In this SEASON 3 FINALE, I sit down with Emmy, Peabody, and Humanitas Award-winning writer and comedy icon John Markus. From memories of his mother's hearty Eastern European cooking to early joke writing for legends like Bob Hope and Joan Rivers. John shares his incredible journey through the world of comedy. Get the inside scoop on his breakout role with the hit sitcom Taxi, and how he rose to become head writer and show-runner on one of the most iconic shows of the 80s that later became contro...
May 27, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 18
In this episode, SAG Award-winning actress Caroline Aaron shares what it was like growing up Jewish in the South, dining out gratis, thanks to her father’s work as a restaurant supplier before his untimely death, and the subsequent Southern meals lovingly prepared by her family’s African-American housekeeper—including fried chicken and a distinctive red/orange matzoh ball soup at Passover. She reflects on her activist single mother’s influence, dinner table conversations centered on social justi...
May 13, 2025•48 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Director/Actor Nick Castle remembers growing up in Hollywood with his Italian-American family eating traditional ethnic fare, having his famous movie choreographer father home for dinner after working at a nearby film studio which young Nick would often visit, and meals with his extended family in Queens, NY. He also talks about his writing collaborations with fellow USC Film School director/alum John Carpenter and ...a fortuitous visit to the original 'Halloween' movie set and the unbelievable ...
Apr 29, 2025•39 min•Season 3Ep. 16
In this episode, 5-time James Beard Award Winner Dorie Greenspan remembers her non-cooking parents, learning to love food by going out to dinner and burning down the family kitchen! She discusses cookbook collaborations with Julia Child, Daniel Boulud, and Jean-George, how she cooks differently in New York and Paris, and her love of baking, calling it a generous act because it's always shared. Join my illuminating and often hilarious conversation with this influential food writer and author of 1...
Apr 15, 2025•51 min•Season 3Ep. 15
In this episode, Sachi Parker, the daughter of award-winning actress Shirley MacClain, talks about moving at age 2 from LA to Japan with her father, producer and gourmet cook Steve Parker. She remembers harvesting sea urchin from the sea and eating them alfresco, and always accompanying her father as he cooked. Boarding school food was horrible in England and divine in Switzerland, after which came a shocking ultimatum from her mother. She then spent five years as a multilingual flight attendant...
Apr 01, 2025•54 min•Season 3Ep. 14
In this episode, Peter McCrea, the son of Hollywood legends Joel McCrea and Francis Dee, talks about growing up on their ranch with cattle, chickens, an organic vegetable garden, wood stove cooking, and being exposed to the cycle of life. Living there also featured visits from movie stars Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, and Maurice Chevalier! He also discusses his work creating philanthropic funding and micro financing for global sustainable and organic agriculture. A truly fascin...
Mar 18, 2025•48 min•Season 3Ep. 13
In this episode, TV writer/producer/showrunner Nancey Silvers describes her southern Mom’s grits and fried chicken, eating deli food with her father, the magnificent comedian Phil Silvers, being required to help with the household chores, & eating fresh, at her mom’s insistence, right from the stove. She remembers movie star tour busses stopping for lunch on their Beverly Hills front lawn and being served wine on holidays as a kid. She also talks about why she became a writer, and the joy of...
Mar 04, 2025•47 min•Season 3Ep. 12
In this episode of ‘Cooking By Heart,’ Griffin Dunne described this soup served by his mother’s Mexican family as being the go-to comfort meal choice throughout his life. All the food groups are represented, and the dish has been refined by his grown daughter since he first introduced it to her. Feel free to take a swing at your version of this basic recipe. Don't forget to follow all of the social media! @Sarandon_Chris on Twitter @TheOfficialChrisSarandon on Instagram Chris Sarandon on Faceboo...
Feb 18, 2025•53 min•Season 3Ep. 12
In this episode, award-winning actress Stockard Channing describes a privileged childhood, with bland food both at home and while eating out; surviving on lots of carbs in boarding school, followed by an early marriage; “competition” cooking as a young housewife, and a gourmand friend mentoring and honing her kitchen skills. Divorce, a decision to become an actress, and a move to New City became the genesis of an award-winning career, as well as her becoming an accomplished cook and discovering ...
Feb 04, 2025•39 min•Season 3Ep. 10
In this episode, multiple Tony Award-winning actor James Naughton talks about his father’s digestive problems which led to lots of bland Irish food at home, food discoveries as a student and in his burgeoning acting career, being discovered by TV and Film, and our mutual friendship with Roddy McDowell. He also gives an impassioned shout-out to two amazing charities close to his heart and home. A riveting conversation with a great man! Don't forget to follow all of the social media! @Sarandon_Chr...
Jan 21, 2025•53 min•Season 3Ep. 9
In this episode, Award Winning actress Camryn Manheim remembers her teacher-mother’s faux gourmet cooking, her professor-father’s love of spicy food, & intellectual banter at the dinner table. She also relates how her mother’s skill at party food inspired her own parties of 80 or more guests while in grad school in NYC, with celeb guests like Jude Law and JFK, Jr. Then, a one woman show she wrote about being full bodied led to a zany audition with Uber TV producer David E. Kelley and being c...
Jan 07, 2025•54 min•Season 3Ep. 8
In this episode, award winning actor Victor Garber talks about growing up with his local celebrity mom, his funny, depressed father’s amazing French toast, and his developing type 1 diabetes at 11. At 16, he leaves home & school to pursue a folk singing career, which leads to a hit record, and a subsequent stage, movie, and TV career and his life changing work with J.J. Abrams and Garber’s multiple award nominated role on ‘Alias.’ A fascinating conversation with this star of stage screen and...
Dec 24, 2024•45 min•Season 3Ep. 7
In this episode, former NBC/Universal vice-chair Bonnie Hammer remembers her mother’s “kosher” cooking as tasteless and uninspiring, eating college food featuring plentiful carbs (enhanced by ice cream and burgers), and an early marriage where she took up recipe cooking. There are inspiring and hilarious stories of her advancing at early jobs from picking up dog poop to becoming a producer, and ultimately being mentored by her boss, the business titan Barry Diller. She also discusses her splendi...
Dec 10, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 6
From the time he could stand, James Beard Award winner Chef Paul Smith remembers helping his Italian grandfather cook, the presence of a large Italian contingent in the coal mines, & after school ‘butter steaks’ with his brother. He also discusses his extensive culinary training that led to his return home to communicate the food culture of Appalachia in his restaurants, seeing those restaurants as an extension of his childhood family gatherings, his recovery from alcohol addiction, & he...
Nov 26, 2024•39 min•Season 3Ep. 5
n this episode, award winning actress Jill Eikenberry talks about her peripatetic Midwestern childhood, her diet heavy on luscious meat and cheese dishes, frozen vegetables, visits to her aunt’s farm, and a bloodthirsty story about her grandmother’s chickens. She also recalls a story about a blind friend guiding her through the school cafeteria during a college blackout, her introduction to gourmet eating from her husband, actor/writer/cook Michael Tucker, followed by her and her husband’s entre...
Nov 12, 2024•53 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In this episode, Illeana Douglas talks about growing up in two worlds of food: that of her Hollywood Royalty Grandfather Melvin Douglas and her Queens, NY Italian/Romanian family. She describes her father’s creating a hippie commune and later her on-and-off-camera relationship with Martin Scorsese, along with an extraordinary evening with Scorsese and Marlon Brando. Join me for an audio or video conversation with this amazing Actress/Writer/TV Commentator. Don't forget to follow all of the socia...
Oct 29, 2024•33 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In this episode, Michael Urie remembers his mother’s delicious eclectic cooking and his often-frustrated efforts to recreate it. He also describes his roundabout career route, the serendipity of his acceptance into the prestigious Julliard Acting Program, being introduced to his Queens NY Italian family & their raucous meals, and his efforts to find the perfect neutral eating regimen while performing on Broadway 8 times a week. A wonderfully colorful culinary journey guided by this extraordi...
Oct 15, 2024•54 min•Season 3Ep. 2
In this episode, Rosanna Arquette remembers her peripatetic childhood, her working artist parents, and eating lots of ‘high quality’ fast food. A vegetarian menu follows at a commune, then leaving home in her teens, being 'discovered' in LA, and becoming a self-taught cook with her sights on healthy food. She describes her go-to salad and stuffing, and longs for more get-togethers with her siblings centered around creative meals. We also touch on her directing career, the conflicts actresses fac...
Oct 01, 2024•50 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In this episode, Alice Waters recounts that as a child she didn’t look forward to going to the table to eat her creative mother’s pedestrian cooking, but began a life-long love of strawberries and anything garden-fresh. A trip to France changed her life and started a culinary revolution in America, and later provided the impetus for the creation of the Edible Schoolyard. A brilliant episode with an extraordinary woman.
May 28, 2024•54 min•Season 2Ep. 21
In this episode, multi-talented actor/author Ed Begley, Jr. talks about the family cook who changed his life, the startling family secret he learned at 15, his wild youth, and amazing stories about his friends Marlon Brando and The Beatles from his memoir "To the Temple of Tranquility...and Step On It! You can't miss this one! Don't forget to follow all of the social media! @Sarandon_Chris on Twitter @TheOfficialChrisSarandon on Instagram Chris Sarandon on Facebook www.chrissarandon.com linktr.e...
May 21, 2024•51 min•Season 2Ep. 20
In this episode, award winning chef Rocco DiSpirito talks about his high spirited Italian family, 1st food adventures, his chef training at 16, & work in Europe with great chefs. He also speaks about his famous restaurants & answers questions from our live audience about his brilliant new cookbook, ‘Everyday Delicious. A fun & informative episode!
May 07, 2024•53 min•Season 2Ep. 19
In this episode, Oscar Nominee and Golden Globe Winner Brad Dourif describes a bland culinary childhood diet until a wonderful cook joined his family and describes the southern cooking at his boarding school. Moving to NYC, he lived on fast food, became a movie actor (and the voice of Chucky!) and has, thanks to his actress daughter, moved on to cooking and eating a splendidly healthy diet. A fascinating conversation with this multitalented actor.
Apr 23, 2024•29 min•Season 2Ep. 18
In this episode, singer/songwriter/producer/former record exec Billy Mann talks about his educated mother's moderate quality but volume-heavy cooking, formal meals with grandma (and her giant meat pies), his after-college road busking tour living in his car with Mom's gift of many cans of Chef Boyardee spaghetti while he discovered America and it's food...and his world travels as a record executive and those many culinary awakenings. These stories and more from this fabulously accomplished music...
Apr 09, 2024•57 min•Season 2Ep. 17
In this episode, actress Catherine Hicks talks about growing up in the desert with her mother's indifferent cooking (and great desserts) but revels in her parents' glamorous cocktail hour finery. She further describes her rocket-like rise as an actress in New York and Hollywood, and frankly discusses the difficulty balancing work and family life while on the long-running series '7th Heaven'...and working with Chucky in freezing Chicago on the original 'Child's Play'! Don't forget to follow all o...
Mar 26, 2024•45 min•Season 2Ep. 16
In this episode, legendary Broadway producer Emanuel “Manny” Azenberg and I discuss his Bronx upbringing, his mother’s relentless cabbage and chicken soups, eating out in delis, and food and making friends for life in the army. We talk about his Broadway intro working for David Merrick, and a softball game with Neil Simon that led to producing 20 of Simon’s plays (while also producing Sondheim & Stoppard and “Rent”). Producer of 65 Broadway shows, with 8 Tony awards. An amazing career! Don't...
Mar 12, 2024•45 min•Season 2Ep. 15
In this episode, Federal Judge Goodwin offers up memories of a small-town childhood, his mother's cinnamon rolls, and a kitchen helper's amazing homemade bread. He also talks about his serendipitous entry into the law, and being mentored by the legendary Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (with great stories from Byrd about Richard Nixon). Food and politics are a potent combination in this fascinating episode. Don't forget to follow all of the social media! @Sarandon_Chris on Twitter @TheOffi...
Feb 27, 2024•38 min•Season 2Ep. 14
In this episode Rick Nielsen, co-founder, songwriter and lead guitarist for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Cheap Trick tells of his working parents and growing up eating almost exclusively in restaurants, and flying with his parents to 48 states while sampling local food. He also tells of his early days as a touring musician, and discovering Japanese food while being lionized in that country. A unique and sometime hilarious conversation with an eccentric and 'permanently jet-lagged' musician. D...
Feb 13, 2024•50 min•Season 2Ep. 13
In this episode, veteran child and character actor Clint Howard talks about his normal, happy childhood growing up in an acting family, his mother's fondness for serving canned vegetables, and acting with a PB&J sandwich at the age of 2 on the Andy Griffith Show. And he relates that both his and his bother Ron's earnings were saved for their future by their parents, who never spent on themselves. Howard's journey through over 60 years of show business is a fascinating view of a lifetime of H...
Jan 30, 2024•47 min•Season 2Ep. 11
In this episode, Food Channel Star, Chef, and Author Carla Hall talks about her parent's cooking, her grandmother's Sunday divine skillet cornbread, and her family's weekly haul of that day's leftovers. She also relates her journey from accountant, to model, to caterer, to chef, to her current status as cookbook author, Food Channel Chef, and host of her upcoming MAX TV series. A lively and informative conversation with a remarkable woman. Don't forget to follow all of the social media! @Sarando...
Jan 16, 2024•46 min•Season 2Ep. 11
In this episode, actor/director/producer LeVar Burton talks about his army family's time in Germany, his mother's cooking, and his grandmother's farm fresh food juxtaposed with the 'horrendous' food at the seminary where he studied. He also relates how his travels to Asia and Africa spurred marvelous food discoveries. A stimulating and humorous conversation with this multi-talented, Renaissance man. Don't forget to follow all of the social media! @Sarandon_Chris on Twitter @TheOfficialChrisSaran...
Jan 02, 2024•47 min•Season 2Ep. 9
