This Is TASTE

Today we have a really great episode where we go behind the scenes with two incredible chefs, Sara Kramer and Sarah Thompson. Sara Kramer is co-chef and co-owner of Kismet in Los Angeles, a restaurant that blends Mediterranean and Californian sensibilities flawlessly. Kismet has been a go-to for LA diners for nearly a decade, and we talk about her Resy Standby status.  Sarah Thompson is the chef a...

David Lebovitz is a cookbook author and pastry chef based in Paris. After spending 13 years in the pastry kitchen at the legendary Chez Panisse, he embarked on a prolific blogging and cookbook writing career. His latest is an all-new edition of the classic Ready for Dessert , a revised and expanded collection. It’s so fun to talk with David about life and pastries in Paris and about updating this...

David Lebovitz is a cookbook author and pastry chef based in Paris. After spending 13 years in the pastry kitchen at the legendary Chez Panisse, he embarked on a prolific blogging and cookbook writing career. His latest is an all-new edition of the classic Ready for Dessert, a revised and expanded collection. It’s so fun to talk with David about life and pastries in Paris and about updating this c...

Ruby Tandoh is a writer and baker based in London. A finalist on season four of The Great British Bake Off, she’s written several smart and singular books, including the fantastic new book All Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat Now. It’s an incredible exploration of taste as a social construct that traces the historic and cultural context behind contemporary food culture. Today on the show, we g...

Fardad Khayami , the chef-owner of Muse in Santa Monica, has a really great story. Raised in London, and a restaurant fan basically from birth, Fardad attended University of Southern California and started hosting his own pop-up dinners, first for friends and then for ticket holders. The waiting list reached over 6,000 names, and he eventually channeled that love for hospitality into his own resta...

Fardad Khayami, the chef-owner of Muse in Santa Monica, has a really great story. Raised in London, and a restaurant fan basically from birth, Fardad attended University of Southern California and started hosting his own pop-up dinners, first for friends and then for ticket holders. The waiting list reached over 6,000 names, and he eventually channeled that love for hospitality into his own restau...

Jake Cohen returns to the studio for a really fun conversation. Jake’s a talented cookbook author who is most certainly in the modern social media mix. His new book, Dinner Party Animal , is honestly a joy to read. It offers complete party plans with recipes in the Jake Cohen style—smart, a little sweaty, and with fun and creativity at the center. We talk about what makes a great party and how to...

Jake Cohen returns to the studio for a really fun conversation. Jake’s a talented cookbook author who is most certainly in the modern social media mix. His new book, Dinner Party Animal, is honestly a joy to read. It offers complete party plans with recipes in the Jake Cohen style—smart, a little sweaty, and with fun and creativity at the center. We talk about what makes a great party and how to t...

Today is a really special episode for Matt in that we dive into two of his great loves: food and fiction. In this episode, he catches up with two authors and journalists he has deep respect for: Ed Park and Jason Diamond . Ed is the author of the terrific new short story collection An Oral History of Atlantis and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. We talk about the 1990s and Ed’s past life working...

Today is a really special episode for Matt in that we dive into two of his great loves: food and fiction. In this episode, he catches up with two authors and journalists he has deep respect for: Ed Park and Jason Diamond. Ed is the author of the terrific new short story collection An Oral History of Atlantis and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. We talk about the 1990s and Ed’s past life working...

Bettina Makalintal is a senior reporter at Eater and helps lead the publication’s cookbook coverage. Today Eater released a list of its favorites from the busy season, and we talk all about it, as well as some trends Bettina is seeing in book publishing. I always look forward to Eater’s robust and well-considered lists of books each season, and this one is no different. Bettina fills us in, and I...

Today on the show, we have a great conversation with Aaron Crowder . Aaron is the chef-partner at two of New York’s buzziest restaurants, Eel Bar and ⁠Cervos⁠ . In fact, these restaurants are often mentioned on this show’s TASTE check segments. I had a wonderful talk with Aaron about his Florida upbringing and what he is excited to cook this fall. At the top of the show, Gilberto Cetina , chef at...

Today on the show, we have a great conversation with Aaron Crowder. Aaron is the chef-partner at two of New York’s buzziest restaurants, Eel Bar and ⁠Cervos⁠. In fact, these restaurants are often mentioned on this show’s TASTE check segments. I had a wonderful talk with Aaron about his Florida upbringing and what he is excited to cook this fall. At the top of the show, Gilberto Cetina, chef at the...

Melissa King is a chef, entrepreneur, television personality, activist, model, tastemaker, and author of the incredible new cookbook Cook Like a King . She is the winner of Bravo’s Top Chef: All-Stars L.A . and holds more challenge wins than any other competitor in the history of Top Chef . As mentioned previously on the show, I love Cook Like a King . It really speaks to me, and Melissa shares ab...

Melissa King is a chef, entrepreneur, television personality, activist, model, tastemaker, and author of the incredible new cookbook Cook Like a King. She is the winner of Bravo’s Top Chef: All-Stars L.A. and holds more challenge wins than any other competitor in the history of Top Chef. As mentioned previously on the show, I love Cook Like a King. It really speaks to me, and Melissa shares about...

Today on the show, we have a great conversation with Joseph Hernandez. He’s the associate director of drinks & lifestyle at Bon Appétit and Epicurious, and we talk about BA’s best new restaurants of 2025 list that drops today. It’s a terrific list that covers the United States with ambition and great taste, including stops in Pittsburgh, Honolulu, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Who made the list...

Evan Funke  is a Los Angeles chef and roller of pastas, starring on Netflix and in the dining rooms of  Felix Trattoria ,  Mother Wolf ,  Funke , and other restaurants in his expanding empire. It was such a pleasure sitting down with Evan in Los Angeles to talk about his wild ride of a career, the good word on the restaurant Funke in Beverly Hills, and how he collaborates closely with his staff to...

Evan Funke is a Los Angeles chef and roller of pastas, starring on Netflix and in the dining rooms of Felix Trattoria, Mother Wolf, Funke, and other restaurants in his expanding empire. It was such a pleasure sitting down with Evan in Los Angeles to talk about his wild ride of a career, the good word on the restaurant Funke in Beverly Hills, and how he collaborates closely with his staff to make s...

You may know cookbook author and culinary personality Dan Pelosi as GrossyPelosi, a self-proclaimed “Italian meatball making meatballs.” Dan’s approachable recipes and warm personality, and his debut book, Let’s Eat, have won him lots of fans online and off, and his second cookbook, Let’s Party, delivers more comfort—and lots of smart entertaining tips. It’s so fun to have Dan on the show to talk...

Dan Frommer is the founder and editor in chief of The New Consumer , an influential publication that covers the intersection of technology and consumer brands—and many of these brands live in the food world. We wanted to have Dan back on the show to talk about his new trends report. As Dan writes: “Between tariffs, geopolitics, DOGE, egg prices, measles, fires, floods, and more, the US consumer ha...

Dan Frommer is the founder and editor in chief of The New Consumer, an influential publication that covers the intersection of technology and consumer brands—and many of these brands live in the food world. We wanted to have Dan back on the show to talk about his new trends report. As Dan writes: “Between tariffs, geopolitics, DOGE, egg prices, measles, fires, floods, and more, the US consumer has...

Alexis deBoschnek is a cookbook author, recipe developer, and writer based in the Catskills in upstate New York. Her latest book, Nights and Weekends , is extremely cool, and we talk about how she brings her deep recipe writing chops to help people cook better and faster. We also discuss her upstate life and some of the memorable recipes from the book. Also on the show, Aliza talks with Miyoko Sch...

Alexis deBoschnek is a cookbook author, recipe developer, and writer based in the Catskills in upstate New York. Her latest book, Nights and Weekends, is extremely cool, and we talk about how she brings her deep recipe writing chops to help people cook better and faster. We also discuss her upstate life and some of the memorable recipes from the book. Also on the show, Aliza talks with Miyoko Schi...

Drew Nieporent is the guy behind legendary New York City restaurants Montrachet, Tribeca Grill, Nobu, and nearly 40 more, and he joins me in the studio today for an amazing conversation. He’s written a memoir, I’m Not Trying to Be Difficult: Stories from the Restaurant Trenches , and it’s one of Matt's favorite restaurant books in recent years. In our conversation, we cover a lot of ground: openin...

Drew Nieporent is the guy behind legendary New York City restaurants Montrachet, Tribeca Grill, Nobu, and nearly 40 more, and he joins me in the studio today for an amazing conversation. He’s written a memoir, I’m Not Trying to Be Difficult: Stories from the Restaurant Trenches, and it’s one of Matt's favorite restaurant books in recent years. In our conversation, we cover a lot of ground: opening...