This week, we talk to two longtime restaurant critics from different parts of the country about what makes their work so interesting and what they're excited to eat. First, Bill Addison, restaurant critic for The Los Angeles Times, talks about his approach to critical writing, his favorite restaurant experiences, and the evolution of California cuisine. He just wrapped up one of the most ambitious projects of his career, the list of the One Hundred and One Best Restaurants in California for The Los Angeles Times. Then, we turn to the Midwest to join Wini Moranville, a restaurant critic based in Des Moines, Iowa. She tells us about her first job as a restaurant server and how that influenced her current work reviewing restaurants, and how restaurant criticism in smaller cities often have very different considerations. Wini is the author of the memoir "Love is My Favorite Flavor: A Midwestern Dining Critic Tells All," and you can check out her Substack, Dining Well in DSM.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 13, 2025 (originally aired)

Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora
We're celebrating our 30th Anniversary on the road, and this week, we make our fourth stop in Iowa City in partnership with IPR. We talk to bakers, chefs, restaurateurs, and farmers about the food of the heartland. First up, Shae and Anna Pesek of Over the Moon Farm and T.D. Holub of The Garden Oasis Farm talk about their personal experiences with farm life, from agricultural challenges to sustainability and the community and passion that contribute to the success and drive of a farm. Then, we talk to Jamie Powers, owner and executive chef of Deluxe Bakery, and Carrie and Andy Schumacher, owners of the restaurant Cobble Hill, about opening their restaurants in Iowa and how building community is the most important part of their businesses.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 30, 2025 (originally aired)

Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today.

When it comes to seafood, frozen is the new fresh. We talk to seafood industry expert, Jennifer Bushman about how technology has improved the quality of frozen fish and how to make the most of canned seafood from your local grocery store. Her latest project is Sea Pantry, how to keep your pantry stocked up with ingredients from the sea. Then, Senior Editor of New York Times Cooking, Genevieve Ko brings us her best at-home seafood cooking tips and recipes.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 9, 2021 (originally aired)
• April 8, 2022 (rebroadcast)
• May 31, 2024 (rebroadcast)
• May 23, 2025 (rebroadcast)

Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show

This week, we spend the hour with Deborah Madison, one of the trailblazers in popularizing vegetarian cooking in America — even though she’s not a full-time vegetarian herself. We chat with her about how she came to be the founding chef of Greens, likely America's first high-end vegetarian restaurant, at a time when fine dining meant meat at the center of the plate, and her study of Buddhism and the food path it opened up for her. Then she helps us answer your cooking questions. Deborah is the author of the classic Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, The Greens Cookbook, The Savory Way, and her latest, memoir — An Onion in My Pocket: My Life with Vegetables.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 5, 2021 (originally aired)
• March 11, 2022 (rebroadcast)
• May 16, 2025 (rebroadcast)

We're on the road celebrating our 30th Anniversary and this week, we bring you an eventful night in Seattle in partnership with KUOW. First up, Valerie Segrest, cofounder of Tahoma Peak Solutions, and Jeremy Thunderbird, owner of Native Soul Cuisine, about the diversity of indigenous food, carrying on traditional recipes, and food sovereignty. Then, Tan Vinh, host of KUOW's Seattle Eats podcast, and Melissa Miranda, chef-owner of Musang and Kilig, talk about the rich Asian community food scene and then, Yasuaki Saito, owner of Saint Bread bakery, a semifinalist for the James Beard award for the best bakery in the country, and Janet Becerra, chef and founder of Pancita, and a semifinalist this year for Best Chef: Northwest, talk about how their local eateries reflect and serve their communities.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 9, 2025 (originally aired)

Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show

This week, we’ve got suggestions to start your summer reading list. First, we sit down with bestselling author and poet  Aimee Nezhukumatathil to talk about her upbringing and the nature of her poetry. She writes about her parent’s gardens and their food, and how she carries her childhood experiences with her today.  Her latest book is Bite By Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees. Then, we learn about the life and legacy of the iconic book editor Judith Jones through her biographer Sara B. Franklin. Sara documented Judith’s amazing journey from her first job at a publishing house to transforming the cookbook industry at large. Plus, we hear from Judith herself from an interview we did several years ago with our former host, Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Sara B. Franklin’s book is The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 24, 2024 (originally aired)
• May 2, 2025 (rebroadcast)

Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

This week, we’re bringing you two guests that will get you excited about cooking and baking. First, New York Times food desk reporter Priya Krishna tells us about her food writing career, building connections through her stories and travels and her most recent book, Priya’s Kitchen Adventures: A Cookbook for Kids. In her book, she draws recipes from different cuisines worldwide and tells us what working with kids as recipe testers was like. She leaves us with a recipe for Life Changing Udon. Then, Baker Yossy Arefi talks us through what it takes to make delicious and simple baking recipes. She talks about making desserts without occasion and finding freedom in combining flavors in her recipes, like her delicious Pink Cookie Bars with cardamom and almond cream cheese frosting. Plus, she sticks around to answer your baking questions. Yossy Arefi’s latest book is Snacking Bakes, Simple Recipes for Cookies, Bars, Brownies, Cakes, and More.  

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 3, 2024 (originally aired)
• April 25, 2025 (rebroadcast)

Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

This week, we’re shining a light on the absolutely magical, life-changing, the world-changing thing that you already have in your kitchen. The refrigerator. Maybe nothing in your home has changed the world more. Historian Jonathan Rees author of Refrigeration Nation: A History of Ice, Appliances, and Enterprise in America talks about its origins and influence on cultures worldwide. Then, Editor in Chief of Cooks Illustrated, Dan Souza, teaches us how to get the most out of the fridge we already have - from what to keep in your fridge door to why you might reconsider where you are storing your milk, and then Philadelphia Chef Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen tells us how to think of the fridge as a tool to becoming a better cook. Think crispier chicken and root vegetables so delicious you will have no problem moving them to the center of your plate.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 18 2022 (originally aired)
• March 24, 2023 (rebroadcast)
• April 18, 2025 (rebroadcast)

Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift

We're back on the road to celebrate our 30th Anniversary! This week, we’re headed to Los Angeles, in partnership with LAist, to talk about the world-influencing food scene in LA and the community that brings it together. First, we dig into how LA dining influenced the country and the world with KCRW's very own Evan Kleiman, Host of Good Food, and Gab Chabrán, Associate Editor of Food and Culture at LAist. Then we talk community and the restaurants that foster those connections with chef-owners Uyên Lê, who makes delicious Vietnamese comfort food at her take-out, Bé Ù, Keith Corbin, executive chef and co-owner of Alta Adams, and bestselling author of his memoir, California Soul and Elvia and Alex Garcia, the James Beard nominated chef-owners of Evil Cooks, one of L.A.’s most lauded taqueria pop-ups now transformed into a full restaurant.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 11, 2025 (originally aired)

Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

This week, it’s the food journeys of two chefs. First, TV Star and author Carla Hall joins us to talk about her latest show, Chasing Flavor. She brings us stories about her filming and travels and the connection between people and their food. She sticks around to answer some of your cooking questions. Carla Hall hosts the MAX series, Chasing Flavor, and is the author of Carla's Soul Food: Every Day and Celebration. Then, we sat down with Atlanta chef Todd Richards to talk about the interesting and varied influences on soul food. He talks about the foods from West Africa, how they traveled across the Caribbean, and how the dishes have evolved. He left us with his recipe for Haitian Oxtail in Beef Broth with Pikliz. Todd's new book is Roots, Heart and Soul: The Story, Celebration and Recipes of Afro Cuisine in America.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 19, 2024 (originally aired)
• April 4, 2025 (rebroadcast)

When you shop using our links, we earn a small commission. It’s a great way to support public media at no extra cost to you! 

Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show.