One of the great pleasures of collecting people's stories is that they often surprise you. You discover a gem just by asking a question, like how did you get come to food? Today, we talk to Megan Fales. Megan runs a perfect General Store called Anchor & Sail in the center of the seacoast village where I live. When I met her, she seemed lovely, and her food was impeccable. But I had no inkling that she came to our hamlet via a career at Martha Stewart and Comedy Central. Chalk it up to, "you ...
Jul 19, 2021•30 min•Ep. 23
This week we share two "food love origin stories". One from Celeste Croxton-Tate , a cook, author, and Boston Police officer. And one from me, because I too had to learn to love food. Photo Courtesy of LyndigoSpice.com If you count on HRN content, become a monthly sustaining donor at heritageradionetwork.org/donate . Let’s Talk About Food is Powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jul 12, 2021•25 min•Ep. 22
Erin French is the owner and chef of The Lost Kitchen , a 40-seat restaurant in Freedom, Maine, that was recently named one TIME Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places and one of "12 Restaurants Worth Traveling Across the World to Experience" by Bloomberg . Her love of Maine and her palpable pleasure in sharing its delicious heritage with curious dinner guests and new friends alike, has garnered attention in outlets such as The New York Times (her piece was one of the ten most read articles in the f...
Jun 28, 2021•44 min•Ep. 21
Dr. Peter Lurie is the head of Center For Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), arguably the most important defender of food safety and justice in the US. Lurie is the grandson of a South African female butcher and a South African egg seller. How did that form him as a warrior for social justice? Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Let’s Talk About Food by becoming a member ! Let’s Talk About Food is Powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at htt...
Jun 21, 2021•34 min•Ep. 20
Kathleen Finlay, the President of Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming , in New York’s Hudson Valley has been a leader in the regenerative agriculture movement for most of her career. Now, as the president of Glynwood she is in a position to connect food and farming changemakers from all across the country and the world. Living – and loving it! – on a beautiful little farm in the Hudson Valley, it’s fair to say that Kat has become a national figure in the world of progressive agricultur...
May 24, 2021•29 min•Ep. 19
Today we talk to David Waters, the CEO of Community Servings . Launched during the AIDS crisis, Community Servings has made and delivered over 9 million medically tailored meals to homebound people with severe and chronic illnesses. Waters, a true visionary, has been the navigator and the pilot for its growth. At 10, he was serving canapes at his mother's dinner parties. Now he feeds millions. Photo courtesy of @communityservings Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast n...
May 17, 2021•36 min•Ep. 18
Today we talk with Cheryl Kiser, a longtime friend and the visionary behind Babson College’s Lewis Institute for Social Innovation . That’s a big deal. In case you did not know, Babson is the number one business school in Entrepreneurship in the world, and it has been since the rankings began some 20 plus years ago. Cheryl has inspired countless entrepreneurial leaders through her BabsonX course, From Corporate Social Responsibility to Social Innovation. She is also a great and committed food ac...
May 10, 2021•32 min•Ep. 17
Today we talk to chef Andy Husbands . Husbands now operates The Smoke Shop , a Boston-based emerging chain of BBQ restaurants. He’s a six-time cookbook author and–– importantly–– a Pitmaster. The co-founder of internationally recognized BBQ team which competed for 20 years and became the first non-Southern team to win the World Champions of BBQ Title at the Jack Daniels World Championship in Tennessee. I’ve been privileged to watch Andy morph from being a sort of enfant terrible to becoming an i...
May 03, 2021•28 min•Ep. 16
Sally Sampson is an author, a healthy food champion, and a magazine publisher. When I first met Sally, I was wowed by her productivity–23 cookbooks and counting! But that was never the whole story for Sally. Eleven years ago, she had an idea for a non-profit cooking magazine, that would be fun and educational for families and Inspire them to cook! She called the magazine: ChopChop the Fun Cooking Magazine for Families . it is a HUGE success. Beloved by pediatricians around the world AND the Ja...
Apr 12, 2021•27 min•Ep. 15
Karl Schatz and Margaret Hathaway live on Ten Apple Farm in Maine with their three daughters. Margaret is a writer; Karl is a photographer. Once they decided to make Maine their home and raise their family on a goat farm, they went all in–––for Maine. They were the two pillars behind the award-winning Maine Bi-Centennial Community Cookbook, published last summer. The cookbook was a smash –over 200 recipes from Maine-ers of all stripes, chock full of people, family, and all things Maine. Margaret...
Apr 05, 2021•33 min•Ep. 14
Today, we hear from Jenny Best. It’s a story of a top tier New York City ballerina, who conquered her own struggles with food, and then was gob-smacked when it came time to begin feeding solids to her own firstborn son. And that was even before the twins! Jenny leaped into action and became the founder of a remarkable on-line information resource called Solid Starts.com. It’s a multi-disciplinary and very comprehensive website that offers parents guidance as babies take their very first bites an...
Mar 29, 2021•31 min•Ep. 13
Nina Simonds is simply one of America’s culinary superstars. Trained in Taiwan in the 70’s by China’s culinary royalty, author of 11 cookbooks, former Asia editor for Gourmet, and reporter for the New York Times. So, it was a huge shock to her system that when she got Covid, it stole her sense of taste and smell. So far, it hasn’t come back. Photo courtesy Nina Simonds. Let's Talk About Food is powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice ...
Mar 22, 2021•25 min•Ep. 12
As the Corporate Director of Exercise Physiology for the world-famous Canyon Ranch wellness resorts, Mike Siemens knows a thing or two about food. And health. And how the two go together. The good. The bad. and how we get back to post Pandemic health. His love for food began as a kid growing up in East Central Illinois, walking the fence row, searching for wild asparagus. Don’t know what “exercise physiology” is? Have a listen and Mike will explain. Photo Courtesy of Mike Siemens & Canyon Ra...
Mar 15, 2021•26 min•Ep. 11
Today we talk to Kate Sullivan . She is the host of the PBS Series, To Dine For ––now in its third season. An accomplished television reporter, she crafted a fantasy job for herself – having a meal and a one-on-one conversation with visionaries at their favorite hometown restaurants. Howard Schultz of Starbucks, Norman Lear, Mark Cuban––and someone we all revere, chef Jose Andrés. In this episode we’ll eavesdrop on Kate’s own dinner with Andres in Barcelona – and how her hunch that bonding ove...
Mar 08, 2021•17 min•Ep. 10
Today we are having a chat with my good friend, Charles Draghi --universally called "Chuck." Chuck inhabits the rarified strata of top chefs in Boston, mentor to many, revered by diners at his restaurant Erbaluce, and lauded by the critics. Before all that, he was a chef in Boston's North End, one of the country's last Little Italys, where locals and tourists go for color and red-sauce flavor. It's where Chuck served up the kinds of dishes unheard of in this traditional iconic Italian neighborho...
Feb 23, 2021•24 min•Ep. 9
“It was as though somebody had poked a hole in the hull of a ship and we were sinking.” Chef Jody Adams is one of a very few chefs in town whose first name alone makes her instantly recognizable. Like Cher. Or Barack. Jody is a rock-star chef-owner with more than 30 years of success. She’s earned every national accolade including numerous James Beards, Food & Wine, Top Chef). Jody Adams is a formidable leader — a major force in the food world––championing female chefs, feeding the hungry, ...
Feb 08, 2021•21 min•Ep. 8
Her mother told her “Never Take Candy from a Stranger.” Especially in Moscow. Darra Goldstein was a young Russian graduate student, working on a US trade show in the USSR in the 70’s when a seemingly sympathetic Muscovite offered her a bag of candy as a thank-you. It’s a great story. Darra is now an Emeritus professor of Russian at Williams college and the founding editor of Gastronomica, the Journal of Food Studies . Photo Courtesy of Darra Goldstein. Let's Talk About Food is powered by Simplec...
Jan 25, 2021•30 min•Ep. 7
Dan Michaud "Ron, Jade Valley and the Power of Place" When his soon-to-be stepfather Ron rolled into teenage Dan’s mother’s house in an orange Fiat convertible. They began a thirty-year conversation. Dan’s tribute to “Ron who gave me Shakespeare, Miles Davis, and winter picnics” (plus a killer recipe for Beef Stroganoff). Alvin Crawford "The Luckiest Guy" Family dinners are not always happy moments. Our storyteller, Alvin Crawford, with his father remembers his dinners with his father as stressf...
Jan 11, 2021•21 min•Ep. 6
Every good Rom-Com starts with a “Meet Cute” story. And what could be cuter than a first date story that revolves around food? In this episode we share two: a cheese-infused one from Sarah and Chris Blackburn, who met, married and are now the publishers and editor of Edible Boston ; and one from Dena and Noah Kowaloff. This one features an unlikely star: broccoli. Let’s have a listen. Photo Courtesy of Bethany Versoy Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Suppo...
Dec 15, 2020•20 min•Ep. 5
In this episode we’ll hear from the President of the Greater Boston Food Bank, Catherine D’Amato and from Northeastern University’s Dining Director, Maureen Timmons. Most of us are inspired to cook meals for those we love. And then, there are those who choose to feed the many. They are a different breed. Gracious, committed and generous. Why do they do it? To us, they are exceptional heroes, especially in this time when food insecurity is soaring, and supply struggles to keep up with crushing de...
Dec 08, 2020•17 min•Ep. 4
This episode features food writer and columnist, Mike Floreak –– and me, your host, Louisa Kasdon . We’ll each share a story about what happens when you love food. And your mother or mother-in-law could care less. Mike Floreak on his mother-in-law, Mary:“Food was just one of the things Mary found disappointing. Like the people she met at Walmart. And my wife’s haircuts.” Louisa Kasdon on her mother, Muriel Kasdon: “We used to tell people not to eat anything at my mother’s house. Not the cottage ...
Nov 30, 2020•23 min•Ep. 3
This episode features our friends, chef Jasper White & chef and author, Annie Copps. They’ll each share a cranky yet funny story about food and friendship––and sealing the deal over a wonderful meal. Jasper White - How A Cranky Diner Became My Best Friend Chef Jasper White is credited nationally with reviving and re-inventing the regional traditions of New England Cooking. He spent much of his childhood on a farm near the Jersey Shore and credits his love of good food to his Italian grandmot...
Nov 17, 2020•19 min•Ep. 2
This episode two of our favorite chefs, Lydia Shire and Will Gilson. Each will share a story of how far a chef will go for love -- or a recipe. Lydia Shire - How much do I want this recipe? Lydia Shire is simply one of the country’s leading chefs. Named to every high honor in the culinary world, including becoming the first female executive chef at a Four Season’s Hotel. Lydia began cooking in Boston at 21, as a young divorced mother with three small children. Her story of her drive, ingenuity a...
Nov 17, 2020•19 min•Ep. 1
Coming Soon, from HRN: Because everyone has a food story. From our first mouthful of applesauce in front of our adoring family, to our first bite into a jalapeño pepper, and everything in between, food is at the heart of the human experience. We love it. We need it. Food is family and ritual. Fun and work. Sophistication and guilty pleasure, scarcity and overabundance. Food makes us ecstatic and sometimes crazy. Food delights and disappoints. Can you think of a connector that binds us together...
Oct 21, 2020•5 min•Ep. 81
