This Is TASTE

Nicole Rucker is a star baker and the co-owner of Los Angeles restaurant Fiona. She’s also competed in national pie-making competitions and will publish her first cookbook about fruit pastry in the fall. And she’s simply a pleasure to speak with: She’s honest, she’s articulate, and she’s got some amazingly honest thoughts about running a restaurant and the buildup to her recent review in the Los Angeles Times. “Tacos are a public service,” she says, wisely, of the city’s most iconic foodstuff, comparing it to the slice in NYC. “I’m not a taco head, because I grew up with it. They are like cereal to me.” So yes, tacos are discussed as well.

Also on the show, Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman gives her advice on transforming a couple of cans of tuna into an exciting dinner. We challenged Deb Perelman, and she very much delivered.

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The Ivan Orkin story has been well documented. In summary—and you can read it in the excellent memoir-cookbook he wrote with Lucky Peach editor Chris Ying, or stream it on Orkin’s also excellent episode of Chef’s Table—ebullient white man lives in Japan, makes magic with ramen, stays humble, works hard; the crowds and critics and media swarm. In this episode of the TASTE Podcast, we catch up with Orkin to tell the story of how he first brought his unique style of ramen to America, through a legendary pop-up at Momofuku Noodle Bar in 2012. We also hear about his popular restaurants in America, including a new slice shop.

Also on the show, Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman plays the game F, Marry, Kill: Sandwich edition. Grilled cheese, corned beef, pb&j?

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Laurie Woolever is a fresh and highly original voice in the food writing game. She’s a journalist—having worked as an editor at Art Culinaire and Wine Spectator—and was Anthony Bourdain’s longtime assistant. On this episode we talk to Woolever about the two Bourdain book projects she is busy working on and a story she wrote for TASTE about cooking the whole damn heart. She also talks about Carbface, the podcast she does with Chris Thornton (aka Shit Food Blogger). And finally, we get her take on a variety of random topics that only Laurie can respond to. Pigs in a blanket, grocery-store ham, and the idea of the “poor man’s recipe.”

Also on the show we have Ryan Angulo and Doug Crowell, the duo behind the new cookbook Salt & Kindness. They talk about their popular Brooklyn restaurants, Buttermilk Channel and French Louie, and about that one night a certain very famous couple (coughBey and Jay) celebrated New Year’s Eve in their restaurant.

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What a treat! Today on the show we have Meredith Erickson. She’s a journalist, cookbook writer, cycling fan, and the co-author of the new book Joe Beef: Surviving the Apocalypse. We talk about her many chef collaborations—she compares her writing style to that of creating a mixtape—and discuss a big project she’s been working on for years: documenting the foods of the Alps. Erickson also chats about splitting time between Milan and Montreal, which is just about the best way to split time.

Also on the show we have Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman answering a reader question: What’s something that you know how to cook now that you wished you could cook in college? The answer is really great.

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While the name Zabar is most associated with a delicatessen empire based on New York’s Upper West Side, it’s Eli Zabar (the punk rock Zabar of all in the Zabar clan) who has the most interesting story to tell. He founded one of NYC’s first specialty food stores in 1973, introducing the city to exotic imports like balsamic vinegar and fraises des bois shipped in from France. And he’s sharpened his bread-baking skills through thousands and thousands of loaves. Eli Zabar is low-key one of the city’s finest bread bakers.

On this episode I interview him about his earliest memories of smoked fish, the changing landscape of the grocery business, and what it’s like running a restaurant and bakery with his son Oliver.

Later on the episode, Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman answers a reader question: If you could take a cooking class to learn about anything in the food world, what would it be?

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Helen Rosner is a journalist, Twitter commentator, and the editorial force behind much of the New Yorker’s food coverage. This year, we were treated with her writing about iceberg lettuce, fermenting blueberries with René Redzepi, a visit to an MSG factory in Japan, and a method for preparing chicken that involves a hair dryer. I sat down with Helen to talk about her work, and to look back at some of the highlights of 2018 in food writing, cookbooks, and Twitter outrage.

Also on this episode, Anna spoke to Josh Gee, the writer behind the food-focused newsletter Snack Cart. They caught up about some of the best restaurant reviews of the year, and speculated a little bit about how food writing might evolve in 2019.

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Before he edited Epicurious, sharply reviewed restaurants in Chicago, and wrote a cool new cookbook, Cook90: The 30-Day Plan for Faster, Healthier, Happier Meals, David Tamarkin worked as a story producer on the first incarnation of Queer Eye. David is an interesting dude! In this fun interview we discuss what it means to cook 90 meals over a 30-day period—and how this Herculean-sounding task is actually quite doable and offers several lasting benefits to the home cook—as well discussing some of the popular (and controversial) recipes he’s published on Epi this year. Does a sheet-pan pancake make you happy? Mad?

Also on the show, Tatiana sits down with Diane Chang—a caterer and private chef behind the incredibly cool company Eating Po Pos. Diane talks about what inspires her cooking, from Filipino desserts to dehydrated fruits. And about her time cooking for Gwyneth Paltrow.

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Dirt Candy is a restaurant that has become famous over the course of the past decade on New York’s Lower East Side for making eggplant tiramisu, rosemary cotton candy, and tomato fruit leather. But its chef Amanda Cohen makes one thing very clear—it’s not about vegetarianism or health or politics. It’s just about making vegetables taste really good.

On this episode, we talk to Amanda about what’s changed over the years—especially as Dirt Candy has rolled out their tasting menu full of tricks, surprises, and, yes, even table-side flames. We also talked about the changing landscape of restaurant review coverage, and why restaurant critics in 2018 have a responsibility to tell a story that goes beyond the food.

Later on the episode, we ask Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman about her go-to dessert to bring to parties.

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Maybe you’ve been making macarons your whole life, could temper chocolate with your eyes closed, and have enough cake pans to fill a walk-in closet. But maybe, more realistically, you’re like the rest of us who love cake, have no idea what mousseline is, and are still fuzzy on the difference between cocoa and Dutch process cocoa.

No matter which of these categories you fall into, Rose Levy Beranbaum’s books are written for you. Beranbaum’s books, like The Pie and Pastry Bible, The Cake Bible, and her newest, Rose’s Baking Basics, cover classic techniques and pastries with scrupulously detailed instructions. Nothing’s dumbed down, and everything is photographed. Anna talks to Beranbaum, along with her longtime collaborator and coauthor Woody Wolston, about how baking has changed over the decades. Hint: Egg yolks are getting smaller, and people are buying more kitchen scales.

Later on the episode, Matt talks to author and artist Timothy Pakron about growing up in the South and the inspiration for his new book, Mississippi Vegan.

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The chef and cookbook author Anita Lo occupies a very special place in the hearts of many in the New York City restaurant world—chefs, journalists, civilians who merely dine at restaurants (that is, most people). Lo is a supreme talent, having run one of the city’s top restaurants—Annisa—for 17 years. She’s also a mentor to many in the industry. A leading light and an example of how to do things the right way. Stories of this journey, as well as some pretty cool recipes, are detailed in her new cookbook—Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One—disguised as a personal history. It's memoir light. During our interview at Books Are Magic, we talk about some of the recent controversies in the world of food, and her take on “the boys” and how there’s a clear double standard when it comes to business opportunities, etc. Lo also talks about the joy of cooking for one.

Later we get to talk with Matt Startwell, managing partner at legendary New York City cookbook store Kitchen Arts & Letters. We tackle a number of fun topics: the shop's famous customers, like James Beard and Julia Child; the most requested books; books he thinks need to be published; and a rundown of the big books from the busy holiday season. Have you picked up a cookbook today?

This episode is sponsored by Joule by ChefSteps.

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