Lunch Therapy

Melissa Clark is one of the most prolific food writers working today: she's the author of 43 cookbooks, as well as a weekly columnist for The New York Times AND a new podcast host ("Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark"). She also turns out to be the perfect Lunch Therapy guest because both of her parents are psychiatrists. During today's session, we talk about how she comes up with a recipe, how she empowers people to have "personal responsibility in cooking," how she deals with criticism online (including for the famous pea-guacamole, denounced by TWO presidents, that wasn't even her recipe). We also go deep on how she used cooking to get her parents' attention, how she cultivated her voice as a writer, what she gets out of reading Proust, and whether or not baking brownies made her popular in high school. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The man, the myth, the legend: David Lebovitz himself is this week's Lunch Therapy patient! The author of The Sweet Life in Paris, L'Appart, My Paris Kitchen, and The Perfect Scoop, David generously met with me when I was in New York and filled in the blanks about his life before he moved to France: his childhood in Connecticut, his years as a film student at Ithica (making doorknob slasher films), working at the Cabbagetown Cafe, traveling through Europe, and arriving in San Francisco just as it was becoming America's most exciting food city. Learn how he charmed Alice Waters during his interview, how he got lured into the world of pastry, and how he finds balance both in his cooking and in his life. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christine Vachon is one of the most celebrated producers in the world of film and if I told you some of the movies she's made, your head would spin: Carol, Still Alice, Far From Heaven, Happiness, Velvet Goldmine, Kids, Boys Don't Cry, I Shot Andy Warhol, Craig's favorite movie ("Safe" by Todd Haynes) and one of my favorite movies ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch" by John Cameron Mitchell). On today's podcast, find out what she eats for lunch, what she considers the cinematic equivalent of a chicken Caesar salad, what she cooks for her family, and how she deals with the food Nazis at her daughter's school. We also cover her favorite food films (not what you'd guess!), her favorite food city in the world (spoiler: it's San Sebastian), and why one of the worst nights of her life was dinner at Blue Hill Stone Barns. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2008, The New York Times named Jeremy Fox's restaurant Ubuntu (in the Napa Valley) the second best restaurant in the United States. On today's Lunch Therapy, you'll learn how the pressure of that led Fox to leave the restaurant, re-examine his life, and to start all over again in Los Angeles, where he now runs three restaurants: Rustic Canyon (where my husband and I got engaged!), Tallulah's, and the newly opened Birdie G's. We also cover how he comes up with his novel food ideas (see: white chocolate and peas), reading Yelp, why explaining food to people is like explaining a joke, which foods he hates, and why folding towels is a key skill if you're working in his kitchen. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Batten down the hatches: today's Lunch Therapy guest is none other than... my mother! Yes, Heidi Roberts is visiting from Boca Raton, Florida and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to put her in the Lunch Therapy chair. We talk everything from cruises to diners to Weight Watchers to selling pickles with her mother at the Roosevelt Field Flea Market. We also get into more emotional territory towards the end (though we did have some technical difficulties; don't worry, you can still hear everything). So crack open those Sweet n' Low packets and enjoy today's session with my mom. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If I told you that there's a person who's not only written for 30 Rock, but also for The Comeback and The Larry Sanders Show, you'd say: "Such a person couldn't exist! Those are three of the greatest comedies of all time." Well such a person DOES exist and his name is John Riggi. In today's session, John talks about his mother's Italian restaurant in Cincinnati, Ohio, the link between comedy writing and cooking, feeding the 30 Rock writer's room on the Chopped set, connecting with his Italian roots, and recreating his mother's tortellini by touch. We also cover negotiations with spouses over dinner, similarities between Italians and Jews when it comes to meals, and, finally, how Italians eat pasta all the time without getting fat. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marquita Robinson is a super successful TV writer working in L.A. (Blackish, GLOW, You're The Worst) and in today's session we journey back with her to her childhood on an Air Force base in Okinawa, Japan. We talk everything from You've Got Mail ("That caviar is a garnish!"), switching from Morton's to Diamond Crystal, her parents' love for Teriyaki sauce, the family's move to the Azores, Taco Rice, and what it's like to experience America America for the first time. Also: I make a joke so bad, Winston throws up. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill Addison is the James Beard award-winning food critic for the Los Angeles Times and, in today's session, we go deep into his past, Ratatouille-style, and learn about his formative restaurant experiences (he still remembers the name of the waiter!), his obsession with Lebanese food, his capacity for self-criticism, and his mother's potato rolls. We also talk about his writing technique, L.A. as the greatest food city in America, and why he gets so mad when a restaurant sends over a free dish. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carey O'Donnell is a comedy writer for TV (Billy On The Street, Heathers, Summer Camp Island) and a hilarious presence on Twitter (@ecareyo), where he brilliantly satirizes popular culture. Today's session starts lightly enough: we talk about his artist boyfriend, the Parmesan soup they eat together, growing up a swimmer, outside Philadelphia, with his mom cooking him breakfast at 4 AM. Then we get deep: talking about his struggles with addiction, his recovery, and how the whole journey may have been foreshadowed by an encounter with a blueberry pie. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The author of Dappled: Baking Recipes for Fruit Lovers, and the four-time blue-ribbon winner of KCRW's Good Food Pie Contest, comes to Lunch Therapy headquarters on the heels of announcing her departure from the bakery she founded, Fiona. We get into the emotions of that -- at the time of her lunch therapy session, the news hadn't gone public yet -- and then we explore the path she took to become a celebrated baker (not, as she points out, a pastry chef). We also cover baloney burritos, the walnut tree in my backyard (!), and fake vegetarianism.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices