If This Food Could Talk

From kitchen rituals to cultural memory, Dr. Sonda Laroussi is a badass Tunisian scientist turned olive grower turned world wide olive oil judge. Dr. Sonda shares how food nourishes not just the body, but the spirit — and why recipes are often acts of survival and love. Join us as we discuss her mission to turn the humble Tunisian olive - often a commodity to European brands, into a powerhouse elevated Tunisian cuisine Get to know her and her works at: www.aromgourmet.com https://www.instagram.com/laroussimezghani/ https://www.facebook.com/sonda.laroussimezghani Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a soulful chat with Dimitra,Mathiopoulou, founder of The Olive Routes in Kalamata, Greece. Dimitra's life is woven with the rhythm of the land. From pressing olives with her family to reviving old traditions, Dimitra reminds us that food isn’t just sustenance — it’s the keeper of memory, identity, and deep connection. Check out her website 👉https://theoliveroutes.com/and IG @theoliveroutes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🍷 New stories. ✈️ New flavors. 💚 Same soul.Season 2 of If This Food Could Talk is ready to pour. Tap the link & get ready taste the first episode on May 22nd! 🎧 #NewPodcastAlert #IfThisFoodCouldTalk #Season2Vibes #ClaudiaTravels #FoodCulturePodcast #mediterreneandiet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before Freda DeKnight began writing for Ebony Magazine in 1946, American publications that centered on Black cuisine were overwhelmingly written by white writers for white audiences, often using harmful caricatures and dangerous stereotypes. This week, we’ll discover how one Black American food writer changed the culinary narrative. Freda DeKnight’s food column and book - A Date With A Dish - helped revolutionize Black culinary coverage in post WWII America, breaking new ground for an entire generation of African American chefs and home cooks. Join veteran food writer Donna Battle Pierce as we follow Freda’s story from her home town of Topeka Kansas, all the way to the largest Black publishing company in the United States. And hear some of the stories and recipes she championed along the way.Hosted by Claudia HannaEpisode Guest:Food writer Donna Battle PierceSite: https://www.skilletdiaries.com/Blog: https://skilletdiaries.substack.com/Recipe:Ebony’s Barbequed Spare RibsTo learn more:Look through the 1948 first printing of Freda DeKnight’s book, A Date With A Dish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode we turn the mic on our listeners and hear what food matters to them  - and why. We hear hilarious and touching stories from Italy to Iceland, Cairo to Los Angeles. Get ready to be transported and hear about some of the most delicious (and well, not so delicious) stories that will have you laughing, crying, and connecting. Hosted by Claudia HannaEpisode Guests:Kamilia Hanna (Claudia’s mom)My Greek Table Host Diane Kochilas Yan Can Cook Host Chef Martin Yan Recipes:We have 4 recipes for you to explore this week: 1. Teta’s Whole Wheat Berry Cereal (Baleela)2. Diane Kochilas’s Greens Pie3. Mexican Wedding Cake4. Spanish-style Kabocha Squash Au Gratin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thank God for wine. No, really! Wine has always played a part in the culture of the church. It’s what Jesus drank at the last supper, priests bless it during Catholic mass, and if you drink enough of it you might start having visions of the divine. But in the early 20th century, this millenia-old church culture was under threat. The temperance movement ushered in an era of prohibition. Wine barrels were cracked open with axes. The streets and sewers ran red, white, and sparkling. And in Southern California, winery owners like Santo Cambianica were given little choice but to shut down. As an Italian immigrant and a Catholic, prohibition wasn’t just a response to the rise of alcoholism, it was an attack on his culture and religion. But a little known exemption in the prohibition laws was about to change that. Instead of shutting down, Santo’s winery boomed. In fact, he did better business during prohibition than before it. All thanks to the holy loophole.Hosted by Claudia HannaEpisode Guests:Santo Riboli (President, San Antonio Winery, Los Angeles, CA)Father Gregory Elder (Historian and Pastor, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Palm Desert, CA)Recipe: Wine Pairings from Season One Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chinese-American cuisine is deeply embedded in American communities, with more Chinese restaurants in the US than McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC combined. In this podcast, Jennifer 8 Lee, a New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and documentary producer, explores the origins of famous Chinese-American dishes such as Chop Suey, Fortune Cookies, and General Tso's Chicken. She uncovers surprising revelations about their authenticity and availability in China, and discusses the significance of Chinese food in American culture.

Bison meat has been showing up on many restaurant menus lately, but Native Americans have a relationship with the iconic animal that goes back thousands of years. Today we meet Jayme Murray, who runs a tribal-owned bison herd on the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in South Dakota, and Chef Ben Jacobs, co-founder of Tocabe in Denver. Their stories help explain why the bison is so central to Indigenous American history, and how a new generation of Native American ranchers and chefs are restoring indigenous foodways — and reinventing them for the future. Hosted by Claudia HannaEpisode Guests:Jayme Murray, CEO of the Cheyenne River Sioux Buffalo Company. Ben Jacobs, Co-Founder of Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery in Denver, CO. Tocabe’s online marketplace is here. Recipe:Bison Meatballs in an Agave Glaze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are putting together a show all about the special dishes in our lives. Be they elaborate all day affairs or quick and simple we know it's not just about nutrients and taste, it's about people and story. So, we want to hear from you! As we are nearing the holidays and the end of the year, we are thinking about the food in our own families and lives. We all have recipes that have been passed down… or even meals that … stay with us. What do these dishes say about who we are, and where we come from? That’s the question we want YOU to answer. We’d like you to share a recipe and story about a dish you love. And we want to hear specifics: How did this dish find its way into your life? Is it served on a special occasion or in a special way? Can you tell us about a time that you made it – or it was made for you? Who was it with, and why was it special for you? Please record a voice memo for us. Include your name, the dish or meal you’re thinking about, and the backstory. We’d also love for you to email us the recipe! Send your voice memo and recipe to ifthisfoodcouldtalk@gmail.comWe may use your voice and story in an upcoming episode and the recipe on our website. We can’t wait to hear from you!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a child in eastern France, Jacques Pépin learned never to waste a scrap of food. Raised during and after the rationing of WWII, he watched closely as his mother, Jeanette, built a successful career as a restaurateur by the skin of her teeth (and her chickens). Today, Jacques is a beloved celebrity chef. And yet he’s never forgotten what he knows about keeping food, and life delicious, without squandering ingredients or time. Jacques sits down with Host Claudia Hanna to explain how what he calls “miserly” cooking became his philosophy and his superpower. He shares how this approach has served him in the humblest, and the highest, of kitchens, and how you can apply it in yours, too. Plus – over Jacques’ long career, there have been some pretty radical changes in people’s attitudes about food waste. Food Historian Helen Veit joins us to explain why what we eat, and what we throw away, has changed so much in just a few generations. Hosted by Claudia HannaEpisode Guests:Jacques Pépin is a chef, author, television personality, educator, and artist, and has starred in twelve acclaimed American Public Television cooking series. His dedication to culinary education led to the creation of the Jacques Pépin Foundation in 2016. He is the winner of sixteen James Beard Awards and author of more than thirty books, the most recent of which is Jacques Pépin: Cooking My Way.Helen Veit specializes in the history of food in the U.S. Her first book, Modern Food, Moral Food: Self-Control, Science, and the Rise of Modern American Eating in the Early Twentieth Century was a 2014 James Beard Award finalist. Recipes:Claudia’s Homemade Caesar DressingLeftover Hacks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices