The Splendid Table

This week we talk to comedian Jim Gaffigan about vegetables. Journalists Jane Black and Brent Cunningham spent 7 months in Huntington, West Virginia, the town whose food system Jamie Oliver tried to remake. Contributor David Leite talks to Andrea Slonecker, author of Pretzel Making at Home, and we visit Thai Park, a market/picnic in a Berlin park that serves authentic Thai food that flies in the f...

This week Seattle chef Tom Douglas joins us for another installment of The Key 3. His book is The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. Award-winning photographer Penny De Los Santos talks about what she really captures when she snaps a food photo. And we talk to Todd Selby about his unusual book, Edible Selby. Broadcast dates for this episode: November 3, 2012 (originally aired) November 8, 2013 (rebroadcast)...

We talk to Mexican food scholar Margarita Carrillo Arronte, author of Mexico: The Cookbook, about what modern Mexican food is really made of, Chez Panisse chef Cal Peternell dreamed up Twelve Recipes, a book to teach his adult sons how to cook, and Lynne tastes her way through the best and worst of vegetable stock.  Broadcast dates for this episode: October 17, 2014 (originally aired) October 16,...

Mario Batali joins us with his ode to the American farmer, America Farm to Table. We talk about the cider-drinking trend with Amy Traverso, author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, the Sterns give us a tutorial on Canada’s poutine, and we learn to make a ginger bug with Jennifer McGruther, author of The Nourished Kitchen. Broadcast dates for this episode: October 3, 2014 (originally aired) October 2,...

This week we talk to chef Dan Barber about ethical eating. His book is The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food. We meet Von Diaz, a woman cooking her way through Cocina Criolla, the Puerto Rican Joy of Cooking, and The Kitchn’s Faith Durand brings us the best in vegetable slow cooker recipes. Broadcast dates for this episode: September 19, 2014 (originally aired) September 18, 2015 (reb...

We’ve a fresh take on home-packed lunches with Asian food authority Andrea Nguyen and her book, The Banh Mi Handbook, we get a primer in cocktails from bartenders David and Lesley Solmonson, the folks behind The 12 Bottle Bar, and we talk to Kate Krader of Food & Wine Magazine about whether today’s big-flavored foods are wrecking the American palate. Broadcast dates for this episode: September...

We learn the art of pickling fish with Paul Lowe, author of Sweet Paul Eat and Make, and we look at the tradition of eating frog legs in Detroit with author Bill Loomis. Ari Daniel observes chemistry in the kitchen of Kimball House, and Remodelista's Christine Hanway gives us some easy kitchen updates. Broadcast dates for this episode: August 22, 2014 (originally aired) August 21, 2015 (rebroadcas...

This week we look at why the restaurant world is still run by men with chef Amanda Cohen of New York City’s beloved vegetarian restaurant Dirt Candy. Lynne invites the authors of Cooking From the Heart: The Hmong Kitchen in America into her kitchen for a lesson in Chicken Larb and the Sterns are heading to Newport, Oregon, to Local Ocean Seafoods. Broadcast dates for this episode: August 8, 2014 (...

This week we check in with the hilarious columnist Jolie Kerr about keeping kitchens clean. She is the author of My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag … and Other Things You Can’t Ask Martha. The duo behind The Perennial Plate takes us to Ethiopia for a look at the super grain teff, and we get a sense of modern Greek food with Maria Elia, author of Smashing Plates. Broadcast dates for this episode: Ju...

We are looking at how we will feed the world with National Geographic magazine’s Dennis Dimick, we take on homemade boozy summer drinks with Andrew Schloss, author of Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits, and we talk to Roy Choi, the chef who went from a fancy restaurant to feeding the masses $2 tacos and jump-starting the L. A. food scene. He is author of L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food. Bro...

David Sedaris joins us this week with his stories about family dinners. His latest book is Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls. We look at an alternative and ancient way to bake -- on the grill -- with Paula Marcoux, author of Cooking with Fire, and learn the art of pairing beer with cheese from Steve Jones, owner of Cheese Bar in Portland, Oregon. Broadcast dates for this episode: June 27, 2014 (ori...

We learn some unconventional grilling techniques this week from Adam Perry Lang, author of Charred and Scruffed. Travel + Leisure magazine's Peter Jon Lindberg reports on the affordable food scene in Hawaii, and food scientist Harold McGee brings us some surprising news about the best way to thaw frozen meat. Broadcast dates for this episode: June 9, 2012 (originally aired) June 1, 2013 (rebroadca...

This week we ask the question, “Who owns the world’s superfoods?” It’s the battle over quinoa with journalist Lisa Hamilton, we hear the story of wine entrepreneur Jess Jackson of Kendall-Jackson Vineyard Estates from the author of A Man and His Mountain and the duo from the award-winning Perennial Plate takes us to Argentina for the tradition of mate. Broadcast dates for this episode: June 6, 201...

We are talking about fried chicken this week with Lee Brian Schrager and Adeena Sussman, authors of Fried & True: More than 50 Recipes for America’s Best Fried Chicken and Sides, Food & Wine Magazine’s Ray Isle explores a re-imagined wine bottle and we look at rice through a Persian cook’s eyes with Louisa Shafia, author of The New Persian Kitchen. Broadcast dates for this episode: May 23,...

We are looking at mindfulness in the kitchen this week with Dan Harris, best-selling author of 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge and Found Self-Help that Actually Works -- A True Story. We talk to the Martha Stewart of Australia, Donna Hay, chef Ronna Welsh tells us how to reduce waste in the kitchen, and the Sterns fill us in on Arkansas fried pi...

It's a look at the real world of the professional kitchen with chef April Bloomfield of New York City's The Spotted Pig and The Breslin, The Perennial Plate heads to South Africa to learn about biodynamic wines, and historian Frederick Douglass Opie takes us on a musical journey through the South's chitlin' circuit. Broadcast dates for this episode: April 25, 2014 (originally aired) April 17, 2015...

This week it’s a look at real ramen with Ivan Orkin, author of Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession and Recipes from Tokyo’s Most Unlikely Noodle Joint, the Sterns are in North Garden, Va., at Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie, we talk to Gustavo Arellano of the syndicated Ask a Mexican! column about the latest in American-Mex cuisine, and David Rosengarten of davidrosengarten.com is just back from Sicily and brings us...

We’re looking at the world of wine tasting with an unusual guide, Hoby Wedler, the blind host of the Tasting in the Dark seminars at Francis Ford Coppola Winery. Chef Daniel Patterson of San Francisco’s famed Coi talks about the philosophy behind the vegetable emphasis on his menu, and could cactus be the next kale? We check in with Modern Farmer’s Sam Brasch. Broadcast dates for this episode: Mar...

This week we play another round of Stump the Cook with Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi. We meet Erin Byers Murray, author of the memoir Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm, and we look at low-alcohol wines with Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, author of Drink This: Wine Made Simple. Broadcast dates for this episode: February 18, 2012 (originally aired) February 16, 2013 (rebroadcast) March 6, 2015 (rebroa...

Investigative journalist Christopher Leonard takes us inside the meat industry with his book The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business, wine expert Joshua Wesson brings us his picks of wines to pair with charcuterie, and we look at the food from Macau with the duo behind Chicago’s Fat Rice. Broadcast dates for this episode: February 21, 2014 (originally aired) February 20, 20...

This week it’s a very private look at the restaurant business with chef John Gorham of Toro Bravo in Portland, Ore., the duo from The Perennial Plate take us into the jungles of Mexico for an inside view of cacao, we look at the history and origins of culinary diplomacy, and get a lesson in Italian pasta from the author of Sauces & Shapes: Pasta the Italian Way. Broadcast dates for this episod...

We take a look at regional Thai food with chef Andy Ricker, author of Pok Pok, chef Jenn Louis of Lincoln Restaurant in Portland, Ore., brings some inspiration for winter salads, and what exactly is a meal like in space? Astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield, author of An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, fills us in. Broadcast dates for this episode: January 24, 2014 (originally aired) January 23, 2...

World-renowned chef René Redzepi of Copenhagen’s Noma joins us with a conversation about his latest book, A Work in Progress, Katie Workman of The Mom 100 Cookbook takes on picky kids, and we talk to Michael Anthony, chef of New York City's Gramercy Tavern, about bringing chefs' tricks into the home kitchen. Broadcast dates for this episode: January 10, 2014 (originally aired) January 9, 2015 (reb...

Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi is featured in our series  The Key 3 . Jane and Michael Stern are eating classic Mexican in Mesilla, N.M., and we talk to Crescent Dragonwagon about her latest book, Bean by Bean. Broadcast dates for this episode: March 17, 2012 (originally aired) March 16, 2013 (rebroadcast) January 2, 2015 (rebroadcast)

We are taking on the Christmas goose with Hank Shaw, author of Duck, Duck, Goose, master baker Alice Medrich takes on chocolate with her book Seriously Bitter Sweet, Jane and Michael Stern bring us the best in holiday pies, and Nathan Myhrvold of Modernist Cuisine talks about what it takes to capture the best food photos. Broadcast dates for this episode: December 20, 2013 (originally aired) Decem...