The TASTE Podcast

Anna Ansari is a former New York international trade and customs attorney and now lives in East London. She's written a fascinating debut cookbook, Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing. It covers Anna's life growing up in an Iranian American family in Michigan and traveling throughout Asia from a young age on what she describes as the many silk roads. And, at the top of the show, it's the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Matt visits the great Guamanian restaurant Family Friend in Seattle, and makes stops for Korean coffee at Park at Kims and there's a new pita shop in town at Shifka in New York. Aliza celebrates her birthday at World Spa, Si n'shpi, and dinner at Strange Delight. And we shout out Zola Gregory's latest column and a recipe for a Nutella pie worth celebrating. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Colicchio is a longtime chef who has operated some of America's iconic restaurants, including Craft, Gramercy Tavern, and dozens more. He's also the head judge on the show Top Chef. We welcomed Tom back to the studio to talk about the current restaurant landscape as well as the release of Think Like a Chef, the 25th anniversary edition of his debut cookbook. The book is a classic and so worth reading today. Tom talks about his technique and the mistakes home cooks often make that are easily fixable. And before that, we have a great conversation with Johanna Hellrigl. She is the chef-owner of Ama in Washington, DC. Ama is a special restaurant with exceptional Northern Italian cooking and a mission to further sustainability practices in a living, breathing restaurant. Johanna completes the Resy Questionnaire as part of a memorable conversation. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not of Resy—and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gabrielle Hamilton is the chef/owner of Prune restaurant in New York's East Village and is the author of the New York Times best-selling memoir Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef and the cookbook Prune. Her moving new memoir Next of Kin is an unflinching portrait of her dynamic family and its dramatic dissolution through death, betrayal, and time. It is a chef's memoir with barely any food but plenty of propulsive writing. Today on the show, Gabrielle shares how she wrote this deeply personal book, how Prune is operating as a private restaurant today, and much more. Also on the show, we catch up with Nicola Olivieri, the CEO of Italian bakery Olivieri 1882. The topic is panettone, which is one of our favorite holiday traditions. Nicola runs the bakery with his brother Andrea and has an amazing story about growing their business and making our favorite panettone around. The Wirecutter agrees.    Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the return of Food Writers Talking About Food Writing. Every couple of weeks, Matt invites a journalist to talk about some favorite recent food writing as well as their thoughts on the industry as a whole. In today's episode, we talk with Maggie Hoffman. Maggie is a cookbook author, editor, and founder of the terrific Substack The Dinner Plan. We talk about her days working at Serious Eats and Epicurious, and we dig into some recent food writing that got us talking. Featured on the episode: What Does a 6-Foot-8 Pro Wrestler Eat? The Entire Menu [NYT] I Made Hundreds of Fried Chicken Batches as a Line Cook—Here''s the #1 Way to Keep It Crispy and Juicy [Serious Eats] Peak Private Label [New Fare Partners] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cha McCoy is an entrepreneur, educator, and sommelier from Harlem. She is the founder of the wine event series the Communion and, later, the brick-and-mortar bottle shop the Communion Wine & Spirits. Now she's sharing her wine knowledge in her first book: Wine Pairing for the People: The Communion of Wine, Food, and Culture from Africa and Beyond. It's an invaluable guide to pairing wine with food, anchored by Cha's own experience traveling in wine regions across the globe, and today on the show, we dig into the process of bringing the book to life. And, at the top of the show, it's the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Matt shares about his recent trip to Korea, including stops at Bium and Superpan in Seoul, a visit to Sokcho and Sokcho Kappo, and discovering a very special cafe, Cafe Gid. And Aliza shares about a visit to Kiko, her thoughts on Korea's Fritz Coffee, and the very cool Apartamento Cookbook #10: APHRODISIACS. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the show we have a great conversation with Pablo Rivero, CEO of Resy and Tock. Along with running Resy and Tock, Pablo is a passionate supporter of the restaurant industry and a prolific diner. We hear about the recent Resy Retrospective and what the Resy team is spotting across the United States. We also get into Pablo's personal history with restaurants as well as some of his favorite places to dine around the country.  The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not of Resy—and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anna Archibald and Kevin Serai are the couple behind Cabagges World, an online platform where they share recipes, travel guides, and more lifestyle inspiration.  Their respective backgrounds in graphic design and marketing helped turn a few viral home cooking videos into a career, and today on the show, we go deep on their backgrounds and perspective on creating cooking content online—plus what's inspiring them today. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dorie Greenspan's Dorie's Anytime Cakes marks her 15th cookbook, which is a remarkable achievement in the world of cookbooks. Dorie is a former New York Times columnist and prolific recipe developer, particularly in the world of cookies, cakes, pies, and all things sweet. It was so much fun having Dorie in the studio to talk about her history and to dive into why cake might just be the most special dessert of all. And, at the top of the show, it's the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: An early look at Carbone Riviera in Las Vegas, opening today, as well as a visit to Carbone at Aria. Also: Autumn vibes in New York, Samin Nosrat's buttermilk-brined roast chicken is the perfect recipe, Hamnet is worth reading before the movie drops, a great fundraiser for One Love Community Fridge is being held at Honey's on November 16. Get your tickets. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jordan Salcito is an award-winning sommelier turned entrepreneur based in Paris. After working as a somm at Eleven Madison Park and overseeing the beverage programs for the Momofuku group, she launched the canned spritz brand Ramona. Now, she's sharing all her considerable wine wisdom in a new book: Smart Mouth. It's so special to have Jordan in the studio to talk about her career and her distinct point of view on all things wine.  Also on the show we have a great conversation with Ari Kolender. Ari is a 20-year veteran of some of the top seafood restaurants in America, and opened his first restaurant, Found Oyster, in Los Angeles in 2019. Found Oyster is a Los Angeles sensation. Casual and precise, the cooking hones Ari's deep passion for serving some the finest seafood available, paired with interesting wines and service that is at the same time casual and finely pointed. He also operates Queen's Raw Bar & Grill and joins the show to talk about the Top Five restaurants that inspired his career.  The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not of Resy—and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chelsea Fagan is the CEO and cofounder of the Financial Diet, a must-read newsletter that helps people get better in touch with their finances. Chelsea is also a passionate dinner party host (and guest), and she has now written a savvy ode to having people over called Having People Over. In this great conversation, we talk about etiquette and cooking tips for hosting, and we dip a little into personal finances, too. Check out Chelsea's podcast, The Financial Confessions. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cassie Yeung is a wildly popular food content creator known for her straight talk and delicious, approachable recipes. Her debut cookbook, Bad B*tch in the Kitch, is a New York Times Bestseller and one of the season's buzziest titles. Formerly a professional dancer and a member of the NBA's Brooklyn Net's dance team the Brooklynettes, Cassie decided to share her love for Asian cuisine on social media and her cooking videos quickly went viral. She was a contestant on Season 2 of the reality cooking show Next Level Chef with Gordon Ramsay and joins Matt in the studio for a highly entertaining conversation. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hetty Lui McKinnon is one of our favorite recipe developers, and she writes a mean Substack to boot. She's the author of a fun new book, Linger, which smartly bridges her love for plant-based cooking, dinner parties, and salad artistry. In this episode, Hetty returns to our studio to discuss her viral tomato and dumpling salad, and why a party at her house might include a photo shoot.  Also on the show we have a great conversation with Toni Chapman. Toni is a passionate home cook and recipe developer and the creator of Toni's Recipes and TheMoodyFoody, where she shares bold, comforting dishes made for real life. Inspired by childhood favorites, takeout classics, and family traditions, her recipes are designed to impress, without the stress. She's the author of a great new book, Everything's Good, and we talk about what is exciting her in the kitchen and her life both on and offline. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick Tamburo and Nikita Malhotra are the chef and wine director of Smithereens, a New England-style seafood spot in the East Village. Their thoughtful, imaginative takes on regional culinary traditions and their own cravings result in a totally singular restaurant—and today on the show, we're unpacking how food and drinks combine at Smithereens. And at the top of the show, we have a great conversation with Will Thompson. He's co-owner of the modern steakhouse Sunny's in Miami. He gives us his top five meals that have inspired his long career working in bars and restaurants. This is part of a new recurring segment with Resy, where Resy editors, writers, and partner chefs discuss compelling stories and discuss the latest in food and dining culture. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not of Resy—and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kiki Couchman is the cofounder of Sourmilk, a well-positioned yogurt company with more hustle than the average start-up. We found Sourmilk on social media and was impressed even before we tried the creamy and probiotic-rich yogurt. It's good stuff, as is Kiki's story about how she quit her finance job to start a yogurt company with her best friend—a refrain often repeated in Sourmilk's savvy marketing. What's it like bootstrapping in the highly competitive perishable consumer packaged goods world? This conversation is absolutely illuminating.      Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael W. Twitty is an acclaimed culinary historian and the author of the two-time James Beard Award–winning book The Cooking Gene as well as Rice and Koshersoul. His encyclopedic new book, Recipes from the American South, is a deeply researched, home cook's guide to the vast genre of Southern cuisine, offering historical insight alongside a diverse array of recipes. It's a delight having him on the show to talk about bringing this book to life.   And, at the top of the show, it's the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: A visit to Ceres in New York. Is the pie worth the hype? Also, Long Island Bar is serving elite fried cheese curds, Michigan's Madcap Coffee is one of America's finest roasters, and sampling some great teas from Brooklyn's Raazi Tea. Plus, Spicewalla is now selling Umbrian olive oil, and Big Night has a new uptown location. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nite Yun was born in a refugee camp after her parents escaped from war-torn Cambodia. Her family eventually moved to California, where she grew up listening to her father's Khmer rock and roll music and learned to cook traditional Cambodian dishes from her mother. Inspired by trips to Cambodia to learn about her heritage, Nite dedicated herself to bringing the flavors of Cambodian food back to the Bay Area. She opened her first restaurant, Nyum Bai, in Oakland in 2018 and now runs Lunette, located in San Francisco's Ferry Building. In this episode, we talk about Nite's amazing journey and her terrific new cookbook, My Cambodia. It's one of our favorites of this busy season, and we hear some great stories from the road. Also on the show, we have a really fun conversation with best-selling romance author Sarah MacLean. We talk about Rhode Island foods and what makes a great food scene in romance writing. What a fun talk! Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sean Sherman is an award-winning chef, educator, author, and activist. A member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe, he is dedicated to reviving Indigenous food traditions through his Minneapolis restaurant Owamni, the nonprofit NATIFS, and cookbooks like the fantastic new book Turtle Island. Today on the show, we talk about the years of research that resulted in Turtle Island, decolonizing Indigenous food traditions, and much more. Also on the show Matt has a great conversation with Natalia Rudin, author of the new cookbook, Cooking Fast and Slow.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This one has been a long time coming! The one and only Alice Waters joins us in the studio for an amazing conversation. We naturally talk about her legacy at Chez Panisse, the pioneering restaurant in Berkeley, California, that opened in 1971 with California farmers front and center. There would be no farm-to-table movement without Alice. We also talk about her work bringing regenerative farming to school kitchens and her new book, A School Lunch Revolution.  Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ 

Eric Wareheim is an actor, director, winemaker, and writer based in Los Angeles. You may know him as one half of the comedy duo behind the cult-followed Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, but in recent years, he's been making a foray into food and wine, starting with the New York Times Best Seller cookbook Foodheim. His new book, Steak House, chronicles his freewheeling, exhaustive search for the ultimate steak house. It's a heady mix of recipes, interviews with legendary servers, and his own very funny essays—and today on the show, we go deep on his steak house fixation and reporting process.  And, at the top of the show, it's the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: The Great Community Bake Sale is New York's big weekend event, Katie Parla has a very cool new book out, Rome: A Culinary History, Cookbook, and Field Guide to the Flavors that Built a City, it's soup season and Andy Baraghani's Golden Potato and Greens Soup is a great option. Also, a recap from the fun Los Angeles Chef's Conference, a visit to the Tiny Dollhouse Store, and Matt is heading to Korea. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're taking a break from food conversations to highlight another love of ours: Great music. In ⁠Fela Kuti: Fear No Man⁠, Jad Abumrad—creator of Radiolab, More Perfect, and Dolly Parton's America—tells the story of one of the great political awakenings in music: how a classically trained "colonial boy" traveled to America, in search of Africa, only to return to Nigeria and transform his sound into a battering ram against the state—creating a new musical language of resistance called Afrobeat. Subscribe to ⁠Fela Kuti: Fear No Man For years, the world's biggest stars made pilgrimages to Nigeria to experience Fela's Shrine, the epicenter of his musical revolution. But when the mix of art and activism got too hot, the state pulled out its guns, and literally opened fire. Fela Kuti: Fear No Man is an uncategorizable mix of oral history, musicology, deep dive journalism, and cutting edge sound design that takes listeners deep inside Fela's life, music, and legacy. Drawing from over 200 interviews with Fela Kuti's family, friends, as well as scholars, activists, and luminaries like Burna Boy, Paul McCartney, Questlove, Santigold, and former President Barack Obama (just to name a few), Fela Kuti: Fear No Man journeys deep into the soul of Afrobeat to explore the transformative power of art and the role artists can play in this current moment of global unrest. An Audible Original presented by Audible and Higher Ground. Produced by Western Sound and Talkhouse. ©2025 Higher Ground, LLC (P)2025 Audible Originals, LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Bonné is Resy's managing editor, and the author of The New French Wine and other books, and a winner of awards from most major food organizations. We always love having Jon in the studio, and today we talk in detail about the Resy 100, a decisive and illuminating list of restaurants around the United States that define dining today. The list has a very strong point of view and highlights restaurants in both big cities and smaller communities that serve exceptional food that might be alternately comforting and daring, traditional and completely new. It's a fantastic list, and we cover many of the entries while also zooming out to discuss interesting examples of Mexican cuisine, the New Nordic moment, and, naturally, the modern wine bar scene. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not of Resy—and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the return of a special video podcast series: Food Writers Talking About Food Writing. Every couple of weeks, Matt invites a journalist to talk about some favorite recent food writing as well as their thoughts on the industry as a whole. In today's episode, we have a great conversation with Nikita Richardson. Nikita is an editor in the Food section of The New York Times and the creator of the “Where to Eat: New York City” newsletter, The Times's first newsletter dedicated to restaurant coverage. We talk about Nikita's newsletter and feature writing, life as an editor at The Times, and college football naturally comes up too. It was such a fun time having one of food media's leading voices on the show.  Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Featured on the episode: Bring Back the Coffee Shop Tip Jar Even if it's Digital [NY Mag] This TikTok Food Trend Is More Than 10,000 Years Old [NYT] Fellas, Is It Cheugy to Make a Mug Cake? [Best Food Blog] Tony Shalhoub Will Travel for Bread [NYT] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jesse Burgess is behind Topjaw, the wildly popular, restaurant-centric social media account covering the food scene in London and beyond. Jesse is also the host of a cool new series on Apple TV+ called Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars, which is streaming now. The show follows several restaurants, including Coqodaq, Nōksu, and the Musket Room (in New York) and Feld and Esmé (in Chicago), as they sweat it out during Michelin Guide season. Jesse reveals how he views these star-worthy restaurants and what it's like being at the center of food influencing.    Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rosie Grant is the creator of Ghostly Archive, a project documenting the real-life phenomenon of recipes inscribed on tombstones in cemeteries around the world. After years of seeking out these immortalized dishes, she's released a truly singular cookbook, To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes. Today on the show, we chat about the project, creating the book, and some of Rosie's favorite gravestone recipes. Also on the show, Matt catches up with Vanessa Anderson, known widely online as Grocery Goblin. Vanessa writes a terrific Substack and posts video clips on social media, all in celebration of international grocery stores. Vanessa is based in Los Angeles, home to a great grocery store scene, and we talk about her work and some of her favorite places to shop. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This one is a long time coming, and we're thrilled to welcome Joshua McFadden to the studio. Joshua is a chef based in Oregon and the author of one of the most beloved cookbooks of all time, Six Seasons. He's back with a new one that is equally incredible. Six Seasons of Pasta takes the same six-seasons principle (discussed in the episode) to pasta cookery, and it might just break your brain. We talk about some simple tricks for cooking pasta at home before digging into Joshua's career, his consulting work, and the kale salad, something that he's (unbelievably) credited with inventing. No, for real, you gotta stick around for the kale salad update.  Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Nunn is the London-based founder and coeditor of Vittles, a food and culture newsletter based in the UK and India. Vittles is a singular source for incisive writing about contemporary food culture, from deep dives to restaurant reviews, and it's a pleasure to have Jonathan in the studio to talk about what's shaping its ever-growing coverage.  And, at the top of the show, it's the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: A great visit to Elbow Bakery, Eng's Restaruant in Kingston, NY is all mid-century vibes and a Chinese-American gem, Russian Samovar makes for a real NYC evening, we made the Hetty tomato salad, Heydoh is a great new soy sauce, remembering journalist Marian Burros.    Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Antoni Porowski is best known as the food and wine expert on the Netflix series Queer Eye, which will be airing its final season later this year. He's a best-selling author and the host of a terrific food travel show, No Taste Like Home. Matt joined him onstage at the Traverse City Food & Wine festival for an amazing conversation. The event was hosted by the National Writers Series, a terrific organization bringing authors to stages around Traverse City, Michigan. Also on the show we have a really great conversation with Lindsey Baruch, author of the new book Something Delicious. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the return of a special video podcast series: Food Writers Talking About Food Writing. It's available on the TASTE YouTube channel, so make sure to subscribe and check out the video version of this podcast. Every couple of weeks, Matt invites a journalist to talk about some favorite recent food writing as well as their thoughts on the industry as a whole. In today's episode, we have a great conversation with Elyse Inamine. Elyse is a journalist who worked at Tasting Table and Food & Wine before serving as restaurants editor at Bon Appétit. She's also the coauthor of For the Love of Kewpie: A Cookbook and Celebration, which, as the name suggests, is a celebration of one of the world's finest condiments. We talk about Elyse's journalism career and book work before digging into some of her recent stories.

Today we have a really great episode where we go behind the scenes with two incredible chefs, Sara Kramer and Sarah Thompson. Sara Kramer is co-chef and co-owner of Kismet in Los Angeles, a restaurant that blends Mediterranean and Californian sensibilities flawlessly. Kismet has been a go-to for LA diners for nearly a decade, and we talk about the restaurant's Resy Standby status.  Sarah Thompson is the chef at Casa Playa in Las Vegas, a gem of a coastal Mexican restaurant that really impressed me on a recent visit. We talk about Sarah's work at Cosme in New York that eventually led her to Las Vegas. What's it like cooking in such a high-octane environment? We find out. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not of Resy—and do not constitute professional advice.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Lebovitz is a cookbook author and pastry chef based in Paris. After spending 13 years in the pastry kitchen at the legendary Chez Panisse, he embarked on a prolific blogging and cookbook writing career. His latest is an all-new edition of the classic Ready for Dessert, a revised and expanded collection. It's so fun to talk with David about life and pastries in Paris and about updating this classic book. And before that Matt, along with the show's lead producer Clayton, laced up their shoes to run the inaugural New York City Bakery Half Marathon. They have a field report from all those miles, and all that laminated pastry dough while visiting 8 bakeries around NYC over the course of the run.   Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ruby Tandoh is a writer and baker based in London. A finalist on season four of The Great British Bake Off, she's written several smart and singular books, including the fantastic new book All Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat Now. It's an incredible exploration of taste as a social construct that traces the historic and cultural context behind contemporary food culture. Today on the show, we go deep on Ruby's research and reporting process, plus her take on where we're at in food culture today. Also on the show Aliza and Matt talk about some exciting fall cookbooks landing in bookstores soon. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fardad Khayami, the chef-owner of Muse in Santa Monica, has a really great story. Raised in London, and a restaurant fan basically from birth, Fardad attended University of Southern California and started hosting his own pop-up dinners, first for friends and then for ticket holders. The waiting list reached over 6,000 names, and he eventually channeled that love for hospitality into his own restaurant—all before the age of 25. Muse is creative, a little cheffy, and a name to remember. We talk about Fardad's journey and one crazy first year of operating. At the top of the show, Eric Valdez completes the Resy Questionnaire. Eric is the chef at Naks, a high-energy Filipino restaurant in New York's East Village. We talk about food movies, dream dinner parties, and the best pizza in NYC. It's part of a new segment where Resy's editors, writers, and partner chefs will share compelling stories and discuss the latest in food and dining culture. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not Resy - and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jake Cohen returns to the studio for a really fun conversation. Jake's a talented cookbook author who is most certainly in the modern social media mix. His new book, Dinner Party Animal, is honestly a joy to read. It offers complete party plans with recipes in the Jake Cohen style—smart, a little sweaty, and with fun and creativity at the center. We talk about what makes a great party and how to think creatively while in the heat of a dinner party kitchen. Also on the show, Aliza catches up with Griffin Owens and Basil Beshkov of YUZUCO, an exciting food brand importing Japanese citrus that has often ended up in some of our favorite bakery pastries and cocktails.   Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today is a really special episode for Matt in that we dive into two of his great loves: food and fiction. In this episode, he catches up with two authors and journalists he has deep respect for: Ed Park and Jason Diamond. Ed is the author of the terrific new short story collection An Oral History of Atlantis and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. We talk about the 1990s and Ed's past life working at the Village Voice. Food is at the center of Ed's life (it's why we love Ed so much), and we talk about his Korean American household in Buffalo and the modern Korean restaurant scene.  On to Jason Diamond. The guy wrote a terrific debut novel, Kaplan's Plot. It's a story set in Chicago in both modern times and the 1920s, and yes, there are gangers—but also some amazing food scenes. We get into what drives Jason to write deeply researched scenes that celebrate Chicago's Jewish diaspora. Yes, liverwurst and the classic Chicago hot dog get some ink. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bettina Makalintal is a senior reporter at Eater and helps lead the publication's cookbook coverage. Today Eater released a list of its favorites from the busy season, and we talk all about it, as well as some trends Bettina is seeing in book publishing. I always look forward to Eater's robust and well-considered lists of books each season, and this one is no different. Bettina fills us in, and I hope you enjoy our talk. And, at the top of the show, it's the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Some Hudson Valley fall recommendations, including the Hudson Valley Apple Project, Zinnia's Dinette, and fresh eyes on Tivoli including stops at GioBatta Alimentari and Fortunes Ice Cream, and Club Sandwich looks great. Also, Eyval might be our favorite NYC restaurant meal of the year, the Library 180 image archive is for true magazine lovers, and Ninhao in South Park Slope is worth a visit.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the show, we have a great conversation with Aaron Crowder. Aaron is the chef-partner at two of New York's buzziest restaurants, Cervos and Eel Bar. In fact, these restaurants are often mentioned on this show's TASTE check segments. I had a wonderful talk with Aaron about his Florida upbringing and what he is excited to cook this fall. At the top of the show, Gilberto Cetina, chef at the iconic restaurant Holbox in Los Angeles, completes the Resy Questionnaire. We talk about desert island kitchen appliances, food movies, and the best taco in LA. It's part of a new segment where Resy's editors, writers, and partner chefs will share compelling stories and discuss the latest in food and dining culture. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not Resy - and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Melissa King is a chef, entrepreneur, television personality, activist, model, tastemaker, and author of the incredible new cookbook Cook Like a King. She is the winner of Bravo's Top Chef: All-Stars L.A. and holds more challenge wins than any other competitor in the history of Top Chef. As mentioned previously on the show, I love Cook Like a King. It really speaks to me, and Melissa shares about what inspired the recipes as well as why she is 100% okay with not working in restaurants.  Also on the show, Aliza and Matt go over some of their favorite chef and restaurant cookbooks from this busy fall season. These include: Soju Party, Russ & Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing,The Pasta Book, Six Seasons of Pasta, House of Nanking: Family Recipes from San Francisco's Favorite Chinese Restaurant, Family Thai, Franco Pepe: Pizza Chef, Le Bistrot Paul Bert: French Comfort Food from the Parisian Restaurant.  Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the show, we have a great conversation with Joseph Hernandez. He's the associate director of drinks & lifestyle at Bon Appétit and Epicurious, and we talk about BA's best new restaurants of 2025 list that drops today. It's a terrific list that covers the United States with ambition and great taste, including stops in Pittsburgh, Honolulu, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Who made the list? We go over all of it. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt go over some of their favorite baking cookbooks from this busy fall season. These include: Pastry Temple, The Art of Gluten-Free Bread, Lebanese Baking, Baking and the Meaning of Life, The Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies, Dorie's Anytime Cakes, Dobre Dobre, 108 Asian Cookies. This is a really fun episode, and we hope you enjoy it. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Evan Funke is a Los Angeles chef and roller of pastas, starring on Netflix and in the dining rooms of Felix Trattoria, Mother Wolf, Funke, and other restaurants in his expanding empire. It was such a pleasure sitting down with Evan in Los Angeles to talk about his wild ride of a career, the good word on the restaurant Funke in Beverly Hills, and how he collaborates closely with his staff to make sure the pasta is always right.  We also get an update on his long-held pasta machine sentiment. Evan is honest here, and he reveals the many complexities of running multiple restaurants.  At the top of the show, it's the Resy Hit List, where we speak with a Resy editor to hear about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants. It's part of a new recurring segment where Resy's editors, writers and partner chefs will share compelling stories and discuss the latest in food and dining culture. On today's show, we catch up with Deanna Ting. Deanna is the New York editor at Resy, and we talk about new openings, special events, and what's exciting her on the scene. This includes an Italian restaurant renaissance and wine bars opening in unique spaces. Deanna also answers this simple question: Which steakhouse should I book in New York? A few of the restaurants mentioned on the episode: Borgo ICavallini  Lei Bridges  Odre  Atoboy Dynamo Room The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not Resy – and do not constitute professional business advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may know cookbook author and culinary personality Dan Pelosi as GrossyPelosi, a self-proclaimed “Italian meatball making meatballs.” Dan's approachable recipes and warm personality, and his debut book, Let's Eat, have won him lots of fans online and off, and his second cookbook, Let's Party, delivers more comfort—and lots of smart entertaining tips. It's so fun to have Dan on the show to talk about building a brand that still feels personal, actually stress-free entertaining, and more. And after the interview, Aliza and Matt share about their recent trips to Los Angeles, with visits to: Kuya Lord, Found Oyster, Holbox, Muse, Rustic Canyon, AWAN, Kettl. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Frommer is the founder and editor in chief of The New Consumer, an influential publication that covers the intersection of technology and consumer brands—and many of these brands live in the food world. We wanted to have Dan back on the show to talk about his new trends report. As Dan writes: “Between tariffs, geopolitics, DOGE, egg prices, measles, fires, floods, and more, the US consumer has had a chaotic start to the year.” What does it all mean for brands like Sweetgreen, Chipotle, and Starbucks? We dig into each, and we have a great conversation about that not-so-great topic on all of our minds: inflation. I loved catching up with Dan, and I hope you enjoy the conversation. Also on the show we have a great conversation with Stella Drivas, author of the new book, Hungry Happens: Mediterranean. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alexis deBoschnek is a cookbook author, recipe developer, and writer based in the Catskills in upstate New York. Her latest book, Nights and Weekends, is extremely cool, and we talk about how she brings her deep recipe writing chops to help people cook better and faster. We also discuss her upstate life and some of the memorable recipes from the book. Also on the show, Aliza talks with Miyoko Schinner, the trailblazing plant-based chef, cookbook author, and founder of the vegan cheese brand Miyoko's Creamery. Her seventh cookbook, The Vegan Creamery, shares everything you need to make milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and more without dairy. We also talk about big shifts in the plant-based eating world. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Nieporent is the guy behind legendary New York City restaurants Montrachet, Tribeca Grill, Nobu, and nearly 40 more, and he joins me in the studio today for an amazing conversation. He's written a memoir, I'm Not Trying to Be Difficult: Stories from the Restaurant Trenches, and it's one of Matt's favorite restaurant books in recent years. In our conversation, we cover a lot of ground: opening in Tribeca in the early '80s, collaborating with Robert De Niro on multiple restaurants, and why Keith McNally isn't the only New York City restaurant man with a good story to tell. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to build a buzzy food brand in 2025—a brand gushed about online, used by legit chefs around the country, and found on the shelves of Erewhon? It's a tough question, but Zab's Datil Pepper Hot Sauce cofounder Miles Soboroff is pretty qualified to answer it. In this great conversation, Miles shares how he discovered the datil pepper by near accident and how he think about growing his amazing company. Matt is a major fan of Zab's as well as of Miles, and we hope you enjoy the conversation. Also on the show Matt has a great conversation with Tyler Sharp, editor in chief of Modern Huntsman. The award-winning publication has released a really terrific cookbook and they talk all about it, as well as what it means to hunt and fish today. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ 

Sally McKenney is the creator of the wildly popular website Sally's Baking Addiction. She is known for providing clear, concise instructions, tips, and tutorials to make every recipe approachable for home bakers of all skill levels. In this episode, we talk about her great new cookbook, Sally's Baking 101, and what she is excited to bake this fall. And, at the top of the show, it's the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: We visited some New York City restaurants! Checking in on I Cavallini, Eel Bar, Cervo's, Bridges, and Bong. Also: Jason Diamond's debut novel, Kaplan's Plot, gives Boardwalk Empire chased with a glass of prune juice, checking out Greensickle green juice popsicles, and a great visit to Traverse City, Michigan including visits to Common Good Bakery and Mode's Bum Steer. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  

Khushbu Shah is one of our favorite writers online, and she's the voice behind the great Substack Tap Is Fine. She's the former restaurant editor at Food & Wine, and we go over so many topics bubbling over in the world of food, media, recipes, restaurants, and her hometown of Los Angeles, where we recorded this interview. We could speak with Khushbu for hours, and we actually do that when we hang out offline. But here's our on-the-record conversation, and you shouldn't miss it. Also on the show we have a great conversation with Julie Wolfson. Julie is an editor and writer covering the exciting California coffee scene. We talk about roasters, cafes, cold coffee, and her new Golden State of Coffee work on Substack. Read: 26 Of My Strongest Opinions About Food Read: Are You a Restaurant Regular? Listen: Los Angeles Coffee Professionals Spill All Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ 

Cake Zine is an independent literary food magazine cofounded by pastry chef Tanya Bush and TASTE contributing editor Aliza Abarbanel. The newest issue, Forbidden Fruit, explores how fruit fuels temptation, transgression, and fantasy. Today on the show, Aliza invites Tanya into the studio to talk about the editorial process behind this seventh issue and fruit's many cultural meanings. Pre-order the new issue of Cake Zine: Forbidden Fruit Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠ 

It was so fun having Jeff Gordinier in the studio. Jeff is a journalist, an author, and one of the more prolific writers in the food world. He's currently Esquire's food and drinks editor, leading their restaurants and bars coverage. Before that he was a reporter at the New York Times and held various roles at Entertainment Weekly. In this episode we have a great conversation about his work, the current dining scene, and his award-winning article in Food & Wine about rice in Charleston that he cowrote with George McCalman. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube 

It was truly a blast to have Danny Meyer in the studio. Danny is a great spokesperson for the restaurant industry and a hell of a storyteller. In today's episode, we focus on his most near and dear restaurant, New York's Union Square Cafe, which turns 40 this year. We talk about the early years, the legendary customers, and what it was like to pack everything up and move a couple of blocks over in 2016. What a great conversation.  Also on the show, I have a great talk with Lena Ciardullo, the current executive chef of Union Square Cafe. We talk about what it's like to shepherd this iconic restaurant, and we get into her own personal style and tastes. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube 

Yasmin Khan is an author, broadcaster, and human rights campaigner based in London. After releasing The Saffron Tales, Zaitoun, and Ripe Figs, she has a new cookbook: Sabzi, a collection of over 80 vegetarian recipes drawing from her travels and her Iranian and Pakistani heritage. It's so special to have Yasmin on the show to talk about adapting traditional recipes for a plant-based diet, motherhood and the power of culinary lineage. Shop: Canaan Palestine Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube 

Rosie Kellett is a chef, food writer, and supper club host based in London. She's the author of a terrific debut cookbook, In for Dinner, and we really enjoyed catching up with her about the current London restaurant scene, her deep interest in pain au chocolat, and what cooking in a shared space in East London taught her about her own cooking skills.Read: Rosie Kellett on SubstackWatch: London's Best Pain Au ChocolatSubscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.