Zarna Garg immigrated to the United States from India alone, at 16, without a penny to her name. Fast-forward to 2018: She’s a stay-at-home mom with three kids and bored out of her mind. At her children’s insistence, Zarna got on stage at an open-mic night. Five years later? She has her own comedy special on Amazon, “Zarna Garg: One in a Billion!”
Zarna loves to top many of her meals with a big ol' pile of raw onions, but laments that Americans are sensitive to onion breath. I chat with a cognitive scientist who researched whether smell preference is cultural, personal taste or universally disliked among humans because of its chemical compounds.
And we’ll learn the fairly modern history of masala chai with Indian-American food writer Leena Trivedi-Granier (click for her recipe)– just don’t call it chai tea! We’ll tell you why.
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Comedian Zarna Garg: Masala Chai

YOUR LAST MEAL is a James Beard Award finalist for Best Podcast hosted by National Edward R. Murrow award-winning reporter Rachel Belle. Each episode Rachel asks a celebrity (Jewel, Isaac Mizrahi, John Waters, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Danny Trejo, etc) what they would choose to eat for their last meal. Then she consults with chefs and culinary anthropologists, ice cream scientists and hungry astronauts to uncover the history, science and culture of these dishes.

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If waiting two whole weeks for a new episode of Your Last Meal is way too long, we’ve got something to tide you over.  
On the weeks we’re not releasing a full-length episode of Your Last Meal, we’re airing The Leftovers: audio left on the cutting-room floor, interviews that host Rachel Belle really wants to do that don’t fit into the show’s usual format and, as you’ll hear today, a speed round with last week’s guest.     
Which means you will now be getting a little taste of Your Last Meal every single Thursday!   
Today’s episode features a never-before-heard interview with Tom Papa; comedian, writer, and sourdough-obsessed bread baker.  
If you missed last week’s full interview with Tom, you can listen here. 
Thanks to Visit Kitsap Peninsula for sponsoring this episode!
Watch Rachel's new TV show, The Nosh with Rachel Belle on Cascade PBS! Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Leftovers with Tom Papa

Tom Papa is a bread nerd. The comedian, author and podcast host is quick to point out that he got obsessed with baking sourdough bread long before the pandemic sourdough craze. He loves to talk about sourdough, read about sourdough and, of course, bake and eat sourdough. So host Rachel Belle chats with the owner of a Seattle bakery that uses a sourdough starter that’s more than 150 years old.
Pasta with butter and Parmesan may be the meal of choice for picky American children, but in Italy the simple, comforting dish has an entirely different context. Rachel calls Katie Parla, a Rome-based food and beverage writer and cookbook author, to learn more, and in the process learns the history of fettuccine Alfredo.
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Watch Rachel's new Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Papa: A Steak Dinner

By the end of this episode, you'll feel like the charming, hilarious and down-to-earth Julia Sweeney is your best friend! Julia and host Rachel Belle discuss everything from her true love of eating alone (and how that makes her husband feel) to the 60th birthday gift she gave herself: never dieting again.
Julia wants to cap her last meal with Canada’s favorite no-bake, layered dessert: the Nanaimo bar! Rachel chats with Joyce Hardcastle, the contest winner who created the city’s official recipe back in 1986, and with the current mayor of Nanaimo, about the history of the bar and how ubiquitous it is in the Vancouver Island city it was named after.
*This is a replay of an episode from 2022. Rachel lost her voice & hopes to be back with a brand-new episode next week!*
Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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Best of Julia Sweeney: Nanaimo Bars

Tune in to The Nosh with Rachel Belle on April 5 at 8:50pm PST on Cascade PBS, channel 9 in WA and BC, or catch it anytime from anywhere online at www.cascadepbs.org (just scroll down a tad to the Local Originals)
Do delicious bagels actually exist in Seattle? What’s the story behind the city’s first non-alcoholic bottle shop? These are just a couple of the topics Rachel Belle digs into on season one of The Nosh, where stories about the outdoors, art, culture and community are told through the lens of food and drink.
On this episode of The Leftovers, Cascade PBS podcast producer and Northwest Reports co-host Maleeha Syed hops into the interview chair to ask Rachel about the show. Rachel spills some behind-the-scenes tea and talks about why hosting her first TV show in her 40s has special meaning.
Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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Thanks to Visit Kitsap Peninsula for sponsoring this episode! Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Leftovers: My new TV show, The Nosh with Rachel Belle

Vanessa Lachey’s first book, Life from Scratch: Family Traditions That Start with You is rooted in a deep and vulnerable place. Vanessa’s mom left when she was a little girl, depriving her of motherly advice, care and the Filipino food she craved. It took decades, but the actor and TV host finally felt empowered to stop mourning what she’d lost, and start creating her own special traditions for her young family – including a chicken adobo recipe her husband, 98 Degrees singer & Love Is Blind co-host Nick Lachey, loves.
Vanessa and host Rachel Belle discuss how she secured a place in the Guinness Book of World Records (it’s food-related!) and why her family celebrates the holidays with a dish called Wiener-Bun Surprise.
Vanessa loves lasagna, so obviously Rachel had to talk about America’s favorite curmudgeonly, lasagna-loving cartoon cat, and she digs into the etymology of the comforting Italian casserole. We’ll also learn about Lasagna Love, a nonprofit started during the pandemic.
Rachel’s favorite lasagna recipe!
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Comedian Zarna Garg: Masala Chai

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