In this episode of 'Cooking By Heart,' long-time show business actress/producer Lucie Arnaz talks about growing up with famous working parents, having meals made by the family’s help and by her grandmother, followed by weekends with father Desi’s improvisational Cuban cooking and her mother Lucy’s basic All-American, health-conscious cuisine, fun family picnics, and dining out at exotic LA eateries. She bravely recounts her early culinary mistakes when she moved from home as a teen and then she ...
Dec 19, 2023•51 min•Season 2Ep. 9
In this episode, the inimitable Tony Todd talks about his being raised in Hartford, CT by his extraordinary Aunt Clara, whom he watched cook with both Jamaican and South Carolinian influences. He remembers watching and discussing classic films with her after dinner and loved the city's fish sandwiches and Italian grinders. He talks about discovering Shakespeare at 13, the great teacher who set him on his acting path as an actor, his first forays into cooking, and his many culinary adventures as ...
Dec 05, 2023•30 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Join the inimitable Melissa Gilbert and me as we discuss her unusual childhood food experiences, her growing up on television, and her becoming a hardworking Hollywood icon. She’s a brilliant life force who now facilitates empowering ‘evolving’ women. @OfficialModernPrarie @MelissaGilbertOfficial 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.ee/theofficialchrissarandon Subs...
Nov 21, 2023•41 min•Season 2Ep. 7
In this episode, “High Cuisine” creator & Michelin-trained Chef Noah Tucker talks about growing up in NYC in a mixed Jewish/African-American Family, resulting in some unique and hilarious growing-up food stories. Now a successful restaurateur in Amsterdam, he contrasts the every day “drugs” we all consume, such as caffeine and sugar, with his current passion for cooking conventional haute cuisine that incorporates cannabis and naturally occurring psychoactive substances. Noah is a Ted X spea...
Nov 07, 2023•52 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In this episode, Kelli O’Hara, whom the NY Times calls Broadway’s undisputed queen, remembers her teacher mom making comfort food for a busy farming family, her mom’s loving attitude at Kelli’s being a chubby kid, and helping mom make exciting tailgate meals during harvest time. Kelli also talks about school classmates fighting over attendance at her grandma’s copious homemade lunches, prepping dinner at 8 years old until her mom came home, and proudly making a nearly raw burger for her father. ...
Oct 24, 2023•44 min•Season 2Ep. 31
In this episode of Cooking By Heart, the prolific and critically acclaimed Director Mike Flanagan talks about growing up in a military family, his childhood aversions to food and his mother’s efforts to circumvent them, his discovery of sushi, his youthful stabs at filmmaking, his discovery of his life‘s work as a Director, staging food scenes in his movies, and his unique, very personal approach to a successful career in the horror genre. A sometimes humorous and very humanistic conversation wi...
Oct 10, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this episode Diane English, multiple Writers Guild Award and Emmy Award winner and creator of numerous half hour comedy shows including ‘Murphy Brown,’ talks about growing up in a mixed Italian-English family, fish Fridays, traditional Italian Christmases and English Easters, and the family’s English master bakers. She remembers discovering Jewish food with her best friend, and, later, her determination to become a writer. Moving to New York City, with no phone in a one room apartment, led to...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 3
In this episode, Oscar winner and social activist Susan Sarandon talks about chaos at meals with & younger siblings, countless tuna casseroles, spam, and pasta from an overwhelmed mother who grew up in foster care, her father's Thanksgiving cooking, and "running away from home" at 7 yrs old (and no one noticed!). Susan & and Chris reminisce about their potluck BY wedding, their early cooking disasters, and their stab at being vegetarians. Susan then relates about later years living and c...
Sep 12, 2023•59 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In this episode, actor/performer/writer/Sirius XM host and Unofficial Broadway encyclopedia Seth Rudetsky talks about his mom’s TV dinners and Jewish/Israeli specialties, his father’s barbequing, his sister’s vegan cooking, heated story competitions at the dinner table, and his family’s outdoor camping/cooking. He reveals growing up gay and overweight, and navigating the dichotomy of being bullied and feeling smarter than his tormentors. He also remembers being obsessed with Broadway at a young ...
Sep 12, 2023•57 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In this season 1 finale episode PBS TV chef/restaurateur/author Lidia Bastianich reminisces about her idyllic hometown, her Italian family being forced to flee a new Slavic Communist government, 2 years in a refugee camp, and immigration to America. Settling in Queens, NY, as she grows from a Queens restaurant owner to a culinary star by being true to the flavors of her youthful homeland. A wise, funny, remarkable woman! Don't forget to follow all of the social media! @Sarandon_Chris on Twitter ...
Jun 06, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 23
In this episode, up-and-coming chef and finalist on Gordon Ramsey's 'Next Level Chef' talks about his Italian-American family's standard dishes growing up, his youthful forays into special popcorn recipes, and his pop tart fetish. He also discusses his early college start in catering, experiments into more exotic food, and his first real cooking job in a pub. Then culinary school, followed by work as a line cook at an eclectic array of top New York City restaurants, and his current business as a...
May 23, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 22
In this episode cardiologist, nutritionist, and primary care doctor, Sara Seidelmann talks about becoming a young vegetarian and nursing her terminally ill mother. College is followed by multiple graduate degrees in biology and nutrition, then raising 4 children while in medical school, and clinging to her femininity while a resident in macho cardiology. With her empathic approach & specialty training, primary care is her way of preventing disease before it takes root, and she also gives us ...
May 09, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 22
In this episode, my conversation with the inimitable Mario Cantone delves into his unique Italian-American family and their food, his love of baking at an early age, and his first teenage comic impression of Julia Child. He also talks about his early career path and how he ultimately became a Broadway and TV star, while ruminating as well on his deep and abiding love of classic Hollywood movies. All in all, an illuminating and hilarious journey with this staggeringly talented comedian, actor, an...
Apr 25, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In this episode, Alex Vincent discusses growing up Italian American, and vividly recalls many big family Sunday gatherings highlighted by delicious pasta sauce with pork and sausages, and…his discovery of sushi at age 6! He relates his fascination with acting from an early age, and the thrill of being cast as Andy Barkley in the original “Child’s Play.” We also talk about how he has felt the fascinating curse of “Chucky” on his life; and how he appreciates the extraordinary journey of going from...
Apr 11, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 19
In this episode, multi-Grammy and CMA Award winner Kathy Mattea shares memories of growing up in West Virginia with Italian and American food, eating fresh garden veggies, big family Christmas gatherings, and bonding with her Italian father over his favorite snack. Moving to Nashville was pivotal, plus being “discovered” there 5 years later and a career ascent. She also relates seeing her musical path almost from birth, reveling in the sacredness of music and its ability to bring us together: al...
Mar 28, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 18
In this episode, Michael Rosenbaum recalls his small-town upbringing in Long Island and Indiana, his mother’s eccentric, somewhat unhealthy, and improvisational meal combinations, as well as his fast food forays. He also recalls the plentiful choices at his grandmother’s table, and ultimately learned to expand his culinary horizons after moving to New York and Los Angeles. In addition, Michael traces his career path from being a youthful introvert to his emergence as a voice and film actor, whic...
Mar 14, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 17
In this episode, Emmy-winner and Oscar-nominated Carol Kane talks about her parents’ love of cooking and her childhood food fetish, living for a year in Paris as a young girl devouring chocolate croissants, and relates her Parisian dining preferences as an adult. She adds stories about her immersion in children’s theater, and her teenage culinary tastes while going to professional children’s school. She also reminisces, fondly, about working with Al Pacino in “Dog Day Afternoon” and, hilariously...
Feb 28, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 16
In this special Valentine’s Day episode, Chris’s Valentine, the multi-talented actress/writer/director Joanna Gleason, chats about her childhood food strike, and her culinary awakening when her family moved from Canada to the U.S., especially the thrilling assault on her senses when discovering Mexican food and culture after moving to LA. She also talks about her adult transition to French cuisine and its production and performance. AND…she improvises a surprise interview with Chris! Don't forge...
Feb 14, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 15
In this episode, Tony and Emmy Award winner Hal Linden tells fascinating and often hilarious stories of his immigrant family's background, his growing up in the Bronx, his mother’s kosher cooking, being a teen bandleader/musician in the Catskills just after WWII, and, with the death of the big band era, how he became an actor and singer. Splendid stories that ultimately lead to his illustrious career on Broadway and as the title character in the award-winning TV series “Barney Miller.” Don't for...
Feb 07, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 14
In this episode, legendary chef, TV cooking show host, and author Jacques Pepin relates stories of his childhood meals and adventures in wartime France, his mother's post-war opening of multiple restaurants, and his father's winemaking. He also tells of his apprenticeship at 13 years old, his ultimate work in famous Paris kitchens, and as a chef to President Charles de Gaulle, after which he embarks on a 60year relationship with America, working at fabled French restaurants and for the Howard Jo...
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 13
In this episode, comedian, author and social commentator Greg Proops, whom you may know from “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” leads us through his family’s moves from the Southwest to California, with colorful stories of his mother’s brilliant & eclectic cooking, and preteen trips to the race track with his gambler father (yes, Greg placed bets!). He also regales us with his improv troupe’s adventures touring through American’s heartland and south, reveling in our nations’ culinary heritage. Greg’...
Jan 10, 2023•39 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In this episode, actor (LA Law)/writer Michael Tucker discusses his path to becoming a gourmet cook, from childhood grilled cheese creations to cooking and eating out with Julia Child. His brilliance as a raconteur blooms as he relates stories of a childhood bacchanalian crab feast, then, as a teen, eating the greatest brisket sandwich (with jewelry in his pockets), and, much later in life, cooking a potentially disastrous, tipsy meal for a fabled NYC restaurateur. Don't forget to follow all of ...
Dec 27, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In this episode, Ken Page (voice of The Nightmare Before Christmas’s Oogie Boogie) speaks of the culinary influence of multiple generations of his family and of the passing down of loving cooking traditions (and utensils), while telling of famous guests who appear at his holiday recreations of those early meals. He also relates the story of his 9-year-old disastrous encounter with a cake and his entry into show business being a natural outgrowth of his grandmother’s larger-than-life personality....
Dec 13, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In this part 1 of 2 episode, Lovin' Spoonful co-founder and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member John Sebastian remembers a fascinating childhood around the dinner table with his artistic parents and their famous friends, and his joyous, youthful culinary awakenings in Italy. He also reminisces about his days as a Rock and Roll singer/songwriter, making movie music for Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen, being at the birth of the tie-dye craze, and his legendary appearance at the Woodstock Festiv...
Nov 29, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this part 2 of 2 episode, Lovin' Spoonful co-founder and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member John Sebastian remembers a fascinating childhood around the dinner table with his artistic parents and their famous friends, and his joyous, youthful culinary awakenings in Italy. He also reminisces about his days as a Rock and Roll singer/songwriter, making movie music for Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen, being at the birth of the tie-dye craze, and his legendary appearance at the Woodstock Festiv...
Nov 29, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this family Thanksgiving episode, Chris interviews his three grown children: they reminisce about growing up in New York’s Hudson Valley and traveling to California to visit their father, as well as being young “sous-chefs” when their parents cooked, and their working in restaurants from their teen years into adulthood. They also tell of their occasional behind the scenes, eye-popping restaurant experiences as servers, bartenders, and cooks, and relate how they’ve used their cooking skills to...
Nov 15, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In this episode, William Ragsdale takes us back to 1840 and his great, great, great grandfather’s founding of the Ragsdale hometown of El Dorado, Arkansas. He then brings us to his childhood and his close-knit family’s culinary habits, including his mother’s simple but nutritious home-cooked meals. He also describes childhood outings to luscious southern church dinners, and his transition, at 9 years old, from an average kid to his early performance as a ’Munchkin.’ His subsequent love of perfor...
Oct 31, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In this episode, Amanda Bearse describes her upbringing in a satellite town of Orlando, Florida, with trips to the mountains and a family farm in Northern Georgia. All American, nourishing food was plentiful at home, while a garden furnished much of the fare on trips to the Georgia farm. Bearse also talks about her earlier coming out to her religious mother, Bearse’s subsequent public reveal as a lesbian at the height of her career, and her subsequent LGBTQ activism. She also describes her deep,...
Oct 31, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 6
In this episode, Jonathan Stark reveals details of his upbringing in Erie, PA, where his plain family fare was punctuated by elaborate Thanksgiving dinners and desserts. He goes on to discuss his unexpected entry into the world of improv in The Groundlings and other groups, which, interestingly, led to his being cast in the cult classic, “Fright Night.” A fortuitous spec script began his illustrious sitcom writing career that includes an Emmy Award and the creation of his own sitcom, and he adds...
Oct 31, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 6
In this episode, Cary Elwes describes the sad state of food in the U.K. when he was a boy, and his culinary awakening when he spent time with his father in Spain, with side travels to Morocco. He also vividly recounts the many food adventures during the making of “The Princess Bride” and his one of a kind dining experiences with Andre the Giant. Elwes then chronicles his current tastes and rituals in the rapidly expanding culinary universe. Instagram: @caryelwes Twitter: @cary_elwes Don't forget...
Oct 18, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 4
