Season 6: Recent Episodes
Special Sauce
On this reheated episode of Special Sauce, former Serious Eats editor and writer Sho Spaeth talks to us about his book, Homemade Ramen, a 2026 James Beard Foundation Book Award nominee. Sho is the Lead Editor and Writer at ChefSteps, and the most passionate and knowledgeable ramen geek I know. He truly believes in the...
Are Yemeni coffee shops the next big thing? On this reheated episode from 2025 serious eaters will meet Mokhtar Alkhanshali who has braved gunfire and jail and AK-47s as he tries to bring single origin Port of Mokha Yemeni coffee to the world. His story is the stuff of movies! Learn about your ad choices:...
This week on Special Sauce Dr. Dana Small, a professor at McGill University and one of the leading experts on the neuroscience of food decisions, and longtime friend of the podcast Pete Wells of The New York Times join us to explain how the pleasure and enjoyment of food can be the most important element...
How does a family business survive more than a century of selling smoked fish, bagels, and candy? Russ and Daughters‘ Niki Russ Federman explains all. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
If there is a smarter or better TV critic than The New York Times‘s James Poniewozik I have yet to come across him or her. So when I was dying to talk to someone about The Bear‘s moving final season I rang up James and he graciously agreed to come on Special Sauce to talk...
Here at Special Sauce we love pie in all its forms: we love shepherd’s pie, apple pie, key lime pie, lemon meringue pie, and our absolute favorite, peach pie. And given that we’re coming up on America’s 250th birthday and Americans love pie we thought we’d reheat one of our favorite pie episodes to get...
This week on Special Sauce serious eaters get to eavesdrop on part 2 of my hilarious and informative conversation with burger mavens Kenji and Hamburger America‘s George Motz. Nobody knows more about cooking and eating burgers than these two burger mavens. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
As one of the millions of long-suffering Knicks fans I am still basking in the afterglow of the team’s historical and magical run. I decided I had to devote another episode of Special Sauce to the the team’s amazing playoff run to the NBA championship. And who better to join me on mic is the...
With grilling season underway I felt the time was right to talk burgers with Kenji and Hamburger America‘s George Motz. We talk burger history, burger cooking methods, and all things burger. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
As one of the millions of long-suffering New York Knicks fans, I decided I had to devote an episode of Special Sauce to the the team’s amazing playoff run. Joining me on the pod is the The New York Times‘s Matt Flegenheimer, who wrote a great piece about NYC coming together to celebrate this magical...
Kenji Lopez-Alt and Smitten Kitchen's Deb Perelman discuss (what else) how they deal with Thanksgiving leftovers in this classic Special Sauce episode from 2023. Leave the meat on the bone or in the fridge or slice it off right away? Stuffing waffles, anyone? Is pie the only thing to have for breakfast after Thanksgiving? They don't always agree, but Kenji and Deb always have a great time when they get together.
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This year for Turkey Day we reheat a gem of a Thanksgiving call-in show featuring two of the biggest turkey lovers I know; Kenji Lopez-Alt and Stella Parks. Also known as "Brave Tart". They answered serious eater's questions about anything and everything about cooking a Thanksgiving meal. Like, "Is it dangerous to cook your stuffing inside the bird?" (Kenji says the answer is yes) Or "What kind of salt to use in your pie dough?" Stella even suggests how to toast sugar to make your desserts a little less sweet!
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Many beloved candy bars are now being made without cocoa butter and here to tell us why and how the likes of Rolo, Mr. Goodbar and Almond Joy have been reformulated to exclude the plant-based fat is The New York Times climate reporter, Claire Brown.
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Over the summer we checked in with LA Taco's Javier Cabral about the scary ICE raids in L.A. and their terrifying effect on the food community there. But the situation in Chicago is in many ways equally dire. ICE raids as part of Trump's Operation Midway Blitz have terrified Latino neighborhoods in Chicago. Street vendors are scared to set up shop and many restaurants find themselves with many empty tables that were previously filled. Here to keep us up to speed about what's happening in the Windy City is the Chicago Tribune's Zareen Syed and Marcos Carbajal, the second generation Mexican-American owner of Carnitas Uruapan.
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Are Yemeni coffee shops the next big thing? On this episode serious eaters will meet Mokhtar Alkhanshali, who has braved gunfire and jail and AK-47s as he tries to bring single origin Port of Mokha Yemeni coffee to the world. His story is the stuff of movies.
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On this episode of Special Sauce we talk to Kenji Lopez-Alt and his partner concert violinist Tessa Lark about their Reese's obsession. Just in time for Halloween.
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How and when and why did sushi become one of America's most popular convenience foods? The Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times food reporter Julia Moskin explains all on this episode of Special Sauce.
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On this episode of Special Sauce we talk to the terrific Southern food writer John T. Edge about his memoir House of Smoke: A Southerner Goes Searching for Home. His journey from a childhood in a small town in Georgia that in many ways still celebrated the Confederacy to running the Southern Foodways Alliance is a remarkable one.
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On this episode of Special Sauce we talk to Island Grown Initiative (IGI) co-executive director Caroline Pam about her organization's efforts to combat food insecurity on Martha's Vineyard during the Trump era. As much as 20% of the island's year-round population suffers from some form of food insecurity.
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On June 27th we posted a great conversation I had with L.A. Taco editor-in-chief Javier Cabral about what's going on in California with the cruel, inhumane and dangerous ICE raids that have had a devastating effect on L.A.'s vibrant and diverse taco culture. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the situation both in California and all over the country. So I thought that this week would be an appropriate and even necessary moment to reheat Javier's episode. Obviously much has happened in LA and elsewhere in the ensuing weeks and months, none of it good, in fact all of it truly awful. And L.A. Taco continues to do some incredible reporting on the situation in L.A. It's also aggregating reliable news stories about the nightmarish anti-immigration crackdown from elsewhere.
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On this episode of Special Sauce we talk to the restaurateur's restaurateur Drew Nieporent about his lifelong love affair with restaurants. Nieporent partnered with Nobu Matsuhisa and movie star Robert DeNiro to open Nobu in NY. And even before Nobu, Nieporent played a leading role in establishing NYC's Tribeca neighborhood restaurant scene when he opened Montrachet in 1985.
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Brazilian immigrants, who now comprise 20% of the year-round population, have added immeasurably to the quality of life on Martha's Vineyard. On this episode of Special Sauce we talk to Brazilian grocer, owner and compulsive entrepreneur, Elio Silva, about Brazilian foodways and life on the island.
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Labor Day weekend is here and for many serious eaters that means it's burger time. Most of my favorite burger recipes come from today's guest on Special Sauce is the James Beard Award-winning chef and food writer J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. You'll hear really helpful cooking tips for all kinds of burgers; smashed, turkey, black bean, and vegan. So listen up to get the most out of your cookout this weekend!
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As Labor Day approaches my thoughts invariably turn to burgers. In fact, I have embarked on a quest to find the best burger to be had on Martha's Vineyard. And when I think of burgers the first person I think of is burger scholar and Hamburger America owner George Motz. George was such a great guest on Special Sauce a couple of years ago that listeners have been clamoring for us to reheat one of his episodes, so that's what we're posting this week. I just texted George, who told me that the fourth completely revised and expanded edition of his terrific book Hamburger America will be published next year. That's great news for burger lovers!
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Farms on Martha's Vineyard have been disappearing for a hundred years now. The land is just too valuable. On today's Special Sauce we hear how one farmstead, Morning Glory Farm, has managed to feed people year-round on the Massachusetts island for 50 years now.
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Phil Rosenthal, the host and creator of Netflix's Somebody Feed Phil, works harder than just about any person I know in food media. What is he working on these days? A concert tour, a diner named after his parents (and co-stars) Max and Helen, a charitable initiative Somebody Feed the People, and so much more.
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What happens when food writers take Ozempic? New York Magazine's Adam Platt and I discuss our experiences with the weight loss drug on this episode of Special Sauce.
Ah potatoes! How do we love them? Let me count the ways. Perfectly crispy, salty french fries, golden brown herb coated roasted potatoes, creamy smooth mashed potatoes. The not so lowly spud has been an intense field of inquiry for our friend Kenji Lopez Alt for years now. For this week’s re-heated episode, he and I take a deep dive into some of the now famous posts he wrote for Serious Eats back in the day. In one, he delves into the mystery of McDonald’s French fries and in another he unlocks the secrets of oven roasted potatoes.
For this episode of Special Sauce Sasha Marx and Katie Leaird return for more pasta wisdom and pleasure.
For this episode of Special Sauce we’re re-heating our conversation with Kenji Lopez-Alt from last summer about veggie grilling tips. And we'll be back this fall with fresh episodes featuring Alice Waters, Kenji, and the latest trends in pizza.
On this episode of Special Sauce we're talking all things pasta with Chefsteps.com's editorial director Sasha Marx and Martha's Vineyard Pasta's Katie Leaird, who makes the best fresh bucatini I have ever tasted.
The Spice Whisperer Lior Lev Sercarz is back on Special Sauce this week to school serious eaters on how to spice up our food in our own kitchens.
You can find all our episodes at thespecialsaucepodcast.com.
This week on Special Sauce the NYT's Kim Severson gives us the lowdown on Kamala Harris' passion for cooking. Plus we discuss the history of presidential cooking in the White House.
This week we're re-sharing our episode with Justin Pichetrungsi, chef-owner of the award-winning Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks, California.
There was a technical glitch the first time we published it, so here's another chance to listen to it. Enjoy!
This week on Special Sauce we talk to the Spice Whisperer, chef and owner of the online spice store La Boite NY, Lior Lev Sercarz. Lior is on a mission to inform people about where spices come from, how they grow, what they look like in their natural environment, and ultimately, how to be inspired by them in the kitchen.
This week on Special Sauce you'll meet 13 time world pizza champion Tony Gemignani, who is determined to spread his good pizza gospel to every corner of the U.S.
This week on Special Sauce violin virtuoso Jame Ehnes dishes on his live cooking and musical collaboration with Kenji that's coming up in Seattle on July 19th.
This episode of Special Sauce is particularly special. You'll hear the remarkable life story of celebrated Mexican chef Lalo Garcia as told by Lalo himself and his biographer Laura Tillman.
Ever wonder what's happening with the United Farm Workers union? I did, so I interviewed the UFW Communications Director Antonio De Loera-Brust. It turns that there's a lot happening, actually.
On this episode we go deep into the life of a Greenmarket farmer, Kevin Kaplicki of Woodthrush Farm. Kevin's lettuce is the stuff that dreams are made of.
Grilling season is here and Kenji offers up some great grilling tips so that even the most casual backyard cook can up their game. Who knew that mayo can be your secret grilling weapon.
Totonno's, the iconic, century-old Coney Island Brooklyn pizzeria, has been put up for sale by the family who founded it. On this episode of Special Sauce we talk about Totonno's pizza, legacy, and future prospects with NYT restaurant critic Pete Wells and the eminent pizza scholar Scott Weiner, the owner of Scott's Pizza Tours.
The great pastry chef and chocolate maker Jacques Torres wrote one of my all time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. On this episode we chat about that recipe, the role of salt, and what chocolate to use. Plus we hear from some serious eaters on the crispy vs. gooey cookie debate.
On this episode of Special Sauce we take a deep dive into the beyond desperate hunger situation in Gaza with humanitarian Sulieman Mleahat who has been working in the Middle East for more than twenty years.
NYT's Pulitzer Prize-winning food culture reporter Kim Severson gives Special Sauce listeners fascinating insights into Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen operations in Gaza and elsewhere.
Channing Frye had so much to say about wine, hoops, and life we decided to devote a second episode to him and his company Chosen Family Wines.
How do you go from being an NBA champ to starting a wine company? Find out on this episode of Special Sauce when we interview Chosen Family Wines founder Channing Frye.
We're back with more wit and wisdom from Justin Pichetrungsi, the chef-owner of the award-winning Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks, California. We'll hear about the origins of Thai Taco Tuesday and so much more.
This week on Special Sauce we hang out with Justin Pichetrungsi, the James Beard Award-winning chef-owner of the justifiably heralded Anajak Thai in Los Angeles (Sherman Oaks to be exact). How and why he went from working in animation at Disney to taking over his family's restaurant makes for quite a story.
This week on Special Sauce I talk to my old friend Phil Rosenthal about the new season of Somebody Feed Phil, his national tour, and Just Try It, the children's book that he wrote with his daughter Lily
This week on Special Sauce we talk teriyaki with Kenji, who is on a quest to visit every chicken teriyaki joint in Seattle.
This week on Special Sauce we talk hot chocolate with Mr. Chocolate himself, Jacques Torres. Jacques makes my favorite hot chocolate mix.
This week on Special Sauce we get the backstory of Deb Perelman and J. Kenji Lopez Alt's brand new podcast The Recipe.
This week on Special Sauce we hear the remarkable story of Chantha Nguon, a Cambodian woman who suffers unbearable losses and unspeakable tragedies suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge by imagining the taste of her mother's cooking.
This week on Special Sauce Dorie Greenspan zooms in from Paris with lots of helpful cookie baking advice.
This week on Special Sauce, James Beard Award-winning chef and baker Nancy Silverton talks about her new book ‘The Cookie that Changed My Life’. Any serious eater who loves to bake should check it out.
This week on Special Sauce we get some brilliant, common sense home baking advice from home baking wizard Dorie Greenspan.
This week on Special we continue our deep dive into the world of dried spices with Ethan Frisch and Ori Zohar, founders of Burlap & Barrel. And we hear from some serious eaters about their experiences with buying, using and storing their dried spices.
On this episode of Special Sauce we go deep into dogs, hot dogs that is, with JJ Goode, who wrote a guide to regional hot dogs styles for the NY Times. We also checked in with a few hot dog devotees and got their hot take on one of the world's most popular foods.
On this episode of Special Sauce Kenji is back with some surefire (pun intended) tips for grilling chicken and fish.
On this episode of Special Sauce, we talk about the joys of grilling pizza with Kenji.
J. Kenji Lopez Alt is a New York Times cooking columnist and the host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. He’s also the best selling author of The Wok, The Food Lab, and the children's book Every Night is Pizza Night.
This week on Special Sauce we talk to pastry chef extraordinaire Natasha Pickowicz. Natasha is as the title of her new book More Than Cake implies, much more than a baker. Natasha is an original thinker, a fine writer, and a thoughtful soul. Her path to making delicious pastries is anything but typical.
This week on Special Sauce Part 2 of my conversation with chef Hamissi Mamba, who runs the amazing East African spot Baobab Fare in Detroit with his wife Nadia Nijimbere. With the restaurant, their African market called Soko, and their street food pop-up Waka, Mamba and Nadia are building a cultural bridge between Detroit and their native Burundi. They fled their home country as refugees, determined to build new lives in the US with their children - and the traditional dishes they grew up with became the foundation.
This week I'm talking with Hamissi Mamba about the long road to success from his native Burundi to the vibrant food scene in Detroit.
On the second Special Sauce episode Kenji and I did live from the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY last March we talked about his latest book ‘The Wok’, Kenji and I successfully cooked eggs and tomatoes in a wok onstage and I didn’t get fired as his sous-chef for inadequately chopping the scallions. Kenji also answered questions from the audience ranging from the best oil to cook with in a wok to how to involve young children in cooking. He also told us what happened when he made a creme brulee for an architecture class project at MIT. I'm not sure it went well. Kenji and I had so much fun we thought people would enjoy listening again. Kenji of course has been very busy since we taped this episode last year. He was a judge on the Roku Channel's sushi competition show Morimoto's Sushi Master. And Kenji's Cooking Show on Youtube continues to entertain and inform millions of subscribers.
Last March we did our first ever live to tape episode of Special Sauce with our great friend J. Kenji Lopez Alt. It was taped before a wildly appreciative audience at the Bell House in Brooklyn. We were celebrating the publication of Kenji's book ‘The Wok’. With Kenji's mother and my wife in the house it was a family affair with lots of laughter and love emanating from the stage. This past May ‘The Wok’ won a James Beard Award for best Single Subject Book, so we thought it would be fun to revisit the lovely evening we spent at the Bell House.
This week on Special Sauce pitmaster, chef, and whole hog barbecue evangelist Rodney Scott gives serious eaters great tips for our July 4th backyard barbecues.
This week on Special Sauce I talk to NYT Cooking contributor Ali Slagle about her path to becoming a recipe developer. Slagle just published her first cookbook ‘I Dream of Dinner (so you don't have to)’.
This week on Special Sauce, we have a chef who suggests you DON’T try his recipes at home.It’s part 2 of my conversation with Rick Easton, owner of Bread and Salt, the casual spot in NJ that draws rave reviews for its Italian breads, pizza & sandwiches. We also take a deep dive into ‘Bread and How to Eat It’, the book Rick wrote with his partner Melissa McCart.
This week's guest on Special Sauce is the extraordinary bread baker, chef and pizzaiolo Rick Easton, who owns the terrific weekends- only Bread and Salt Bakery in Jersey City. Rick and his partner Melissa McCart have co-authored the provocative new book ‘Bread and How To Eat It’. In his review of Bread & Salt's Roman style pizza, sandwiches and bread, NYTimes food critic Pete Wells declared: "Mr. Easton has a singular vision, and it is the reason the food is so compelling."
This week on Special Sauce, we’ll revisit my conversation with one of our greatest food writers, Jessica Harris, who introduced many of us to the food of the African Diaspora. Jessica was awarded the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. The hit Netflix series ‘High on the Hog’, hosted by Stephen Satterfield, was based on Jessica’s book of the same name. The show is returning for its second season later this year.
On this episode of Special Sauce we're talking about the film ‘Fresh’, which Amy Nicholson in the New York Times described as a wickedly funny cannibal romance. The movie stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan and Jonica T. Gibbs Helping me savor the best cuts of the film are two terrific food writers and film enthusiasts, J. Kenji Lopez Alt and the Smitten Kitchen's Deb Perelman.
On this episode we revisit our conversation with Fly by Jing founder Jing Gao. Jing has not been idle since we spoke to her last August. She's getting ready to open Sua, a restaurant/market in LA in July. And in September her first cookbook, The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp: Spicy Recipes and Stories from Fly By Jing's Kitchen, is being published.
On this episode of Special Sauce James Beard Award Winning Chicago Chef Beverly Kim tells us how how she went beyond serving food to serving her community. Kim explains how she juggles motherhood, running two restaurants, and her activism.
This week on Special Sauce Ed Levine talks about the difficulties of work-life balance in the restaurant biz and much more with the James Beard Award-winning chef Beverly Kim. Her first restaurant Parachute is the critically acclaimed contemporary Korean restaurant in Chicago she runs with her husband Johnny Clark. Together they won Best Chef in the Great Lakes category, at the James Beard Awards in 2019. These days Beverly and Johnny are also busy with their second restaurant, Wherewithal, and with raising their three children.
This week on Special Sauce, Kenji and film critic Glenn Kenny dig into The Menu, the satirical horror comedy film set in an exclusive restaurant on a private island. The film, starring Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor Joy, skewers foodies, the ultra wealthy, celebrity chefs, and so much more.
This week on Special Sauce, we're revisiting a great 2022 episode about pizza featuring the great pizzaiolo Anthony Mangieri and his friend and fellow pizza lover Billions co-creator Brian Koppelman. At the time pizza purist Mangieri had just reopened Una Pizza Napoletana on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Now because Tony loves sipping espresso in cafes he has recently turned Una into a cafe on Saturday mornings serving coffee, pastries like an olive oil layer cake, and even a mortadella sandwich on house-baked bread. And now in a surprise twist Anthony Mangieri now has a line of frozen pizzas made in Italy with buffalo mozzarella called Genio della Pizza. And when I caught up with Koppelman he told me that he's been so busy with writing and producing season 7 of Billions that will see the return of Damian Lewis and his character Bobby Axelrod, AKA Axe, he hasn't even had time to do much pizza exploring.
This week on Special Sauce Kenji goes deep into his foolproof pan pizza recipe, which is one of Serious Eats' most popular posts of all time.
Kenji created quite a stir recently with his column on Chicago Thin Crust Pizza in the New York Times. We're gonna talk about that column and many other pizza related topics on this episode of Special Sauce.
This week on Special Sauce we continue our conversation with Indian food evangelist Raghavan Iyer. You'll hear more of Raghavan's insights on curry history, and we'll hear how living with his cancer diagnosis changed his outlook on food and life.
Raghavan Iyer has written 6 influential cookbooks on Indian food, including the all-time classic 660 Curries. On this episode of Special Sauce we’re going to hear about his own personal food journey, from the family table in Mumbai to a publishing lunch at Betty Crocker that changed his life.
This week on Special Sauce Kenji waxes (pun intended) poetic on the secrets to both seriously delicious french fries that taste just like McDonald's when they are fresh out of the fryer (that's when you have to eat 'em). He also gives some seriously helpful tips on roasting potatoes.
This week on Special Sauce hilarious cookbook author JJ Goode is back to go into detail about why he insists he's "America's best worst cook." JJ explains why and how he's ruined innumerable grilled cheese sandwiches at home. And yet JJ insists that his cooking cluelessness makes him a better collaborator on chef's cookbooks.
This week on Special Sauce, we're revisiting my conversation with Joanne Lee Molinaro, AKA The Korean Vegan. When we last spoke Joanne had already gone from corporate litigator to writing the James Beard Award-winning ‘The Korean Vegan Cookbook’. Now less than two years later Joanne has become a social media superstar. Joanne's Youtube channel has over a million subscribers and she has over 3 million followers on Tik Tok.
On this episode of Special Sauce we talk chef cookbook collaborations with the extraordinary James Beard Award-winning food writer JJ Goode. JJ has collaborated with everyone from Iron Chef Morimoto to Sam Kass, who cooked for the Obamas at the White House. JJ has accomplished it all in spite of physical limitations that might have held him back. JJ's essay in Gourmet magazine about trying to cook with only one arm was selected for The Norton Anthology of Nonfiction Writing.
When I interviewed Milk Bar co-founder Christina Tosi last summer we talked about her extraordinary journey from home baker to pastry chef to entrepreneur. Tosi had an inspirational story to tell, and we thought it was a story worth repeating. Of course the peripatetic businesswoman has hardly been resting on her laurels since then. Boxes of Milk Bar soft baked cookies are coming to a grocery store near you, as are pints of Milk Bar ice cream. Christina published All About Cookies: A Milk Bar Baking Book, in November of 2022. And just for good measure (pun intended) the second season of the baking competition show she hosts Bake Squad, is just out on Netflix.
On this episode of Special Sauce Kenji, The New Yorker's Helen Rosner, and I dig further into the first season of ‘The Bear’ and also muse about what we'd like to see in the second season of the show, which is coming to FX this summer. We're all rooting for Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) to find some peace so that Sydney (Ayo Edibiri) can do her thing without being driven crazy.
Kenji and The New Yorker's Helen Rosner reflect on the first season of the compelling TV show The Bear, now streaming on Hulu. J. Kenji Lopez Alt is of course the author of bestselling cookbooks like the Food Lab and the Wok and who cooks on-camera for his own YouTube series, Kenji's Cooking Show. He worked in restaurant kitchens in Boston for many years, and he did a silly thing and opened his own restaurant, Wursthall in San Mateo. The New Yorker's Helen Rosner has spent years writing about restaurants and food and chefs for Eater, Saveur, and Grub Street, among others.
This week I decided to revisit my interview with the extraordinary Grace Young, Why? Well, for starters Grace, cookbook author, cultural anthropologist, and wok therapist, is a wonder, a Chinese-American treasure. And when someone else might be resting on their laurels Young, who has won every award a cookbook author can win, has embarked on a new career and quest as a Chinese-American community activist and advocate. And as you will hear Grace, who was named the James Beard Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year in 2022, is still at it combating Asian-American hate with a new social media campain.
On this episode of Special Sauce we take a deep dive into scrambled eggs with eggspert egg maker J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. He tells us about his latest eggprerimentation with one of the world's favorite egg preparations.
On this episode of Special Sauce The New York Times’s Pete Wells and Brett Anderson, and The New Yorker's Hannah Goldfield all weigh in on what serious eaters are likely to see (and taste) when they walk into restaurants in 2023. They all tell us both what they're excited about and what they're worried about moving forward.
On this episode of Special Sauce I talk to The New York Times's Pete Wells and Brett Anderson, and the New Yorker's Hannah Goldfield about what and where they ate in 2022, and where they think restaurants and the food culture in general are headed.
In 2022 I got a chance to chew the fat with so many interesting people on Special Sauce. I couldn't possibly pick a favorite episode to leave you with, but I can certainly say with confidence that my conversation with NYT food writer Eric Kim is right up there. Eric is thoughtful, a fine recipe developer, and a lovely writer. His book Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home, is terrific. So as the new year approaches I thought we'd leave you with Eric's episode. It's definitely worth another listen or if you didn't have a chance to do so when we first posted it in July, you are in for a treat. And in case you're wondering what Eric is up to these days he texted me that he is hard at work on a new book, a collection of essays. And Eric's next column for the NYT Magazine is a New Year's column on rice cake soup.
On this episode of Special Sauce I talk holiday food with Kenji. In Kenji's case we get to hear about holiday traditions in his Colombia-born wife's family. And we also get to hear about his own family's holiday traditions growing up.
On part 2 of our extraordinary conversation with Harlem Seafood Soul's Tami Treadwell you will hear that Tami's success is bittersweet. Why? Because she's had to overcome so many heartbreaking obstacles to discover that being on the street, and feeding people, is where she truly belongs.
This time on Special Sauce we talk turkey and everything else Thanksgiving-related with Kenji just in time for the holiday this year. He adds a little bit of soy sauce to his gravy! And he gives us his unexpected takes on Stovetop Stuffing and instant mashed potatoes.
This time on Special Sauce, another helping of Thanksgiving cooking tips from our podcast archive. This was a special call-in episode with Kenji and Stella Parks, who intelligently and empathetically handled every question from serious eaters. We talk turkey of course, but also pies, stuffing and holiday cookies. Hope you enjoy!
On this episode of Special Sauce I’ve gone into the podcast vaults to fetch you this classic Thanksgiving themed episode of Special Sauce. Listeners emailed us vexing Turkey Day questions that Kenji and Stella Parks answered in typically wise and funny fashion. Think of it as Special Sauce Reserve.
On this episode of Special Sauce serious eaters will hear all about Christine Ha's post MasterChef life. That life includes owning or co-owning two restaurants in Houston and advocated on behalf of people suffering from NMOSD.
On this episode of Special Sauce serious eaters will hear the first part of blind chef-restaurateur Christine Ha's incredible story. She wins Gordon Ramsey's MasterChef competition TV show without being able to see.
On this episode of Special Sauce we check in with Kenji, who tells us about the magic of mayo as a marinade. He also talks about all things guacamole and avocados. Plus he explains his love affair with the mortar and pestle.
On this episode of Special Sauce Anson Mills founder Glenn Roberts takes us on his wild journey through the preservation of Ancient Grains that started with his family losing everything.
On this episode of Special Sauce food blogger Kristina Cho (Eat Cho Food) details her unlikely career path from architectural designer to two time James Beard Award-winning author. In her book, Mooncakes and Milk Bread, Kristina re-creates re-imagines both sweet and savory staples of Chinese bakeries and cafés.
On this episode of Special Sauce Vishwesh Bhatt, James Beard Award-winning chef and author of ‘I Am From Here: Recipes and Stories from a Southern Chef’, details his remarkable journey from India to Oxford, Mississippi.
On this episode of Special Sauce Fly by Jing founder Jing Gao talks about finding herself through the foods her company makes, things like chili crisp and soup dumplings.
On this episode of Special Sauce chef (Late August in Houston) and former world champion track star Dawn Burrell talks about her greatest leap of all, from Olympic broad jumper to Top Chef finalist.
If you are listening to this, you realize that we haven't posted a new episode of Special Sauce this past Friday, as we normally do. Believe me, it is not for lack of trying. Please know that we are working to rectify this situation as quickly as possible. Thanks in advance for your patience, your understanding, and most of all, for being part of the community of Special Sauce listeners.
On this episode of Special Sauce the NYT's Eric Kim talks about his new book ‘Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home’. Besides being a terrific cookbook it's also a moving tribute to his Korean-born mom.
On this episode of Special Sauce Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi talks about her new book Dessert Can Save the World, which really is her guiding philosophy in both life and business.
On this episode of Special Sauce we continue the pizza conversation with Una Pizza Napoletana founder and pizzaiola Anthony Mangieri and Billions co-creator Brian Koppelman, who loves UPN so much he put Mangieri in the show.
On this week's Special Sauce Dan Richer, chef and owner of Jersey City's Razza, one of the country's best pizzerias, talks to us about his obsessive Joy of Pizza, which just so happens to be the title of his new book. And because NYT restaurant critic Pete Wells gave Razza an unprecedented three stars in his review in 2017, I also had to talk to Pete about Razza and Dan. He was game, but only if he and I visited Razza one more time to see if Dan was still at the top of his game.
On this week's Special Sauce Detroit food activist and Food Lab Detroit founder Devita Davidson has a lot to say about how government, entrpreneurs, and the private sector can and should work together to form a better food system. Plus chef-restaurateur Ji Hye Kim of Miss Kim's in Ann Arbor tells us about how she has embraced Food Lab Detroit's methods to mutually benefit her business and the employees that work there.
On Part II of our live Special Sauce, Kenji and I successfully cooked eggs and tomatoes in a wok onstage and I didn't get fired as his sous-chef for inadequately chopping the scallions. We also revived the Ask Kenji feature as he talks about everything from cooking with his 5 year old daughter to his experiences in science classes in high school.
For our first ever live Special Sauce Kenji and I talked about his new #1 NYT Best-Seller The Wok, how family life has become the center of his existence, and how Sir Paul McCartney gave him an autograph after McCartney's security team tackled him on the street in NYC.