time working at Los Angeles restaurant Alma at age 13, while being homeschooled, and his famous pop-ups even earlier in his career. The journey is all documented in the great film Chef Flynn, and we get into Flynn’s many travels and eventual business opening in NYC—the most competitive and cutthroat restaurant city in America. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicola Lamb is a pastry chef and recipe developer based in London. After training in some of London and New York’s top bakeries, like Dominique Ansel, Ottolenghi, and Happy Endings, she launched the pop-up bakery lark! and the popular newsletter Kitchen Projects—and now she’s written a wonderful debut cookbook, Sift, that’s truly the most comprehensive baking book I’ve read in years. It’s so fun to have Nicola on the show to nerd out about pastry process and much more. Also on the show, Matt has a great conversation with Hetal Vasavada discussing her great new cookbook, Desi Bakes: 85 Recipes Bringing the Best of Indian Flavors to Western-Style Desserts. 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 NICOLA LAMB & HETAL VASAVADA: Kitchen Projects [Substack] A crash course in better baking: Ella Risbridger meets Nicola Lamb [Financial Times] Badam Burfi Bark [NYT] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lisa Kyung Gross is the founder and CEO of the League of Kitchens, an immigrant-led, home-based cooking school that launched in New York City in 2014. Its instructors are 14 mothers and grandmothers from Indonesia, Mexico, Lebanon, Burkina Faso, and beyond, and now their culinary wisdom is being preserved in a new book: The League of Kitchens Cookbook. It’s truly so special having Lisa on the show to talk about how she finds these instructors and how the book came to life. Also on the show we hear from Rogelio Garcia talking about his new book Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California's Wine Country. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Colicchio joined us in the studio for a really amazing conversation. Tom is a longtime chef and behind the restaurants Craft, Gramercy Tavern, and dozens more. He’s also the longtime head judge on the show Top Chef. Tom just released his memoir (with recipes), Why I Cook, and we get into how he’s long been at the heart of culinary innovation and policy. We talk about his early days cooking in New York City and how he came together with Danny Meyer and many others to invent a new style of restaurant cooking that is still influential today. We also discussed the recent election—and his thoughts on possibly running for US Congress. 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 TOM COLICCHIO: Caviar and Cocaine [Town and Country] Tom Colicchio on how cooking saved his life [MSNBC] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Angelo Sosa is one of the most talented chefs we’ve gotten to know, and he’s currently the chef at the new restaurants Tía Carmen and Carmocha at the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort & Villas near Palm Springs, California. Angelo was also the runner up on Top Chef and has worked with some of the biggest names in the game, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Alain Ducasse, Stephen Starr, and Masaharu Morimoto. In this episode, we talk about his move to the Greater Palm Springs area and the exciting high desert cuisine he’s serving. Also on the show, Matt talks about his recent visit to Palm Springs and digs into the region's restaurants, both established and brand-new. Palm Springs is such an underrated food town, and we have some great recommendations including Bar Cecil, Tia Carmen, Lola Rose at the new Thompson Hotel Palm Springs, The Modern Tour, Maleza, and Billy Reeds forever. 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 ANGELO SOSA: Angelo Sosa, Richard Blais Open New Restaurants in the Coachella Valley [Palm Springs Life] This Is TASTE 350: Angelo Sosa [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Beard Award–winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel has shaken up the pastry world with innovation and creativity at the heart of his work. As chef-owner of eponymous bakeries around the world, Ansel has been responsible for creating some of today’s most popular pastries, including the Cronut, the Cookie Shot, the Frozen S’more, and the Blossoming Hot Chocolate. But where did Dominique Ansel come from, and how did his time working with Daniel Boulud and throughout France help him create the most iconic foods of a generation? It’s a great talk with the great Cronut Daddy about his new book, Life’s Sweetest Moments. Also on the show, Matt has a great conversation with Emma Impavido, Director of Educational Travel Programs at Academic Travel Abroad. Emma and Matt work together on TASTE Travels, and they discuss why organized travel is as popular as ever. They also dig into the countries people are visiting specifically for the food, as well as talk about the upcoming TASTE Travels in 2025, including a spring trip to Mexico 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 DOMINIQUE ANSEL: The Cronut Flavor Dominique Ansel Is Dying To Make [Chowhound] The Mind Behind the Cronut Just Launched a Dessert Soup Dumpling [F&W] TASTE Travels Mexico City [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amadou Ly is the baker-owner of ALF Bakery, a destination for delights like mushroom danishes and laminated baguettes in New York City’s Chelsea Market. After 18 years of jobs in restaurants, from dishwasher to pastry chef to chocolatier, he apprenticed under Roger Gural at the iconic Arcade Bakery. Arcade closed, and now he’s making some of the most exciting bread and pastries in the city at ALF. In this episode, we talk about the craftsmanship, technique, and passion that guides his work. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about their home bread baking journeys. Does one co-host (hint: Matt) aspire to bake more bread in the coming months, and start a bread practice? Does Aliza have a “bread person” past? They also talk about some great recent bread baking books that can help kick-start this journey. 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 AMADOU LY: Meet the West African Baker Reshaping French Pastry [Atlas Obscura] ​​Inside the Menu at the New Spot From an Alum of the Legendary Arcade Bakery [Eater] This Is TASTE 488: There's a Bread Baker Inside All of Us with David Tamarkin [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Turshen is the author of four cookbooks, including the new release What Goes With What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities. It’s a comprehensive guide to building cooking intuition and transforming odds and ends into a meal, and we had a great conversation live at Rizzoli bookstore all about making the book come to life, plus things like body acceptance and what constitutes queer food. We hope you’ll enjoy it. Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check. MORE FROM JULIA TURSHEN: Keep Calm and Cook On [Substack] My Mom Was a Magazine Editor in the ’90s. We’re Finally Talking About What It Did to Our Body Image [SELF] This Is TASTE 22: Julia Turshen [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. He returns to our studio to discuss the company’s terrific new book, a real doorstop called The Big Book of Bread. As the title suggests, this is the cooperative flour company’s bread magnum opus, and we talk about all of it with David. Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Le Veau d'Or scene report, Bawi has an amazing new flavor, Z&Z za'atar & manoushe company did a great pop-up in NYC, and has a very cool story. Also, a reminder that Dayglow sells an amazing selection of coffee and is making the most-exciting cold coffee drinks on the planet. Also! The Fort Greene dog parade had some food-themed costumes, and an Erewhon scene report including some new discoveries from Kelsi's Kitchen, Mid-Day Squares, Lexington Bakes, Cove Soda, and Zab's pepper sauce. Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check. MORE FROM DAVID TAMARKIN: No-Knead Crusty White Bread [King Arthur] We Don’t Need to Be Saved From Making Smoothies [NYT] This Is TASTE 162: David Tamarkin [TASTE] We Hit Peak Beverage [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicolas Jammet is a cofounder of the megapopular salad and protein plate seller Sweetgreen and the company’s chief concept officer. We’ve been reporting on Sweetgreen since its early days, witnessing its evolution from a humble Washington, DC, storefront to a publicly traded company. How has Nic negotiated this incredible trajectory? We find out about his journey, his deep connection to the restaurant industry, and what gets him excited to show up to work each day. We also learn about some of the company’s big plans for the future, and how he thinks about culinary development for a restaurant chain with over 250 locations across the United States. This is such a great talk with somebody I deeply admire in food. I hope you enjoy it. Also on the show, Aliza takes a trip to Seattle and Portland, with stops at: Sophon, Familyfriend, Hatyai, and some crabbing! Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check. MORE FROM NIC JAMMET: Is Steak a Health Food Now? [GQ] How Old-School French Food Inspired Sweetgreen [Bon Appetit] For America’s Best Teriyaki, Head West (and Bring Napkins) [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We really, really love what Rob Martinez is doing on YouTube and TikTok. Rob is behind the voice and visuals of Eating With Robert, a delightful series of dispatches from restaurants around the world. As we find out in this interview, Rob has a film background and started his own feed as a way of highlighting his favorite New York City pizzerias, diners, Egyptian fish grills, and Turkish kebab sellers. Rob is doing the work, scouting and shooting the types of places journalists like Jonathan Gold, Ligaya Mishan, and Robert Sietsema became famous for writing about. Rob is as much of a “food writer” as any of us in the industry, and it was cool to learn about his approach, and some of his favorite places around the world. Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: The re-opening of Brooklyn’s Kellogg’s Diner in Brooklyn, Lola’s is one of our favorite new NYC restaurants, Famille du Vin canned wines are so good (and shoutout to Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Riesling too), Eater LA published a terrific package of stories about the new restaurant influencers, and how TikTok is transforming Los Angeles’s dining scene one swipe at a time. Also, some thoughts on the new New York Chinatown restaurant Bridges, and we finally made it to Yang’s Kitchen in the San Gabriel Valley and it totally delivers. Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check. MORE FROM ROB MARTINEZ: Lodi’s Pizza [TikTok] Kebab Cafe [TikTok] The Original Influencers [Eater LA] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Mims is a cookbook author, food writer, and recipe developer based in Los Angeles. He’s worked at major media outlets like the Los Angeles Times, Food & Wine, Saveur, and Lucky Peach, and he’s the author of the great new baking book Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World. Crumbs is something of a cookie encyclopedia, sharing the old-world history and contemporary adaptations of global cookie traditions like Italian Waffle Cookies and Okinawan Brown Sugar Shortbread. In this episode, Ben goes deep on his lengthy research and recipe development process. Also on the show Aliza and Matt talk about a recent trip Philadelphia, a great food town. Mentioned on the episode: Cookbooks and Convos, Palizzi Social Club, Ray's Cafe & Tea House, South Philly Barbacoa, Meeting House, High Street, Zahav, Kalaya. Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check. MORE FROM BEN MIMS Crumbs [official] It’s Comfort Cooking Season: Recipes for the Start of Fall [LA Times] This Is TASTE 481: Fall Cookbooks with Nok Suntaranon of Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Betül Tunç is one of the true breakout food stars of the past couple of years. But do you really know Betül Tunç? We’re thrilled to have Betül on the show for her first podcast interview to talk about how she brought her iconic recipes to life via social videos that transport viewers to destinations both near and far. We talk about her life growing up in Turkey and her move to the United States, first to Wisconsin and later Virginia. Finally, we cover her terrific debut cookbook, Turkuaz Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Dough Recipes for Sweet and Savory Bakes. It’s a book based around cooking (and baking) with dough, a unique approach that unlocks a new world of home kitchen adventures. Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check. MORE FROM Betül Tunç: Turkish Chicken Döner [IG] Meet Culinary Virtuoso Betül Tunç of Turkuaz Kitchen [Anthropologie] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Justine Doiron is on the show today, and we have a great conversation about all areas of her very cool career. Justine is the founder, recipe developer, and food stylist behind the viral social media accounts @Justine_Snacks. In this episode, we of course talk about her terrific new book, Justine Cooks, as well as what gets her up and cooking each day. Also on the show Aliza and Matt talk about fall cookbooks they are enjoying, all from restaurants! These include: Mangal II, Café Cecilia, The Four Horsemen, Kalaya's Southern Thai 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 JUSTINE DOIRON: Butternut Squash Pizza with Crispy Sage & Hot Honey [Justine Snacks] My Most-Used Items! [Justine Snacks] Everyone Likes a Different Chocolate Chip Cookie [YouTube] The Balthazar Cookbook: My Personal Cooking School [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Also on the show is PJ Vogt, a recognizable figure in the world of public radio and podcast. He’s currently the host of one of our favorite shows today, Search Engine, and we talk about his recent food-related episodes, digging into sushi fraud and airplane coffee. We also chop it up about so many topics in food, including his ongoing coffee journey and some of his favorite NYC restaurants. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the show, we speak with two authors of terrific new cookbooks. First up is Nok Suntaranon, the chef and owner of Kalaya, a celebrated Thai restaurant in Philadelphia. A former flight attendant, Nok reinvented herself at age fifty to become a James Beard Award–winning chef, and we talk about her journey as well as her excellent new cookbook, Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen. Also in this episode, we have a great talk with Caroline Choe. She is a recipe developer and the author of Banchan: 60 Korean American Recipes for Delicious, Shareable Sides. We love this book, and we get into how the Korean small plate staple can open up so many Korean cooking adventures in the home 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 NOK SUNTARANON & CAROLINE CHOE: Esquire gives Philly's Kalaya Top Spot [Philly Voice] It Takes a Village to Teach Someone to Cook With Love [Simply Recipes] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a terrific new book, Taste in Music, musician Alex Bleeker (of Real Estate) and food and travel journalist Luke Pyenson (former drummer of Frankie Cosmos) cover the world of music through the foods bands eat while touring the world. In this episode, we speak with Alex and Luke about a book that brings a lot of heart and empathy to a subject that has been covered since the advent of food blogging. Any working band worth its salt cod enjoys food as much of the rest of us, filling their touring riders with subtle culinary flexes. Sure, food is the new rock and roll—and rockers love their food—but as we find out, this collection of essays from legends like Mark Ibold of Pavement, Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, and Natalie Laura Mering of Weyes Blood is more than a collection of “where bands eat”; it’s an essential addition to the music writing canon and one of our favorite books of the year. 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 BLEEKER AND LUKE PYENSON: Robin Pecknold: My Savior, My Destroyer, the Subway Veggie Patty [Rolling Stone] Our Pop-Up Could Be Your Life [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 the LO Times, his Substack covering the New York City restaurant scene. We talk about modern pizza by the slice, the economics of sushi, and some of his favorite restaurants in this great restaurant city. We also dig into the state of restaurant criticism, and how social video accounts and changing the way we get our restaurant intel. 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 RYAN SUTTON: NYC’s Best Slice Pizza: The New Wave [The LO Times] This is TASTE 193: Ryan Sutton [TASTE] The Best Sushi Spots to Splurge on This Fall [The LO Times] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of us subscribe to NYT Cooking, the decade-old recipe emporium and offshoot of the venerable New York Times Food desk. This week marks the release of a new cookbook from the New York Times, Easy Weeknight Dinners, and we were thrilled to speak with Ali Slagle and Emily Weinstein, two core members of the NYT Cooking crew. Emily is the editor in chief of New York Times Cooking and Food and the author of the New York Times recipe newsletter Five Weeknight Dishes, which reaches millions of readers every week. Ali Slagle is a cookbook author and a key contributor to NYT Cooking. We spoke with them at a recent live event we hosted at Talea Beer Co. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Franco Fubini is the founder and CEO of Natoora, a high-end greengrocer connecting chefs and home cooks with some of the world’s best heritage produce through direct grower relationships. He’s also a professor of sustainability management at Columbia University and the author of the book In Search of the Perfect Peach, detailing Natoora’s quest to find flavor-first food and impact food systems in the process. 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 FRANCO FUBINI This Chef-Favorite App Is Now Delivering Fresh Produce to New York City Doorsteps [Vogue] A Passionate Rallying Call for a Change of Mindset [Daily Mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices