Arielle Johnson is a flavor scientist who advises some of the top restaurants and chefs in the world on how to turbocharge their cooking with chemistry. She’s currently the science director of Noma Projects, and she’s sharing all her wisdom in a new book: Flavorama. It’s a delight having her on the show to answer all our questions about the science behind what we eat—truly a must-listen episode for anyone interested in food.

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MORE FROM ARIELLE JOHNSON:

• Getting Curious With Jonathan Van Ness [Netflix]
• Arielle Johnson Has Flavor Down to a Science [Glamour]

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Nicolaia Rips is a true New Yorker. She grew up in Manhattan’s famous Chelsea Hotel, which served as the subject of her memoir, Trying to Float. Now she’s the features editor of HommeGirls, and she’s writing for places like Cultured, Air Mail, and the New York Times. It’s so fun to have her on the show in an all-out New York episode.

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MORE FROM NICOLAIA RIPS:

• When the Ghost of the Chelsea Hotel Is You [New York Times]
• Who The Hell Are 2girls1bottl3? [The Face]

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Sun Noodle is a legend in the ramen game and the company behind many of your favorite bowls around the country. Kenshiro Uki, our guest on today’s show, grew up in Hawaii working at his family’s noodle company and later helped lead an expansion throughout the United States and beyond. On this episode we hear about what goes into making noodles perfectly matched for legendary shops like Momofuku Noodle Bar and Yuji Ramen, to name a few. We also hear about Sun Noodle’s growing consumer packaged goods business, which brings bowls of miso and shoyu ramen to home cooks. It’s super fun catching up with Kenshiro.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt go over three things they are each feeling right now including: Eric Kim’s black sesame Rice Krispies treats, coconut and pineapple payasam at Kanyakumari, the pasta tarot deck, Mel the bakery in Hudson, NY, Happy by Celina Baljeet Basra, The Bartender’s Pantry by Jim Meehan.   

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MORE FROM SUN NOODLES:

• How a Ramen Noodle Factory Makes 300,000 Noodle Orders a Day [Eater]
• Taking Flight to a Land of Noodles [NYT]

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Julius Roberts is a chef and farmer living in the idyllic English countryside off the Dorset coast. He’s also the author of The Farm Table, a new cookbook chronicling his life cultivating crops and animals and cooking with this bounty. It’s a real delight to have him on the show to talk about transitioning from cooking in restaurants to family farming, daily life on his smallholding, recipe development, and more.

Also on the show, Aliza catches up with Matt to talk about her recent trip to Mexico.

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MORE FROM JULIUS ROBERTS:

• Epic Tarragon and Roast Chicken Recipe [The Telegraph]
• Snails Appear on the Insides of Our Windows Overnight [The Times]

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The Netflix culinary travel series Somebody Feed Phil proves that food television can be both accessible and interesting, populist and highbrow. Much of the show’s success is credited to its host, the delightful human being Phil Rosenthal. Phil returns to the This Is TASTE studio for the first time in over five years and we catch up about how his show has grown in scope, we talk about some of his favorite NYC and Los Angeles restaurants, and get some info on his soon-to-open restaurant in Larchmont Boulevard, Max and Helens. Phil is always welcome on the show and it’s great catching up.

Also on the show Aliza and Matt catch up about some exciting spring cookbooks, including: Islas, Bourbon Land, Health Nut, The SalviSoul Cookbook, Keep It Zesty, Cured.    

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MORE FROM PHIL ROSENTHAL:

• Phil Rosenthal Is Opening an Old-School Diner in Los Angeles This Summer [Eater LA]
• This Is TASTE 13: Phil Rosenthal [TASTE]
• The 80 Most Exciting New Spring Cookbooks for 2024 [Epicurious]

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Crystal Wilkinson is the author of a compelling new book, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts, a memoir that honors the author’s maternal ancestors, which she calls her “kitchen ghosts.” On this episode we speak with Wilkinson about life in Kentucky and what she came to learn about her family history while researching the book. 

Also on the show we catch up with Howie Kahn, a prolific journalist, sneaker expert, author, and podcast host. Howie is an old friend and a respected voice in food writing. We talk about his early magazine career and what drives him to write about food, drink, travel, and NYC as a backdrop for it all. 

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MORE FROM CRYSTAL WILKINSON & HOWIE KAHN:

• The Ghosts of Black Appalachia Visit Her Kitchen [NYT]
• Crystal Wilkinson Poetry [Academy of American Poets]
• Tom Sachs On His Cult Classic 'Mars Yard' Nikes [Esquire]
• Writer Howie Kahn Is Fascinated by the Grill [Grub Street Diet]

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Hailee Catalano and Chuck Cruz are two of our favorite social media follows (@haileecatalano and @chuckycruz). The two chefs, who met in culinary school, cooked at Chicago restaurants like Dos Urban Cantina and Cellar Door Provisions before starting to share recipes on TikTok and Instagram. Their inventive recipes and laid-back vibe have won many, many fans, and it’s so fun to have them both in the studio to talk about their shifting careers. 

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MORE FROM HAILEE CATALANO AND CHUCK CRUZ

• Earl Grey Buckwheat Chocolate Cake [Hailee Catalano]
• Chicken Adobo Au Poivre [Chuck Cruz’s Substack]
• Chuck’s Spotify Playlist

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The hamburger god George Motz is back on today’s show, and it doesn’t disappoint. George is a writer, a TV host, and the guy with the cool hair and an endless well of knowledge about the hamburger. On this episode we talk about the opening of his wildly popular new NYC restaurants, Hamburger America. The first few months has brought long lines and introduced a very opinionated city to one of the finer burgers around. He hear about it all, as well as George's take on the modern burger scene.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about the rebirth of the terrine in NYC restaurants. Terrine is an unquestionably dated dish, firmly stuck in time, a relic of 1970s dinner parties and the pages of a favorite vintage cookbook. But clearly there is new energy, a compulsion to slice off a little culinary history for eager diners. Aliza ran with the idea in a recent story on TASTE.

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MORE FROM GEORGE MOTZ:

• A New Luncheonette Serves the Hamburgers America Deserves [Eater]
• The Carolina Slaw Burger [Garden and Gun]
• How George Motz Spends His Sundays [NYT]
• The Terrine Fan Club Is Now Recruiting [TASTE]

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Today on the show we have a great double episode with two serious dudes in the restaurant game. Arjav Ezekiel is co-owner of Birdie’s, a beloved restaurant and wine bar located in Austin, Texas. On this episode we talk about Arjav’s immigrant upbringing in Portland, Oregon, and what brought him to the exciting world of wine.

Also on the show we have a really great conversation with Harris Mayer. Harris is a New York City chef and the owner of Pulkies, a really terrific restaurant serving Jewish-style barbecue to go—that would be ’cue centered around the smoked turkey leg. His “I can’t believe it’s not pork” pulled turkey leg sandwich is one of my favorite things in all of NYC.

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MORE FROM ARJAV EZEKIEL & HARRIS MAYER:

• The 2023 Restaurant of the Year [Food & Wine]
• The Powerhouse Duo Behind Birdie’s [Austin Monthly]
• Harris Mayer-Selinger Puts His Own Stamp on Jewish Barbecue [Tablet]

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Kanchan Koya will forever change how you look at your spice drawer. The chef, author, podcast host, and nutrition coach has a PhD in biomedical sciences from Harvard Medical School, which she uses to champion the science-backed benefits of ancient spices. We invited her into the studio for a truly fascinating conversation answering our many questions about health claims around spices—such as, what is inflammation, actually? Find out now.

Also on the show, Matt shares some highlights from his recent trip to Seoul, including stops at Buto, Sancheong Sutbul Garden, Flavourtown (100% free of spikey blonde hair), Meal-do, Honeybee, Magazine F. To name just a few! The full list will be dropping later this year.        

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.  

MORE FROM KANCHAN KOYA

• Spice Spice Baby [official]
• Radical Vitality [Apple Podcasts]

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