The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

American Public Media

The Splendid Table has always connected people through the common language of food and eating. Now with award-winning food journalist Francis Lam at the helm, we’re bringing forward even more fresh voices and surprising conversations at the intersection of food, people and culture – covering everything from the global appeal of sesame to the impact of Instagram on everyday eating. It’s a food show where everyone is welcome. Produced by American Public Media. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network read less

Our Editor's Take

The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes for Curious Cooks & Eaters is a food podcast with a difference. It offers good food, great conversations, and fascinating food history. The program debuted in 1995 and has aired on public radio since then. The food show gives thorough and entertaining insights about food and food-related topics. With the podcast, listeners now have the luxury of playing past episodes and getting new ones.

The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes for Curious Cooks & Eaters' topics are well-researched. The show's hosts and guests are knowledgeable about food. It does not matter if they discuss home cooking or elevated brunches-the result is the same. Podcast listeners get an entertaining show.

The Splendid Table got its name from a cookbook by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. The book made history by becoming the first to win two major awards in the cooking industry. It received a Julia Child Award and a James Beard Award. Kasper cocreated this radio program. She served as host of the show from 1995 until 2017. That year, award-winning food writer Francis Lam took over as host. Before coming on as the podcast's host, he had contributed to and guest-hosted the show since 2010. Lam's career has included writing for The New York Times, Gourmet, and Food & Wine. He has also served as a judge on Top Chef.

Podcast topics cut across cuisine, history, and food policies. Listeners hear about everything from Masala tea to the ubiquitous refrigerator. Chefs Robynne Maii and Maneet Chauhan have appeared on the podcast. Other guests have included cookbook authors, restaurateurs, foodies, and more. Listeners can call in with culinary questions and share interesting food facts. The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes for Curious Cooks & Eaters is a good podcast for foodies. New episodes drop each week.

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817: Holidays with Lisa Kyung Gross and Helen Rosner

817: Holidays with Lisa Kyung Gross and Helen Rosner

This week, we’re all about community and coming together for the holidays. First, we talk to Lisa Kyung Gross, founder of The League of Kitchens, a unique cooking school where women from all over the world, welcome you into their homes and teach you how to make one of their family recipes. She talks about the delicious recipes she has collected in her new book, The League of Kitchens Cookbook: Brilliant Tips, Secret Methods & Favorite Family Recipes from Around the World. She leaves us with an Afghan recipe for Cake Jawari, a delicious yellow cake with rosewater and cardamom. Then, The New Yorker’s food writer Helen Rosner stops by the studio with treats and ideas for your last-minute gifts.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 20, 2024 (originally aired)Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show.

Episodes

817: Holidays with Lisa Kyung Gross and Helen Rosner

817: Holidays with Lisa Kyung Gross and Helen Rosner

This week, we’re all about community and coming together for the holidays. First, we talk to Lisa Kyung Gross, founder of The League of Kitchens, a unique cooking school where women from all over the world, welcome you into their homes and teach you how to make one of their family recipes. She talks about the delicious recipes she has collected in her new book, The League of Kitchens Cookbook: Brilliant Tips, Secret Methods & Favorite Family Recipes from Around the World. She leaves us with an Afghan recipe for Cake Jawari, a delicious yellow cake with rosewater and cardamom. Then, The New Yorker’s food writer Helen Rosner stops by the studio with treats and ideas for your last-minute gifts.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 20, 2024 (originally aired)Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show.

793: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson and Cassoulet Confessions with Sylvie Bigar

793: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson and Cassoulet Confessions with Sylvie Bigar

This week, we’re all about discovering the secret of cooking—and exploring an iconic French Dish. First, Award-winning food historian Bee Wilson talks to us about her latest book, The Secret of Cooking: Recipes for an Easier Life in the Kitchen. She talks about how to find the joy in cooking with real-world advice, from embracing your favorite kitchen tool to considering cooking as a remedy. She left us with her recipe for Magic Pasta with Mushrooms, Garlic Cream, and Wine. Then, food writer Sylvie Bigar takes us through an amazing culinary journey, exploring the history and culture of cassoulet and why she became so obsessed with the iconic French dish. Her book is Cassoulet Confessions: Food, France, Family and the Stew That Saved My Soul, and she left us with her recipe for Gateway Cassoulet.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 8, 2023 (originally aired)December 13, 2024 (rebroadcast)Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today.

816: Crumbs with Ben Mims and Wild Chocolate with Rowan Jacobsen

816: Crumbs with Ben Mims and Wild Chocolate with Rowan Jacobsen

It’s the holiday season, and we’re kicking it off this week with some sweet treats. First, food editor and recipe developer Ben Mims joins us with his latest project, covering over 300 cookie recipes from Asia to the Levant to Scandinavia to the Caribbean. The varieties are astonishing. We get into cookie styles, the fascinating ingredients in regional cookies, and the hundreds of flavor combinations. Ben is the author of Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World. And he left us with a recipe for Guava-Filled Butter Cookies from Brazil. Then, we step into the world of wild chocolate with Rowan Jacobsen. We hear about the new breed of cacao farmers and the amazing flavor profiles found in wild chocolate and meet some of the farmers who are making it. Rowan is the author of Wild Chocolate: Across the Americas in Search of Cacao’s Soul.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 6, 2024 (originally aired)Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

791: Fall Cookbook Roundup

791: Fall Cookbook Roundup

It’s our favorite time of year – Fall Cookbook season! We’re joined by baker Samantha Seneviratne, author of Bake Smart, who tells us about her favorite baking techniques, including a butter trick that creates the creamy texture in her Gooey Cranberry Crumb Cake. Then, chef and content creator Jon Kung talks about his debut cookbook, Kung Food: Chinese American Recipes from a Third-Culture Kitchen. He tells us about his cultural identity as a “third-culture kid,” how he experienced multiple cultures at once while growing up, and how he applies that experience to his fusion cooking. He shares a recipe for reimagined Hong Kong Style Chicken and Waffles. Then, Rose Previte, author of the new book Maydan: Recipes from Lebanon and Beyond, talks about travels and her cultural background that influenced her award-winning restaurant and her interest in dishes cooked over fire like Omani Grilled Shrimp Kebabs.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 3, 2023 (originally aired)November 29, 2024 (rebroadcast)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

Turkey Confidential 2024

Turkey Confidential 2024

Join us for Turkey Confidential, our must-listen-to annual Thanksgiving Day broadcast! This year’s guests are Andrea Nguyen author of Ever Green Vietnamese, Super Fresh Recipes Starring Plants from Land and Sea, Dallas-based chef Tiffany Derry of Roots Southern Table and The Great American Recipe on PBS, Washington Post Food Editor and author of Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking, Joe Yonan and pastry chef Paola Velez author of Bodega Bakes, Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store. And, of course, our charming Francis! Broadcast dates for this episode:November 28, 2024

815: Your Thanksgiving meal with Deb Perelman and J. Kenji Lopez-Alt & Desi Bakes with Hetal Vasavada

815: Your Thanksgiving meal with Deb Perelman and J. Kenji Lopez-Alt & Desi Bakes with Hetal Vasavada

We are a week away from Thanksgiving, and this week, Award-winning authors J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Deb Perelman give us the best advice on making the perfect Thanksgiving spread. From gravy hot takes to best brining practices and the ideal way to cook a perfect turkey we have you covered. J. Kenji López-Alt and Deb Perelman are co-hosts of "The Recipe with Kenji and Deb" podcast. Deb left us her recipe for delicious dinner rolls, Sour Cream & Chive Fantails. Then, we move on to delicious Indian-inspired desserts with cookbook author Hetal Vasavada. Her flavor combinations will transform your typical bars, cookies, and pies into deliciously nutty and sometimes spicy desserts. Hetal is the author of Desi Bakes, and she left us her recipe for Pistachio & Cardamom Muddy Buddies.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 22, 2024 (originally aired)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

792: A Chef’s Thanksgiving with Amy Thielen, Eric Ripert, and Pierre Thiam

792: A Chef’s Thanksgiving with Amy Thielen, Eric Ripert, and Pierre Thiam

This week, we are all about getting you ready for your Thanksgiving feast! First, cookbook author Amy Thielen sets us up with tips on keeping the holiday stress-free and enjoyable. She shares her remarkable thinking around “turkey secrets,” talks us through some of her favorite techniques for stuffing and starters, and leaves us with her amazing alternative to mashed potatoes, Fun House Baked Potatoes. Her latest book is Company: The Radically Casual Art of Cooking for Others. Then, Chef Eric Ripert talks us through simple seafood dishes to stand -in or accompany your turkey, like his Salmon Rillettes, a signature dish from Le Bernardin. His latest book is Seafood Simple. Then Chef Pierre Thiam brings West African flavors to the table with reimagined sidedish options like his Coconut Collard Greens with Butternut Squash. His latest book is Simply West African, Easy Joyful Recipes for Every Kitchen. Broadcast dates for this episode:November 17, 2023 (originally aired)November 15, 2024 (rebroadcast)Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today.

814: Ottolenghi Comfort with Yotam Ottolenghi and Classic German Cooking with Luisa Weiss

814: Ottolenghi Comfort with Yotam Ottolenghi and Classic German Cooking with Luisa Weiss

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraThis week, we talk about comfort food around the world. First, Yotam Ottolenghi tells us about his latest book, which is filled with recipes for his favorite comfort foods. He talks about what it is about specific dishes that evoke emotional reactions, from taste to texture to memory like his recipe for “Thousand” Hole Pancake. Yotam’s latest book is Ottolenghi Comfort written with his collaborators Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller, and Tara Wigley. Then, Luisa Weiss joins us to talk about her deep connection to German food. Growing up between Berlin and the US, she tells us about her favorite hot school lunches, (which are famous in German culture!), “low key dinners” known as abendbrot, and the influences German dishes have gleaned from other countries. Luisa is the author of Classic German Cooking, and she leaves us with her recipe for Käsespätzle, Swabian Noodles with Mountain Cheese and Caramelized Onions.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 8, 2024 (originally aired)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

727: Cooking by Feel with Vivian Howard & Nik Sharma

727: Cooking by Feel with Vivian Howard & Nik Sharma

When it comes to cooking, do you follow a recipe to a T, or do you do a little improv? This week, we learn a lot about cooking by feel with the star of the Peabody and Emmy-award-winning show A Chef’s Life, Vivian Howard. She talks to Francis about how she “deprogrammed’ herself from precision cooking and started thinking outside of a written recipe. Plus, she sticks around to help answer your cooking questions. Vivian’s latest book is This Will Make It Taste Good. Then, we take advice from the scientist-turned-cook Nik Sharma, author of The Flavor Equation, on how to be intuitive with our food. Broadcast dates for this episode:January 22, 2021 (originally aired)January 28, 2022 (rebroadcast)November 1, 2024 (rebroadcast)When you shop using our links, we earn a small commission. It’s a great way to support public media at no extra cost to you!Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today.

813: Fall Cookbook Favorites with authors Carolina Gelen, Sonoko Sakai, and Jody Eddy

813: Fall Cookbook Favorites with authors Carolina Gelen, Sonoko Sakai, and Jody Eddy

Cookbook season is back, and we talk to the authors of some of our favorite picks. We're joined by Carolina Gelen, who talks to us about learning how to cook, her favorite Romanian dishes, and how she comes up with her signature recipes like Butter Beans alla Vodka, a fast, one-pot dish inspired by the famous vodka pasta sauce. Carolina is the author of Pass the Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Sharable, Everyday Recipes. Then, Sonoko Sakai tells us how to “wafu” our food! Wafu means Japanese in style, and Sonoko takes familiar dishes and adds a little Japanese flair. Check out her recipe for her Pasta with Miso Bolognese Sauce. Sonoko is the author of Wafu Cooking: Everyday Recipes with Japanese Style. Then, Jody Eddy talks to us about the incredible food she found and cooked in religious communities around the world. She walks us through some of her favorite recipes, from condiments and Chicken soup in Tibet to a recipe she learned from a Minnesotan monastery, Honey Glazed Turkey Tinga. Jody's book is Elysian Kitchens: Recipes Inspired by the Traditions and Tastes of the World's Sacred Space.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 25, 2024 (originally aired)Sign up for our Weeknight Kitchen newsletter here and enter to win one of the incredible cookbooks featured in this episode.Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

790: An Hour With Dorie Greenspan

790: An Hour With Dorie Greenspan

This week, we dedicate the hour to the fabulous Dorie Greenspan. We talk about her start in food, from burning her kitchen down when she was a pre-teen to her love for project baking early in her career and becoming the iconic writer and cookbook author we know today. She shares stories about meeting Julia Child, working alongside high-level pastry chefs, including France’s Pierre Hermé, and her highly- creative process for writing recipes. Dorie is the author of 14 Cookbooks, including the best-selling Baking with Dorie, Everyday Dorie, Dorie’s Cookies, and Around My French Table. Check out our collection of Dorie interviews and recipes here.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 20, 2023 (originally aired)October 18, 2024 (rebroadcast)Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

812: Bread with Richard Hart and Our South, Black Food Through My Lens with Ashleigh Shanti

812: Bread with Richard Hart and Our South, Black Food Through My Lens with Ashleigh Shanti

This week, we sit down with two chefs at the top of their craft. First, we talk to legendary baker Richard Hart about the inspiration behind his new book, Richard Hart Bread: Intuitive Sourdough Baking. He fills us in on why he thinks that humble bakers are the best bakers, how he really is just a simple “yeast farmer” and he shares his realistic thoughts on how to keep a sourdough starter. Check out his amazing recipe for Rye Wrapped in Fig Leaves. Then, we talk with chef Ashleigh Shanti about her connection to Southern food, from its complex regional histories to the culinary traditions of her beloved Appalachia. She leaves us with her take on a classic green bean recipe, Leather Britches. Ashleigh is the author of Our South: Black Food Through My Lens and owns Asheville’s Good Hot Fish. Broadcast dates for this episode:October 11, 2024 (originally aired)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

789: World of Spices with Sana Javeri Kadri and Ethan Frisch

789: World of Spices with Sana Javeri Kadri and Ethan Frisch

This week, we dive into the new spice trade, its history, and two specific companies' commitment to their farmers and direct trade. First, we talk to Sana Javeri Kadri, founder of Diaspora Co. She talks about her research on what the spice trade should look like today and what inspired her to base her business on the stories of spice farmers worldwide. Check out this recipe for Almond Turmeric Potatoes to put your turmeric to work. Then, we talked to Ethan Frisch, Co-Founder of the direct trade spice company Burlap & Barrel. He walks us through a spice tasting of peppercorns, cinnamon, and cumin for a lesson in evaluating aroma and flavor and a gentle reminder of the qualities we should be thinking about when we buy spices. After hearing the conversation about cinnamon, you'll want to give it a go with this recipe for Cinnamon-Toast Graham Crackers.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 6, 2023 (originally aired)October 4, 2024 (rebroadcast)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

811: Does This Taste Funny with Stephen and Evie McGee Colbert and Taste in Music with Alex Bleeker and Luke Pyenson

811: Does This Taste Funny with Stephen and Evie McGee Colbert and Taste in Music with Alex Bleeker and Luke Pyenson

This week, we sit down with Evie McGee Colbert to talk about her latest book, co-authored with her husband, Stephen Colbert. She tells us about the dynamics in her family’s kitchen, the joys and challenges of cooking together during the pandemic, Charleston food traditions, and we take a listener question from one special caller! Evie’s latest book with her husband, Stephen Colbert, is Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes our Family Loves. She leaves us with her recipe for Salt and Pepper Wings. Then, we hit the road with musicians Alex Bleeker and Luke Pyenson to talk about their latest book, a collection of essays and interviews with musicians about life and eating on the road. They talk about their most memorable meals while on tour and the deep connection between musicians and food. Alex and Luke are the authors of Taste in Music: Eating on Tour with Indie Musicians. Broadcast dates for this episode:September 27, 2024 (originally aired)Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show

Check Out: Food Network Obsessed

Check Out: Food Network Obsessed

This week we’re sharing an episode of Food Network Obsessed, the official podcast of Food Network. On each episode, host Jaymee Sire welcomes your favorite chefs, food influencers and Food Network personalities to talk about how they started their food careers, who inspires them and what it’s like to cook on Food Network. On this episode, Jaymee is joined by Food Network Star winner and Outrageous Pumpkins personality, Damaris Phillips. She talks about her Kentucky upbringing in a family of home-chefs, the labor-of-love attitude at the heart of Southern hospitality, and introduces us to the iconic food and fanfare of the Kentucky Derby: the masks, the bourbon, everything! Plus, get inside details about how she developed her close friendship with her Food Network Star mentor, Bobby Flay and hear about the new challenges that will spice up this season of Outrageous Pumpkins.

743: Baking with Dorie Greenspan and Everything Grains with Abra Berens

743: Baking with Dorie Greenspan and Everything Grains with Abra Berens

We sit down with Dorie Greenspan to talk about her newest book, Baking with Dorie. She tells us about her "sweetheart" recipe collection, how she stays inspired after publishing 14 books, and how she dared makeover her famous World Peace Cookies. She left us with a delicious Caramel Apple Crisp recipe, perfect for the season and sticks around to answer your cooking questions. Later, our dear friend Abra Berens joins us to talk about her new book Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds and Legumes. Soak or not to soak? Water or stock? And the last word on how to cook rice!Broadcast dates for this episode:October 22, 2021 (originally aired)October 28, 2022 (rebroadcast)September 20, 2024 (rebroadcast) Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show

810: Đặc Biệt with Nini Nguyen and The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen with Yevhen Klopotenko

810: Đặc Biệt with Nini Nguyen and The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen with Yevhen Klopotenko

This week, we talk with two incredible chefs about their culinary connections to their homes. First, chef Nini Nguyen talks about growing up in New Orleans and her connection to her tight-knit Vietnamese community. She shares the delicious Vietnamese foods she grew up eating and talks about how that upbringing shapes her cooking today, Nini is the author of Đặc Biệt: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook, and she leaves with her recipe for Grilled Rice Paper. Then, we head to Ukraine with chef Yevhen Klopotenko to talk about his work rediscovering traditional Ukrainian dishes that were once suppressed under Soviet rule. He tells us about his work, providing recipes online that have reached thousands of schools and getting traditional recipes like Borsch, finally recognized as Ukrainian. Yevhen is the author of The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen, and he left us with his recipe for Syrnyky, delicious Farmer cheese pancakes.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 13, 2024 (originally aired)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

787: Apples and Agave with Diane Flynt, David Suro Piñera, and Gary Paul Nabhan

787: Apples and Agave with Diane Flynt, David Suro Piñera, and Gary Paul Nabhan

This week, we dive into the world of apples and agave. First, we talk with apple historian Diane Flynt, author of Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South, about what makes apples so magical and the connection apples have to people. She also teaches us the history of apples in the South and tips on what makes a good cider. Then, we turn to the world of Agave spirits with authors Gary Paul Nabhan and David Suro Piñera, where we get an understanding of agave as not just an entity but a “whole rainbow of flavors and fragrance” as well as the fascinating craftsmanship behind mezcal and tequilas. Their latest book is Agave Spirits: The Past, Present, and Future of Mezcals.September 8, 2023 (originally aired)September 6, 2024 (rebroadcast)Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

809: SalviSoul with Karla T. Vasquez and The Food of Southern Thailand with Austin Bush

809: SalviSoul with Karla T. Vasquez and The Food of Southern Thailand with Austin Bush

This week, we talk about cuisines from opposite ends of the world. We start by diving into the first, traditionally-published cookbook about Salvadorian cuisine with Karla T. Vasquez. She collected traditional recipes and techniques while documenting stories from the hands that made the dishes. Karla is the author of The SalviSoul Cookbook: Salvadoran Recipes and the Women Who Preserve Them. She left us with her recipe for a delicious Salvadoran Quesadilla. Then, we explore Southern Thai regional cuisine with author Austin Bush. Austin researched the diverse and unique cuisine of Southern Thailand through travel and cooking alongside local cooks He’s the author of The Food of Southern Thailand and he leaves us with a recipe for Simple Thai-Style Rice Salad - Khaao Yam.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 30, 2024 (originally aired)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

741: Pizza: Origin, Culture and Making It with Nathan Myhrvold

741: Pizza: Origin, Culture and Making It with Nathan Myhrvold

This week, we take a deep dive into pizza with the co-author of the voluminous Modernist Pizza, Nathan Myhrvold. We get into the history, culture, and techniques behind great pizza. We hear stories from his worldwide travels and deep dives into pizza cultures and traditions. Plus, we hear about the culinary lab research devoted to making the best pizza ever, and he sticks around to answer your pizza-making questions. He is the founder of the Modernist Cuisine Lab. Then, we tune into our Family Kitchen series and hear from Journalist Liana Aghajanian about her childhood visits to Chuck E. Cheese and how she felt it was a magical food portal to America.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 24, 2021 (originally aired)September 30, 2022 (rebroadcast)August 23, 2024 (rebroadcast)Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today