Taste Buds With Deb

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Shari Foos, founder of The Narrative Method. The nonprofit addresses the crisis of loneliness by connecting people to their stories and creative expression.    Now in its tenth year, The Narrative Method offers free online salons, interviews with interesting people, programs for communities in need, and more. One of the event...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with actor, writer, and philanthropist Patricia Heaton. While Heaton has created relatable characters on TV over the years ("Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Middle," "Carol's Second Act"), she is also known for her commitment to philanthropy, as well as a love of food.    As founder of an organization called O7C, which stands for O...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Jamie Schler, a Jewish American writer, hotel owner, and jam maker, who has lived in France for decades. Schler specializes in food and culture, and loves sharing the traditions and history behind French food, which she does on her "Life's a Feast by Jamie Schler" Substack.   "Once I had kids, I started to be fascinated by th...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with author/illustrator Alex Schumacher. While you would expect Schumacher's graphic novel "The Effects of Pickled Herring to be about food - and it is - it's not in the way you think. While the title dish is only mentioned a couple of times, the love and joy of food is a theme found throughout.   Schumacher's semi-biographical wo...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Chef Shawna Goodman. Among other endeavors, Chef Goodman combines her love of cooking and living in Israel with her philanthropic work; she also leads a yearly tour for women, called Shefa.    "The incredible initiatives that are coming from everybody's regular kitchen [in Israel] and the capacity for giving is [amazing]," sh...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with singer and composer Craig Taubman. The founder of the Pico Union Project (PUP), a multi-faith cultural arts center in downtown Los Angeles, Taubman is passionate about food and nourishing the community.   "Food is deep: it's cultural, it's philosophical, it's spiritual, it's nourishing," Taubman believes. "[You] can use food...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with food writer Amy Rogers, who has covered topics ranging from pie contests to public policy, Her books include "Hungry for Home: Stories of Food from Across the Carolinas" and "Red Pepper Fudge and Blue Ribbon Biscuits."   Rogers, who has been a contributor for The Food Network, Salon and Business Insider, among others, says it...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Emily Paster, author of "Epic Air Fryer Cookbook" and "Instantly Mediterranean," among others.    While food was always a big part of her life, and even though she had an aunt in the food business, it initially didn't occur to Paster, a former lawyer, that food was a possible career path,    "If you … cast your mind back to t...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Chef Rossi aka the anti-caterer! The founder of The Raging Skillet (which happens to be the name of her first memoir), Rossi is all about making fun, surprising foods that people love, as well as putting love into everything she makes. This shines through in her writing, as well.    Whereas "The Raging Skillet: The True Life...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Chef Amy Jurist of Amy's Culinary Adventures. While Jurist has had a passion for cooking since she was a child, she had a career in advertising and marketing before formalizing her training and pursuing a career in the culinary arts. Amy's Culinary Adventures is now in its 20th year.    "I wouldn't be able to be where I am an...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with entrepreneur and passionate foodie Alex Canter. The 4th generation of Canter's Deli in Los Angeles, Canter loves trying new places.   Canter publishes a list of his favorite 100 restaurants in LA every year and, every week, he posts his favorite bites on Instagram via @DeliBoySwag. "That's been a fun way to keep track of the...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Inbal Baum, founder of Delicious Israel food tours, Delicious Experiences (virtual corporate events) and Delicious Cities, a global network of immersive food tours.    After working as an attorney in Manhattan, and then becoming a yoga instructor, Baum moved to Israel where she founded her first "Delicious" company. For Baum,...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with adman Murray Kalis, who has worked on everything from Taster's Choice Decaffeinated Coffee, Kraft Foods, and KFC to Noah's Bagels, Starbucks, and Dave's Hot Chicken.   Kalis started his career in advertising in August 1970. He went from copywriter to VP/creative director with Leo Burnett in Chicago. He then moved to Los Angel...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with chef, entertainer, and cookbook author Eitan Bernath. Bernath, 22, has been working in food entertainment for about ten years.    "I didn't really fit in, when I was younger, with the little league or sports, but I really loved food," Bernath says. "My mom encouraged me [to] try cooking … and I really just fell in love with b...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with celebrity chef Katie Chin, who is an award-winning cookbook author, caterer and playwright.    "There's incredible symbolism in Asian cuisine, but there's also incredible symbolism in Jewish cuisine," Chin says. Her husband is Jewish and they are raising their 15-year-old twins Jewish; she loves to combine the cuisines.    Ch...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Chico Menashe, the CEO of Asif: Culinary Institute of Israel in Tel Aviv. Founded in 2021, Asif is a non-profit organization, dedicated to cultivating and nurturing Israel's diverse and creative food culture.    "It's an Israeli food culture, not specifically Jewish culture," Menashe says. "We have influences from all over th...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Beth Lee, author of "The Essential Jewish Baking Cookbook," cooking teacher and OG food blogger at OMGYummy.com.   Lee worked in marketing and communications for high tech companies in Silicon Valley for many years before deciding in 2010 that she liked "pita chips better than memory chips." She was delighted when she got the...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Shani Seidman, Chief Marketing Officer for Kayco Kosher. Kayco's brands include Gefen, Heaven & Earth and of course Manischewitz, which has been around since 1888.   "They call me Mrs. Manischewitz. ... It's surreal working on a brand that we had at our table growing up," Seidman says. "I have these memories of Manischewitz b...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with cookbook author Joan Nathan, who has made a career of discovering Jewish cuisine from around the world and sharing it with others.    The author of twelve books, Nathan's titles include "Jewish Cooking in America" and "The New American Cooking," both of which won James Beard Awards and IACP Awards,    Her latest - and she say...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Joel Haber, food lecturer and host of the 18 Jewish Foods" podcast. His website is TasteofJew.com.   "[Food] offers you a window into the Jewish culture," he says.    Each episode of Haber's new "18 Jewish Foods" podcast explores a food, food category or iconic dish. "Each episode will … also [offer] something to learn about...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Katie Workman, founder of The Mom 100 website, author of "The Mom 100 Cookbook" and "Dinner Solved," and a food writer for the Associated Press.   Workman spent her childhood reading cookbooks the way others devour books. She created "The Mom 100 Cookbook" - 100 recipes every mom needs in her back pocket - as "an answer to th...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Jamie Pachino, a consulting producer on CBS' "So Help Me Todd." The show, starring Marcia Gay Harden and Skyler Astin, is about Todd, a "failure to launch-ish" son (Astin) who goes to work as an investigator at his mother Margaret's (Harden's) law firm.    Between family dinner and endless conversations about food - both on a...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Micah Siva, founder of Nosh with Micah and author of "Nosh: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine."    "I see the word nosh as something that you just can't stop eating," Siva says. "It's just so easy to eat and to snack on and there's always room in your stomach."   As a vegetarian, Siva specializes in plan...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with father-daughter team Phil and Lily Rosenthal, authors of Just Try It! Phil Rosenthal is creator and host of Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix, author of Somebody Feed Phil: the Book , and creator of Everybody Loves Raymond . Lily is an actor, writer, producer and now food lover!     Just Try It! is more than a kids' book about fo...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Amy Kritzer Becker, founder of What Jew Wanna Eat and Modern Tribe. She is also the author of "Sweet Noshings: New Twists on Traditional Jewish Desserts." Becker shares her blog's origin story, lots of food and cooking anecdotes, and her recipe for drunken honey pomegranate cake. She also offers tips for making cooking fun, y...