Podcast

It’s the return of a special video podcast series: Food Writers Talking About Food Writing. It’s available on the TASTE YouTube channel, so make sure to subscribe and check out the video version of this podcast. Every couple of weeks, Matt invites a journalist to talk about some favorite recent food writing as well as their thoughts on the industry as a whole. On today’s episode, we have an amazing conversation with Mahira Rivers. Mahira is a journalist and former Michelin Guide inspector. She’s also the author of the must-read Substack Sweet City, which covers the bakery and dessert scene in New York City with a critical eye. In this episode we discuss so many terrific recent stories in the food world, including Mahira’s epic quest to name the 21 best croissants in New York City right now. We go behind the scenes on her five-plus years at Michelin and talk a bit about writing on Substack. We’re all big fans of Mahira’s work, and it was a joy having her in the studio. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube  Featured on the episode:The 21 Best Croissants in New York City Right Now [NYT]TikTok Chefs Have Upstaged Their Clients [NY Mag]You Asked for My Restaurant Recommendation. Now Go to the Restaurant. [Food Time with Matt Rodbard]Liquid Death: From Hardcore to Cringe [Snaxshot]

Jodi Moreno is a chef, culinary consultant, and food stylist based in Mexico City. She’s the author of the James Beard–nominated cookbook More with Less and a new cookbook, Simple Pleasures. It’s so fun to have Jodi on the show to talk about developing Simple Pleasures in Mexico City, the joys of summer salads, entertaining, and more. Also on the show is Tim Spector. He’s a professor of epidemiology at King’s College London, a cofounder of the science and nutrition company ZOE, and the author of The Food for Life Cookbook, a guide to the science of living well for home cooks. Tim addresses all our burning food science questions: probiotics, ultraprocessed foods, protein maxxing, and more. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube 

This is such a great conversation with Max Shapiro, co-host of the Air Jordan podcast and a guy who knows what he likes. We’ve enjoyed Max’s very active, and sometimes blessedly candid, Instagram reviews of restaurants around the world. While he’s based in Los Angeles, his recent trip to Spain, particularly a dozen stops at legendary restaurants and new places around San Sebastián, got us interested. Max shares an action-packed road trip around the Basque region, including stops at Gresca, Casa Julián, Asador Etxebarri, and Kaia Kaipe. And why you should most certainly not book at Arzak. He also tells what is good in his hometown of Los Angeles including Dunsmoor, Budonoki, Horses, Shunji, and Muse.      Read more about Air Jordan and the Los Angeles podcast scene. It’s interesting. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube 

Leo Schaltz is a cofounder of BonBon, a Swedish candy store with five locations in New York City (six total) and a cult following on TikTok. The pick-and-mix bulk candy selection is entirely imported from Sweden, from salty licorice to sour strawberry cream skulls. Today on the show, Leo talks about growing BonBon’s candy empire, meeting viral demand, and building a candy library. And before that, Matt shares some of his discoveries from the recent Fancy Food Show in New York. These aren’t the “best” products at the show per say, and lord was it a big show. These are simply some of Matt’s favorites, including: Vietnam’s Marou Chocolates, Baris frozen dipped raspberries, Gamsa Foods savory instant oatmeal, Rotten “better for you” candy, Long Weekend freeze-dried instant soup, Pari zero-proof, Michigan pies in the grocery store from Achatz Pie Company, Salad Sprinkles is really smart. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube 

Shooting stars and Seattleites