Dan Richer, the wonderfully obsessed pizzaiolo behind New Jersey's acclaimed Razza Pizza Artigianale , is a longtime friend of the pod. But he's never shared his full story and how he came to love and be consumed with the making of pizza here ... until now. On this episode, Dan and Andrew commandeer the upstairs office at Razza, and Dan shares it all with us. This episode is part of Chefs on Fire , our conversation series featuring today’s live-fire tastemakers. Chefs on Fire is presented by Pri...
Oct 07, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 256
After years of trying, Ashley Christensen and Andrew were finally able to orchestrate an in-person interview this past spring at The Chef Conference in Philadelphia. Unsurprisingly, it was well worth the wait: Ashley opens up about the role of music and food in her childhood, the college dinner parties that sparked her eventual commitment to the pro kitchen, and the genesis of some of her most successful concepts. Here are some organizations to which you can contribute in order to help people af...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 255
For the past two decades, Stephanie Izard has steadily amassed a stellar culinary and hospitality career as a chef and restaurateur. First introduced to a national audience when she won Season 4 of Top Chef , which she immediately followed with her first restaurant, Chicago's Girl and the Goat. The instantaneous and overwhelming success of that restaurant led to additional "Goat" restaurants and other projects in Chicago and Los Angeles. In this conversation, Stephanie shares the origins of her ...
Aug 23, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 254
From high atop the Hoxton Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Chicago's Mindy Segal takes us through her life and career: How she grativitated to the pro kitchen and zeroed in on pastry; her instinct-based approach to creativity and collaboration; and the genesis of her self-titled line of edibles , as well as the story behind her current place, Mindy's Bakery . Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs' presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating system for professionals. Sign up today for a basic (...
Aug 19, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 253
Andrew's been a fan of the wit, wisdom, and observational powers of LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano for years. So, when they both attended The Chef Conference in Philly this spring, we asked Gustavo to sit down for an improvisational conversation. He obliged, and did not disappoint. Enjoy this freestyle conversation that covers a wide range of subjects, from the ethics of restaurant criticism to the joys of being a columnist to the life of a modern-day newspaperman. Huge thanks to Andrew Tal...
Aug 08, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 252
Food scientist Arielle Johnson has worked with some of the most acclaimed restaurants in the world, and recently offered up much of her knowledge in a surprisingly fun, accessible, and comprehendible book, Flavorama: A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor . In this interview, Arielle recounts her path to becoming a food scientist (a relatively new field), and discusses some of the key messages of Flavorama . Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs' presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe o...
Aug 06, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 251
Born in Mexico and raised in the Midwest, Adair Canacasco brings his personal background and passion to his role as executive chef of Roister restaurant in Chicago. While in Chicago recently, Andrew sat down with Adair to learn about his familial roots, his maturation as both a cook and a manager/mentor of cooks, and the complex nature of the live-fire cooking performed at Roister. This episode is part of Chefs on Fire , our conversation series featuring today's live-fire tastemakers. Chefs on F...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 250
During The Chef Conference in Philly this spring, Sean Brock graciously made time to sit down for this deeply personal and open conversation about his path to the pro kitchen, his development as a chef, and his various restaurants, including his current Joyland , Audrey , and june in Nashville. Please check out our fellow meez network podcasts and newsletter ! THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW: Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most rece...
Jul 09, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 249
Hey, everybody! Please take 8 minutes and listen to this announcement of The meez Network . Andrew co-founded this new content hub with meez founder and ceo Josh Sharkey, and will initially serve the network as program director. The meez Network launches today (7/1/04) with an inaugural roster of podcasts, and one newsletter. Please check it out, take the participating podcasts and newsletter out for a test drive, and give a follow to The meez Network's Instagram feed . More details on the netwo...
Jul 01, 2024•11 min
After years mostly writing and editing "real life" articles and books set in and around the food and restaurant realm, Ruth Reichl recently published a new work of fiction, The Paris Novel . The book follows young protagonist Stella as she discovers life's pleasures, and gets to know herself, in the most romantic city on Earth. In this Special Conversation, Ruth discusses the book's genesis, its examination of sensuality, and why writing it allowed her to enjoy the writing process as never befor...
Jun 24, 2024•45 min•Ep. 248
Lyndsay C. Green covers restaurants and dining for The Detroit Free Press . She comes to her area of specialization from a background in beauty reporting. In this conversation--recorded after a chance encounter with Andrew at The Chef Conference in Philly this spring--Lyndsay shares her personal story and how she migrated from beauty to food, the honing of her writing style, Detroit's restaurant scene, and the inherent role of race in criticism. Huge thanks to our presenting sponsor, meez, the r...
Jun 11, 2024•55 min•Ep. 247
LIVE! from Hot Luck (Austin, TX)--Perhaps best known as the force behind Bakers Against Racism , Paola Velez ( Dōekï Dōekï ) has made a life and career of intertwining baking and altruism. (As her website says, she just wants to "Bake the World a Better Place.") In this interview, recorded on the grounds of Hot Luck last weekend, Paola shares about her Bronx childhood, how she switched from savory cooking to baking and pastry, her thoughts on how pastry chefs can express themselves, and--of cour...
May 30, 2024•53 min•Ep. 246
Raised in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, Sal Lamboglia grew up on Italian-American food in a family populated by his chef father, butchers, and other food professionals. Following graduation from culinary school, he spent many years with a Manhattan-based restaurant group before returning to Brooklyn and launching his hit restaurant Cafe Spaghetti in 2022, and its follow up, Swoony's , in 2024. On this episode, Sal takes us through his early life experience, pro training, and how he a...
May 29, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 245
When Philly's Friday Saturday Sunday won the James Beard Foundation Award as Outstanding Restaurant in 2023, it was the culmination of chef Chad Williams' slow, patient development, of both his talent and craft, and of the restaurant he co-owns and co-operates with his wife Hanna Williams. In this conversation, recorded at The Chef Conference in Philly last month, Chad takes us through his career, which he approached in a decidedly old-school way, working in kitchens around the city, country, an...
May 25, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 244
Robert Simonson is one of our most prolific and witty scribes on the subject of cocktails. Along with cocktails, he also writes about the related topics of spirits, bars, and bartenders for the New York Times and is the creator and author of the Substack newsletter The Mix with Robert Simonson . In his most recent book, The Encyclopedia of Cocktails , Robert offers, in his own singular voice, pocket histories and fun facts about cocktails and the people who create(d) and make/made them, key spir...
May 17, 2024•35 min
On the occasion of the relocation of his eponymous restaurant to its new home in Tribeca, Marc Forgione sat down for one of our special conversations--and, man, did he bring it. In just 30 brisk minutes, he and Andrew discuss NYC restaurant rents, the possibilities of a new space, the crucialness of having a private dining room, and the media's portrayal of the industry. You don't want to miss this one! Join the Book Party Swoony's restaurant in Brooklyn is putting on for Andrew and fellow write...
May 14, 2024•46 min
In their second literary collaboration, Koreaworld: A Cookbook , authors Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard take readers on an adventure to Korea, and to hubs of Korean food in the United States, to paint a vivid portrait of Korean food worldwide right now . On today's episode, Deuki and Matt share their impressions of modern Korea and its cuisine, and of some of is most important practitioners in the US. They also make the case for Korean food's, at long last, having found an abiding audience in the U...
May 07, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 243
After a few lurches and false starts early in his career, Evan Funke connected with the Los Angeles area dining public in a big way with his Felix restaurant in Venice, California, and has followed it up with a series of successes: Mother Wolf , Funke , Tre Dita in Chicago, and others on the horizon. In this conversation, recorded last week in New York City, Evan shares deeply about his personal story, how Italy changed his life and career trajectory, and his philosophy of training and risk-taki...
May 03, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 242
Between speaking on a panel at The Chef Conference in Philly and catching a flight back to New Orleans, chef Nina Compton took time to sit down with Andrew and share the milestones in her life and career to date. From a fondly remembered childhood in Saint Lucia to the Culinary Institute of America to stints working for and with chefs such as Daniel Boulud, Scott Conant, and Norman Van Aken ... to owning and operating her own Compère Lapin in New Orleans ... this conversation packs a lot into 45...
Apr 23, 2024•58 min•Ep. 241
Austin Johnson has taken a circuitous route to NYC's One White Street and Rigor Hill Market . He's cooked or cheffed at institutions like Canlis, Noma, Eleven Madison Park, Frenchie, and others, as well as on an Alaskan fishing boat. ( His blog from his time on the boat is still online, and is well worth your time. ) He shares it all here, and takes time along the way to discuss kitchen culture, whether or not to go to cooking school, and the value of stages . Huge thanks to our presenting spons...
Apr 22, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 240
If ever there were a guest who needed little introduction, it's certainly Alain Ducasse. The great chef--one of the most influential, prolific, and successful in the history of Western cuisine--sat down with Andrew this week to discuss his new book "Good Taste: A Life of Food and Passion." The book is a meditation on Chef Ducasse's life and career so far, and in this conversation, he expands on many of the ideas and moments related in the book. Our great thanks to Emmanuelle Perrier for serving ...
Apr 13, 2024•35 min
The Taste of Things is one of the most celebrated films of the past year, a beautifully rendered love story set amid an important chapter in culinary history. On this ATTC Special Conversation, the film's writer-director Trần Anh Hùng joins us from Paris to discuss the genesis of the film, what attracted him to the project, the involvement of chef Pierre Gagnaire, and working with actors Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel. Our thanks to Metro for their support. Visit their website today to lear...
Mar 06, 2024•35 min
Friends of the pod Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, of Border Grill and other restaurants, check in from Los Angeles to discuss the evolution of chefs and other industry figures making a difference by devoting time, effort, and resources to a variety of causes. In addition to their own substantial work on behalf of organizations such as The Abundance Setting , the James Beard Foundation , The Los Angeles LGBT Center , The Scleroderma Research Foundation , Regarding HER , and Share Our Streng...
Feb 28, 2024•44 min
This week, the chef and restaurant community suddenly lost one of its most talented and influential figures. David Bouley, who rose to prominence at Montrachet and Bouley restaurants in the 1980s , died of cardiac arrest at age 70. To remember this towering culinary figure, we are sharing a previously unaired interview recorded at Bouley restaurant in its then-current home in 2014. Our condolences to David's family and to the community of admirers, colleagues, and friends he leaves behind. THING...
Feb 17, 2024•1 hr 39 min
In October 2023, Max Natmessnig and Marco Prins returned to Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare , where they once were cooks, as co-chefs of the celebrated tasting-menu restaurant. Four months into their tenure, they sat down with Andrew to share their individual and joint stories, describe their collaborative creative process, and explain their their attraction to New York City. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW: Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing...
Feb 13, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 239
MIami's Brad Kilgore displays an easygoing demeanor beneath which resides a precise and driven chef. When Brad and his colleagues hosted Andrew for a book event last fall at the Arlo Hotel Wynwood (home of Brad's MaryGold's Brasserie ), the two of them sat down to record this interview. In it they discuss myriad subjects including Brad's adoption of the principles of Molecular and Modernist Cuisines, his time in some of the best restaurants in Chicago, and his plans for the future, including Piz...
Feb 03, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 238
While visiting his hometown of Miami, Florida, during his recent book tour, Andrew finally had the chance to meet and interview with chef Michael Beltran of Ariete , Chug's Diner , and Eva and The Oyster Bar --all in Coconut Grove. Michael is also the host of the excellent Pan Con Podcast , which you should by all means check out. After years of corresponding by Instagram messages, Andrew and MIchael sat down for a conversation that is shared differently on their two shows: Michael and producer ...
Jan 18, 2024•56 min
Our fourth Mentorship panel was staged this past fall in Andrew's hometown of Miami, Florida, at the much-acclaimed Maty's , part of the Itamae family of restaurants. As chef Valerie "Val" Chang and her crew prepared dinner for a full house of line cooks from around the city, her brother and business partner Nando Chang took to the mic along with his longtime protege Adriano Montano. Their unique story--both are musicians and Adriano continues to pursue his career alongside his now five-year (an...
Jan 05, 2024•32 min
** Content warning – this episode (briefly) discusses attempted suicide .** Sam Hart took a circuitous route to the professional kitchen. After a childhood in which cooking and food weren't especially central concerns, Sam was in a career in advertising when culinary inspiration struck, leading to jobs in such kitchens as Alinea, and ultimately to becoming chef owner of Counter- and other concepts in Charlotte, NC. Andrew and Sam sat down a few months back to go through their fascinating career ...
Jan 02, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 237
For the first time in three hundred episodes, we're turning the tables on Andrew and sitting him in the hot seat, a.k.a. the guest's chair, to take you inside his new book The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food . Fellow writer and author Chandra Ram, of Food & Wine , takes the helm to ask Andrew all about the book: where the idea came from, what the research entailed, how difficult it was traveling and interviewing during the recent pandemic, and what the key takeaways from t...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 21 min
