Special Sauce with Ed Levine
370 episodes - English - Latest episode: 15 days ago - ★★★★ - 336 ratingsSerious Eats' podcast Special Sauce enables food lovers everywhere to eavesdrop on an intimate conversation about food and life between host and Serious Eats founder Ed Levine and his well-known/famous friends and acquaintances both in and out of the food culture.
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Episodes
Antonio De Loera-Brust - California Farm Workers
June 28, 2024 19:00 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBEver wonder what's happening with the United Farm Workers union? I did, so I interviewed the UFW Communications Director Antonio De Loera-Brust. It turns that there's a lot happening, actually.
Kevin Caplicki and Woodthrush Farm
June 21, 2024 21:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBOn this episode we go deep into the life of a Greenmarket farmer, Kevin Caplicki of Woodthrush Farm. Kevin's lettuce is the stuff that dreams are made of.
Kenji's Summertime Grilling Tips
June 14, 2024 19:00 - 21 minutes - 19.3 MBGrilling season is here and Kenji offers up some great grilling tips so that even the most casual backyard cook can up their game. Who knew that mayo can be your secret grilling weapon.
Pete Wells and Scott Weiner on Totonno's Pizzeria
June 07, 2024 19:00 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBTotonno's, the iconic, century-old Coney Island Brooklyn pizzeria, has been put up for sale by the family who founded it. On this episode of Special Sauce we talk about Totonno's pizza, legacy, and future prospects with NYT restaurant critic Pete Wells and the eminent pizza scholar Scott Weiner, the owner of Scott's Pizza Tours.
Jaques Torres on Chocolate Chip Cookies
May 31, 2024 16:00 - 22 minutes - 20.8 MBThe great pastry chef and chocolate maker Jacques Torres wrote one of my all time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. On this episode we chat about that recipe, the role of salt, and what chocolate to use. Plus we hear from some serious eaters on the crispy vs. gooey cookie debate.
Sulieman Mleahat - Anera
May 24, 2024 19:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce we take a deep dive into the beyond desperate hunger situation in Gaza with humanitarian Sulieman Mleahat who has been working in the Middle East for more than twenty years.
NYT's Kim Severson on Jose Andres' WCK
May 17, 2024 19:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MBNYT's Pulitzer Prize-winning food culture reporter Kim Severson gives Special Sauce listeners fascinating insights into Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen operations in Gaza and elsewhere.
Channing Frye: NBA Champ and Wine Guy, Part 2
May 10, 2024 23:50 - 27 minutes - 37.2 MBChanning Frye had so much to say about wine, hoops, and life we decided to devote a second episode to him and his company Chosen Family Wines.
Channing Frye: NBA Champ and Wine Guy
May 03, 2024 19:00 - 31 minutes - 43.2 MBHow do you go from being an NBA champ to starting a wine company? Find out on this episode of Special Sauce when we interview Chosen Family Wines founder Channing Frye.
Anajak: Thai Taco Tuesday & More
April 26, 2024 22:37 - 24 minutes - 33.3 MBWe're back with more wit and wisdom from Justin Pichetrungsi, the chef-owner of the award-winning Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks, California. We'll hear about the origins of Thai Taco Tuesday and so much more.
Anajak Thai - Justin Pichetrungsi
April 19, 2024 22:32 - 26 minutes - 36 MBThis week on Special Sauce we hang out with Justin Pichetrungsi, the James Beard Award-winning chef-owner of the justifiably heralded Anajak Thai in Los Angeles (Sherman Oaks to be exact). How and why he went from working in animation at Disney to taking over his family's restaurant makes for quite a story.
Phil Rosenthal: Live & Much More
April 12, 2024 23:38 - 30 minutes - 42.2 MBThis week on Special Sauce I talk to my old friend Phil Rosenthal about the new season of Somebody Feed Phil, his national tour, and Just Try It, the children's book that he wrote with his daughter Lily
Kenji: Teriyaki in Seattle
April 05, 2024 23:30 - 25 minutes - 35.2 MBThis week on Special Sauce we talk teriyaki with Kenji, who is on a quest to visit every chicken teriyaki joint in Seattle.
Jacques Torres - hot chocolate
March 29, 2024 22:30 - 24 minutes - 33.9 MBThis week on Special Sauce we talk hot chocolate with Mr. Chocolate himself, Jacques Torres. Jacques makes my favorite hot chocolate mix.
Kenji and Deb: The Recipe Podcast
March 22, 2024 19:30 - 35 minutes - 48.2 MBThis week on Special Sauce we get the backstory of Deb Perelman and J. Kenji Lopez Alt's brand new podcast The Recipe.
Slow Noodles: A Story of Love, Loss, and Resilience
March 15, 2024 23:20 - 39 minutes - 54.6 MBThis week on Special Sauce we hear the remarkable story of Chantha Nguon, a Cambodian woman who suffers unbearable losses and unspeakable tragedies suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge by imagining the taste of her mother's cooking.
Dorie Greenspan's Cookie Advice
March 08, 2024 23:30 - 22 minutes - 30.7 MBThis week on Special Sauce Dorie Greenspan zooms in from Paris with lots of helpful cookie baking advice.
Nancy Silverton: Foolproof Baker's Recipes
March 01, 2024 22:55 - 38 minutes - 53.5 MBThis week on Special Sauce, James Beard Award-winning chef and baker Nancy Silverton talks about her new book ‘The Cookie that Changed My Life’. Any serious eater who loves to bake should check it out.
Dorie Greenspan's Low Key Baking Brilliance
February 24, 2024 01:30 - 26 minutes - 36.4 MBThis week on Special Sauce we get some brilliant, common sense home baking advice from home baking wizard Dorie Greenspan.
Burlap and Barrel Pt 2
February 16, 2024 23:57 - 31 minutes - 43.6 MBThis week on Special we continue our deep dive into the world of dried spices with Ethan Frisch and Ori Zohar, founders of Burlap & Barrel. And we hear from some serious eaters about their experiences with buying, using and storing their dried spices.
Jacques Torres, Mr. Chcocolate Redux
February 09, 2024 22:00 - 28 minutes - 38.8 MBFor Valentine's Day I dug up this classic interview with Mr. Chocolate, Jacques Torres. He gives us a succinct master class in making bean to bar chocolate, from growing the cacao beans to making milk, dark, and white chocolate creations to sell in his shops and online.
Crystal Wilkinson On Kitchen Ghosts
February 02, 2024 22:42 - 30 minutes - 41.5 MBThis week on Special Sauce I talk with former Kentucky Poet Laureate Crystal Wilkinson, author of the culinary memoir, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks.
Burlap and Barrel
January 26, 2024 22:06 - 31 minutes - 43.1 MBThis week on Special Sauce we talk to the good guy spice whisperers Ethan Frisch and Ori Zohar, who are the founders of the socially conscious spice company Burlap & Barrel. They are on a mission to to build new international spice supply chains that are equitable, transparent, and traceable.
Toni Tipton Martin 2: African American Cocktails and More
January 19, 2024 21:06 - 23 minutes - 31.9 MBThis week on Special Sauce we delve deeper into Toni Tipton Martin's seminal research into African-American cooking and cocktails.
Toni Tipton Martin: African-American Cookbooks
January 12, 2024 22:23 - 26 minutes - 36.2 MBThis week on Special Sauce we talk African American Cookbooks with Cook's Country editor in chief, food historian, and writer Toni Tipton Martin.
Harlem Seafood Soul's Tami Treadwell Redux, Part 2
January 05, 2024 22:55 - 27 minutes - 37.3 MBThis week on Special Sauce we hear part 2 of one of our favorite interviews of 2022 with the inimitable Tami Treadwell, the charismatic founder of Harlem Seafood Soul.
Harlem Seafood Soul's Tami Treadwell Redux, Part 1
December 29, 2023 20:00 - 38 minutes - 52.7 MBThis week on Special Sauce we're repeating the first of two great interviews with Harlem Seafood Soul's Tami Treadwell.
George Motz: What Makes A Great Burger
December 22, 2023 20:00 - 22 minutes - 31.1 MBThis week on Special Sauce we hear more about what makes a great burger with Hamburger America's George Motz
George Motz: Hamburger America
December 15, 2023 22:30 - 28 minutes - 38.6 MBThs week on Special Sauce I catch up with my old running partner George Motz, America's first bona fide burger scholar. George has just opened his very own burger joint Hamburger America.
Fuschia Dunlop on Chinese Cuisine, Part 2
December 08, 2023 22:00 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MBThis week on Special Sauce we go really deep into Fuschia Dunlop's latest book, ‘Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food’. It just got a rave front page review from NYT book critic Dwight Garner.
Fuchsia Dunlop on Chinese Cuisine
December 01, 2023 23:15 - 25 minutes - 29.3 MBThis week on Special Sauce, we’ll hear about Fuchsia Dunlop’s journey from her first Chinese cooking classes to the researching and writing of her 7th book, Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food. We'll find out what she's learned about the country's history and culture in her many years of exploring Chinese cuisine, and why she says she'll never get bored of eating and writing about Chinese food.
Thanksgiving Leftovers with Kenji and Deb
November 24, 2023 20:00 - 18 minutes - 24.9 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce Kenji Lopez Alt and Smitten Kitchen's Deb Perelman come to our rescue with some helpful hints about what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers.
Thanksgiving: Kenji and Deb Reduce Your Stress
November 17, 2023 22:30 - 45 minutes - 62.9 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce Kenji and Smitten Kitchen's Deb Perelman give us some tips on how to cook up a Thanksgiving feast in a small space without stressing out.
Hetty McKinnon: The Vegetable Whisperer Part 2
November 10, 2023 20:36 - 31 minutes - 43.7 MBThis week on Special Sauce we hear more about the joy of vegetables and the importance of family with “Tenderheart” author Hetty McKinnon.
Hetty McKinnon: The Vegetable Whisperer
November 03, 2023 21:15 - 31 minutes - 42.6 MBOn this week's Special Sauce I talk to food writer Hetty Liu McKinnon.With her five vegetarian cookbooks, her popular Substack newsletter, and her ingenious vegetarian recipes for the New York Times, food writer Hetty has been called the vegetable whisperer, and rightfully so.
Hunger Pangs Part 2: A Father and Son Connect Through Food
October 27, 2023 17:30 - 29 minutes - 33.7 MBLast week, we got an inside look at the father son relationship at the heart of the YouTube series, Hunger Pangs. This time we pick up our conversation with Kevin Pak, the Editorial director of Digital at America's Test Kitchen and his dad, Jeffrey, and learn about how they transformed their success online into a new book, A Very Chinese Cookbook: 100 Recipes from China & Not China (But Still Really Chinese).
Hunger Pangs Part 1: A Chinese-American Family Food Saga
October 20, 2023 19:00 - 23 minutes - 32.4 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce I talk to food writer Kevin Pang and his dad Jeffrey about how they bridged their substantial generation gap through their shared love of food and cooking.
Chrissy Kinsman Part 2: Pie Baking Tips For All of Us
October 13, 2023 20:00 - 29 minutes - 40.3 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce the great "pie-stress" Chrissy Kinsman is back with pie tips for amateur baking.
Chrissy Kinsman: A Life of Pie
October 06, 2023 19:00 - 21 minutes - 29.1 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce the great pie baker Chrissy Kinsman of Pie Chicks on Martha's Vineyard tells us about the trials and tribulations of trying to make a living selling pies year round on a sparsely populated island.
Dorie Greenspan Redux: Reflections of a Legendary Baker
September 29, 2023 19:30 - 48 minutes - 55.2 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce we revisit my nifty 2016 conversation with the legendary baker and cookbook author Dorie Greenspan, which became one of our most popular episodes of all time. Fast-forward to the fall of 2023, when many a serious eater's thoughts normally turn to baking. When I listened to Dorie's old episode I was struck by how relevant our nearly ten year-old conversation still was in 2023. So we thought it would be fun to re-post the old episode now. And rest assu...
Ann Kim 2: A Korean-American Chef's Story
September 22, 2023 21:02 - 30 minutes - 41.4 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce Ann Kim talks about the evolution of her relationship with her Korean parents. You won't believe what happened when Ann invited her parents to her about to open first restaurant Pizzeria Lola.
Ann Kim: A Working Actor's Unusual Path to James Beard Award-winning Chefdom
September 15, 2023 21:00 - 34 minutes - 47.9 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce I talk to the James Beard award winning chef Ann Kim. Ann opened her first restaurant, Pizzeria Lola, in Minneapolis in 2010 without ever having cooked professionally. In fact, she was a working actor before she realized that it was cooking that made her happy.
JJ Goode on Hot Dogs Part 2
September 08, 2023 22:00 - 24 minutes - 33.1 MBOn this episode of Special we dig still deeper into America's regional hot dog styles with food writer JJ Goode, who just wrote an entertaining and informative guide to American regional hot dog styles for the NYT.
JJ Goode on Hot Dogs Part 1
September 01, 2023 19:00 - 28 minutes - 39.4 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce we go deep into dogs, hot dogs that is, with JJ Goode, who wrote a guide to regional hot dogs styles for the NY Times. We also checked in with a few hot dog devotees and got their hot take on one of the world's most popular foods.
Grilling Veggies with Kenji
August 25, 2023 19:00 - 19 minutes - 26.7 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce Kenji is back with some tips for grilling vegetables.
Grilling Chicken and Fish with Kenji
August 18, 2023 19:00 - 21 minutes - 29.5 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce Kenji is back with some surefire (pun intended) tips for grilling chicken and fish.
Grilling Pizza with Kenji
August 11, 2023 16:00 - 17 minutes - 20.5 MBOn this episode of Special Sauce, we talk about the joys of grilling pizza with Kenji. J. Kenji Lopez Alt is a New York Times cooking columnist and the host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. He’s also the best selling author of The Wok, The Food Lab, and the children's book Every Night is Pizza Night.
Natasha Pickowicz: Baker & Activist
August 04, 2023 22:55 - 34 minutes - 47 MBThis week on Special Sauce we talk to pastry chef extraordinaire Natasha Pickowicz. Natasha is as the title of her new book More Than Cake implies, much more than a baker. Natasha is an original thinker, a fine writer, and a thoughtful soul. Her path to making delicious pastries is anything but typical.
Hamissi Mamba Part 2
July 28, 2023 21:30 - 26 minutes - 36.3 MBThis week on Special Sauce Part 2 of my conversation with chef Hamissi Mamba, who runs the amazing East African spot Baobab Fare in Detroit with his wife Nadia Nijimbere. With the restaurant, their African market called Soko, and their street food pop-up Waka, Mamba and Nadia are building a cultural bridge between Detroit and their native Burundi. They fled their home country as refugees, determined to build new lives in the US with their children - and the traditional dishes they g...
Hamissi Mamba Part 1: From Burundi to Detroit
July 21, 2023 18:52 - 29 minutes - 40.1 MBThis week I'm talking with Hamissi Mamba about the long road to success from his native Burundi to the vibrant food scene in Detroit.