Andrew Talks to Chefs

Akhtar Nawab grew up in one of a handful of Indian families in Louisville, Kentucky, before setting his sights on the pro kitchen and New York City. After thriving in kitchens such as Gramercy Tavern, he made a name for himself as a chef in his own right, eventually opening his Alta Calidad in Brooklyn, among other restaurants. Akhtar recently saw his first cookbook, Good For You: Bold Flavors with Benefits--published so we asked him on the pod to talk about his book, career, and life as a chef-restaurateur in 2020.Please consider supporting Andrew Talks to Chefs via our Patreon page–pledge $10 or more per month and gain access to bonus, patron-only episodes, blog posts, polls, and more. Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Friend of the pod David Nayfeld, one of our favorite recurring guests, has launched his own podcast, The Main Ingredient with David Nayfeld, cohosted and produced by Manny Jimenez (aka Manny J) . David checks in from San Francisco to talk about his new show, why he launched, it some of his first guests (including Dominique Crenn and Gwyneth Paltrow). And, of course, he and Andrew can't help a little shop talk along the way.If you enjoy this episode of the show, check out our earlier conversations with David:Episode 61: David Nayfeld & Angela PinkertonSpecial Report #36: David Nayfeld on the Changes that Need to be MadePlease consider supporting Andrew Talks to Chefs via our Patreon page–pledge $10 or more per month and gain access to bonus, patron-only episodes, blog posts, polls, and more. Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

We are delighted to share our first-ever guest-hosted and curated episodes of the pod. In a 2-episode special report, educator and former chef Scott Alves Barton moderates 4 conversations among Black professionals in food. Two of the panels comprise Black chefs, one features four writers and editors, and one features two chef-farmers. Our hope is that taken together, this report helps foster a greater understanding of, in Scott's words, "what it means to be Black and professional in food." For our Black listeners, we hope these conversations resonate with you and reflect and amplify your own experiences and perspectives. Part 1 aired on our prior episode.Scott's guests for this, part 2, of this series are (in alphabetical order) Kimberly Brock Brown, Dr. Cynthia Greenlee, Dr. Jessica B. Harris, Todd Richards, Jamila Robinson, and Ellen Sweets.If you enjoyed this episode, you might enjoy these other Andrew Talks to Chefs conversations:A Talk about "The Talk"Chef Russell JacksonChef Douglass WilliamsChef Edouardo JordanAshtin BerryChef Erick WilliamsChef Roze Traore Chef Milton Abel IIAlicia MatthewsChef Mashama Bailey (part of our Philly Chef Conference Special, 2019)Chef Alexander HarrisChef Tanya HollandChef JJ Johnson Please consider supporting Andrew Talks to Chefs via our Patreon page–pledge $10 or more per month and gain access to bonus, patron-only episodes, blog posts, polls, and more. Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

We are delighted to share our first-ever guest-hosted and curated episodes of the pod. In a 2-episode special report, educator and former chef Scott Alves Barton moderates 4 conversations among Black professionals in food. Two of the panels comprise Black chefs, one features four writers and editors, and one features two chef-farmers. Our hope is that taken together, this report helps foster a greater understanding of, in Scott's words, "what it means to be Black and professional in food." For our Black listeners, we hope these conversations resonate with you and reflect and amplify your own experiences and perspectives. Scott's guests today are (in alphabetical order) Aneesha Hargrave, Adrian Lipscombe, Joe Randall, Jonny Rhodes, Ashleigh Shanti, and Omar Tate.If you enjoyed this episode, you might enjoy these other Andrew Talks to Chefs conversations:A Talk about "The Talk"Chef Russell JacksonChef Douglass WilliamsChef Edouardo JordanAshtin BerryChef Erick WilliamsChef Roze Traore Chef Milton Abel IIAlicia MatthewsChef Mashama Bailey (part of our Philly Chef Conference Special, 2019)Chef Alexander HarrisChef Tanya HollandChef JJ Johnson Please consider supporting Andrew Talks to Chefs via our Patreon page–pledge $10 or more per month and gain access to bonus, patron-only episodes, blog posts, polls, and more. Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

The coastal town of Mystic, Connecticut, boasts an emerging culinary scene, and chef James Wayman is at its center, helming Oyster Club, as well as the hybrid butcher shop-restaurant Grass & Bone and Engine Room, a bar--all in partnership with proprietor and fellow cook Dan Meiser. Andrew and James recently sat down for our first in-person interview since the lockdown began in March, and it was a total joy.Please consider supporting Andrew Talks to Chefs via our Patreon page–pledge $10 or more per month and gain access to bonus, patron-only episodes, blog posts, polls, and more. Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Friend of the pod Kelly Fields, whose desserts at Willa Jean restaurant in New Orleans have captured the national imagination, just launched her first cookbook, The Good Book of Southern Baking. Kelly joins Andrew to talk about the book's mix of classic and idiosyncratic recipes; Kelly's philosophy that savory cooking and baking aren't as different as many believe them to be; and some favorite dishes in the book (in addition to her legendary chocolate chip cookie).For more about Kelly, listen to our original, biographical interview with her from 2019.Please consider supporting Andrew Talks to Chefs via our Patreon page–pledge $10 or more per month and gain access to bonus, patron-only episodes, blog posts, polls, and more. Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

In culinary circles, chef Mark Ladner is widely admired for his versatility in the realm of Italian food: He created the very distinct menus for restaurants ranging from Lupa to Otto to Del Posto to the fast-casual Pasta Flyer. Currently, he's culinary director of Moby's restaurant in East Hampton, NY.Andrew drove out to Moby's to catch up with Mark on the day he staged a one-night-only Italian barbecue--a special event created in partnership with our own promotional partner S.Pellegrino. As always, this analytic and introspective chef had many thoughtful things to share about cooking in general, and about the moment we all find ourselves in today.Please consider supporting Andrew Talks to Chefs via our Patreon page–pledge $10 or more per month and gain access to bonus, patron-only episodes, blog posts, polls, and more. Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Friend of the show (and of Andrew personally) chef Erick Williams of Chicago's Virtue restaurant recently asked us to host a conversation between him and his father, Ricardo Isom, about an unfortunate American tradition known as "The Talk," in which Black parents tell their children how to behave in interactions with the police. Sparked by the murder of George Floyd and the protests it inspired, and shared on the week Jacob Blake was shot in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, this conversation explores the experience of two Black men of two different generations.This is also a fine time to revisit our first conversation with Erick Williams.Please consider supporting Andrew Talks to Chefs via our Patreon page–pledge $10 or more per month and gain access to bonus, patron-only episodes, blog posts, polls, and more. Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information.(Photo: Ricardo Isom, left, and Erick Williams, right, photographed several years ago with chef Michael Kornick.) THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Esquire's Culture and Style Director Kevin Sintumuang discusses this year's America's Best Bars list, an eclectic class of new and classic bastions of beer, wine, cocktails, and myriad foods. Join us for this fun, energetic celebration of the distinct pleasures bars offer and a look at how the magazine creates the list, as well as some of this year's selections. Yes, we're in a pandemic, but many of these bars are offering takeaway or outdoor service, and they and other bars need your support. So let's all raise a glass to them an all the bars out there that provide escape and conviviality.Please consider supporting Andrew Talks to Chefs via our Patreon page–pledge $10 or more per month and gain access to bonus, patron-only episodes, blog posts, polls, and more. Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information.  THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Author Bill Buford recently debuted his new book Dirt, about his adventures in Lyon, France, training to be a professional cook and chef. That might sound like a stunt, but Buford--who also wrote the bestselling Heat, among many other literary accomplishments--actually went to cooking school and put in the hard yards in prep kitchens, and on the line. He and Andrew discuss key moments from the book and compare notes on pro kitchens, France, and some iconic figures.Please consider supporting Andrew Talks to Chefs via our Patreon page–pledge $10 or more per month and gain access to bonus, patron-only episodes, blog posts, polls, and more. Andrew Talks to Chefs is a fully independent podcast and no longer affiliated with our former host network; please visit and bookmark our official website for all show updates, blog posts, personal and virtual appearances, and related information. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!