This Is TASTE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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