Enjoy the foods of summer: grilled meats and seafood, no-cook meals, ice cream sandwiches, and alcohol-optional beverages.

This week, we spend an hour with the legendary food writer Claudia Roden and check in with one of her biggest fans, Yotam Ottolenghi. 

Padma Lakshmi of Top Chef & Hulu’s Taste the Nation, talks about meeting cooks across our land, raising bicultural kids, and growing up in Queens.

Diane Kochilas talks about regional Greek cooking, Tara Q. Thomas explains Greek wine, and we visit a Greek-American family as part of our Family Kitchen Series.

Who better to bring us fresh ideas for cooking through the long weekend than the delightful Carla Hall?

Carla Lalli Music takes on your summer cooking questions, and Khushbu Shah talks about the cold Asian treats that will keep you cool all summer. 

Get grilling with Hmong Chef Yia Vang, vegetable whisperer Chef Ashley Christensen and best-selling grilling author John "Doc" Willoughby.

This week, it’s June in 3 corners of the country, Coastal Georgia with Chef-Farmer Matthew Raiford, Alaska with Melanie Brown, and Appalachia with Ronni Lundy.

We spend an afternoon with the illustrious and iconic Indian cookbook author and food writer Madhur Jaffrey.

This week, it’s all about surprising stories behind the little tools in your kitchen.

It’s the food of Persia with conversations about fresh herbs, tahdig, a classic fish stew, modern Iranian cuisine, and the Persian pantry.

We step behind the scenes at The Cheesemonger Invitational, then go deep into the world of cheese with experts Greselda Powell and Tia Keenan.

Chef Kwame Onwuachi & his mom on their culinary origins, Melissa Clark & her unusual Mother’s Day tradition plus her thoughts on what to cook this spring & the Korean tradition of birthday soup.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora

In this episode, we take on serious culinary projects. Beard Award-winning Charleston pitmaster Rodney Scott shares with us the ethos of whole hog barbecue. We learn to make paella on the grill with America’s Test Kitchen. The builder of a community oven in Johnson, Vermont tells us about how oven is becoming a centerpiece for the town. And Francis joins Chef Justin Smillie for a lesson in making one of his most unforgettable dishes, tomato panade, a fresh tomato bread pudding brimming with garlic, fresh herbs and olive oil. Francis talks with listeners about using the fat and rich gelatin left over from shredded pork, and cooking with artichoke leaf pasta.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• August 10, 2018 (originally aired)

• July 19, 2019 (rebroadcast)

• April 30, 2021 (rebroadcast)

We delve into Eastern Mediterranean border cuisine with Yasmin Khan and talk to Reem Kassis about her work with modern Arab food.

The aquacultural benefits of eating purple sea urchins. Making rice salad and savory breakfast. America’s Test Kitchen on perfect home-cooked falafel.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• July 27, 2018 (originally aired)

• August 2, 2019 (rebroadcast)

• April 16, 2021 (rebroadcast)

This week, we navigate seafood counters and frozen fish aisles with the help of Senior Editor for NYT Cooking, Genevieve Ko and seafood advocate Jennifer Bushman

Jorge Gaviria on tortillas, Steve Alvarez on Mexington, ATK on chilaquiles, Wesley Avila on tacos, Fany Gerson on flan, the importance of Mitla Cafe

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• January 12, 2018 (originally aired)

• January 4, 2019 (rebroadcast)

• March 26, 2021 (rebroadcast)

We are all in on pasta this week!  Francis joins Evan Kleiman, host of Good Food on KCRW, and Dan Pashman of The Sporkful to debate the merits of different pasta shapes in front of a live audience. Then, we talk to Dan about his years-long quest to create his very own pasta shape, cascatelli. And then a true pasta obsessive, Chef Douglass Williams of MIDA in Boston, is in-house to help Francis take your pasta questions.

From baking and Cajun cuisine to vegetarian and historically inspired Mughal dishes, we talk with the authors of four wonderful new cookbooks.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 13, 2020 (originally aired)

• March 12, 2021 (rebroadcast)

This week, we spend an hour with Deborah Madison, the legendary chef and cookbook author who helped revolutionize vegetarian cuisine in America.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora

This episode is all about food... and marriage. We’ve an international love story built around Bosnian food with the couple behind Balkan Treat Box. We get dumpling and relationship advice from a long-married Uzbek couple, Damira Inatullaeva and Sahib Aminov. We’ve a story from writer Michaele Weissman about discovering that the key to understanding her husband is in the rye bread he loves. And, we sit down with Washington Post Food and Dining Editor Joe Yonan (author of Cool Beans) and his husband Carl Mason to get the real story behind what it’s like to be married to a cookbook author.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• February 28, 2020 (originally aired)

• February 26, 2021 (rebroadcast)

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This week we sit down with Grace Young, one of the greatest culinary historians of Chinese American food to talk about her career and her mission to save Chinese restaurants in the age of Covid.

We look at the world of drinking with a secret barrel room, the spiritual side of mezcal, the language of wine, and the trend of being sober curious.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• February 14, 2020 (originally aired)

• February 12, 2021 (rebroadcast)

Award-winning baker, Cheryl Day brings us advice on breakfast baking and Nick Cho of Wrecking Ball Coffee & Your Korean Dad fame gives us the lowdown on brewing a perfect cup