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

This week, we’re all about the Mediterranean dish. First, we sit down with New York Times bestselling author Suzy Karadsheh. Suzy talks about “eating the Mediterranean way,” growing up in a region with a plant-forward cuisine, Levantine cooking, using dried fruits in savory recipes, and making simplified Mediterranean recipes at home like her Flaky Veggie Phyllo “Pizza.” Suzy is the founder of The...

This week, we explore some of the iconic dishes of the Midwest. First, we talked to chef Paul Fehribach about Midwestern cuisine and the history of its unique dishes as they evolved from generations of immigrants. From the evolution of Midwestern-style barbecue to Cincinnati chili , considered by Paul to be one of the oldest examples of fusion cooking. Paul Fehribach is the author of  Midwestern F...

This week, we have just what you need to prepare for this holiday season. First, award-winning author and food scientist Nik Sharma shares his favorite holiday traditions and food pairings that will make your vegetables shine at the table. He is the author of  Veg-Table, Recipes, Techniques and Plant Science for Big-Flavored, Vegetable-Focused Meals , and he left us with his recipe for Stuffed Cab...

This week, we’re all about discovering the secret of cooking—and exploring an iconic French Dish. First, Award-winning food historian Bee Wilson talks to us about her latest book,  The Secret of Cooking: Recipes for an Easier Life in the Kitchen . She talks about how to find the joy in cooking with real-world advice, from embracing your favorite kitchen tool to considering cooking as a remedy. She...

It’s our favorite time of year – Fall Cookbook season! We’re joined by baker Samantha Seneviratne, author of  Bake Smart , who tells us about her favorite baking techniques, including a butter trick that creates the creamy texture in her Gooey Cranberry Crumb Cake . Then, chef and content creator Jon Kung talks about his debut cookbook,  Kung Food: Chinese American Recipes from a Third-Culture Kit...

Join us for  Turkey Confidential , our must-listen-to annual Thanksgiving Day broadcast! This year’s guests are Andrea Nguyen author of  Ever Green Vietnamese, Super Fresh Recipes Starring Plants from Land and Sea , Dallas-based chef Tiffany Derry of   Roots Southern Table  and The Great American Recipe on PBS, Washington Post Food Editor and author of  Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking , J...

This week, we are all about getting you ready for your Thanksgiving feast! First, cookbook author Amy Thielen sets us up with tips on keeping the holiday stress-free and enjoyable. She shares her remarkable thinking around “turkey secrets,” talks us through some of her favorite techniques for stuffing and starters, and leaves us with her amazing alternative to mashed potatoes, Fun House Baked Pota...

When it comes to cooking, do you follow a recipe to a T, or do you do a little improv? This week, we learn a lot about cooking by feel with the star of the Peabody and Emmy-award-winning show  A Chef’s Life,  Vivian Howard. She talks to Francis about how she “deprogrammed’ herself from precision cooking and started thinking outside of a written recipe. Plus, she sticks around to help answer your c...

This week, we dedicate the hour to the fabulous Dorie Greenspan. We talk about her start in food, from burning her kitchen down when she was a pre-teen to her love for project baking early in her career and becoming the iconic writer and cookbook author we know today. She shares stories about meeting Julia Child, working alongside high-level pastry chefs, including France’s Pierre Hermé, and her h...

This week, we dive into the new spice trade, its history, and two specific companies' commitment to their farmers and direct trade. First, we talk to Sana Javeri Kadri, founder of Diaspora Co. She talks about her   research on what the spice trade should look like today and what inspired her to base her business on the stories of spice farmers worldwide. Check out this recipe for Almond Turmeric P...

This week we’re sharing an episode of Food Network Obsessed, the official podcast of Food Network. On each episode, host Jaymee Sire welcomes your favorite chefs, food influencers and Food Network personalities to talk about how they started their food careers, who inspires them and what it’s like to cook on Food Network.  On this episode, Jaymee is joined by Food Network Star winner and Outrageou...

We sit down with Dorie Greenspan to talk about her newest book,  Baking with Dorie . She tells us about her "sweetheart" recipe collection, how she stays inspired after publishing 14 books, and how she dared makeover her famous World Peace Cookies. She left us with a delicious Caramel Apple Crisp recipe, perfect for the season and sticks around to answer your cooking questions. Later, our dear fri...

This week, we dive into the world of apples and agave. First, we talk with apple historian Diane Flynt, author of  Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South,  about what makes apples so magical and the connection apples have to people. She also teaches us the history of apples in the South and tips on what makes a good cider. Then, we turn to the world of Agave spirit...

This week, we take a deep dive into pizza with the co-author of the voluminous  Modernist Pizza , Nathan Myhrvold. We get into the history, culture, and techniques behind great pizza. We hear stories from his worldwide travels and deep dives into pizza cultures and traditions. Plus, we hear about the culinary lab research devoted to making the best pizza ever, and he sticks around to answer your p...

This week, we have stories centered around food, love, and legacy. First, we talk with author Michaele Weissman about meeting her husband's family for the first time, tasting his mother's bread, and later learning its significance and how it represented her husband's life. Her latest book is  The Rye Bread Marriage: How I Found Happiness with a Partner I'll Never Understand . Then, we sit with Bar...

This week, we take a close look into what makes a national cuisine. Anya von Bremzen talks about her most recent book,  National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home . We get into the history, culture, and theories behind the popularization of dishes, from researching the “correct” way to make pot-au-feu in France to looking at the “pizza effect” and the role...

This week we have everything you need for summer. First up, it’s Stacey Mei Yan Fong with her new book,  50 Pies, 50 States. Stacey decided to commemorate all 50 states in the most American way she could imagine-through their pies! Everything from fruity to savory to salty pies, and she left us with her take on the Minnesota state pie, a Corn Dog-Hotdish Pie with Savory Funnel-Cake Topping . Then...

This week, we're talking about the unique cuisine of Greece. Diane Kochilas, author and star of the public television show,  My Greek Table  joins us from Athens to talk about Greek regional cooking and explore the history and cuisine of the Greek American community. She also lets us in on her favorite dishes to prepare from her garden. Then, we sit with Tara Q. Thomas, who tells us all we need to...

This week, we're exploring the history of women and beermaking. First, Theresa McCulla, curator of The Smithsonian's American Brewing History Initiative, explains why beer is a great lens to examine American history and shares the story of Patsy Young, an early American brewer and fugitive from slavery. Then, Atinuke Akintola Diver talks about her feature-length documentary  This Belongs to Us ,  ...

This week, we talk to two award-winning food writers about how to make the most of your vegetables  and  leftovers this summer. First up, award-winning vegetarian writer Hetty Lui McKinnon joins us to talk about her latest book  Tenderheart, A Cookbook About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds . She talks to us about her father’s influence on her early life and how it inspired her vegetarian c...

This week, we spend an hour with one of Francis’ heroes, Chef Martin Yan. He talks about growing up in China, the time he spent working in the legendary wet markets, and how helping his mom in the kitchen gave him a lifelong lesson in seasonal cooking. From his journey to Hong Kong where he famously learned how to bone-out a chicken in 18 seconds, to his move to attend college in the US, to becomi...

This week, we’re spending an hour with Culinary Historian Dr. Jessica B. Harris. We talk about her start in food writing, how she started making connections between what she ate in Africa and what she ate in America, learn about one of her greatest influences, her mother who she calls her “culinary secret weapon”, and hear the many different ways she studied food, from reading Columbus’ journal to...

This week, we're joined by two comedians to talk about their connection to food. First, Ivy Le, host of the podcast  Fear of Going Outside .  We quote, "Most nature shows are hosted by reckless white men, but avid indoors woman Ivy Le is an Asian mom with severe allergies. Last season, Ivy conquered camping. She's back, braving the outdoors to go hunting- or die trying!" Then, comedian Dan Ahdoot,...

In each episode of Be My Guest, Ina does what she does best - welcomes a different friend at her home to talk about life, love, and career, all while cooking an amazing meal or two. Before she was a culinary icon, Ina was an iconic host - making her guests feel comfortable just as easily as she makes a four-course meal. Who wouldn’t want to spend an evening with her? In this episode, actress Jenni...

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 ge...