Serious 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.
Serious 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.
A classic interview with Mr. Chocolate, Jacques Torres.
Well seasoned tips
Thai Taco Tuesdays
The Life of a Greenmarket Farmer
The iconic, century-old Coney Island Brooklyn pizzeria is up for sale.
Humanitarian Sulieman Mleahat on the desperate hunger situation in Gaza
NYT's Kim Severson on Jose Andres' WCK
More with former NBA Champion and "wine guy" Channing Frye
An interview with Chosen Family Wines founder and former NBA champion Channing Frye.
Chef Justin Pichetrungsion the origins of Thai Taco Tuesday
Los Angeles Chef Justin Pichetrungsi on choosing his family's restaurant over Disney animation.
Phil Rosenthal: Live & Much More
Kenji's quest to visit every chicken teriyaki joint in Seattle.
Mr. Chocolate, Jacques Torres, on hot chocolate.
Food authors Deb Perelman and J. Kenji Lopez Alt on their new podcast, The Recipe.
Chantha Nguon shares her remarkable story.
Dorie Greenspan's Cookie Advice
Nancy Silverton: Foolproof Baker's Recipes
Baking advice from baking wizard Dorie Greenspan.
We continue our deep dive into the world of dried spices with Ethan Frisch and Ori Zohar.
Kentucky Poet Laureate
Good guy spice whisperers Ethan Frisch and Ori Zohar of Burlap and Barrel
Toni Tipton Martin on African American cocktails and more.
Cook's Country editor in chief, food historian, and writer Toni Tipton Martin on African American Cookbooks.
Harlem Seafood Soul's Tami Treadwell Redux, Part 2
Harlem Seafood Soul's Tami Treadwell Redux, Part 1
George Motz: What Makes A Great Burger
George Motz: Hamburger America
Fuschia Dunlop on her book ‘Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food’
Invitation to a Banquet
Thanksgiving Leftovers with Kenji and Deb
Thanksgiving: Kenji and Deb Reduce Your Stress
Hetty McKinnon: The Vegetable Whisperer Part 2
Hetty McKinnon: The Vegetable Whisperer
Hunger Pangs and A Very Chinese Cookbook
Food writer Kevin Pang and his dad Jeffrey on how they bridged their generation gap through their shared love of cooking.
Chrissy Kinsman is back with pie tips for amateur baking.
Chrissy Kinsman: A Life of Pie
legendary baker and cookbook author Dorie Greenspan
Ann Kim 2: A Korean-American Chef's Story
The James Beard award winning chef Ann Kim talks to Ed Levine about her unusual path to success.
JJ Goode on Hot Dogs Part 2
On this episode of Special Sauce we go deep into dogs, hot dogs that is, with JJ Goode.
Grilling Veggies with Kenji
Grilling Chicken and Fish with Kenji
Advice and tips
This week on Special Sauce we talk to pastry chef extraordinaire Natasha Pickowicz.
Part 2 of Ed Levine's conversation with chef Hamissi Mamba.
Hamissi Mamba discusses his journey to success from his native Burundi to the vibrant food scene in Detroit.
Kenji Lopez-Alt and Ed Levine and cook eggs and tomatoes in a wok onstage at the Bell House in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Revisiting our first live event with J. Kenji Lopez Alt.
Barbecue evangelist Rodney Scott gives serious eaters great tips for our July 4th backyard barbecues.
NYT Cooking contributor Ali Slagle about her path to becoming a recipe developer.
A chef who suggests you DON’T try his recipes at home.
This week's guest on Special Sauce is the extraordinary bread baker, chef and pizzaiolo Rick Easton.
A conversation with one of our greatest food writers, Jessica Harris.
On this episode of Special Sauce we're talking about the film 'Fresh'.
Founder of Fly by Jing
Chicago Chef Beverly Kim tells us how how she went beyond serving food to serving her community.
This week on Special Sauce, the James Beard Award-winning chef Beverly Kim on the difficulties of maintaining a work-life balance in the restaurant business.
food on film
"Billion" of pizza lovers can't be wrong
Kenji goes deep into his foolproof pan pizza recipe.
Kenji on Thin Crust Chicago Pizza
Indian food evangelist Raghavan Iyer's insights on curry history and how living with his cancer diagnosis changed his outlook on food and life.
Raghavan Iyer on his personal food journey, from the family table in Mumbai to a publishing lunch at Betty Crocker that changed his life.
Kenji shares his secrets to both seriously delicious french fries and perfect roasted potatoes.
JJ Goode is back to explain why he insists he is "America's best worst cook."
A conversation with "The Korean Vegan".
Food writer JJ Goode on overcoming physical limitations that might have held him back from success.
Milk Bar co-founder Christina Tosi on her extraordinary journey from home baker to pastry chef to entrepreneur
On this episode of Special Sauce Kenji, The New Yorker's Helen Rosner, and I dig further into the first season of 'The Bear'.
Kenji and The New Yorker's Helen Rosner reflect on the first season of the compelling TV show The Bear.
Revisiting the extraordinary Grace Young.
On this episode of Special Sauce we take a deep dive into scrambled eggs with eggspert egg maker J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.
Pete Wells and Brett Anderson of The New York Times and The New Yorker's Hannah Goldfield on what what they're excited about and worried about for restaurants in 2023.
The New York Times's Pete Wells and Brett Anderson, and The New Yorker's Hannah Goldfield about what and where they ate in 2022.
Revisiting a conversation with New York Times' food writer Eric Kim
On this episode of Special Sauce I talk holiday food with Kenji.
Part 2 of our extraordinary conversation with Harlem Seafood Soul's Tami Treadwell.
Food truck Harlem Seafood Soul's Tami Treadwell tells her truly remarkable story in this week's episode.
Claire Saffitz on holiday baking and her new book 'What's For Dessert'.
The great baker and YouTube star Claire Saffitz on holiday baking
We talk turkey and everything else Thanksgiving-related with Kenji
Thanksgiving cooking tips from our podcast archive
On this classic Thanksgiving themed episode of Special Sauce, listeners emailed us vexing Turkey Day questions.
On this episode of Special Sauce serious eaters will hear all about Christine Ha's post MasterChef life.
The first part of blind chef-restaurateur and MasterChef winner Christine Ha's incredible story.
Plus a love affair with a mortar and pestle
Anson Mills founder Glenn Roberts takes us on his wild journey through the preservation of Ancient Grains.
Food blogger Kristina Cho details her unlikely career path from architectural designer to two time James Beard Award-winning author.
Chef and author Vishwesh Bhatt details his remarkable journey from India to Mississippi.
Fly by Jing founder Jing Gao talks about finding herself through the foods her company makes.
Chef & Track Star Dawn Burrell: The Leap From the Olympics to Top Chef
NYT's Eric Kim on his book 'Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home'
Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi talks about her new book Dessert Can Save the World
We continue the pizza conversation with pizzaiola Anthony Mangieri and Billions co-creator Brian Koppelman.
Some health problems derailed our Special Sauce production schedule this week, so serious eaters will just have to wait two more weeks before you get to listen to more fresh pizza talk with Una Pizza Napoletana's Anthony Mangieri and Billions...
On this week's Special Sauce Dan Richer, chef and owner of Jersey City's Razza, one of the country's best pizzerias, talks to us about his obsessive Joy of Pizza, which just so happens to be the title of his new book. And because NYT restaurant critic...
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...
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...
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...
On this week’s episode of , NY State Senator and Food and Labor Activist returns to talk about the next set of problems she's tackling. And tells us about the Colombian soup that is his wife's favorite.
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, Japanese Breakfast's returns to talk about her two Grammy nominations and writing the script for a Crying in H Mart feature film. Plus, weighs in on the natural kinship between food and music.
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, Ed catches up with writer Laurie Woolever, author of Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography. Like many people during the pandemic she's turned to sourdough bread baking because she's writing a bread...
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, writer and national treasure Jessica Harris talks about what's new in her world, including the wild ride she has been on since the Netflix adaptation of her book High on the Hog became a hit show. Plus, tv...
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, cookbook author and now independent Chinese restaurant advocate Grace Young talks about both the pandemic-related dire straits Chinatowns all over America are in, and the terrifying spike in...
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, Ed talks about the many pleasures, gustatory and otherwise, derived from cooking simply with Simply Julia author and the Washington Post's , who writes and edits the Post's free newsletter. And...
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, Ed talks about the holidays with Pulitzer Prize winning author ; YouTube and Tik Tok Star The Korean Vegan, AKA ; James Beard Award-winning chef and pitmaster ; and Washington Post Food Editor . And if you're...
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, Ed talks with former Microsoft CTO and Modernist Cuisine founder about why his new collection Modernist Pizza required 3+ volumes and 1000 plus pages. Spoiler Alert: New Haven and New York pizza lovers...
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we hear moving Thanksgiving stories from the Korean Vegan (), pitmaster and chef-owner , Pulitzer Prize winner , and the Washington Post's .
On this episode of Special Sauce, Ed talks with Joanne Lee Molinaro, AKA The Korean Vegan, about her unlikely journey from corporate litigator, to TikTok and YouTube superstar, and now to NYT best-selling author.
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, Ed talks with best-selling author (An Unapologetic Cookbook) Joshua Weissman, a YouTube star with more than 5M subscribers, about life in the social media fast-lane. And the Washington Post's Daniela...
On this episode of Special Sauce, Ed talks with Dorie Greenspan about her new book Baking with Dorie and her inauspicious start baking for a living. Plus, the Washington Post's Becky Krystal weighs in on softening butter. Dorie Greenspan | | |...
Plus WaPo's Emily Heil on plant-based "chicken" nuggets
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we talk to the Washington Post's about diversity and his deep dive into MSG. It's the first segment in Special Sauce's new collaboration with The Washington Post. Plus, , Aaron and Ed all weigh in...
The terrific crime writer Laura Lippman (My Life as a Villainess, Dream Girl) talks about why she's afraid of not being afraid when she writes. Plus Kenji and Laura both weigh in on how they get their kids to eat their vegetables.
On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we talk about joyful music and an incredibly moving memoir with Michelle Zauner, the leader of the band Japanese Breakfast. She’s the author of the heart-rending . Plus, Kenji weighs in on the...
On this week’s Special Sauce, we’re joined by Colombiana author Mariana Velásquez who talks about the incredible cultural and culinary diversity of her beloved native country. Plus, Kenji shares his love of Colombia, gained from his...
On this episode of Special Sauce, we’re joined by the incredible youtuber, podcaster and author Katie Quinn who says that metaphorically speaking, people ferment just like cheese wine and bread. Plus, Kenji adds his two cents about Katie and...
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...
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. ...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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....
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...
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...
When the ultra-talented chef Mashama Bailey collaborated with first-time restaurateur John Morisano to open The Grey in an old abandoned Greyhound bus depot in Savannah Georgia, they knew that their partnership was not going to be easy. On this...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Much has been written during the pandemic about the increased popularity of community supported agriculture, commonly referred to as CSA. On this week's Special Sauce, we had a far-reaching conversation with Maggie Cheney, one of the owners of , which...
On this week's Special Sauce, Susan Spungen, author of and other books, regales us with her experiences in Hollywood as a food stylist and culinary consultant for movies like Julie and Julia and Eat, Pray, Love. What's it...
On this week's Special Sauce we talk to Dan Barber, executive chef and co-owner of , about the huge changes being brought about in the food culture by the Covid-19 pandemic. The startling conclusions he's come to are the result of . The farmers'...
On this week's Special Sauce we're once again talking about selling cheese during the pandemic with cheesemonger Anne Saxelby of and cheesemaker Sheila Flanagan of . Without a hint of self-pity, Anne and Sheila talk about the nimbleness and the...
This week on Special Sauce we are returning to the topic of the horrendous toll the pandemic has taken on the food culture. Today, we’re talking cheese. In the first of two far-ranging interviews, I spoke to cheesemaker Sheila Flanagan, co-owner of...
"A jukebox is the musical equivalent of a well-stocked pantry," says Alexander Smalls. Poetic riffs on the relationship between food and music are just par for the course with Smalls, who's both a Grammy and a James Beard Award winner (not to...
The last Special Sauce I recorded in a studio before the coronavirus pandemic hit was with the multi-talented chef, opera singer, and restaurateur Alexander Smalls. He was just about to publish his new book, . It was March 11th, and after an hour-long...
Special Sauce has obviously changed a lot with the advent of the pandemic. But before we changed the format a couple of months ago to adapt to the times, we'd already recorded a couple of great interviews. One of them was with my old friend, cookbook...
On this week's Special Sauce, New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells, who's been used to eating out six nights a week, tells us about cooking lunch and dinner for his two teenaged sons now that he's home every day. Pete explains that he's really...
What does a restaurant critic do when there are no restaurants to review? The San Francisco Chronicle's Soleil Ho has shifted to primarily covering how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the restaurant industry in the Bay Area, while also writing...
According to Ezekiel Vázquez-Ger, my guest on this week's Special Sauce, everything was going swimmingly at his new Washington, DC, restaurant, Seven Reasons. The place was packed almost from the minute it opened its doors in April of 2019. A rave...
In 2010, Agatha Kulaga and Erin Patinkin founded , which they originally envisioned as a bar-snack business, providing bars with better alternatives to beer nuts and potato chips. Over the course of ten years, Ovenly transformed into a combination...
As part of our special Special Sauce series on the pandemic's effects on the various constituents of the food community, I reached out to Xi'an Famous Foods co-founder Jason Wang. Jason had told his remarkable story , so I was confident...
As we all try to deal with the crisis confronting us, I thought we'd follow up on the Special Sauce episodes that focused on Kenji's stories with other voices from the food and beverage industry. In the coming weeks you're going to hear the stories of...
It's obviously still not business as usual at Serious Eats (or anywhere else in the world, for that matter), so we're going to continue to produce Special Sauce episodes that deal with the coronavirus pandemic. On this week's episode, we once again...
Editor's note: The Coronavirus story is unfolding at a breakneck pace. That means that something said that was true at the time may no longer be so. On this episode please note that Lola, the Tom...