The Splendid Table

This week, we’re talking to two amazing cooks about how they cook at home. First, New York Times Cooking contributor Kay Chun talks about her family, the influences who taught her how to cook with patience, tenderness, and discipline! Her dishes, inspired by her grandmother (who happened to be royalty), blend traditional ingredients like her Butter-and-Parmesan Shrimp Dumplings and Italian Pork Meatballs. Kay Chun is a New York Times Cooking contributor and author of Gather Around My Table: Simple, Flavorful Recipes from My Global Pantry, and she left us with a recipe for her 50/50 Quarter-Pound Smash Burgers that combines tofu with ground beef for a slightly healthier burger!
Then, we head to the North Carolina kitchen of Chef Katie Button. Katie has made her mark as a chef cooking Spanish food. Her home kitchen has a foot in the door of both cultures. Katie Button is the chef and owner of Cúrate in Asheville, North Carolina, and the author of Spanish Accent: American Home Recipes with a Spanish Touch. She left us with her recipe for her Ultimate Spanish Tortilla.
Broadcast dates for this episode:
November 6, 2026 (originally aired)

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This week, we get deep into Indian Street food with James Beard Award-winning chef Meherwan Irani. Meherwan brings the addictive energy and tastes of Indian street food into your kitchen. He walks us through some of his favorites, like vada pav (spiced potato croquette in chickpea batter) and pani puris (hollowed crisp shells filled with spiced potatoes and tamarind chutney). Meherwan Irani, the author of The No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World. He left us with his recipe for Roadside Hakka Noodles.
Then, legendary actress Ming-Na Wen joins us to talk about her cookbook, Have You Eaten Yet: Family Recipes from a Restaurant Daughter. It's a memoir of sorts of growing up in her family’s restaurant. The conversation is packed with restaurant memories, tastes, and recipes that she’s made her own. She left us with her recipe for her Baba’s Clam Chowder.

Broadcast dates for this episode:
October 23, 2026 (originally aired)

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This week, we go from a mindful kitchen to maybe a neurotic one? First, legendary chef Eric Ripert visits us in the studio to talk about practicing mindfulness and how he learned to bring it into his cooking. He talks about his visits to monasteries, learning about temple foods in Korea and making the most out of flavorful vegetables and delicious plant-based foods. Eric Ripert is the chef of Le Bernardin in New York City and the author of many cookbooks, most recently Mindful Cooking, Simple Recipes for Nurturing Body and Soul. He shared his recipe for Southern's France's delicious Socca Niçoise.
Then, New Yorker cartoonists Roz Chast and Jason Adam Katzenstein join us in Francis' kitchen to talk about their latest book, about the mysteries that reside in the kitchen. Which includes an on-the-spot inspection of Francis’ kitchen junk drawer! Roz and Jason are the authors of The Two Saddest Kitchens: A Comics Conversation.
Head to our YouTube channel and watch this extended cut of our interview with Eric Ripert. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything!
Broadcast dates for this episode:
October 9, 2026 (originally aired)

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This week, we’re diving into the everyday food of two of the world’s best food cities, Hong Kong and New Orleans. First, chef Lucas Sin joins us to talk about the iconic dishes found at a cha cha teng, a casual Hong Kong-style food diner. Dishes like scrambled egg sandwiches, delicious milk teas, and golden rice, all born from limited pantry ideas and reinvented with kitchen hacks and techniques. Lucas Sin is the author of Cha Chaan Teng: Comfort Food from Hong Kong's Iconic Diners. He left us with his recipe for the Hong Kong classic, Baked Pork Chop Rice.
Then, we turn to the origins of the food scene in one of America's great food cities, New Orleans, with historian Dr. Ashley Rose Young. She walks us through the history of the public markets, tells us about New Orleans’ most iconic street vendors like Mr. Okra, and how street food shaped New Orleans’ culture and cuisine. Dr. Ashley Rose Young is the author of Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in New Orleans.
Head to our YouTube channel and watch this extended cut of our interview with Lucas Sin. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything!
Broadcast dates for this episode:
September 25, 2026 (originally aired)

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Fire up your ovens because this week, it’s all about Southern and Midwestern baking. First, we catch up with the inimitable Carla Hall about her latest projects, including her one-woman show and her first-ever baking book that brings her love for baking and savory cooking together. She walks us through practical tips to help you feel comfortable in the kitchen, from pre-prepping pancake batter to investing in a scale and making the most of her ingredients, as she does for her “Black-ish cake” and Chocolate Focaccia. Carla Hall is the author of Carla Bakes: Sweet, Savory, and from the Heart: A Baking Book. She left us with her recipe for Savory Parmesan Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Tomato Basil Cream Cheese. Then we head to the Midwest to talk with Martin Sorge, author and winner of the Great American Baking Show, about his love for baking. He walks us through his love for whole grain flours and how to put them to good use in your baking (hint: buckwheat for flavorful shortbreads, rye for gooey brownies and chewy cookies!) and his technique for fluffy cakes. Martin Sorge is the author of Great Bakes: Modern Classic Bakes From the Midwest, and he left us with his recipe for Coconut Caramel Brownies.

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Broadcast dates for this episode:
September 11, 2026 (originally aired)

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This week, former bartender turned culinary historian Bobby Hicks joins us to talk about his passion for retro cooking. He gives us a history lesson on how recipes evolved thanks to industrial advances, and explains the thinking behind his redos of post-World War II-era recipes, like his carrot croquettes. Bobby Hicks is the author of Retro Recipes: Vintage Dishes with a Modern Twist, and he left us with an amazing recipe for Tomato Aspic. Then, we turn to the science behind human taste with Italian scientists Davide Risso and Gabriella Morini. They talk about distinguishing taste from flavor, how humans use a combination of senses to taste, how preferences change over time, and how understanding the fascinating taste preferences of animals (mosquitoes!) helps us understand taste in humans. Davide Risso is a molecular biologist with a PhD from the University of Bologna, and Gabriella Morini is a professor of taste and food sciences at the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, Italy. They co-authored On Taste in Humans and Other Animals.
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Broadcast dates for this episode:
August 28, 2026 (originally aired)

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This week’s stop in our road trip series is Thailand: We’re revisiting an episode from a couple of years ago where we talked to Salvadoran chef Karla T. Vasquez and food journalist Austin Bush, author of The Food of Southern Thailand.

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This week, we’re all about the beauty of the South of France with Steve Hoffman, author of A Season for That. Here we go!

This week, we bring delicious island flavors and home hacks to your kitchen. First, Puerto Rican home cook Omi Hopper joins us to talk about her love letter to Puerto Rico and the journey that started it all. She teaches us her secrets, aka the key seasonings to delicious traditional Puerto Rican dishes like her Mofongo, mashed plantains with garlic and pork cracklings. Omi’s latest book is Cooking con Omi: A Love Letter to Puerto Rican Home Cooking. Then, we take a trip to another island with Top Chef finalist Sheldon Simeon to explore the global flavors of Hawaii. Sheldon shares his favorite home cooking hacks and the family recipes he learned from his dad. He leans on everyday pantry items to create family-style meals that are easy to whip up and delicious, like his over-the-top Loaded Mandoo recipe. Sheldon is the author of Cook Real Hawai’i, and his latest book is Ohana Style: Food from Hawai’i, for Your Family.

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Broadcast dates for this episode:
August 14, 2026 (originally aired)

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

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You’re listening to a collection we’re calling road tripping! This week, it’s a journey to monasteries, temples, and other sacred spaces around the world to find their amazing food with Jody Eddy, author of Elysian Kitchens.