On this week's Special Sauce Detroit food activist and Food Lab Detroit founder Devita Davidson has a lot to say about how government, entrpreneurs, and the private sector can and should work together to form a better food system. Plus chef-restaurateur Ji Hye Kim of Miss Kim's in Ann Arbor tells us about how she has embraced Food Lab Detroit's methods to mutually benefit her business and the employees that work there.
On Part II of our live Special Sauce, Kenji and I successfully cooked eggs and tomatoes in a wok onstage and I didn't get fired as his sous-chef for inadequately chopping the scallions. We also revived the Ask Kenji feature as he talks about everything from cooking with his 5 year old daughter to his experiences in science classes in high school.
For our first ever live Special Sauce Kenji and I talked about his new #1 NYT Best-Seller The Wok, how family life has become the center of his existence, and how Sir Paul McCartney gave him an autograph after McCartney's security team tackled him on the street in NYC.
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we’re joined by Reem Kassis, the thought provoking author of The Palestinian Table and her new book, The Arabesque Table. Plus, Kenji gives us some helpful tips of making falafel at home, courtesy of the chef Einat Admony.
Kenji’s falafel recipe video on youtube can be found here:
On this week's Special Sauce, we're joined by NY State Senator and Colombian-American Jessica Ramos who talks about her fearless approach to food activism as she fights for both her diverse constituents and the rights of migrant farm workers.
Plus, Kenji weighs in on his Colombian-American wife Adri's favorite dish and tells us about Temblores, an NGO that monitors state violence in Colombia.
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we’re joined by the brilliant and hilarious comedian, actor, writer and producer Susie Essman. Essman explains how her pandemic cooking increased her husbands ardor, plus she gives us a special sneak peak of what’s coming up on the upcoming season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce we’re joined by Chef Nina Compton who talks about her experience working in fine dining as a woman of color, how her restaurants have grappled with the pandemic, and the imperiled hospitality industry in her beloved St. Lucia. Plus, Kenji stops by to share a nifty hack for making jerk chicken, one of Nina’s favorite dishes at home.
On this week's episode of Special Sauce legendary food writer and television cook Nigella Lawson gets real about both her new book "Cook, Eat, Repeat," and the remarkable arc of her life and career. Then Kenji stops in to sing Nigella's praises and reveals what happened when Nigella cooked at his restaurant.
On this week’s Special Sauce, we’re joined by the great pit master and James Beard Award-winning chef Rodney Scott and his coauthor Lolis Eric Elie talking about their new book "Rodney Scott's World of BBQ." They talk about whole hog BBQ, fathers and sons, and a whole lot more. Plus, Kenji weighs in with his approach to smoking a pork shoulder.
On this week's episode of Special Sauce, we're joined by TV and food writer Lolis Eric Elie who dishes on diversity -- or the lack thereof -- in Hollywood and tells us about the joys of eating in and out in his native New Orleans. Later, Kenji stops by to give us his helpful tips for cooking red beans with rice.
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we continue our deep dive into the world of fast food. This time Franchise Author Marcia Chatelain, Drive-Thru Dreams Author Adam Chandler, and Kenji discuss the unique good vs. evil duality of fast food. The new-ish made-to-order McDonald's Quarter Pounder and the Popeye's Chicken Sandwich are definitely on the menu.
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we ponder the highs and the lows of fast food culture with Marcia Chatelain, Georgetown University Professor of history and African American studies and author of Franchise, and Adam Chandler who wrote Drive-Thru Dreams. Then, Bill Oakley shares a few of his fast food reviews from instagram and later, Kenji stops by to share his recipe for Smash Burgers.
On this week's Special Sauce we talk to Grace Young, renowned Chinese cookbook author, self-described wok therapist, and New York Chinatown advocate during the Pandemic #SaveChineseRestaurants. Plus, we check in with Kenji about Grace and his own upcoming Wok cookbook.
On this week's episode of Special Sauce we celebrate one of the greatest food writers, Jessica Harris, who introduced many of us to the food of the African Diaspora. Jessica talks about her new book Vintage Postcards from the African World, her twelve cookbooks, and her friendship with Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison. For some added perspective on Jessica's extraordinary life and work we talked to another cookbook writer who focuses on the food of the African Diaspora, Red Rooster chef and owner Marcus Samuelsson. Finally, Kenji Lopez-Alt weighs in on one of Jessica Harris' favorite foods, French fries.
On this week’s episode, we talked with Washington Post food writer Tim Carman and his wife, spirits writer Carrie Allen, about their scary battle with the Coronavirus and the lasting impact it has had on them. Later in the episode, Kenji stops in to offer up a simple soup recipe to comfort them, and you.
On this week's Special Sauce, host Ed Levine talks to Brooklyn restaurateur (BK Jani) Sibte Hassan. Hassan contracted the Coronavirus in April, and his long road (including a 12 day stint in the hospital) to recovery and redemption takes him through both near-death moments and a surprising spiritual awakening.
This week, host Ed Levine is joined by the Baltimore-based baker Amanda Mack, who defied the odds when she opened up her family-inspired bakery, Crust By Mack, in the middle of the pandemic. Then, former journalist and podcaster turned Youtube food star, Adam Ragusea, talks about his own holiday-inspired traditions and offers some sage advice to home bakers. Later, Kenji participates in a holiday cookie swap—with a broken oven.
Kenji Lopez-Alt tells all about his new New York Times best seller children's book Every Night is Pizza Night on this week's episode of Special Sauce.
It turns out that for Kenji writing a 48 page picture book for his daughter was in many ways much more difficult to write than his 900 page mega-hit The Food Lab. Counterintuitive, right? Lucky listeners will also get a sneak preview of his next cookbook, which is about the joys of wok cooking at home. Kenji admitted that the manuscript he handed in was more than a thousand pages long! Finally, he and I discuss how the whole concept of gift giving this holiday season has been altered by the pandemic.
Special Sauce, Serious Eats founder Ed Levine's podcast, is back to stay (with new theme music, no less) with a Thanksgiving episode that explores the seemingly antithetical nature of the pandemic and Turkey Day. After all, Thanksgiving is all about gathering around the table with people you love and sharing a meal with them. The pandemic on the other hand is all about minimizing contact and connections and sharing. J. Kenji Lopez Alt, NYT columnist Jamelle Bouie, Splendid Table host Frances Lam, Franchise author Marcia Chatelain, celebrated crime novelist Laura Lippman, and cookbook authors Jessica Harris and Nik Sharma, weigh in on this thought-provoking topic. One thing they all agree on: the pandemic has made us reexamine just what we all should be thankful for this year.
The first episode features my good friend Phil Rosenthal, who's a successful restaurant investor and the creator of Emmy Award-winning TV show Everybody Loves Raymond. PBS is now airing his latest creative endeavor, I'll Have What Phil's Having, a funny, big-hearted, intelligent food and travel show that gives me hope for the medium. Phil is smart, hilarious, and as generously spirited a human being as I know.
On our podcast, you'll learn about Phil's adventures as an out-of-work actor, a successful sitcom creator, and yes, you'll have to listen to find out Phil's secret sauce: the advice that he got from legendary sitcom writer-director-creator Ed Weinberger (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi) that I often use as a guidepost in my own creative endeavors. He'll also share some travel discoveries, restaurant pet peeves, and what we'd find in his desert island fridge.