After a delicious lunch at Rochelle Canteen, the East London restaurant co-owned by British chef Margot Henderson, I chew the fat with her in the kitchen of the flat she shares with her celebrity chef husband Fergus and their three children.

Two underdog vegetables, Brussels sprouts and parsnips, get a bad rap mostly because they have been victims of overcooking. My friend Mairlyn Smith and I rush to their defence with recipes and cooking tips that bring out the best in these wrongly-maligned foods.

Kerstin Rodgers aka Ms Marmite Lover - queen of London's underground restaurants - chats with me in her kitchen in Kilburn, North London. Topics du jour: the Aga oven, homemade Marmite and women's relationship with food.

Toronto pastry chef Joanne Yolles and Marion Kane Food Sleuth® discuss apple desserts in general and that delicious French confection Tarte Tatin in particular.

In mid-June, 2013, I sleuthed the inaugural butter tart festival in Midland, Ontario, and chatted with the contest judges including artist Charlie Pachter, Midland’s mayor and police chief and the fest’s honourary Queen of Tarts. The winning tart, out of 80 entries, was baked by Nancy Dillen of Barrie.

"Where Chefs Eat" is a collection of 2500 places - from high-end restaurants to hot dog stands - recommended by 450 chefs from around the world. Its editor is British restaurant writer Joe Warwick.

In this podcast, I’m talking cookbooks: Why they’re so popular, why we hold them so dear and why I was so devastated when many cherished volumes from my 1,000-plus cookbook library went missing. I tell that story and speak with two people who know plenty about this subject: retired librarian Alison Sutherland and manager of The Cookbook Store in Toronto, Alison Fryer.

French-born celebrity chef Marc Thuet starred in a reality TV series called Conviction Kitchen, wrote a cookbook and was at the helm of many successful restaurants. He now owns Petite Thuet bakeries in downtown Toronto. But for years, this tattooed chef with the spiky blonde hair had a secret that ruled his life - and nearly destroyed it. His drug addiction is something he says will always be waiting in the wings.

John Higgins is a Scottish chef who, despite his rapid rise to fame, has both feet firmly planted on the ground. Now, as director of George Brown College's Chef School in Toronto, John helps prepare young students for the fine balance that's crucial to health and success in the high-pressure hospitality industry.

In the early 1980s, British chef Michael Quinn was at the height of his game. A celebrity in his own right, Michael oversaw the kitchen at London's Ritz Hotel and was internationally renowned. But a few years later, everything vanished. Michael's struggle with alcoholism eventually cost him his job, his home and his family. Now sober for many years, he is dedicated to raising awareness about addiction and helping others in the hospitality industry via the organization he founded called ArkGlobal. I spoke to him by telephone.