The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters
American Public Media
If you love to eat, cook and travel, The Splendid Table is your weekly go-to source. Our public radio program has been connecting people through the common language of food for over three decades. Hosted by award-winning food journalist Francis Lam, each week we bring you fresh voices and surprising conversations at the intersection of cooking, people and culture. We cover all things food – from recipes and restaurants to history and science, farmer’s markets and of course, the Thanksgiving feast. Our wide-ranging, freewheeling guest list includes both world-class and rookie chefs, bestselling authors, scientists, poets, musicians, and even an astronaut in orbit!
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Weeknight Kitchen, to receive practical, delicious weeknight-ready recipes. Once a month, we also share a sweet treat or baking recipe. Sign up at Splendidtable.org/newsletter
Produced by American Public Media. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Weeknight Kitchen, to receive practical, delicious weeknight-ready recipes. Once a month, we also share a sweet treat or baking recipe. Sign up at Splendidtable.org/newsletter
Produced by American Public Media. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 23, 2020 • 12min
Podcast Extra: Freewheeling Salads
In this podcast extra it’s inspired salad thinking with vegetable genius Eileen Rosen, author of Saladish.
Mar 21, 2020 • 8min
Podcast Extra: If You've Got Time... Caramelize Some Onions
Truly caramelized onions take patience, and are a great thing to get lost in right now. Especially since they can make mealtime faster later.
Mar 18, 2020 • 1min
A Message from The Splendid Table
During this difficult and confusing time, we want you to know that all of us are right there with you. We're social distancing, juggling kids and jobs, doing a lot of hand-washing, and worrying about friends and family all across the world. Just like you, we’re also doing a lot more cooking. With that in mind, we are hard at work getting you interviews, recipes, and ideas that you will find useful. You’ll hear our regular show as usual, but we’re also digging around our archives and will be posting content regularly. Stay tuned and come back often to our podcast feed and website. Please, stay in touch and let us know what you need from us because we really want to help. Share your questions and ideas with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also call 800-537-5252 and leave a short voice message or email us a voice recording from your phone. Be well, everyone.
Feb 7, 2020 • 51min
Do We All Eat the Same?
We are examining the truth around the idea that everyone essentially eats the same. Chris Ying, co-founder of Lucky Peach and editor of the aptly named You and I Eat the Same, talks about the real truth behind that statement. San Francisco Chronicle food critic Soleil Ho take us to a mountain village in Japan for an annual wasp eating festival (they are delicious, by the way). Food historian Bee Wilson, author of The Way We Eat Now, answers the question, what has happened to lunch? And America’s Test Kitchen takes us to a legendary burger joint that forces everyone to eat the same.Broadcast dates for this episode:February 8, 2019 (originally aired)February 7, 2020 (rebroadcast)
Jan 31, 2020 • 50min
Daily Bread
This episode is all bread. Erika Council, of Bomb Biscuits in Atlanta, tells us her secrets to making world-class biscuits and we look at the rich tradition of bread baking in cold climates with Magnus Nilsson, author of The Nordic Baking Book. If you have ever wondered why New York bagels are great or not so, we get the answer from Dianna Daoheung of Black Seed Bagels and Francis learns to make Ethiopian injera with Romeo Regalli of Awash in NYC. And, don’t miss America’s Test Kitchen’s Tucker Shaw’s recipe for ridiculously simple and delicious white sandwich bread.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 25, 2019 (originally aired)January 31, 2020 (rebroadcast)
Jan 17, 2020 • 50min
The Food of Thailand
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraWhy is Thai food so popular in the United States? We turn to Professor Mark Padoongpatt, author of Flavors of Empire: Food and the Making of Thai America for some surprising insights. We revel in regional Thai flavors with Austin Bush, author of The Food of Northern Thailand, and Leela Punyaratabandhu, author of Bangkok. Chef Hong Thaimee, author of True Thai: Real Flavors for Every Table, gives us an essential lesson in a vital Thai recipe, homemade curry paste. Plus, America’s Test Kitchen puts coconut milk to a taste test and tells us about their favorites.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 11, 2019 (originally aired)January 17, 2020 (rebroadcast)
Jan 10, 2020 • 50min
How Far Will You Go?
In this episode, it’s all about how far some of us will go for the food we love. Celebrity photographer Melanie Dunea tells us the story of an epic trip to Afghanistan to document a saffron harvest in Taliban territory. Chef Dan Felder talks about the creative efforts he goes through to dream up new versions of classic dishes. Food writer Hugh Merwin and his partner, New York Times California dining critic Tejal Rao, bring us the cross-country adventure of man, woman -- and curry tree. Plus, Joe Gitter from America’s Test Kitchen explains the madness behind making perfectly clear ice.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 10, 2020
Dec 27, 2019 • 49min
How Chefs Holiday at Home
This week we're getting ready for the holidays. Pastry superstar Christina Tosi brings us her singular and exuberant take on DIY holiday baked gifts. Chef Victor Albisu of Taco Bamba in Washington, DC teaches Francis how to make a delicious Peruvian pepper potato soup called ajiaco. Matty Matheson, host of Viceland’s It’s Suppertime and Dead Set on Life, fills us in on the Canadian way with the holidays including his must-have Rappie Pie. Journalist Liana Aghajanian tracks the unusual and cunning cross-cultural spread of a particular golden chocolate, and America’s Test Kitchen brings us their favorite gifts for the cook on your nice list.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 14, 2018 (originally aired)December 27, 2019 (rebroadcast)
Dec 13, 2019 • 49min
Holiday Warm-Up
This week, Francis learns how to make stuffed potato pancakes called draniki from Chef David Nayfeld of San Francisco’s Che Fico, and talks with Nayfeld about the Jewish roots of Roman food. Russ Parsons talks to author-of-the-moment Nik Sharma about the similarities between his upbringing in India and his husband’s upbringing in the American South, and it’s not just okra. Melissa Clark talks to champagne expert Peter Liem about why we should be drinking a lot more bubbly. America’s Test Kitchen reviews the gift you may want to rethink asking for – the air fryer. Plus, Francis talks with listeners about cooking with lard and scaling up recipes.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 30, 2018 (originally aired)December 13, 2019 (rebroadcast)
Nov 29, 2019 • 50min
Nigella Lawson Defends the Honor of Home Cooking
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraThis episode features an in-depth conversation with one of the food world’s most beloved and compelling personalities, Nigella Lawson. Nigella has hosted cooking shows and written 11 books including her breakout best-seller How to Eat. While our host Francis Lam has been reading her work for his entire career, he just recently had the chance to talk with her in-person when she came to the U.S. to tour for her new book, At My Table. During their conversation, Lawson explained why she has to defend the honor of home cooking, how snobbery ruins everything, and why her cookbooks feel like conversations. Broadcast dates for this episode:May 18, 2018 (originally aired)May 10, 2019 (rebroadcast)November 29, 2019 (rebroadcast)
