Milk. Ramen. Cider. Tiki. This week, we have four stories about the history, controversy, and sentimentality behind names – those words we say often, but rarely stop to fully consider. Our exploration into the language of food includes debates between lawyers, interviews with historians, and chats with our favorite bartenders. Who gets to assign meaning to the names our favorite dishes and drinks? Should plant-based beverages be called milk? Is ramen quintessentially Japanese? Who gets to decide...
Apr 12, 2019•27 min•Ep. 34
In the midst of the endless 24-hour news cycle, it can sometimes feel like all we care about is what's new. This week on Meat + Three , we bring you stories about what's old. We're diving into the lost and found bin to bring you stories of the rescuers rescuing and reviving food and drink from (almost) lost to history. We begin with The Recipe Hunters, a globetrotting duo that finds and shares stories about traditional foods. Then we hear a story from "The Flavor Saver," Dr. David Shields, who u...
Apr 05, 2019•22 min•Ep. 33
Perhaps it’s a tired cliche to assert that we live in a competitive world: it’s dog eat dog out there, right? Tired, perhaps, but tough to deny. Some compete for fun; others compete because they must to survive. In this week’s episode of Meat + Three , we bring you stories about the effects competition has on food and agriculture. We start with the science behind one of most quintessentially American spectacles: speed eating. Then, we go back about 70 years to a chicken raising contest that help...
Mar 29, 2019•25 min•Ep. 32
Newark, New Jersey is more than meets the eye. There's an under-the-radar food movement going on "The Gateway City," and we ventured across the Hudson River to check it out! We start at Philip's Academy Charter School to see how Ecospaces Education is transforming the way students eat and incorporating food into curriculum. Then, we head to the Ironbound neighborhood to taste the historically-charged spirits of All Points West Distillery and some of the finest presunto ibérico at Caseiro E Bom. ...
Mar 22, 2019•23 min•Ep. 31
These days, it's hard to avoid thinking about borders; discussions about the divided spread through our feeds like melting butter on warm toast. So this week, we're taking a look at the boundaries criss-crossing the gastro-verse and the people testing their limits. On Food Without Borders , Sari Kamin shines a light on refugees using cookbooks to fight immigration hostilities. Amazon's still in the news thanks to Elizabeth Warren's proposal to roll back its merger with Whole Foods. Nina Medvinsk...
Mar 15, 2019•21 min•Ep. 30
This weekend (March 8-10, 2019), HRN is broadcasting live interviews from the Le Creuset Podcast Studio at Charleston Wine + Food. To mark our fourth trip down to Charleston, we're highlighting some interviews from last year, and giving you a sneak peek into what you can tune in to this year. Tune in to our coverage live here . See our full Charleston Wine + Food interview schedule here . Photo by Lizzy Ervin – courtesy Charleston Wine + Food. Meat + Three is powered by Simplecast . See Privacy ...
Mar 08, 2019•10 min•Ep. 211
This week on Meat + Three we’re bringing you an interview with an HRN Hall of Fame standout featured on HRN’s special series Evolutionaries . Jamie Oliver is a chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and TV host. In the late 90s, he was a young restaurant cook who happened into his own show “The Naked Chef” where he cooked to his credo: “It’s got to be simple. It’s got to be tasty. It’s got to be fun”. As his career evolved, Jamie worked tirelessly to improve the nutritional quality of school foods...
Mar 01, 2019•45 min•Ep. 211
In honor of Black History Month, we recognize the difficult past and celebrate the undeniable impact of African American farmers on past, present, and future foodways. It’s impossible to distill the entire meaning of Black History in America down to 20 minutes, so we chose to focus on the profound ways that farming can connect history and culture to environment and food. We begin with two HRN Hall of Fame Honorees, Carla Hall and Leah Penniman, who share stories of struggling to balance the comp...
Feb 22, 2019•22 min•Ep. 29
Whether Valentine’s Day is your favorite winter holiday or you avoid it like the plague, there’s no debating it’s a big day for the world of food and hospitality. This week we’re bringing you the inside scoop on what the holiday means for the industry. We visit a dessert bar trying to avoid the clichés of champagne and chocolate and investigate how the holiday’s hues are affecting rosé sales. We get to the bottom of a rumor about diamonds (but not the ones you're thinking of), and explore the be...
Feb 15, 2019•23 min•Ep. 28
The Polar Vortex has subsided, but despite warmer temperatures, it’s still the dead of winter. This week, we take you through dormant grapevines in a California vineyard and consider the benefits of taking a mindful break from alcohol at the start of the year. Then, we expose the cold dangers facing delivery workers braving brutal weather to bring hot meals to New Yorkers. Finally, we marvel at an unlikely luxury product and winter's most anticipated guest: ice. Meat + Three is powered by Simple...
Feb 08, 2019•22 min•Ep. 27
One month down, eleven to go! Statistically, you’ve probably broken your resolution by now, so what better time to investigate why those new year diets never stick? This week, we bring you stories of how food is set to change in 2019. Eater ’s Ryan Sutton shares his restaurant trends predictions (hint: a focus on regional Chinese cuisines). If you live in New York City, expect to see a change in street meat containers this year. The city has banned styrofoam! It’s great news for the environment,...
Feb 01, 2019•21 min•Ep. 26
It is the 28th day of the longest government shutdown in history. 800,000 federal employees have gone without pay and as bills begin to pile up, putting food on the table feels a lot more important than partisan impasse. At HRN, we discovered that the shutdown has impacted our food system in some unexpected ways. Routine inspections on produce and processed foods have been suspended and DC restaurants are struggling without the typical lunch crowds. Between furloughs, farms, and food stamps, we ...
Jan 18, 2019•21 min•Ep. 25
On the season two finale of Meat + Three , we bring you the story of a major national food tech company that turned the lives of over five hundred people upside down. This October, the venture-capital funded food incubator, Pilotworks, abruptly shuttered, putting nearly 500 people’s livelihoods in jeopardy. This closure jeopardized the livelihood of over one hundred and seventy five businesses. We decided to devote our full season finale to the crisis, and our team followed the story for over tw...
Dec 21, 2018•33 min•Ep. 24
Today’s episode probes the gastronomically risky and cozies up to danger. As the veneer of safety is dismissed, dicey aspects of the culinary are revealed. Whether it's toxic meals, politics in the kitchen, or environmentally devastating husbandry—one thing is clear: food is no simple matter when caution is breached. Nina Medvinskaya visits a Michelin-starred restaurant to investigate why people risk their lives for a taste of fish: it's all about the blowfish at Suzuki. Kevin Wheeler talks to a...
Dec 07, 2018•27 min•Ep. 23
Today’s episode delves into rules and restaurants. Anyone who works in a restaurant will tell you, success depends on following a strict code of conduct. Sometimes the rules are clearly written down. Sometimes they’re unspoken. But the underlying goal is usually the same... to avoid chaos, ensure food safety, and guarantee customers’ satisfaction. Hannah Fordin takes a look at the people who cause fear when they step into a NYC restaurant---the health inspectors responsible for enforcing the rul...
Nov 30, 2018•24 min•Ep. 22
Who can resist a holiday that promotes eating multiple types of pie in a single meal? This week, we're exploring the unexpected sides of Thanksgiving. From culinary historians to turducken enthusiasts, people have a lot of feelings about this holiday. We start by hearing from some food magazine editors, who are well-versed Thanksgiving trends. They start planning for November issues (typically the most read) as early as March each year. Then, Kevin Wheeler speaks to Perry Ground, a member of Hau...
Nov 16, 2018•20 min•Ep. 21
Today’s show is about labels – a surprisingly controversial topic. In our reporting this week, we discovered that people have a lot strong feelings about labels and the meanings that are assigned to them. But if you take a step back, you’ll see that these stories are also about trust. How do we know if labels are accurate – or even necessary? From food and drink to politics and culture – labels are everywhere and navigating them is an ongoing challenge. Love Meat + Three? Subscribe on iTunes or ...
Nov 01, 2018•21 min•Ep. 20
When the leaves start to fall and temperatures begin to drop, one of our favorite things to do is celebrate the funk in food. This week, we bring you four stories about fungi and fermentation. From the magical properties of cheese rinds and sourdough starters – to the complex processes behind co-fermentation and myco-cultivation, this FUNKY show has something for everyone on a mission for great flavor in every meal. Love Meat + Three? Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, follow us on your favorite s...
Oct 26, 2018•18 min•Ep. 19
We’d like to talk to you about food waste. Up to 40% of food in the United States is wasted. That’s about 400 pounds of food per person every year. But who can really fix the problem? Does the responsibility of reducing food waste lie with farmers, restaurateurs… or with us consumers? We look at how one foreign government figured out a way to get individual citizens to get actively involved in solving the crisis. Our other stories this week investigate the waste created by American's obsession w...
Oct 19, 2018•26 min•Ep. 18
Almost a month ago, Hurricane Florence wreaked havoc on the Carolinas. She displaced thousands of residents and caused billions of dollars in damages. Just this week, Hurricane Michael ravaged a section of Florida's panhandle that has already faced decades of hardship, due to climate change, disappearing industry, and the BP oil spill. Apalachicola, one of the small, historic fishing towns that received a direct hit, is home to a shrinking oyster industry. Michael could be one of the final blows...
Oct 12, 2018•22 min•Ep. 17
We decided it was high time we did an episode about Mary Jane. Over the past few years, the legal cannabis industry has been blooming in states across the nation. From recreational use of marijuana, to the resurgence of hemp farming in the American South… weed is here to stay. We begin our journey into the wide world of weed with an excerpt of a recent episode of Cutting the Curd. Host Diane Stemple speaks with cheese monger turned cannabis advisor, Christina Fleming, about the surprising simila...
Sep 28, 2018•21 min•Ep. 16
We're bringing you our highlights from Feast Portland – four days of delicious food and some very deep conversations in an airstream trailer. We begin with one of the most buzzed-about events at Feast Portland this year, Zero Proof, an alcohol-free dinner that brought together chefs including Andrew Zimmern and Michael Solomonov. Next, we get an insider's look into the history of Portland's dining scene. How did it become the foodie mecca it is today? Elias Cairo of Olympia Provisions interviews...
Sep 21, 2018•23 min•Ep. 15
Do you remember the first cookbook you ever loved? Caity was enthralled by Rose Levy Berenbaum’s The Cake Bible when she was little and spent hours going through her gorgeous photos and awesome recipe names: Enchanted Forest, Strawberry Maria and Chocolate Chestnut Embrace. Years later when she was a teenager, Caity's sister gave her a copy of The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman, which inspired to learn about world cuisines by cooking at home and later fueled her plans to travel the wo...
Sep 14, 2018•22 min•Ep. 14
When Kat said she wanted to do a whole episode about football, she got some skeptical looks from the rest of the Meat + Three team…. but by the end of this episode you’ll be just as fascinated by the role food plays on the gridiron as she is. Before we go deep with a look into the diets of football players, we talk tailgating . Imagine hundreds of fans gathered around a stadium – beers in hand, smoke wafting off hundreds of grills, all in anticipation of the big game! We enlist Atlanta chefs Nic...
Sep 07, 2018•22 min•Ep. 13
Tell the truth — do you know how to make arepas from scratch? Or know the difference between white and yellow corn? The kids at The Dynamite Shop do. On this week’s bonus episode, we go behind the scenes at this week-long culinary summer camp and after-school program in Brooklyn that’s calling itself “Home Ec 2.0”. Back in episode 9, "Youth," we talked about a number of organizations, like Seed Life Skills, taking on staid home economics curriculums. With The Dynamite Shop, co-founders Dana Bowe...
Aug 24, 2018•10 min•Ep. 211
This week, we have a bonus segment about what it takes to end hunger in America. Back on episode 10, we brought you a few highlights from our trip to Slow Food Nations. Many of you reached out about one segment in particular: a clip of our interview with John Ikerd. So this week, we bring you that interview in its entirety. We first heard Ikerd speak at the Slow Food Leadership Summit, and became intrigued by one of his big ideas. He believes that there is a way to solve hunger in the U.S. It re...
Aug 17, 2018•17 min•Ep. 211
For this "snack-sized" episode, we’re joining the Farmers Market Coalition to recognize National Farmers Market Week! This is a great time to talk speak with Ben Feldman, the Policy Director at FMC about farmers, because there is a ton of news about agricultural economics right now. But before we talk about local markets, we step back and take in the bigger picture. On episode two of Meat + Three , we reported a story on tariffs and the escalating trade tensions between China and the U.S. – and ...
Aug 10, 2018•8 min•Ep. 211
It's the season finale of Meat + Three! A few weeks ago, we presented an episode about youth, so for this week’s theme, we’re flipping the script and focusing on age. We start with a visit to one of Atlanta's most iconic landmarks, Hotel Clermont, which just re-opened! Meet the team behind the hotel's French brasserie, Tiny Lou's, and discover the fascinating history behind its name. Hannah Fordin investigates what happens when it’s time for a chef to retire. In other career paths, you can count...
Aug 01, 2018•22 min•Ep. 12
This episode is inspired by a conversation that HRN’s Coral Lee had with Rupa Bhattacharya on Meant to be Eaten . Rupa is the new Editor-In-Chief of VICE’s food channel, Munchies . They dish about how Internet culture changed the food media landscape – for better and for worse – since Rupa’s early days at the Food Network. Jennifer Leuzzi introduces us to a new ag-tech concept from episode 139 of her show, Tech Bites . Fast casual salad chains that boast a farm-to-counter ethos have been springi...
Jul 27, 2018•17 min•Ep. 11
We're back from Slow Food Nations – a festival of flavor, culture and exploration organized by Slow Food USA. This year's gathering focused on identifying tangible solutions to problems in the food system and developing specific actionable items for positive change. Towards the end of the festival, the Slow Food International press office sent an email with the subject line “Slow Food Nations embraces equity, inclusion and justice in food.” It outlined Slow Food USA’s formal commitment to food j...
Jul 20, 2018•18 min•Ep. 10
