This Is TASTE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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