

Andrew Talks to Chefs
Andrew Friedman
Our top chefs, as you’ve never heard them before. Author Andrew Friedman, one of the nation's chief chroniclers of professional kitchen life, interviews a diverse cross-section of the best and biggest names in the business, bringing his personal relationships and industry knowledge to bear in coaxing personal and professional revelations from his guests.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 11, 2017 • 1h 1min
Episode 14: Curtis Stone
**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**Los Angeles’s chef Curtis Stone joins us for a special bonus episode to discuss the coming format change at his Beverly Hills hit Maude, which will switch to a wine-region-inspired tasting menu in late January. (The first region he’s exploring: Rioja!) Curtis discusses the reason for the change, and the recent research trip he and his team took to Spain and how the inspiration they found there will find its way back to the restaurant. In this season of giving, we also look at his restaurant group’s unique philanthropic philosophy, especially their recent partnership with Chrysalis, which matches people who need a second chance (e.g., those who’ve spent time in prison or are homeless) through jobs.
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!

Dec 6, 2017 • 1h 50min
Episode 13: Michael White/Philip Tessier
**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**Our first twofer! Chef Michael White, the force behind Marea, Ai Fiori, Osteria Morini, and other modern classics, tells us how he morphed from an offensive tackle from Beloit, Wisconsin, into one of the best practitioners of Italian cuisine in the world. And Philip Tessier, a young veteran of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group who won a long-coveted silver medal for the United States at the international Bocuse d'Or competition, takes us inside his triumph and talks about his beautiful new book Chasing Bocuse, which tells the story of the competition and the USA's decades-long road to the podium. Andrew coauthored Michael's cookbook Classico e Moderno and wrote his own book about the Bocuse d'Or, Knives at Dawn, so brings his own point of view to both of these interviews.
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!

Nov 29, 2017 • 1h 35min
Episode 12: Elise Kornack
**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**Just six months ago, Elise Kornack was the chef and co-owner of one of the most unique tasting menu restaurants in the world, Brooklyn's 12-seat, Michelin-starred jewel box Take Root. Today, she's enjoying a breather in her new home in the woods of Saugerties, New York, two hours north of the big city, where she's been reflecting on her life and career and plotting her next professional chapter. Andrew recently threw his mics and recording equipment into his trunk and drove up to spend a Sunday with Elise and check in on her state of mind and future goals. She shared some previously guarded details about her reasons for shuttering Take Root and took us through the evolution she made as a young woman from artist to line cook to chef.
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!

Nov 22, 2017 • 1h 5min
Episode 11: Marcus Samuelsson
**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**As his newest restaurant, Marcus B&P in Newark, New Jersey, came to life around him, Marcus Samuelsson took an hour to sit with Andrew (who was his publicist back in the 1990s) and reflect on his career: How he picks his next projects, divides his time, and what’s changed in the pro kitchen in the quarter century since he came to the United States. He also tells us all about the process of opening a new restaurant in a new city for the first time. A personal session with one of the most visible chefs in the United States today.
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!

Nov 15, 2017 • 1h 16min
Episode 10: Massimo Bottura
**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**Our first season just keeps getting better and better as one of the most acclaimed chefs on the planet, Massimo Bottura of Modena's Osteria Francescana, drops in to talk about his new book Bread is Gold. The book tells the story of his ambitious project at the 2015 Milan Expo where he brought 65 chefs from around the world together to show highly creative ways to use past-their-prime ingredients and minimize food waste. We also talk about how the project is distinctly Italian, why he considers New York City a second home, and some key turning points in his life. This famously high-energy, passionate chef brings it in this memorable conversation.
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!

Nov 14, 2017 • 1h 29min
Episode 9: Victoria Blamey
**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**Victoria Blamey is a good sport. The chef of Chumley’s, the reinvigorated former speakeasy in New York City’s West Village, agreed to meet Andrew for a shift drink and interview after dinner service at the restaurant. The two got to it around midnight and talked up a storm over cocktails, while Victoria’s crew gradually wrapped up their evening all around them. The two discussed the restaurant’s already-famous burger and why Victoria won’t customize it (a philosophical disagreement she and Andrew had been arguing for months off-radio); what it was like to be a young, female chef from Chile coming up in Michelin-starred kitchens in the UK and Australia; and her stints working for chefs like Paul Liebrandt (Corton), Matt Lightner (Atera), and Justin Smillie (Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria and Upland). Victoria also shares the origins and inspirations for her distinct visual style and her thoughts about cooking as an expression of self. A personal conversation befitting the hour and setting. Pull up a chair and join them, won’t you?
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!

Nov 8, 2017 • 1h 11min
Episode 8: David Kinch
**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**While in New York City to attend the annual Michelin Guide celebration, chef David Kinch of Manresa, The Bywater, and Manresa Bread, popped in to chat with Andrew about Manresa's 15th anniversary and the special activities he arranged around that milestone (including installing his team in 3 different acclaimed kitchens in France for extended visits). He also shared his thoughts on the state of world cuisine in what he believes is a golden age, and how he looks at, and plans for, the next stage of his career, and life. One of our best and most celebrated chefs in a wonderfully unguarded mode.
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!

Nov 1, 2017 • 1h 16min
Episode 7: Greg Baxtrom
**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**Last year, chef Greg Baxtrom took one of the best resumes around (Alinea, Per Se, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Atera) and funneled his hard-earned technique and experience into Brooklyn's Olmsted restaurant, a neighborhood gem that quickly rose to prominence as a destination restaurant. On the heels of Olmsted's inclusion on Esquire's Best New Restaurants list, Greg takes us through his young life and career and shares his recent experience opening his first restaurant as chef-owner. A rare and unusually open conversation about this crucial transitional time in a chef's career.
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!

Oct 25, 2017 • 1h 37min
Episode 6: Stephen Harris
**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**Before he became a chef and turned The Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent, into a Michelin-starred destination restaurant, Stephen Harris was a punk rocker, history teacher, and financial advisor. Though he didn't discover the pro kitchen until he was nearly 30, this self-taught talent has taken his ideas of food as an expression of terroir and created what the National Restaurant Awards deemed the best restaurant in the UK in 2016 and 2017. While in New York City to promote his new cookbook (also titled The Sportsman), Stephen joined us to describe his unusual path and tell us all about the evolution of his style, his restaurant, and his book.
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!

Oct 18, 2017 • 1h 9min
Episode 5: Paul Kahan
**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**While in Gotham City to promote his new cookbook Cheers to the Publican (coauthored with chef Cosmo Goss and collaborator Rachel Holtzman) Chicago's Paul Kahan--named Outstanding Chef in 2013 by the James Beard Foundation--dropped by for a chat about growing up the son of a Chicago smoked fish purveyor, bolting the computer programming trade for the pro kitchen, his formative years working for Erwin Drechsler and Rick Bayless, and his culinary kinship with California. Oh, and he tells us why the "wrestler's mentality" he developed in high school has served him well to this day. He also takes us through his early chef-owner days opening Blackbird, avec, and The Publican, and up to the 10-entity empire he and his partners run today. And, of course, we chat about why he wrote this cookbook, at this time.
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!


