This Is TASTE

Is there an introduction needed here? Over her groundbreaking career, Ruth Reichl has served as the food editor of the Los Angeles Times, the restaurant critic of the New York Times, and the editor in chief of the legendary magazine Gourmet. She’s written juicy memoirs, mentored a generation of writers and editors, and still writes with regularity, curiosity, and a love for real journalism in her...

Emily Sundberg has a knack for writing stories that get people talking. The freelance writer and mind behind the business newsletter Feed Me has an expert eye for trends in the food space and beyond, like the return of whole milk and the rise of the “shoppy shop”—you know, those cute, curated grocery stores that all seem to carry the same made-for-Instagram products. We’re thrilled to have her on...

Here’s a bonus episode from our recent conversation with cookbook authors Eric Kim and Ali Slagle, live at Rizzoli Bookstore in NYC. Eric is a New York Times Magazine columnist and the author of the best-selling book Korean American. Ali is a recipe developer, consultant, and author of the best-selling I Dream of Dinner. Stay tuned for future episodes recorded live at Rizzoli. Subscribe to our new...

Dan Frommer is the founder and editor in chief of the 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 on the show to talk about some recent grocery store news and trends including Graza vs. Brightland, and to find out how the celebrated tech journalist started scrutini...

Wylie Dufresne is a legendary force in the New York City chef world. As the owner of wd~50, he pioneered a form of cooking, sometimes called modernist cuisine, and brought it to worldwide attention. And now he’s turned his attention to pizza with the opening of Stretch Pizza on Park Avenue. In this lively conversation, we talk about Wylie’s pandemic pizza project that went to the next level. We al...

Sandro Roco is the founder of Sanzo, which has been our go-to flavored sparkling water of choice. We wanted to invite Sandro into the studio not only because we are big fans of his cans of lychee- and calamansi-spiked bubbles. We like the way he runs his business, as well as the story of how he bootstrapped this company in one of the most crowded categories in all of grocery: beverages. We also ta...

Andrea Nguyen is back on the podcast to talk about her latest—perhaps even greatest—cookbook: Ever-Green Vietnamese. Andrea is a prolific cookbook author behind favorites like Vietnamese Food Any Day and Into The Vietnamese Kitchen. Her latest book dives deep into Vietnamese food’s rich palate of plants from the land and sea, offering up ingenious recipes for things like homemade vegan fish sauce...

Today on the show, we welcome in James Harris, one half of Throwing Fits, a very funny podcast and online community dedicated to all things menswear. We wanted to invite James in not just to talk about chef fashion but also to find out about where he’s eating and drinking around his hometown of New York City. We also get into Fanelli vs. Lucien, not being able to get into Gem Wine thanks to TikTok...

Samantha Irby is a humorist, a TV writer, and the author of an incredible new essay collection, Quietly Hostile. On this episode, we talk about so many things: Chicago pizza, living in Michigan, Bosnian food in Grand Rapids, car wash dudes in Kalamazoo, and what it’s like to write lines for Carrie Bradshaw (as well as give her diarrhea). We have long been huge fans of Sam’s work, and it was a real...

The future of food is fungi—at least if you ask Adam DeMartino and Andrew Carter, the cofounders of Smallhold. The new-school farming company grows delicate maitake, spongy lion’s mane, blue oysters, and more of our favorite mushrooms in patented aquarium-like tanks and mega farms across the country. They’re a favorite of buzzy chefs and major grocery chains alike, so today we’re going deep on thi...

It was so much fun having Jamie Loftus in the studio. Jamie is a comedy writer and podcast host behind some of our favorite series, including My Year in Mensa and Aack Cast, a very “Cathy” podcast. On this episode, we tackle all sorts of topics, and talk about Jamie's incredible new book, Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs. Yes, Jamie spent a solid year traveling around America, diving into t...

We’ve long admired Chris Crowley’s reporting at Grub Street, the food and drink arm of the great New York magazine. So it was a real treat to have Chris in to talk about his career in food media and the big stories unfolding right now in New York City. We go over some of his favorite slept-on restaurants before digging into the big questions in life: mainly, what is New York City’s best slice? We...

Sandor Katz is an activist, a fermentation guru, and the author of many influential books, including The Art of Fermentation and the deeply reported The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved. We had Sandor in the studio to talk about life and writing and what he’s been up to on his Tennessee farm. We also get into what fuels his big and ambitious book projects.  Also on the show, we have a great conve...

Danny Trejo is an actor and the author of several cookbooks, including Trejo’s Tacos and his latest, Trejo’s Cantina. We had Danny in the studio recently, and he honestly let it rip. Such great stories! He talks about working with Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, what makes a great taco, food for the incarcerated, and what food was like growing up on the Eastside of LA. We really hope you enjo...

Michigan chef and cookbook author Abra Berens returns to the studio to talk about her third book in a trilogy on Midwestern farming and cooking that started first with vegetables and followed up with grains and legumes. Her new book, Pulp, tackles fruit with some bold recipes and sound advice. In this episode, we get personal in praising Michigan for its superior apples, incredible blueberries, an...

Emma Orlow is a reporter for Eater New York whose colorful aesthetic is matched only by her thoughtful reporting—and her love of Jell-O. As the city’s dining scene heats up alongside the weather, we invited Emma onto the show to share her constantly updating perspective on the state of New York City restaurants, why so much exciting food is happening at pop-ups, the rise of worker-owned food busin...

Alicia Kennedy is a writer and academic living in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and she’s the voice behind one of our favorite newsletters, From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy. On this great episode, we talk about Alicia’s recent work and what she is reading, as well as diving back into her writing for New York magazine, the Village Voice, and here at TASTE. We discuss the course she recently taught on food...

Yes, it’s Anna Hezel day on TASTE! We welcome back our old colleague and friend to catch up about not just tinned fish (the subject of her new book, Tin to Table) but also what she’s been up to since signing off as cohost of this show. Anna’s new cookbook is an instant classic, and you should go out and buy it today.  Also on the show, we have a great talk with Evan Hanczor. Evan is the founder of...

Emma Lovewell is a star instructor at Peloton and a driving force for fitness and inspiration for millions. Emma is our favorite instructor (we rank our favorites on this episode!), and it was a lot of fun to have her in the studio to talk about her gardening skills, what she likes to cook, and what she eats before and after teaching her classes, as well as some of her favorite New York City resta...

André Hueston Mack is a sommelier, wine educator, whiskey maker, restaurateur, a Bon Appétit on-air host, and one of the freshest voices in all of food. He’s the author of the incredible book 99 Bottles: A Black Sheep’s Guide to Life-Changing Wines, and we had him in the studio to talk through his many career highlights. This includes his time running the beverage program at Per Se, opening his ow...

Snaxshot, the curatorial and slightly mercurial grocery newsletter and community, has grown into an industry force, read by CPG executives and members of food media on a near-religious level. (We are one of these people.) There’s real Blackbird Spyplane energy with the work that founder and solo writer Andrea Hernández creates, and we had her in the studio to talk about what is interesting to her...

Did you catch longtime New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells dropping a monumental story this week, the 100 Best Restaurants in New York City? This is the first time in Pete’s 12-year career that he’s published such a list, and we had him back in the studio to talk about his method and some of his favorite places. We also dove into his reviewing career, as well as how he schedules all the me...

We’re big fans of Marissa Mullen, and we are really super excited to have her in the studio to talk about her career working in the music industry (she worked at both The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert), but mostly to talk about cheese. She’s the author of two books revolving around modern entertaining and the art of the cheese plate. Her latest, That Che...

Comedians writing books about food is nothing new, and in some cases, we are pretty allergic to the practice. But with Dan Ahdoot’s smart and candid memoir, Undercooked, the Cobra Kai actor and longtime stand-up comedian has written with truth and wit, and we couldn’t put the book down. In this episode, we talk with Dan about his time working at the infamous Spotted Pig in New York, and we ask for...

It’s a good day when we can get an expert at the top of their game to join us in the studio. Writer and editor Jon Bonné is just that in the wine game—but he’s also an erudite observer of food and culture trends. In this action-packed episode, we talk about his monumental new book, the two-volume The New French Wine. We discuss France as a source but also a construct, and we dive into some of Jon’...