From takeout boxes to feeling boxed in, growing up as a "restaurant kid" is a unique experience. Curtis Chin and Rachel Phan share memories of growing up in their parents' Chinese restaurants Cookbook author Irina Georgescu finds inspiration east of the Danube River in Romania, Serbia, and Bulgaria Jeremy Salamon reconnects with his Hungarian Jewish heritage and the charming childhood created by his grandmother Chef Harry Posner takes advantage of the short window for green almonds Here are all ...
Apr 04, 2025•1 hr
Explore the spiritual side of food and modern Ghanaian recipes. Jody Eddy spent two years visiting sacred spaces and meeting the people who cook in them Inspired by childhood visits to Ghana, Eric Adjepong debuts his first collection of recipes Andrea Nguyen questions the accuracy of those Prop 65 warning labels on many foods Evan Rail plays detective, looking back on an absinthe enthusiast who became a con artist Restaurant critic Tom Sietsema blows his cover in the CIA dining room Listen to al...
Mar 28, 2025•58 min
A Black chef and cookbook author finally gets her due! Deb Freeman traces the life of Edna Lewis, author of "The Taste of Country Cooking," in a new documentary. While some people spent the pandemic starting sourdough, Jesse Valenciana got busy perfecting his birria. Memo Torres visits an Inglewood backyard, where three generations of the Sandoval family make birria using an abuela's recipe. Carolyn Kormann shares alarming facts about how microplastics have made their way into our bodies. Chef C...
Mar 21, 2025•1 hr
Celebrate the Persian new year with fresh herbs and new recipes Known to his followers as the Caspian Chef, Omid Roustaei prepares to celebrate Nowruz. Economist Betty Resnick lays out the reasons behind the US's agricultural trade deficit. Alissa Timoshkina ventures beyond cabbage in a new cookbook dedicated to vegetables in Eastern European cuisines. Whales that get caught in Dungeness crab fishing gear have left fishermen and environmentalists scrambling for a solution. Don't forget to sign u...
Mar 14, 2025•1 hr
The story behind the famous orange chicken at Panda Express and more! Dora Herrera remembers her mother, Socorro, who took orders at Yuca's in Los Feliz for nearly 50 years. Tejal Rao visits the renovated Panda Inn, where a precursor to orange chicken took flight. Honor May Eldridge follows our obsession with the Hass avocado, which was developed right here, in Southern California. In his new cookbook, Tu David Phu reconciles his family's trauma with his perceptions of what ingredients are deeme...
Mar 07, 2025•1 hr
Karen E. Fisher shares stories of Ramadan at Zaatari, the world's largest Syrian refugee camp located in Jordan. Helena Bottemiller Evich introduces the new administration's appointments charged to “Make America Healthy Again.” Dr. Christopher Gardener drops some wisdom about seed oil. Caroline Eden reflects on her travels through Central Asia and Eastern Europe and considers how the kitchen is a unique space to tell human stories.
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr
Eat Thai street food and maple tofu sticks while sipping makgeolli. Designer-turned-food-writer Kristina Cho celebrates her Chinese heritage with delicious and approachable recipes Bill Addison dives into pad see ew and other iconic Bangkok street food dishes at Holy Basil Chef Govind Armstrong cracks into spiny lobster while celebrating a popular Santa Monica Pier restaurant's 25th anniversary Dakota Kim embraces the modern boom in an ancient Korean drink — makgeolli. Monique King mourns the lo...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr
From chocolate grown in a petri dish to the latest updates on bird flu, this is a sciencey episode along with a few beans, lemons and eggs. Gabriela Glueck puts lab grown chocolate under the microscope. Apoorva Mandavilli reports on the bird flu crisis and what items to avoid when you're shopping. Genevieve Ko offers alternatives for recipes that involve eggs. Steve Sando and Julia Newberry of Rancho Gordo share their ideas for using 50 varieties of beans. Bethany Harris puts the squeeze on farm...
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr
We explore candied fruit, small-batch cookies, how to make maple syrup and an ancient fruit — the date. Rawaan Alkhatib takes us on a hot date, offering a global perspective on the ancient superfood. Chewy and gooey, small batch bakes are perfect when you want just a little sweetness — and Edd Kimber knows how to mix them up. Camilla Wynne shows us how to make stunning candied fruit. Peter Gregg pursues happiness via maple syrup. Baker and chocolatier Valerie Gordon explains how she sugars rose ...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr
An Altadena bar owner works to be a good neighbor while a cooking school taps home chefs from around the globe. After the Eaton Fire, Randy Clement, who owns Good Neighbor Bar, used wine delivery software to canvas Altadena, informing neighbors whether or not their homes had survived. Sergio Olmos reports on the recent immigration raids in Kern County. Lisa Kyung Gross founded the League of Kitchens Cooking School, where women from around the world act as instructors; now, they've compiled their...
Jan 31, 2025•59 min
New York Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi follows a Haviland pattern of china that has set the table for five generations of women. LA transplant Vanessa Anderson, aka The Grocery Goblin on Tiktok, documents the city by visiting its markets. Julia Van Soelen Kim shares advice for gardeners concerned about how ash from the Palisades and Eaton fires might impact their crops. Mother and daughter Hsiao-Ching Chou and Meilee Riddle prepare for the Lunar New Year with recipes from their new cookbook....
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr
We all saw it unfold in real time, some of us from our phones, others witnessing the devastation firsthand. Our beautiful, complicated, and geographically vast Los Angeles has been brought to its knees. Our heart goes out to everyone who finds themselves struggling and unmoored through all the types of loss, whether it be family, a home or a neighborhood. As the days have passed, one aspect of this tragedy has kept us going — the extraordinary kindness and generosity of the citizens of Los Angel...
Jan 17, 2025•1 hr
Julia Child reporting fellow Gabriela Glueck heads to Humboldt to speak with a community of seaweed evangelists. Brant Cox plays soothsayer and predicts what's on trend for restaurants in 2025. Joe Yonan proves that plant-based cooking is anything but boring. Heidi Pickman outlines the new licensing steps for home cooks who want to legally prepare foods to sell. "What if we slowed down and savored flavors, smells, and textures?" asks Betsy Andrews while considering the science behind pacing ours...
Jan 10, 2025•1 hr
In this excerpt from The Treatment, chef René Redzepi unpacks the complicated history of global ingredients in "Omnivore," an eight-part series for Apple+. Known for his examination of nature on the plate, Michael Pollan alters consciousness in this clip from Life Examined.
Jan 03, 2025•59 min
The Good Food team — host Evan Kleiman and producers Gillian Ferguson, Laryl Garcia, and Elina Shatkin — choose their favorite segments of the year. Nicola Twilley takes a cold plunge into the history of refrigeration. Chef Fadi Kattan is on a mission to document and share Palestinian foods, traditions, and the work of home cooks. Filmmaker Peter Byck casts a lens on the maverick farmers and scientists working to solve the climate crisis. In her latest docuseries, Pati Jinich showcases the polit...
Dec 27, 2024•1 hr
Restaurant critic Bill Addison recruited Jenn Harris to help him divide and conquer as they determined LA's best restaurants. Culinary historian Jessica B. Harris lays out the symbolism and traditions of Kwanzaa. Adeena Sussman continues her mother's tradition of Shabbat and shares a recipe for her grandmother's potato kugel. Chef Brian Polcyn knows his way around a meat pie. Rose Levy Beranbaum preaches the glory of cake.
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr
Food scholar Darra Goldstein traces the lineage of early fermented beverages, which were offered to deities and used in rituals. Sociologist Nicola Nice takes a look at how women brought the cocktail home. Lesley Jacobs Solmonson explains how liqueurs went from the hands of the apothecary to those of the mixologist. Balo Orozco shops the farmers' markets to make seasonal shrubs.
Dec 13, 2024•48 min
Reporter Jessica Roy delivers the bad news about those plastic kitchen utensils. Anne Byrn composes an exhaustive guide on Southern baking. Chef Ashleigh Shanti goes beyond cast iron fried chicken and cornbread in exploring Black influences on Southern foodways. Local cooking instructor and food writer Sonoko Sakai explains the deep meaning of "Japanese in style" cuisine. Celia Sack of Omnivore Books reveals her favorite cookbooks of the year for everyone on your list.
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr
Director Tran Anh Hung and actress Juliette Binoche discuss the recipe for subtle seduction in The Taste of Things. On the 20th anniversary of Sideways , Hitching Post owner Frank Ostini reflects on changes in the Santa Ynez Valley. Filmmaker Jason Wise joins Vahe Keushguerian in a conversation about making wine from Iranian grapes for the first time in half a century. Zimbabwean winemaker Tinashe Nyamoduka strives to demystify the vine and promote inclusivity. Nathan Park talks about the link b...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr
Evan Kleiman taps flavor scientist Arielle Johnson to co-host Good Food's annual Thanksgiving episode. Food science writer Harold McGee breaks down brining, spice, and the best way to prep that giant Thanksgiving bird. Khushbu Shah forgoes the turkey for squash filled with biryani, a tikka masala-inspired mac and cheese, and Mexican food. Homemade cranberry sauce is all about the crackle and pop for Harold McGee. Sommelier Ian Krupp goes beyond Beaujolais in his Thanksgiving wine pairings. Ariel...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr
Austin-based chef Jesse Griffiths is on the hunt for the majestic wild turkey. Pastry chef Nicola Lamb sifts through the essential ingredients of baking — flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. Memo Torres runs down his top five tacos in Los Angeles. Having eaten his way around China, Michael Zee recreates breakfast favorites at home. Courtney Storer of The Bear joins Gillian Ferguson at the farmers market to shine a light on winter squash.
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr
Food writer and recipe developer Ben Mims scours the world for great cookie recipes. Former professional basketball player Laurent Correa is turning out some of LA's best croissants. Dr. Naa Oyo Kwate unveils the insidious relationship between fast food and the African American community. Lindsey Beatrice explores the creative ways millennials are acquiring land they can farm. Food Access LA raises funds to keep two farmers' markets afloat, and Nick Fisher of Fluffy McCloud's is drawn to fuyu pe...
Nov 08, 2024•1 hr
Anthropologist Susan Greenhalgh describes how soda companies have influenced the science around sugary drinks. Health and nutrition reporter Alice Callahan breaks down "ultra-processed foods," a newish term to describe the evil that lurks on supermarket shelves. National Park guide Joseph C. Ward explains how a Cheetos bag altered the ecosystem in a New Mexico cavern. Physician and journalist Bryce Y. Lee reveals how scientists are using the food dye found in Doritos to make see-through mice. Br...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr
Hetal Vasavada prepares for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, by baking gorgeous, colorful sweets. The intersection of Gothic novels and food offers a rich, spooky tradition for literary scholar Dr. Alessandra Pino and food writer Ella Buchan. Food scholar Darra Goldstein shows us how to make candied pumpkin, a creative autumn treat. In the docuseries La Frontera , Pati Jinich showcases the politics, culture, and cuisine of the US/Mexico borderlands. From Sonoran tacos to Hawaiian short ribs...
Oct 25, 2024•1 hr
Pastry chef Victoria Granof relishes the diverse, and often misunderstood, sweets of Sicily. Essayist and poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil explains the laborious process of cultivating vanilla and the fragile state of its existence. Rowan Jacobsen travels deep into the Bolivian Amazon to uncover the chocolate's origins. Molecular biologist Raven Hanna shows us how to produce tree-to-bar chocolate. At the farmer's market, Klementine Song reminisces about the jujubes her parents grew while farmer Terry ...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr
Ben Blount and Bryan Kett created a chocolate bar to explain why our congressional districts have such weird shapes (hint: gerrymandering). Left, Right and Center host David Greene discusses how gerrymandering impacts our elections. Lola Milholland discusses how community living can help us develop life skills and flex our generosity muscle. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison finds a magical and civilized weeknight wine bar on Melrose. Chemist and baker Kat Cermelj conquers recipes without ...
Oct 12, 2024•1 hr
To tell the stories of Syrians living in the world's largest refugee camp, Karen Fisher collected their recipes. For Kim-Joy, one of The Great British Bake Off's most memorable contestants, baking isn't just about flavor or cuteness — it's also about mental health. Julie Guthman critiques tech entrepreneurs whose proposed food system "fixes" ignore the underlying problems they claim to address. Alvaro Bautista recovers more than half of his date harvest, which perished in last year's rain, while...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr
From nopales and horchata to matzoh balls and Manischewitz, Ilan Stavans and Margaret Boyle merge Mexican and Jewish foods. Rachel Gordin Barnett and Lyssa Kligman Harvey celebrate the unique and diverse food history of Jewish South Carolina. Hannah Dreier reports on child labor in the poultry broiler belt. Brigit Binns reflects on her dysfunctional LA childhood and how it delivered her to the kitchen and writing.
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr
An audio folk story examining the tradition of Black watermelon long-haulers, who drive to farms in the South for watermelon and sell them in Black neighborhoods around the US. This is a special bonus edition from KCRW's Lost Notes.
Sep 27, 2024•57 min
Sylvio Martins gives us a glimpse into The Infatuation's blind taste test to determine the 10 best croissants in Los Angeles. Yotam Ottolenghi and Verena Lochmuller craft globally-inspired comfort food in a new cookbook. Seeking Turkish cuisine, LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison finally finds it in a Santa Monica coffee shop. Chef Juan Ferriero creates inspired salads for his menu at Great White.
Sep 21, 2024•48 min
