Podcast

Meera Sodha is a cook and food writer based in London. Meera’s best-selling cookbooks and weekly Guardian column, The New Vegan, are some of my favorite sources of cooking inspiration, but like many people, she experienced burnout that led her to fall out of love with food. Today on the show, Meera talks about finding her way back into the kitchen and how that experience inspired her new book, Dinner, an honest and helpful guide to getting the most important meal of the day on the table.  Also on the show we have a conversation with Susan Dominus. Susan is a staff writer at the New York Times Magazine the author of a terrific new book, The Family Dynamic. We talk about how parents—and siblings—shape and fuel individual success, and focus on family a story with a Chinese restaurant at the center. We also talk about some of Susan's food-related work at the Times. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

Meredith Hayden is the author of the new bestselling The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook and she has quite the story to tell, which we get into in this great conversation. While working at Conde Nast, Meredith attended night culinary school and lived a double life of sorts—publishing worker during the day, line cook at night. We get into how she walked the tightrope and eventually landed as a private chef before launching a memorable, and might I say incredibly popular, TikTok account. The rest is history and it was a delight hearing Meredith talk about her story on the show. And, at the top of the show, it’s the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: An i’m donut ? report, the Hudson Valley’s Stissing House is as good as it's ever been, Jakarta Munch is a must-visit Urban Hawker stall in Midtown. Also: We book-clubbed The Most by Jessica Anthony in a weekend, it’s lychee season, The Condiment Book is super smart, and some Portland, Oregon restaurant recs.   Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

The beloved actor and avian ambassador opens up about her new book, Turning to Birds, and dives deep into some of life's big questions.

Satomi Matsuzaki and Greg Saunier of Deerhoof on Frankensteining together their art rock legacy.

Nina Compton is the chef and owner of three highly regarded restaurants in New Orleans: Compère Lapin, BABs, and Nina’s Creole Cottage. Born in Saint Lucia, she honed her chops at many notable restaurants before appearing as the fan favorite on season 11 of Top Chef. Nina’s new cookbook, Kwéyòl / Creole, written with Osayi Endolyn, is a true standout, tracing her culinary journey from growing up in Saint Lucia to Jamaica, Miami, and her adopted home of New Orleans. It’s so special to have Nina in the studio to talk about making this book and her culinary career. And, at the top of the show, it’s the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Pig & Khao, from Leah Cohen, is doing really interesting things on the Upper West Side, get to AbuQir in the Little Egypt section of Astoria, Menus By Brian is the coolest cookbook series. Also: A development in Aliza’s kitchen and it’s steaming, the great Yuzu Co. has a new line of drinks, NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wants to open city-owned grocery stores. And as a P.S.: I Leave It Up to You by Jinwoo Chong is one of the most-representative restaurant culture novels in recent times.  Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.