The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

This week, it's all about keeping cool and carrying on in the kitchen. First up , chef, farmer, and cookbook author Abra Berens joins Francis to take your calls about how to best use our summer produce. She’s full of ideas for all that zucchini, btw! Abra is the author of three wonderful cookbooks, Ruffage, Grist, and Pulp , and you can find the recipe for the Summer Squash Escabeche she talked ab...

It's officially grilling season, and this week, we’re bringing you an explosion of flavors. First, award-winning author Andrea Nguyen sits down with us to talk about the spreads you’d find at a Vietnamese grill. From delicious platters of fresh herbs to beautiful summer rolls, and savory marinated meats like her Lemongrass Pork Chop Recipe , and of course, we can’t forget Nuoc Cham, the world’s mo...

This week, we have the dynamic duo, Sohla and Ham El-Waylly, hosts of the New York Times Cooking show Mystery Menu joining us to talk about working together, overcoming differences in their cooking styles, and the key to their success as a team. They stick around to answer your cooking questions. Then, restaurateur Will Guidara joins us with advice on how to be a great host. From the importance of...

This week, we make our 30th anniversary tour stop in Tampa in partnership with WUSF, where we learn about what makes the food of South Florida so unique. First up, Dalia Colón, host of The Zest podcast and author of The Florida Vegetarian Cookbook , gives us an overview of the rich Tampa food scene. From its diverse cuisines to its old-school Southern charm. Then, we talk about Tampa’s cultural an...

This week, we explore traditional foods and identity with two amazing chefs. First, Food editor and author Monti Carlo talks about her visit home to Puerto Rico after many years away and how reconnecting with her roots shaped her approach to cooking traditional dishes, even adding her own spin, like her Bacalaíto Battered Onion Rings recipe. Monti Carlo is the Senior Food & Dining Editor at th...

This week, we talk to two longtime restaurant critics from different parts of the country about what makes their work so interesting and what they're excited to eat. First, Bill Addison, restaurant critic for The Los Angeles Times, talks about his approach to critical writing, his favorite restaurant experiences, and the evolution of California cuisine. He just wrapped up one of the most ambitious...

This week, we went deep into our archives to bring you a conversation with the legendary, Anthony Bourdain. In the early days of our show, Lynne Rossetto Kasper, the OG and co-creator of the show, talked with Tony about his book, A Cook’s Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal . He tells us about his adventurous travels, his definition of “perfect meals,” and how his Food Network series by the same n...

This week, we’ve got suggestions to start your summer reading list. First, we sit down with bestselling author and poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil to talk about her upbringing and the nature of her poetry. She writes about her parent’s gardens and their food, and how she carries her childhood experiences with her today. Her latest book is Bite By Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees. Then, we learn about t...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | YouTube We've put together a collection we're calling Culinary Masters. It's our favorite interviews with truly iconic people in the world of food, people who have fundamentally changed how so many of us cook, enjoy, and understand food. This week, we’re revisiting a conversation with my dear friend, Dr. Jessica B. Harris. Enjoy!

This week, we spend an hour with award-winning chef and author, José Andrés. We talk about his illustrious career, his world travels, and his love of regional Spanish cooking, its products, and its people. José Andrés is the founder of World Central Kitchen and author of many books, including Tapas, Vegetable Unleashed, We Fed an Island, and his latest, Spain My Way: Eat, Drink, and Cook Like a Sp...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | YouTube We've put together a collection we're calling Culinary Masters. It's our favorite interviews with truly iconic people in the world of food, people who have fundamentally changed how so many of us cook, enjoy, and understand food. This week, it’s an interview with the great French chef Jacques Pépin.

We're celebrating our 30th Anniversary on the road, and this week, we make our fourth stop in Iowa City in partnership with IPR. We talk to bakers, chefs, restaurateurs, and farmers about the food of the heartland. First up, Shae and Anna Pesek of Over the Moon Farm and T.D. Holub of The Garden Oasis Farm talk about their personal experiences with farm life, from agricultural challenges to sustain...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | YouTube . For decades, we’ve sat down with some of the greatest culinary minds — and now we’re re-sharing a few of those remarkable conversations as a part of our Culinary Masters series. This week, we're visiting the home of one of the world's great ambassadors of Indian cuisine, author of 30 books, and award-winning actress, Madhur J...

This week, we get some seasonal Italian inspiration and delicious Italian sweets. First, we sit down with chef and cookbook author Hillary Sterling to talk about some of her signature dishes, how her obsession with Italian cooking began, and what it takes to get an exquisite dish on the table. Famous for her Creamy Parmigiano-Braised Beans , Hillary Sterling is the chef of Ci Siamo in New York Cit...

Every week on our show, we celebrate the intersection of food and life. And this month, we’re highlighting some of the most iconic people in the food world. It’s a new collection called Culinary Masters. We revisit interviews with some of the people who have fundamentally changed how many of us cook and think about food. This week, the man who brought Chinese cuisine into the homes of millions of...

We're on the road celebrating our 30th Anniversary and this week, we bring you an eventful night in Seattle in partnership with KUOW. First up, Valerie Segrest , cofounder of Tahoma Peak Solutions, and Jeremy Thunderbird , owner of Native Soul Cuisine, about the diversity of indigenous food, carrying on traditional recipes, and food sovereignty. Then, Tan Vinh, host of KUOW's Seattle Eats podcast...

Every week on our show, we celebrate the intersection of food and life. And this month, we’re highlighting some of the most iconic people in the food world. It’s a new collection called Culinary Masters. We revisit interviews with some of the people who have fundamentally changed how many of us cook and think about food. This week, we're all about the iconic Claudia Roden, who helped introduce the...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | YouTube . This week, we’re excited to get cooking! First, two-time New York Times bestselling cookbook author and the internet’s favorite Italian, Dan Pelosi, joins us to staff the phone and answer your cooking questions. We get into his top hosting tips, the how-tos of building menus for all kinds of gatherings, and his favorite sprin...

This week, it's home cooking with the authors of Food IQ: 100 Questions, Answers, and Recipes to Raise Your Cooking Smarts. Daniel Holzman and Matt Rodbard bust food myths about cooking with frozen meat, and extoll the beauty of letting butter brown in the pan. Then, we visit J. Kenji López-Alt’s home where he gives us a lesson on cooking his favorite childhood dish, a super quick Japanese take on...

This week, we talk about Mexican street food and the sometimes surprising foods that make us happy. Masienda founder, Jorge Gaviria, gives us a quick lesson on Vitamina T, aka those delicious masa-based Mexican street foods. Jorge is co-author, with Fermin Nunez, of Vitamina T, Your Daily Dose of Tacos, Tamales, Tortas and More Mexican Street Food Classics. He leaves us with a delicious recipe for...

We're back on the road to celebrate our 30th Anniversary! This week, we’re headed to Los Angeles, in partnership with LAist , to talk about the world-influencing food scene in LA and the community that brings it together. First, we dig into how LA dining influenced the country and the world with KCRW's very own Evan Kleiman, Host of Good Food , and Gab Chabrán, Associate Editor of Food and Culture...

This week, we amp up your home cooking with nostalgic dishes, perfect recipes, and pro cooking techniques. First, we talk with Chef Ham El-Waylly about his favorite dishes that were inspired by his wildly international upbringing and what draws him to comfort foods. From his mom’s cheesy empanadas to his riff on cinnamon toast cereal, he gets imaginative with recipes like his Tahini Roasted Swordf...

This week, we’re all about the diverse and delicious foods of Ghana and Nigeria. First, Food Network Star Eric Adjepong joins us from his childhood home to talk about the connection to food when eating with his hands, the community that happens around the Ghanain table, and his take on traditional dishes like his recipe for Roasted Banana Grits with Seasoned Shrimp. Eric is the chef and owner of E...

This week, we get into the history, craft, and techniques of homemade Ramen with the brilliant author, Sho Spaeth. We talk about its origins in Japan, the introduction of ramen to the US, and the recent innovation that gave rise to what we know as instant ramen. We learn about the five elements that  go into a bowl of ramen: broth, tare, fat, noodles, and toppings, and how these have been refined...

This week, we dedicate the entire episode to answering your bread baking questions with two brilliant bakers and teachers, King Arthur’s very own Jessica Battilana, Staff Editor, and Martin Philip, King Arthur’s Baking Ambassador. While King Arthur has taught millions of people to bake through their school, website, and classic cookbooks. They only now have published a book devoted entirely to bre...