Podcast

Michael Symon is the star of Symon’s Dinners Cooking Out and the author of a great new cookbook, Simply Symon Suppers, as well as a longtime TV host, Iron Chef, and food commentator. But we know Michael best as a really, really great chef who’s run well-regarded restaurants in New York City and Cleveland, where he was born. On this action-packed episode, we talk about Symon’s Greek and Sicilian background and how he hosts raucous dinner parties in all seasons. We discuss his star turn and what celebrity chefdom has meant for this true Midwesterner. It’s a great talk, and we hope you enjoy it. Also on the show, we have a great conversation with The Bear's set decorator, Eric Frankel. Eric, along with his team, is responsible for creating the kitchen and restaurant spaces on the hit show, and we find out how building the set was very similar to opening a real restaurant (with real fire and flame). We also learn about how he selected the many cookbooks featured on the show. 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 MICHAEL SYMON AND THE BEAR:2 Easy Recipes For Fall [Good Morning America]Michael Symon’s Deviled Eggs [Food Network]Here’s the Complete List of Every Cookbook Featured on ‘The Bear’ [Eater]

This week, we shift from the band’s chronological narrative to consider the many factors that bind this chaotic mass of people together in this creative yet uncommercial experience.

Jason Hammel is the executive chef and owner of award-winning Lula Cafe in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Jason grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, and is the product of a tight-knit Italian family. He studied writing at Brown University and then traveled in Italy, where an accidental stay in an apartment above a produce market left a lasting impression and presaged his career as a chef. In this episode we hear about the 24-year run of Lula Cafe, and about how Jason’s instinct to write blends with his culinary background. We also talk about his debut cookbook, The Lula Cafe Cookbook. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things they are feeling, including a memorable Table of Contents event in Brooklyn, speaking at the Chow Chow Festival in Asheville, NC, the nostalgia of Save Me the Plums, Helen Rosner is on a roll at The New Yorker, Birdie’s pasta extruder in the dining room is a baller move. 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 JASON HAMMEL:Jason Hammel’s Dear Chicago [Star Chefs]Still Setting the Standard in Logan Square [Chicago Tribune]Konbi Has a Secret Croissant Machine [TASTE]

A companion episode to Romy's recent visit to SHEROES during Pride Month on the heels of announcing her debut album Mid Air, Romy Madley Croft, who is best known as one-third of The xx, returns to SHEROES to celebrate the release of the album and reflect on the journey thus far as a solo artist with Carmel Holt.

Writer, podcaster, and cookbook collaborator Andrew Friedman has a unique vantage point in talking about chefs and food writing as a profession. He’s worked with some of the most interesting voices in the restaurant world (going back a decade and longer), including Daniel Boulud, Alfred Portale, Michelle Bernstein, Bill Telepan, and David Waltuck. In this episode we talk to Andrew about his most recent work, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food, a page-turning, behind-the-scenes look at what makes a single restaurant dish. We discuss the book’s unique reporting process and how Andrew views his work in the larger context of food media. We also get some restaurant picks—and pay tribute to one of the industry’s most influential and frankly forgotten players.  Also on the show, Aliza shares some highlights from her recent trip to Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles. Stay for a report from the LA bagel wars, a camping beer hack, and what is exciting her on the the west coast. 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 ANDREW FRIEDMAN:Andrew Talks to Chefs [official]Who Let the Cool Chefs Write Cookbooks? [TASTE]The Secret Lives of Private Chefs [TASTE]

“I find myself not biking down streets where there are movie posters because of my own stupid neuroses.”