Special Sauce with Ed Levine

This week on Special Sauce we talk to the Spice Whisperer, chef and owner of the online spice store La Boite NY, Lior Lev Sercarz. Lior is on a mission to inform people about where spices come from, how they grow, what they look like in their natural environment, and ultimately, how to be inspired by them in the kitchen.

This week on Special Sauce you'll meet 13 time world pizza champion Tony Gemignani, who is determined to spread his good pizza gospel to every corner of the U.S. 

This week on Special Sauce violin virtuoso Jame Ehnes dishes on his live cooking and musical collaboration with Kenji that's coming up in Seattle on July 19th. 

This episode of Special Sauce is particularly special. You'll hear the remarkable life story of celebrated Mexican chef Lalo Garcia as told by Lalo himself and his biographer Laura Tillman. 

Ever wonder what's happening with the United Farm Workers union? I did, so I interviewed the UFW Communications Director Antonio De Loera-Brust. It turns that there's a lot happening, actually. 

On this episode we go deep into the life of a Greenmarket farmer, Kevin Caplicki of Woodthrush Farm. Kevin's lettuce is the stuff that dreams are made of. 

Grilling season is here and Kenji offers up some great grilling tips so that even the most casual backyard cook can up their game. Who knew that mayo can be your secret grilling weapon. 

Totonno's, the iconic, century-old Coney Island Brooklyn pizzeria, has been put up for sale by the family who founded it. On this episode of Special Sauce we talk about Totonno's pizza, legacy, and future prospects with NYT restaurant critic Pete Wells and the eminent pizza scholar Scott Weiner, the owner of Scott's Pizza Tours. 

The great pastry chef and chocolate maker Jacques Torres wrote one of my all time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. On this episode we chat about that recipe, the role of salt, and what chocolate to use. Plus we hear from some serious eaters on the crispy vs. gooey cookie debate.

On this episode of Special Sauce we take a deep dive into the beyond desperate hunger situation in Gaza with humanitarian Sulieman Mleahat who has been working in the Middle East for more than twenty years.