The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraWe’re looking at trash from all different angles. Chef Abra Berens, author of Ruffage, rifles through Francis's kitchen to show him the missed opportunities. Visit with Homa Dashtaki of The White Moustache, a yogurt company based in Brooklyn. Homa is determined to turn her yogurt-making waste, whey, into the next kombucha. We discover why the French can’t quite grasp the doggie bag. And, America’s Test Kitchen recommends their favorite reusable items including storage bags, kitchen wrap, and more.Broadcast dates for this episode:May 31, 2019

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraMaple syrup is not just for pancakes and French toast. More and more people turn to it when they want to sweeten something without using refined white sugar. Beth Dooley and Mette Nielsen cowrote the book, Sweet Nature:  A Cook’s Guide to Using Honey and Maple Syrup, in which they revel in maple syrup’s magical way of completely transforming a dish. Our contributor Shauna Sever talked with them about simple ways we can all get a little bit of that magic. Broadcast dates for this episode:May 21, 2019

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraMay is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this week we’re devoting the entire hour to personal stories about how food and the food industry can impact our mental health. Restaurateur David McMillan, of Joe Beef in Montreal, talks candidly about his challenge with sobriety in the restaurant world and how it changed the way his restaurants function. Playwright and screenwriter Stephanie Covington Armstrong, author of Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat, tells us her powerful story about eating disorders and the dissonance it has as a black woman. And, body image activist Virgie Tovar talks about the mental health implications of fatphobia, fat discrimination, and the diet culture; her latest book is You Have the Right to Remain Fat.If you are in need of mental health resources or help, see the links on our page splendidtable.org/mentalhealth.Broadcast dates for this episode:May 17, 2019

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraSo often, conversations regarding healthy eating go straight to health matters below the neck - things like weight management, heart health, managing cholesterol and diabetes.  But some doctors believe that we should be focused on feeding what’s above the neck – our brains.  Dr. Drew Ramsey calls himself a nutritional psychiatrist. He’s an avid researcher of the connection between food, brain function, and mental health at Columbia University – and, he’s a farmer. Contributor Shauna Sever spoke to Dr. Ramsey about his work and how we can work more brain-boosting foods into our diet.This story is part of a larger collaborative partnership with our colleagues at Call To Mind, an initiative from American Public Media to foster new conversations about mental health, for Mental Health Awareness Month. Listen to our full episode Food & Mental Health, in which we spend the entire hour exploring issues around food and mental health. The show features a conversation with Chef David McMillan about substance use disorder and recovery in the restaurant world.  Activist Virgie Tovar talks to us about fat discrimination, shame and body image. And, we hear from playwright and screenwriter Stephanie Covington Armstrong about her very personal experience with an eating disorder.Broadcast dates for this episode:May 7, 2019

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraThe food scene in Philadelphia is booming and we’re taking you there for an event recorded live at WHYY. Francis Lam talks to three of the people at the forefront of the culinary scene in Philly: award-winning chef and writer Michael Solomonov of Zahav, chef Eli Kulp from Fork and High Street on Market, and Malaysian chef Ange Branca of the James Beard Award-nominated Saté Kampar. And, because who can resist a controversy? America’s Test Kitchen takes a stand on what sandwich is really the sandwich of Philadelphia!Broadcast dates for this episode:May 4, 2018 (originally aired)April 26, 2019 (rebroadcast)

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraChetna Makan is a trained fashion designer, who was born in Jabalpur, India. As a contestant on The Great British Bake Off, she baked her way right into the semifinals and charmed the world with her enthusiastic approach to Indian baking and cooking. The latest of her three cookbooks is called Chetna’s Healthy Indian: Everyday Meals Effortlessly Good For You. In an interview with contributor Melissa Clark, Chetna explains that most Indian food is healthy by nature and there's an never-ending variety of what you can do with ingredients like lentils, vegetables, chilies and spices. She shared with us her recipes for Mango & Mint Salad, Black Lentils with Red Kidney Beans, Masala Black Chickpeas, and Spicy Chicken & Chickpeas Curry Bake.Broadcast dates for this episode:April 23, 2019

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraWe’re spending the hour with one of America’s rising chefs, Kwame Onwuachi of Washington DC’s Kith/Kin. His new memoir is Notes From a Young Black Chef. Francis Lam and Kwame talk about growing up and exploring food from all over the world, cutting his culinary teeth on an oil spill responder ship, and the layers of joy and frustration he experienced -- and what he learned -- from opening and closing the highly-anticipated The Shaw Bijou. Sally Swift also talks with Dan Souza from America’s Test Kitchen to learn about two ‘chef-y’ techniques for your kitchen: nitro cold-brew coffee, and cooking with koji. Broadcast dates for this episode:April 19, 2019

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraWe're traveling to eat this week, and looking at foods that have gone through international transformations. We hear from Dr. Lucy Long, director and founder of the Center for Food and Culture, about the difference between being a food tourist and a food pilgrim, and why it's important to consider cultural responsibility in either case. We learn about the amazing culinary scene in Dubai with Arva Ahmed of Frying Pan Adventures. Chefs Mourad Lahlou and Louis Maldonado talk about the intersection of Morrocan and Mexican cuisines. Writer and taco historian Gustavo Arellano comes to the defense of flour tortillas and provides us with an amazing history lesson. Plus, America’s Test Kitchen heads to Wisconsin to figure out what makes the spicy cheese bread at the Dane County Farmers' Market so addictive - and yes, there is a recipe! Plus, Francis takes listener questions about making extra-creamy feta cheese at home and how to "fix" an accidentally scorched Irish stew meat, or at least salvage the high quality sirloin steak.          Broadcast dates for this episode:April 20, 2018 (originally aired)April 12, 2019 (rebroadcast)

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraIt's estimated that in the United States we waste up to 40 percent of our entire food supply; that equals out to about 150,000 tons of food being wasted each day. And food waste isn’t just an American problem, it’s a global epidemic. Mads Refslund and Tama Matsuoka Wong are doing their best to combat the issue by using the toss-away parts of food into ingredients with a new purpose. Mads is a Danish chef and a pioneer of New Nordic cuisine, possibly best known as the cofounder of noma in Copenhagen. Tama is a forager, weed eater and home cook who graduated from Harvard law school. Together, they wrote Scraps, Wilt and Weeds: Turning Wasted Food into Plenty. Contributor Melissa Clark spoke with both of them about their approach to ‘trash cooking.’ She also got their recipe for Seared Romaine Lettuce Bottoms, Coffee Grounds PannaCotta and Coffee Grounds Biscotti.  Broadcast dates for this episode:April 9, 2019

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraThis week, human rights advocate and award-winning food writer Yasmin Khan takes us inside the kitchens of Palestine, where she spent months talking to cooks for her book Zaitoun. We dive deep into the diversity of Nigerian food and cooking techniques with Philadelphia chef Shola Olunyolo. We are introduced to frozen burrito royalty in California, the Ruiz family. And, the Proof podcast from America’s Test Kitchen wonders how and why “bowl food” has taken over the culinary world.Broadcast dates for this episode:April 5, 2019