Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle: Recent Episodes
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"What would your last meal be?" On this 2018 James Beard Award nominee for Best Podcast, National Edward R. Murrow Award-winning host Rachel Belle asks every guest this question - but that's just the beginning! Each dish's origins, preparation, and cultural influence are among the many stones upturned as Rachel consults chefs and culinary anthropologists, fishmongers and fry cooks on her quest to
Zarna Garg immigrated to the United States from India alone, at 16, without a penny to her name. Fast-forward to 2018: She?s a stay-at-home mom with three kids and bored out of her mind. At her children?s insistence, Zarna got on stage at an open-mic night. Five years later? She has her own comedy special on Amazon, ?Zarna Garg: One in a Billion!?Zarna loves to top many of her meals with a big ol' pile of raw onions, but laments that Americans are sensitive to onion breath. I chat with a cognitive scientist who researched whether smell preference is cultural, personal taste or universally disliked among humans because of its chemical compounds.And we?ll learn the fairly modern history of masala chai with Indian-American food writer Leena Trivedi-Granier (click for her recipe)? just don?t call it chai tea! We?ll tell you why.Follow along on Instagram! Subscribe to my newsletter!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ron Upshaw and Don O?Neill are longtime radio partners who spent decades moving around the country together, hosting all kinds of big-market radio shows. And YLM host Rachel Belle was a part of The Ron & Don Show on KIRO Radio for a decade!Ron and Don have worked together since they were teenagers, in all sorts of professions. What keeps two people working together for 40 years? We will discuss!Don adores cherry pie, so I chat with a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Traverse City, Michigan, who is trying to reclaim his hometown?s lost Guinness World Record by making the world?s largest cherry pie.And could you make it through a 50-course dinner? We?ll talk about the pros and cons of fancy tasting menus with food writer Charmaine MokListen to my other cherry pie episode featuring actor/comedian Jenny Slate & Warrant guitarist Joey Allen (who played on Cherry Pie!)Follow along on Instagram! Subscribe to my newsletter!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Allen Stone doesn't usually write songs about food, but one evening his wife cooked something so fantastic, he felt moved to sing about it! Allen tells Host Rachel Belle the story behind his song Voodoo, talks about the mobile kitchen his crew brings on tour and admits that his last meal wouldn't actually be his last meal.We'll learn the history and origin story of everyone's favorite late night snack: nachos! And Buenos Nachos cookbook author Gina Hamadey joins the show to share some of the wacky nacho recipes in her book.Follow along on Instagram!Please subscribe to the new Your Last Meal newsletter so you can be the first to know about events, giveaways & content only available to subscribers!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Yuna is an internationally acclaimed R&B pop star, born and raised in Malaysia. But after a decade of living in LA, and missing her mother?s homemade nasi lemak and banana leaf rice, she and her husband finally succumbed to learning to cook the Malaysian dishes they miss most!Award-winning London chef and cookbook author Mandy Yi says it?s common to eat six meals a day in Malaysia, and walks us through a day of meals, snacks, street food and night markets.Yuna talks about what it was like trying to get a record deal, as a Muslim woman who wears a hijab, and she shares a hilarious story about how a late night snack attack nearly got her into deep trouble with the Canadian government.Follow along on Instagram!Please subscribe to the new Your Last Meal newsletter so you can be the first to know about events, giveaways & content only available to subscribers!This episode is sponsored by:Ooni Pizza Ovens!Safe Catch tinned fish! Enter YOURLASTMEAL at checkout for 15% off!Pure Cravings cat food! Enter YOURLASTMEAL at checkout for 15% off!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jewel has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and this year she released Freewheelin' Woman, her first album in seven years! But fame and fortune is a stark contrast to the way she grew up in the wilds of Alaska. Jewel tells host Rachel Belle how her family gathered food, growing up on a remote Alaskan homestead without plumbing, electricity or a grocery store, and what it was like trying processed food for the first time after she moved out of her family's home. Then Clay Newcomb, host of Bear Grease podcast, joins the show to talk about cooking with bear meat and bear fat, an ingredient that was once a huge part of American tradition. Follow along on Instagram!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When John Rzeznik is on tour, he only requests one thing: a plain, grilled chicken breast. But, to his frustration and amusement, chefs can't resist zhuzhing up the bird with their own brand of pizzazz. He shares his long, arduous chicken-y journey with host Rachel Belle, including the story of a celebrity chef who tried to come to his rescue. John wants to cap off his last meal with a deep dish apple pie from Sweet Lady Jane, a Los Angeles institution frequented by folks like Barbra Streisand and the Kardashians, so Rachel calls them up to find out what makes the pie so special. And while we're on the subject of pie, John has plenty to say about pizza -- his favorite pizzerias just so happen to be two of the oldest in the United States. Host Rachel Belle chats with the owner of NYC's Lombardi's, America's first pizzeria. Follow along on Instagram! This episode is sponsored by Ooni Pizza Ovens, the world's first portable pizza oven company! Rachel Belle has been making incredible, chewy, bubbly, melty pizzas in her Ooni for more than three years. If you want to make the best homemade pizza of your life visit: www.ooni.com/yourlastmealSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
By the end of this episode, you'll feel like the charming, hilarious and down-to-earth Julia Sweeney is your best friend! Julia and host Rachel Belle discuss everything from her true love of eating alone (and how that makes her husband feel) to the 60th birthday gift she gave herself: never dieting again.
Julia wants to cap off her last meal with Canada's favorite, no-bake, layered dessert: the Nanaimo bar! Rachel chats with Joyce Hardcastle, the contest winner who created the city's official recipe back in 1986, and the current mayor of Nanaimo, about the history of the bar and how ubiquitous it is in the Vancouver Island city it was named after.
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Get tickets to Julia Sweeney's Spokane, WA live shows on March 26th, 2022!
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Paul Janeway is a southern boy from a small Alabama town who's had his world blown wide open thanks to music. Touring the world with his band, St Paul & the Broken Bones, has drastically expanded his palate -- he's eaten everything from pigeon heart to fancy Michelin star meals. But only one dish truly has his heart: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese! Paul and host Rachel Belle go deep into their Blue Box memories and idiosyncratic preferences, and then we learn the history of this iconic product with food historian Sarah Wassberg Johnson.
Paul lives in Birmingham, Alabama, which is also home to a very niche, regional cuisine that we were completely unaware of! Rachel Belle chats with Birmingham filmmaker Jessica Chriesman and the owner of Alabama's longest running family restaurant, The Bright Star, about Greek soul food.
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Bob's Burgers star (he voices Gene!) Eugene Mirman took an unorthodox route to becoming a professional comedian: he actually earned a bachelor's degree in comedy! And a quick scroll through his Instagram page reveals a man who loves home cooking; he's whipped up everything from pad Thai to homemade pasta while spending lots of time at home during the pandemic.
So this episode is all about the intersection of food and comedy. Gastro Obscura's senior associate editor, Anne Ewbank, takes us on a historical journey, from the ancient Greeks and their genital-heavy seafood jokes to the vaudeville and silent film days, when slipping on a banana peel or smashing a pie into somebody's face was the height of hilarious high jinx.
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Award winning ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro is a lifelong Hawaii resident, where catching a big fish in the morning means feasting with friends and family that evening.
One of his favorite catches is kumu, a fish that exists nowhere else in the world except Hawaii. Host Rachel Belle chats with Mark Healey, a Hawaiian professional surfer who has been sustainably spearfishing for his dinner since he was a toddler. Mark shares his secrets to charming and successfully hunting a kumu while also holding his breath (under water, not during our conversation!).
Jake also loves poi, one of Hawaii's most sacred and traditional foods. Don't know what poi is? We got you! Learn its history and cultural significance with the owner of Oahu's Waiahole Poi Factory.
Plus Jake shares his secret to making fried rice pop and you'll hear a song from his brand new album, Jake & Friends!
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Vanessa Lachey's new book, Life from Scratch: Family Traditions That Start with You, features recipes and entertaining ideas, but the book is rooted in a deep and vulnerable place. Vanessa's mom left when she was a little girl, depriving her of motherly advice, care and the Filipino food she craved. It took decades, but the actor and TV host finally felt empowered to stop mourning what she lost, and start creating her own special traditions for her young family -- including a chicken adobo recipe her husband, 98 Degrees' Nick Lachey, loves.
Vanessa and host Rachel Belle discuss how she secured a place in the Guinness Book of World Records (it's food related!) and why her family celebrates the holidays with a dish called Wiener-Bun Surprise.
Vanessa loves lasagna, so obviously Rachel had to talk about America's favorite, curmudgeonly, lasagna loving cartoon cat and she digs into the etymology of the comforting Italian casserole. We'll also learn about Lasagna Love, a non-profit started during the pandemic.
Rachel's favorite lasagna recipe!
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This episode is sponsored by Ooni Pizza Ovens, the world's first portable pizza oven company! Rachel Belle has been making incredible, chewy, bubbly, melty pizzas in her Ooni for more than three years. If you want to make the best homemade pizza of your life, or give the gift of pizza this holiday season, visit www.ooni.com/yourlastmeal
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Country music star, Martina McBride, has won 15 major music awards, sold more than 23 million albums, written two cookbooks and has a brand new exhibit in Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame Museum. But her roots are in a small, Kansas farm town where she grew up eating plenty of canned vegetables and ground beef with her musical family.
You know what other musically gifted gal grew up on a farm in Kansas? Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz! We take a trip down the Yellow Brick Road with William Stillman, author of The Road To Oz, who shares both the fun and unfortunate food facts behind the most watched film of all time.
After Martina tells host Rachel Belle about Fluff Salad, where Cool Whip is a salad dressing, we needed to know: what defines a salad?? Meggan Hill, creator and executive chef of Culinary Hill, a midwestern recipe website, explains how popcorn salad, Snickers salad and cookie salad are all...salads.
A couple of years ago we did an episode all about the tomato sandwich, but have you ever had a banana sandwich? North Carolina food writer Sheri Castle says in some parts of the south, it's more common than peanut butter and jelly.
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This episode is sponsored by Ooni Pizza Ovens, the portable pizza oven company that makes one of Rachel Belle's prized possessions! Make your summer infinitely more fun & delicious by visiting www.ooni.com/yourlastmeal & prepare to make the best pizza of your life!
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It's Your Last Meal's 5th Anniversary, but instead of the traditional 5th anniversary gift of wood, we're giving you the gift of...this podcast episode! The show's very first guest, back in August 2016, was Seattle chef and restaurateur Tom Douglas. So we flipped the script and rallied Tom to interview host Rachel Belle about her last meal!
This episode is all about party foods, so Rachel welcomes back some of her favorite celebrity guests to talk about the tiny, toothpicked party snacks they can't resist. And because there's nothing better than a surprise party, you'll have to listen in to find out who the mystery guests are!
So BYOB, grab a bag of ice on your way over & please take your shoes off before you come in because it's podcast party time!
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This episode is sponsored by Ooni Pizza Ovens, the portable pizza oven company that makes one of Rachel Belle's prized possessions! Make your summer infinitely more fun & delicious by visiting www.ooni.com/yourlastmeal & prepare to make the best pizza of your life!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark Bittman is a veteran food writer and prolific cookbook author known for his unfussy recipes and "How To Cook Everything," a 2,000-recipe tome that's sold more than a million copies. So when it comes to his last meal, Mark stays on brand and keeps it simple. So simple, in fact, he won't actually name a specific dish!
Mark is also a dad. So as a Father's Day treat, host Rachel Belle invited Mark's daughter, Kate Bittman, to join the conversation, to talk about what it was like growing up with a food obsessed dad. The verdict: it was embarrassing.
Former Bon Appetit magazine food director, and current cookbook author, Carla Lalli Music teaches us how to improvise a delicious meal, without a recipe, based on what looks fresh at the market.
And listeners share the delicious, disgusting and darling dishes their dads cooked when they were growing up!
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Michelle Zauner is famous for playing music under the name Japanese Breakfast, but it turns out she's one of those obnoxiously talented people who creatively thrives in multiple genres. Michelle just released a wildly popular memoir called Crying in H Mart, about her complicated relationship with her Korean mother who died of cancer when Michelle was 25.
Korean food plays a huge role in the book and in her conversation with host Rachel Belle. Michelle takes us to Korea, where she and her mother insatiably ate their way through Seoul every other year of her childhood. She talks about who taught her to cook Korean food, since her mother never got a chance to teach her, and how the Korean grocery chain H Mart now brings her comfort.
Immigrant parents and grandparents are infamous for not writing down recipes or measuring out ingredients, making it virtually impossible to perfectly recreate their food after they're gone. Melissa Miranda, the Filipina-American chef/owner of Seattle's Musang, opened her restaurant in an effort to preserve Filipino home cooking in the community her dad immigrated to in the 1970s. She joins the show to tell her story.
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