The Sporkful

Before the James Beard Awards , there was the man himself. Beard was the first celebrity chef of the TV era, preaching home cooking and fresh, local food even as frozen TV dinners gained popularity. But he also had to navigate the complexities of being a closeted gay man in a time when the kitchen was considered a place for women. Dan talks with food writer John Birdsall , author of the Beard biog...

Sam Kass shares stories of his time as the Obama family’s chef — cooking on Air Force One, smuggling special ingredients into the White House, and creating a dish that came to be known as 'lucky pasta.' This episode originally aired on October 29, 2018, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Aviva DeKornfeld, edited by Gianna Palmer, and mixed by Dan Dzula. The Sporkful team now includes...

Bobby Flay has competed in more than 700 TV cooking challenges and written a dozen cookbooks. But at heart, he still thinks of himself as a restaurant chef. In his new book, Chapter One , Bobby looks back on his career, from dropping out of high school and working as a busboy in New York City, to opening his first restaurants in the ‘90s, to competing on Iron Chef and Beat Bobby Flay . We discuss...

We cook up a Diwali feast with a Trinidadian mother and daughter and discuss straddling cultures with the Indian-American DJ who introduced a blend of hip hop and Punjabi folk music to the club scene. This episode originally aired on November 1, 2015, and was produced by Dan Pashman and Anne Saini, with help from Tim Rujerry. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'H...

Twenty years ago, Morgan Spurlock released his low-budget documentary Super Size Me , and achieved success that most documentary filmmakers can only dream about. The film made millions at the box office, it was nominated for an Academy Award, and it turned Morgan into a star. To this day, the film is still shown in middle school and high school health classes across the country. But in 2017, Morga...

Food Network star Jet Tila’s parents opened the first Thai market in the US in 1972. Now he’s trying to introduce people who aren’t Thai to the foods he grew up with. He tells the story of protecting his family’s store during the LA riots and explains why he considers himself more a businessman than a chef. This episode originally aired on July 15, 2017, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini...

Comedian Ed Gamble calls himself a “ very greedy boy .” That’s because he’s always loved food, from the diary entry he wrote at six years old about his passion for calamari and pastitsio, to the desserts he now critiques as a judge on the BBC show Great British Menu . But his relationship with eating has taken many twists and turns in his life: first when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and...

Dan eats fresh mozzarella with the former Van Halen frontman and drinks beer out of paper cups with the legendary French chef. It turns out neither of these guys is who you think they are.  This episode originally aired on November 22, 2015, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini and Jason Isaac. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Ja...

In honor of National Pasta Month, Dan shares the story of how his pasta shape, cascatelli, ended up in a design museum in Germany. When he travels with his family to see the exhibition, al dente: Pasta & Design at the HfG Archiv-Ulm, he finds it’s more incredible, and powerful, than he ever expected. Listen to find out why. Then, later in the episode, Dan talks with the founders of a highly select...

Ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, we’re talking with two cookbook authors about how Jewish food around the world has evolved, and where it’s going next. For decades, Jewish home cooks have turned to Joan Nathan for a taste of the familiar, and for a window into what Jews in other parts of the world eat. Dan talks with Joan about why her first cookbook was initially rejected by 16 publishers, and...

We explore the history of an iconic American food couple — cereal and milk — with help from New York Times food correspondent Kim Severson and author Mark Kurlansky. This episode originally aired on December 17, 2018 and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Aviva DeKornfeld, edited by Gianna Palmer, and mixed by Dan Dzula.  The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andr...

Today we're bringing you a rare behind-the-scenes look at a collaboration between two giant American food brands: Taco Bell and Cheez-It. (And no, they’re not paying us to do it — we’re just obsessed with how big companies come up with new foods!) This past summer, Taco Bell debuted the Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme and the Big Cheez-It Tostada. These menu items may sound like they were dreamt u...

In 2016, Jack Daniel’s announced the company would make changes to its official history. They planned to honor Nathan “Nearest” Green, the formerly enslaved man who taught the real Jack Daniel to make whiskey in the 1860s. They didn’t realize, however, that this announcement would cause an uproar — or that it would inspire a woman named Fawn Weaver to set out on a quest to unearth the full story o...

In cooking and eating, sound is the forgotten sense. But you can tell whether you're cutting scallions correctly, or how good your chocolate is, by the sounds they make. This episode originally aired on January 17, 2016 and April 2, 2018, and was produced by Dan Pashman and Anne Saini with engineering help from Tom Glasser, Chase Culpon and Bill O’Neill. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman,...

Dan brings his whole family on the podcast this week to answer your questions, just as they did in an episode six years ago. When a couple in South Dakota calls in with a disagreement over menu planning, can Dan and his wife Janie offer a workable solution? And the disputes keep coming with couples arguing over deli meat, cucumbers, and ketchup on mac and cheese. Plus, one listener asks: How does...

José Ralat’s job at Texas Monthly magazine is so unique that when he got it five years ago, it made national news. One headline read: “ The Job You Wish You Had: Taco Editor .” Yes, taco editor. Back in 2020, José traveled more than 10,000 miles around the state eating tacos in preparation for Texas Monthly's Taco Issue , that comes out only once every five years. In this week’s podcast, we tag al...

Dan and Radiolab's Jad Abumrad explore the new frontier of weed-infused foods with a pastry chef. They'll tell you how it tastes. They'll tell you how it makes them feel. And they'll tell you what happens when you eat way, way too much of it. This episode originally aired on June 7, 2015, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Talia Ralph, and the Radiolab team, with editing help from Shosha...

As the Minnesota State Fair kicks into high gear, we’re talking with one of the state’s most iconic food personalities. Beatrice Ojakangas, who turned 90 this year, has Minnesota roots going back to the 1800s. She grew up milking cows and churning butter on a family farm, before her first blue ribbons at the State Fair launched her on a path to culinary innovation. She wrote the first Finnish cook...

Why are politicians trying to ban lab-grown meat? Is Chipotle secretly serving smaller portions? And just how good is that new cereal mix by Jason and Travis Kelce? We dig into these questions and more in this edition of the Salad Spinner, our rapid-fire roundtable discussion of the hottest and oddest recent food news. Joining us in the Spinner are Josh Scherer and Nicole Enayati , co-hosts of the...

The founder of Milk Street hates celebrations and says pleasure is annoying. This week, Chris Kimball tells us why he thinks cooking is supposed to be hard, and how he got this way. Plus, he and Dan bond over their shared food obsessiveness and clash over their differences in the kitchen -- and in life. This episode originally aired on August 25, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman. The Sporkful...

Jameela Jamil may be best known for her role on the NBC show The Good Place . On the show, her character’s nonprofit work is a punchline, but in real life, Jameela’s activism on issues of fatphobia and sexism is no joke. She’s spoken in UK Parliament and successfully lobbied social media companies to change how they operate. Now, she hosts the podcast I Weigh where she talks with experts and celeb...

Pretty much every restaurant has salads, and yet how often do you get really excited to eat one? In restaurants and at home, most salads seem to be there because the person making the meal felt obligated to offer them. And diners eat them for the same reason. This week we set out in search of salads that you’ll still be talking about weeks later. We hear from Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja of Shuka and Shuk...

Is it unethical to sample an ice cream shop's flavors and not buy anything? A married couple calls in for advice, and Cooks Illustrated's Dan Souza reveals the artisanal ice cream industry's biggest secret. Plus, two listeners who run a French fry stand together call in to debate the definition of a condiment. This episode originally aired on February 26, 2018, and was produced by Dan Pashman and...

Celery doesn't get a lot of love these days. But it was the avocado toast of the late 1800s and early 1900s. People thought it had magical powers, and the hottest chefs in New York City were making celery-fed duckling, mashed celery, fried celery, and celery tea. So why did celery fall from grace? And can this once vaunted vegetable make a comeback? Reporter Maya Kroth and our friends at the podca...

Food writer Khushbu Shah and chef Edy Massih each released their first cookbooks this spring. Both works are part of a new generation of cookbooks that take inspiration from specific cuisines without being beholden to them. These books aren’t about preservation — they’re a reflection of their authors’ specific experiences. Which is why Khushbu and Edy may not do it the way your grandmother does it...