The late, LA Times critic, Jonathan Gold, so describes today’s MTBE guest. An author of 3 (soon to be 4) tomes on Japanese cooking, Nancy Hachisu is proof in the pudding that another, once-foreign culture, cuisine, food, and mannerisms, can be studied, learned, and embodied...sensitively, accurately, and holistically. Nancy and Coral discuss why Japanese cuisine enjoys higher prestige than others, in America, and why is it more often creatively appropriated, rather than mis-appropriated. See Pri...
Sep 09, 2018•56 min•Ep. 31
Michael S. Kideckel is a Ph.D. candidate in history at Columbia University. His dissertation "uses the breakfast cereal industry’s advocacy of 'natural food' as a case study to explain the industrial roots of American ideas about nature". We discuss key figures in/against the Slow Food Movement (Pollan, Waters, Laudan), the history and evolution of food branding, and the state of health and food activism today. Meant to be Eaten is powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/...
Aug 12, 2018•51 min•Ep. 30
“Twitter Roaster”, and author of Reel Inequality – a book that examine the barriers African American, Asian American and Latina/o actors face in Hollywood and how they creatively challenge stereotypes – Nancy Yuen studies the ways in which Asian-Americans are represented (or not) in media. Meant to be Eaten 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 ....
Aug 05, 2018•47 min•Ep. 29
What's in your grocery basket, and what does it reveal about you– your economic bracket, most personal food memories, current dietary restrictions, cooking fears, and go-to weeknight dinners? Aimee Brodeur is the founder of FeedbackNY (feedbackny.com) , a "growing collection of stories about the choices we make to nourish ourselves and our loved ones". Meant to be Eaten is powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/p...
Jul 22, 2018•42 min•Ep. 28
An engineer by day, Rich Shih moonlights as Jean Dough, Koji Extraordinaire, by night. We’ll be talking about his hugely popular blog, Our Cook Quest , his crazy ferment projects — can you really umeboshi anything and everything?! — why he’s here in NYC this weekend, and the exciting projects he has brewing for the near future. Meant to be Eaten 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-inf...
Jul 15, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 27
Chef and fellow Heritage Radio Network radio host Jenny Dorsey ’s culinary mission is grand– to cook food and create environments that are deliberately uncomfortable, in an attempt to change the world with her art. We discuss what it takes to be a "model minority", how the phrase "less is more" suggests privilege, and why it's not a culture's responsibility to make itself accessible to those unfamiliar with it. Meant to be Eaten is powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/...
Jul 08, 2018•55 min•Ep. 26
Today’s guest is Rupa Bhattacharya— the newly-appointed EIC of VICE’s food website and digital channel, MUNCHIES. We discuss the responsibility and power of food media, current issues food media is facing, and why non-“foodies” should care. Meant to Be Eaten 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 01, 2018•43 min•Ep. 25
Joining me today is artist Rosemary Liss; food is her medium. Eloquently put, her website states: “Rosemary Liss (b. 1988) creates nourishing experiences that provide a symbiosis between mouthfeel and carnal perception.” We’ll be talking about her start at Hex Ferments, nuka performance piece/residency at the Noma Ferments lab, and her current role at Bar Clavel in Baltimore. Meant to be Eaten is powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notic...
Jun 17, 2018•45 min•Ep. 24
Born in New Orleans, Lolis Eric Elie is now a Los Angeles based writer and filmmaker. A prolific writer, Elie has written multiple cookbooks celebrating New Orleans's cuisine, for TV (currently, AMC's Hell on Wheels), and documentaries. His work can be found in Gourmet, The Washington Post, NYT...and most recently he was on David Chang's docu-series, Ugly Delicious. Meant to be Eaten is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https:/...
Jun 03, 2018•32 min•Ep. 23
Why and how do we gather around food? Food photographer, Penny de Los Santos, discusses her "anthropologic findings" while shooting for Nat Geo, her research in Dearborn, MI, and what exactly "food landscapes" can reveal about their respective cultures. Penny's photographs have been in National Geographic , Food & Wine , and Saveur , and she has spoken on the TedX stage about her work. Meant to Be Eaten is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California P...
May 15, 2018•41 min•Ep. 22
Kicking off MTBE’s 3rd season, is author and professor Thomas Parker. His most recent book, Tasting French Terroir: The History of an Idea , explores the origins and significance of the French concept of terroir. We also discuss his event series and blog, Subnature and Culinary Culture, which examined the history of foods that have been marginalized and re-appropriated by different cultures throughout history. Meant to Be Eaten is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pri...
May 08, 2018•49 min•Ep. 21
Josey Baker of The Mill SF on how industrialization has led to false expectations as to how much a loaf should cost, the changing aesthetics of bread (dark, burnt crust + open/airy crumb à la Tartine), and how food businesses can best and responsibly serve its communities. Meant to Be Eaten 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 ....
Apr 17, 2018•46 min•Ep. 20
Maria Zizka has cooked and written with numerous authorities on California cuisine-- co-authoring with Sqirl's Jessica Koslow, Tartine's Elisabeth Prueitt, and a.o.c.'s Suzanne Goin. We examine the tenets of California cuisine, and Maria's role as not just mediator between chef and home cook -- but translator as well. Meant to Be Eaten 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 ....
Apr 03, 2018•42 min•Ep. 19
Coffee is a complex subject within the greater culinary landscape. Parlor Coffee’s founder, Dillon Edwards, speaks on the cross-cultural journey coffee beans take when going from producer to roaster, what it means to stay “honest” as a sourcer, and when a café serves or indirectly hurts its local community. Meant to Be Eaten 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 ....
Mar 20, 2018•42 min•Ep. 18
The I-Collective is a group of Indigenous chefs, activists, herbalists, seed, and knowledge keepers. Indigenous communities have been wild-foraging, cooking farm-to-table/snout-to-tail, and manipulating closed loop agricultural systems before it was cool. So why don’t we see Native American joints popping up everywhere? We examine colonialism’s lasting effects on health and identity, define “Indigenous food sovereignty”, and discuss how we can work together to present a more truthful history. Me...
Mar 06, 2018•47 min•Ep. 17
Sarahlynn Pablo and Natalia Roxas are the founders of Filipino Kitchen. Pushing past questions of appropriation and authenticity, provenance and legitimacy, we discuss how Filipino food serves, nurtures, and heals its eaters. Meant to Be Eaten 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 ....
Feb 27, 2018•39 min•Ep. 16
Andrea Fazzari is the author of Tokyo New Wave: 31 Chefs Defining Japan’s Next Generation, out mid-March from Ten Speed Press. Born and raised in New York, Andrea has since lived in Italy and France, finally following her fascination with Japan and its culture to Tokyo. Tokyo New Wave profiles 31 chefs largely responsible for the changing food landscape in Tokyo. We discuss what it means to be “Japanese” (to both Andrea and the chefs), the importance (socially) of an introduction, and how to com...
Feb 16, 2018•41 min•Ep. 15
Jen Monroe is the founder of Bad Taste, a Brooklyn-based project committed to exploring new ways of thinking about food and consumption. Instagram has transformed eating into an aesthetic activity. Does ‘gramming your runny egg yolk have larger repercussions than you think? We discuss the inherently political message of food, how certain foods have come to act as lifestyle signifiers, and what your #foodporn reveals about you. Meant to Be Eaten is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at http...
Feb 07, 2018•34 min•Ep. 14
Pietro Quaglia owns Pietro Nolita, an all pink (some would call it "Millennial Pink") restaurant in NYC. His aesthetic has drawn fans and social media influencers from all over the world to Elizabeth Street to snap pics and model for selfies over bowls of al dente pasta. But Pietro, who didn't have an Instagram account before his restaurant became Insta-famous, says he didn't even know Millennial Pink was a thing when he opened up shop. Now, he's fully embracing the wave of pink adoration...but ...
Jan 23, 2018•31 min•Ep. 13
Chef Rob Newton was born and raised in Arkansas before joining the army, kicking college to the curb for culinary school and then starting a flurry of successful restaurants in New York City. We talk about what inspired him to pick up Vietnamese cooking, certain chef stereotypes and the evolution of his food as his personal and professional journey continues to unfold. Meant to Be Eaten is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at http...
Jan 18, 2018•42 min•Ep. 12
Has the first mainstream wave of cultural appropriation activism achieved its goals? Andrea Wien talks to Soleil Ho, writer, chef and co-host of the podcast Racist Sandwich , and Kimberly Chou, co-director of Food Book Fair and co-host of the HRN show Recommended Reading with Food Book Fair , about where we're at in the conversation, what needs to happen to move these concerns forward and why this discussion seems so frequently to center around Asian food and activists. Meant to Be Eaten is powe...
Dec 06, 2017•40 min•Ep. 11
When Josh Grinker, chef and co-owner of Kings Co. Imperial started out, he first fell in love with the technique of cooking Chinese food, specifically working the wok. Only years later did the question of cultural appropriation start to arise. But for Josh and his business partner, chef Tracy Jane Young, their respect and passion for Chinese cuisine has never been about profit: it's always been about paying homage to Chinese philosophy and flavor. On this episode, we talk about how the discussio...
Nov 21, 2017•39 min•Ep. 10
Author Sarah Lohman joins us today to talk about how America's culinary history is far from "white" and how the flavors we all know and love were brought here and evolved from places far, far away. Meant to Be Eaten 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 ....
Nov 14, 2017•36 min•Ep. 9
Oft-quoted and well-loved by the MTBE team, Krishnendu Ray--NYU Food Studies Professor and author of two books on immigrant foods in America--joins us to talk about why searching out the most "authentic, ethnic" cuisines can be a problem, how social media has democratized food and why expensive Chinese is in our future food forecast. Meant to Be Eaten 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...
Nov 07, 2017•46 min•Ep. 8
Trigg Brown and Joshua Ku of East Wililamsburg's Taiwanese-American joint, Win Son, talk about Taiwan's complicated history and how they're working to educate diners on Taiwanese food. Meant to Be Eaten 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 ....
Oct 31, 2017•36 min•Ep. 7
Ben Van Leeuwen on the Van Leeuwen’s ice cream empire and his side project— the Balinese-inspired restaurant, Selamat Pagi, in Greenpoint. Ben talks about driving a Good Humor truck and why it prompted him to start his own shop, how he designs flavors and how ingredients know no cultural bounds. Meant to Be Eaten 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 ....
Oct 24, 2017•35 min•Ep. 6
On this episode of Meant To Be Eaten , Fred Opie, professor of foodways and history at Babson College and author of the book, Hogs and Hominy joins Adedoyin Teriba, a professor of architectural history at Pratt, to discuss soul food and the spread of African-American culture and food across the globe. How do major historical events like the Civil Rights Movement influence food? And what feelings arise when you find a food from your homeland in an unfamiliar place? Meant to Be Eaten is powered by...
Oct 17, 2017•42 min•Ep. 5
Tea culture spans thousands of years, from India and China to Japan and Britain. But what exactly is tea? And what do tea purists think of the rise of fast casual tea joints? Are these types of places watering down the meaning and significance of this historic brew? On this episode, Andrea Wien talks to Timothy Hsu, proprietor of the Mandarin Tea Room and Chinese tea master trainee and Zach Mangan, the founder of the Japanese tea shop Kettl in Williamsburg. Meant to Be Eaten is powered by Simple...
Oct 10, 2017•46 min•Ep. 4
At the end of a long work week, there’s nothing more we love than breaking bread with good company. But what if someone prefers a sourdough over a baguette? A paratha over a pita? Or, is gluten-free? Today we're talking with Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful podcast, about his recent mini-series, "Your Mom's Food". Dan spoke with 4 families who had been divided over food; through tough conversations with 4 different families, he shows the simple question – “what’s for dinner?” – may not be so si...
Oct 03, 2017•32 min•Ep. 3
Today's episode of Meant to be Eaten follows a conversation between Coral and JT Vuong--head chef at Okonomi in East Williamsburg. Okonomi straddles the line between convention and craze: serving traditional Japanese breakfast by day and not-so-traditional ramen by night. Does Okonomi's stress on locally-sourced ingredients inherently limit its ability to remain wholly traditional? The majority of Okonomi's staff isn't Japanese--how do you learn the subtle nuances of another's culture? Who and w...
Sep 26, 2017•35 min•Ep. 2
