Tom Colicchio bristles at the idea of a “celebrity chef.” He’s also the lead judge on Top Chef, one of the most iconic cooking competition shows of all time. This week we ask Tom: What role should TV play in a chef’s career — and does a chef need to go on TV to be successful? Plus, we talk about the future of restaurants, our national food supply, and how to solve the restaurant labor shortage. //

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Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio Wants To Focus On The Food

We obsess about food to learn more about people. The Sporkful isn't for foodies, it's for eaters. Hosted by Dan Pashman, who's also the inventor of the new pasta shape cascatelli. James Beard and Webby Award winner for Best Food Podcast. A Stitcher Production.

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Cookbook author Priya Krishna was a world traveler as a kid. Because of her mom’s job in the airline industry, Priya was able to go to China, Egypt, France, and more, chronicling all of the new foods she tried on her travels in her journal. Now, as an adult, she’s turning her childhood travelogs into the cookbook she wishes she had growing up — Priya’s Kitchen Adventures.

Priya Krishna Writes The Kids Cookbook She Wished She'd Had

Dips are having a moment — from a dips-only restaurant in Atlanta to Martin Short playing a character who only eats dips. But TV host and Cosmo columnist Alyse Whitney was a self-described Dip Queen long before they got hot, and she proves it in her new cookbook, Big Dip Energy: 88 Parties in a Bowl for Snacking, Dinner, Dessert, and Beyond.

Alyse Whitney Brings Big Dip Energy

You may think you know LeVar Burton. After starring in the seminal 1977 mini-series Roots, he hosted Reading Rainbow and starred alongside Sir Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation. These days he hosts the podcasts LeVar Burton Reads, in which he reads his favorite short fiction, and Sound Detectives, for kids who want to explore the magic and mystery of sound.

Reheat: LeVar Burton Even Reads Recipes Dramatically

Naama Shefi remembers visiting her husband’s grandmother for the first time, and being astonished by the stories tucked into each dish on the dinner table. That moment led her to start the Jewish Food Society, an organization that preserves and celebrates the diversity of Jewish food from around the world, which as Naama is quick to point out, goes far beyond Eastern European classics like brisket, kugel, smoked fish, and potato knishes.

Jewish Food Is More Than Matzoh Balls

Laura and Beth Winters are fraternal twins who come from a family of proud picky eaters. But after high school, Laura left home for college and started exploring new foods, while Beth stayed close to home and continued to eat the same way she did growing up. What does their story tell us about nature vs. nurture, and the kinds of judgments we make about picky eating?

Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio Wants To Focus On The Food

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