Podcast

"I was starting to feel, dare I say, seasoned at that point."

Nicolas Heller, better known as New York Nico, calls himself the “unofficial talent scout of New York City” with over 1.5 million fans tuning into his Instagram for colorful profiles of a city in flux. He recently published the book New York Nico’s Guide to NYC which is a true insider’s guide to beloved community businesses across the five boroughs, from 200-year-old bars to new-school pizza spots. Nico says it’s not really a guidebook, but a documentation of a city in transition. It’s great having him into the studio to discuss some of his favorite places.  All of us at TASTE are thinking about our friends in Southern California. If you would like to support wildfire relief efforts, some great places to start are the Displaced Black Families of Altadena GoFund Me Directory and the Los Angeles Food Bank. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

What an absolutely amazing conversation we have here. Malcolm Livingston II is a chef with some serious chops, having spent time in the kitchens at Per Se and Le Cirque and running the pastry program at wd~50 before being named head pastry chef at Noma—all by the age of 28. In this episode, we hear all about Malcolm’s time working at some of the world’s top restaurants, and why he decided to enter the plant-based ice cream game with August. We also find out that Malcolm’s life story is the inspiration for the character Marcus, played superbly by Lionel Boyce, on the TV series The Bear. If you didn’t already know about Malcolm’s incredible career and deep creativity, check out this episode. MORE wd~50 ALUMNI ON THIS IS TASTE:This Is TASTE 500: Christina TosiThis Is TASTE 240: Alex StupakThis Is TASTE 233: Wylie Dufresne All of us at TASTE are thinking about our friends in Southern California. If you would like to support wildfire relief efforts, some great places to start are the Displaced Black Families of Altadena GoFund Me Directory and the Los Angeles Food Bank. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

To many, German food is humble comfort food, the kind of food that may not win a beauty award, but more than makes up for it with its power to soothe, nourish and cheer. In her latest book Classic German Cooking, author Luisa Weiss has collected and mastered the essential everyday recipes of Germany and Austria. In this terrific conversation, Luisa shares her personal connection to German cooking while shattering some myths about one of the world’s great cuisines. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

We've dressed up and lit 84 birthday candles for Joan Baez this week with a newly refreshed version of our interview at Newport Folk Festival six months ago. Newport was where an 18 year old Joan Baez got her start in 1959, and where she returned last summer for the first time since 2009 to share some of her poems from her new poetry book, When You See My Mother Ask Her To Dance. She reads from her book during our conversation, and treats us to a powerful impromptu a-capella song.