This week, we are celebrating the spring cookbooks of 2023! First, we talk with Chef Lara Lee about her approach to flavorful meals using iconic Asian ingredients from her pantry, including recipes for her stellar Tom Yum Bloody Mary and Sambal Patatas Bravas - crispy potatoes topped with a sambal spiced tomato mixture and a bit of mayo! Addictive! Her latest book is A Splash of Soy. Then, we get deep into flavor combinations with Niki Segnit, author of The Flavor Thesaurus. She talks us through surprising flavor combinations that will inspire and expand your home cooking adventures. Then, we talk African home cooking with Lerato Umah-Shaylor, author of Africana, and her delicious recipes filled with traditional and modern flavors of African cuisine. From yassa butter to bejeweled aromatic fried rice and her delicious Akàrà; deep fried bean fritters with ginger & spring onions.Broadcast dates for this episode:May 12, 2023 (originally aired)April 26, 2024 (rebroadcast)Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraThis week, it’s the food journeys of two chefs. First, TV Star and author Carla Hall joins us to talk about her latest show, Chasing Flavor. She brings us stories about her filming and travels and the connection between people and their food. She sticks around to answer some of your cooking questions. Carla Hall hosts the MAX series, Chasing Flavor, and is the author of Carla's Soul Food: Every Day and Celebration. Then, we sat down with Atlanta chef Todd Richards to talk about the interesting and varied influences on soul food. He talks about the foods from West Africa, how they traveled across the Caribbean, and how the dishes have evolved. He left us with his recipe for Haitian Oxtail in Beef Broth with Pikliz. Todd's new book is Roots, Heart and Soul: The Story, Celebration and Recipes of Afro Cuisine in America.Broadcast dates for this episode:April 19, 2024 (originally aired)When you shop using our links, we earn a small commission. It’s a great way to support public media at no extra cost to you! Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show.

This week, we promise you will get your recommended dose of fruits and vegetables! Award-winning author Abra Berens takes us on a sweet and savory journey with fruit. From best cooking methods to subtle and exotic pickling methods- think Brined Cherries + Salty Snacks, to advice on picking the best fruit to throw on the grill. She’s the author of three books, Grist, A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes, Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables, and her latest, Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit. Then, we turn to vegetables with food editor and author Sheela Prakash. Her new book is Salad Seasons: Vegetable-Forward Dishes All Year. The book is chockfull of imaginative uses for fresh veggies, including an amazing recipe for Spring Carrots with Burnt Butter and Labneh.Broadcast dates for this episode:April 21, 2023 (originally aired)April 12, 2024 (rebroadcast)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift

We are looking at food stories from different cultures this week. First, documentarian and journalist Von Diaz joins us to talk about her latest book, Islas: A Celebration of Tropical Cooking. She writes about island cuisine from all over the world and talks about her academic field research, the connections she feels when she is on an island, and the unique dishes she cooked and tasted for her book research. She found commonality among the islands in their cooking techniques, from grilling to smoking and marinating, and shares a delicious, iconic island recipe for CHamoru Barbecue Chicken with Juanita’s Fina’denne’. Then, best-selling author and Jewish food authority Joan Nathan joins us to talk about her latest book, a memoir My Life in Recipes, Food, Family and Memories. Joan chronicles her start in food, the people she met along the way, her passion for elevating the home cook and her devotion to the regular ritual of sitting down together for a meal. Broadcast dates for this episode:April 5, 2024 (originally aired)Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

We’re all about baking today, from New York to Mexico to London by way of India. First, Pastry Chef Natasha Pickowicz talks to us about her favorite recipes and her baking process. Then, she shares her baking techniques, from bringing egg whites back to life to saving overbaked cakes by soaking them in delicious liquid. She is the author of More Than Cake: 100 Baking Recipes for Pleasure and Community, and she left us with her Fennel, Chocolate, and Hazelnut Spears. Then, Chicano Eats Food Blogger Esteban Castillo gives us a rundown of his favorite Mexican pastries and all the goodness Mexican panaderias have to offer, from cakes to jellos and even savory treats. He is the author of Chicano Bakes: Recipes for Mexican Pan Dulce, Tamales, and My Favorite Desserts. He left us with his recipe for Pan de Elote. And you can find more recipes on his site, Chicano Eats. Then, one of the most beloved contestants on the Great British Baking Show, Chetna Makan, talks about her love of baking and the ways she incorporates Indian spices and flavors into her sweets. Her latest book is Chetna’s Easy Baking with a Twist of Spice, and she left us with her recipe for Chocolate and Coconut Spiced 
Self-Saucing Pudding.Broadcast dates for this episode:April 7, 2023 (originally aired)March 29, 2024 (rebroadcast)Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today

This week, we spend the hour with cooking columnist and internet sensation, Sohla El-Waylly. We talk about her connection to food and how she got her start as a pastry chef, writer, and recipe developer. She talks about her work in restaurants and her passion for teaching people how to cook. And she answers your cooking questions, from the best way to cook rabbit to her favorite ice cream flavor. Her latest book is Start Here, filled with recipes that teach techniques, as shown in her Bisteeya Inspired Phyllo Chicken Pie recipe.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 22, 2024 (originally aired)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

This week, Honolulu chef Robynne Maii teams up with Francis to answer your cooking questions! First, we catch up on her connection to cooking and dancing, what she grew up eating thanks to her mom's love of faithfully following a recipe, and what she loves to eat as a Honolulu local. Then she dives right in with our listener questions, from what to do with leftover roast duck to how to make chili crisp. She leaves us with a recipe for Simple Smoked Fish Dip. After answering that listener's question about chili crisps, we thought it would be perfect to talk to the master of food science, award-winning writer Nik Sharma, about his favorite crispy things. He left us with a great oven technique for crispy shallots and a Chicken Kanji recipe.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 17, 2023 (originally aired)March 15, 2024 (rebroadcast)Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today.

This week, we're all about the world of restaurants and flavor. First, we talked with Andrew Friedman about his career, writing about American food culture, chefs, and the restaurant scene. He talks to us about his latest project, spending time behind the swinging doors of a restaurant and how all the kitchen roles—from the butcher to the delivery drivers to the dishwasher make the dish you sit down to enjoy. His latest book is The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food. Then we sit down with Flavor Scientist Arielle Johnson, who talks about the science behind flavor, from flavor perceptions to aroma and the laws of flavor. Arielle's latest book is Flavorama: A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor, and she leaves us with her recipes for Smoke Oil & Smoke Oil Infused Fish.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 8, 2024 (originally aired)Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show

This week, we dive into the world of tea, its history, and traditions. First up, we visit the T Shop in New York City with East Asian tea expert Theresa Wong. Theresa leads Francis through a tea tasting, from black, thru oolong all the way to green. We learn a few brewing tips along the way as well. Then, food and culture writer Leena Trevedi-Grenier talks to us about the surprising story of Masala Chai's history and gives us an in-depth guide to spicing and techniques for making the perfect cup. You can find her recipe for Fresh Ginger Masala Tea here.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 3, 2023 (originally aired)March 1, 2024 (rebroadcast)Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

This week, we’re bringing you a show we recorded with LAist in Orange County, CA, one of the richest food scenes in the US. We talk to award-winning journalist Gustavo Arellano about the evolution of OC’s culinary scene, the immigrant influences, and how its diverse foodways continue to be embraced by the different generations. Gustavo is the Los Angeles Times columnist and author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America and his latest, A People’s Guide to Orange County; then, Chefs Brenda and Daniel Castillo of Heritage Barbecue join the stage to talk about making Texas barbecue in CA and making it their own and then, Kenneth Nguyen, host of The Vietnamese Podcast and Patricia Huang, former general manager of the famous Asian 626 Night Market, talk about Orange County's Asian street food culture. Broadcast dates for this episode:February 23, 2024 (originally aired)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.