This Is TASTE

Join food writer and cookbook author Casey Elsass, known for his role as the 'cookbook doula,' alongside Chef Michael Symon, a grilling and live cooking guru. They dive deep into the emotional journey of creating cookbooks and the collaborative spirit behind them. Expect tales of culinary connections, innovative outdoor cooking tips, and personal anecdotes, including a charming subway encounter with homemade cookies. Discover the joy of dinner parties and how to elevate your grilling game, all while savoring flavors and memories.

Meera Sodha is a cook and food writer based in London. Meera’s best-selling cookbooks and weekly Guardian column, The New Vegan, are some of my favorite sources of cooking inspiration, but like many people, she experienced burnout that led her to fall out of love with food. Today on the show, Meera talks about finding her way back into the kitchen and how that experience inspired her new book, Dinner, an honest and helpful guide to getting the most important meal of the day on the table. Also on the show we have a conversation with Susan Dominus. Susan is a staff writer at the New York Times Magazine the author of a terrific new book, The Family Dynamic. We talk about how parents—and siblings—shape and fuel individual success, and focus on family a story with a Chinese restaurant at the center. We also talk about some of Susan's food-related work at the Times.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

In this conversation, Meredith Hayden, author of The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook and Instagram sensation, shares her inspiring journey from ad sales to culinary arts. She recounts her brave leap into culinary school while working at Condé Nast. Expect tales of her transition to a private chef, the joys of navigating a pandemic culinary career, and insights on the impact of social media on her rise. Meredith also touches on her favorite culinary delights, including a whimsical Chicken Cutlet Club inspired by her travels, blending nostalgia with vibrant food storytelling.

Nina Compton is the chef and owner of three highly regarded restaurants in New Orleans: Compère Lapin, BABs, and Nina’s Creole Cottage. Born in Saint Lucia, she honed her chops at many notable restaurants before appearing as the fan favorite on season 11 of Top Chef. Nina’s new cookbook, Kwéyòl / Creole, written with Osayi Endolyn, is a true standout, tracing her culinary journey from growing up in Saint Lucia to Jamaica, Miami, and her adopted home of New Orleans. It’s so special to have Nina in the studio to talk about making this book and her culinary career.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: Pig & Khao, from Leah Cohen, is doing really interesting things on the Upper West Side, get to AbuQir in the Little Egypt section of Astoria, Menus By Brian is the coolest cookbook series. Also: A development in Aliza’s kitchen and it’s steaming, the great Yuzu Co. has a new line of drinks, NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wants to open city-owned grocery stores. And as a P.S.: I Leave It Up to You by Jinwoo Chong is one of the most-representative restaurant culture novels in recent times. 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 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 Rodbard invites a journalist to talk about some favorite recent food writing as well as their thoughts on the industry as a whole. On today’s episode we have an amazing conversation with David Farley. Farley’s a longtime food and travel writer with stories in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Afar, and many other publications. He’s the author of An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town and we talk about some recent food writing and David’s many travels. We also played “What would you pitch 1997 Graydon Carter?” That is, David considers his dream no-budget reporting assignment. Check us out out YouTube.Featured on this episode: This Is the Secret Michelin-Star Capital of the World [Afar] Is This the New Cocktail Capital of Europe? [NYT] The Dish Worth Traveling to Vietnam For (and It Isn’t Pho) [Afar] Welcome to Reno, the Mighty Mecca of All-You-Can-Eat Sushi [NYT] Lucien Smith Gets a Job [NY Mag] Everyone Who Invented the Everything Bagel [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this engaging conversation, acclaimed chef Enrique Olvera, renowned for his innovative Mexican cuisine, shares insights on the challenges of maintaining authenticity in a competitive culinary landscape. He discusses the evolution of tasting menus and the importance of guest experience over accolades. Alongside him, Ken Concepcion from Now Serving dives into the vibrant world of culinary literature, highlighting the significance of representation and upcoming spring cookbooks. Together, they explore the intersection of food and community, as well as personal culinary journeys.

Hawa Hassan is a chef, the founder of Basbaas Foods, and the author of the James Beard Award–winning cookbook In Bibi's Kitchen. She’s spent the past several years writing an ambitious new book, Setting a Place for Us: Recipes and Stories of Displacement, Resilience, and Community from Eight Countries Impacted by War, and we had her in the studio to talk about her research and reporting process. Also on the show we have a great conversation with Maryam Jillani talking all about her amazing debut cookbook, Pakistan: Recipes and Stories from Home Kitchens, Restaurants, and Roadside Stands.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: Hawa Hassan Shares the Spicy Somali Pasta [Vogue] Maryam Jillani: TASTE Cook In Residence [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scarr Pimentel, owner of Scarr's Pizza, shares his journey from busboy to pizza innovator, discussing his dedication to quality ingredients and the vibrant NYC pizzeria history. He highlights the cultural significance of New York-style pizza and its evolving trends. Craig Mod, a writer and photographer, reflects on his walks in rural Japan, the inspiration they provide, and the evolution of his memoir from newsletter to book. Their chat intertwines personal stories, community connections, and the challenges of expanding a beloved pizzeria in a bustling city.

Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar are partners in life and in two amazing New York City taquerias: Taqueria Ramirez in Greenpoint and Carnitas Ramirez in the East Village. Formerly professional photographers, the duo is dedicated to making some of the most delicious tacos in New York’s ever-expanding scene, and it’s so fun to have them on the show today to talk about how it all happens.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 Observer's Guide to Japanese Vending Machines, coffee drinks with fruit at Not As Bitter in the East Village, How to Cook the Finest Things in the Sea, Wenwen in Greenpoint is sprinkling the Taiwan dust. Also: A great new Substack, NONGLUTEN, tackles gluten-free cooking in a cool way, the Americano Bianco at Bar Americano is our spring drink.      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: Taqueria Ramírez Brings a Mexico City Specialty to Brooklyn [New York Times] Our Gluten Rumspringa [TASTE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our friend Jamie Oliver returns to the show, and we could not be happier to talk with him about so many things. He’s currently appearing on Netflix as part of the Chef’s Table: Legends series. In addition to the Netflix show, he will be launching his 10 Cooking Skills for Life platform in the United States, a free curriculum available for schools and organizations that is designed to teach young children all the skills they need to cook.  For those who didn’t grow up watching food TV, here’s the deal. Jamie pioneered a form of food television that brought cameras into the home in a way not previously seen. When The Naked Chef debuted on BBC Two in the UK and the Food Network in the United States in 1999, home cooking on TV was a stand-and-stir affair. Here, a young and floppy Oliver was cooking real food from a cool East London flat, talking viewers through the relative simplicity of making dinner.Oliver has gone on to write numerous cookbooks (selling 50 million in the UK alone) and create food television that expanded beyond cooking, producing documentaries about the sugar industry and school lunches that transitioned his work from dude food evangelist to heartier activism. We really enjoyed this talk with Jamie Oliver.Also on the show, we have a great conversation with Jake Cohen. Jake’s a talented cookbook author and most certainly in the modern social media mix. We talk about Jake’s really cool new cookbook club with Allstora, and the May selection: Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi.  See more: Jake Cohen's Cookbook Club [Allstora] New York’s Buzziest Bakery with Shilpa & Miro Uskokovic [Apple] Yotam Ottolenghi Stops By! [Apple] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices