This Is TASTE

Mike Colameco has been inside more New York kitchens than almost anyone alive. A CIA-trained chef who cooked at Windows on the World, the Four Seasons, and the Ritz-Carlton, he spent 20 seasons as the host and producer of Mike Colameco’s Real Food on PBS—a documentary-style show that interviewed chefs in their actual restaurants, long before food TV became a genre. He talks about the golden era of New York dining, the economics of building independent food media, and what he sees when he looks at the city’s restaurant landscape today. We are such big fans of Mike’s work, and, dare we say it, he’s a living legend. This is such a fun conversation.

And before that it’s the return of Three Things and a special Philadelphia edition. Aliza and Matt each visited recently and have some great food discoveries to share including visits to: Vetri Cucina, Middle Child, Pizzeria Beddia, Càphê Roasters, Manna Bakery, Supérette, Sao, and Binding Agents. Also: a stop at Papa's Tomato Pies on the way back to New York.    

Check out Mike’s incredible YouTube channel featuring unearthed episodes from the past thirty years.

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Shirley Chung is the Beijing-born chef who went from Silicon Valley to working in kitchens for Thomas Keller, Guy Savoy, and José Andrés—then found national fame as a two-time Top Chef finalist and became the “Dumpling Queen of Los Angeles.” In 2024, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 tongue cancer. She refused surgery, closed her restaurant, moved to Chicago for treatment, and came out on the other side: in remission, with a $100,000 competition win under her belt and a new Chinese restaurant in Dallas, Night Rooster. We’ve always admired Shirley’s work, on and off camera, and this conversation covers her incredible career and her singular voice in the restaurant world.

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Brian Dunsmoor has cooked in Los Angeles for over a decade—from Venice pop-ups to Hatchet Hall to his namesake Glassell Park restaurant—and he’s always been asking the same question: What exactly is American food, and who gets credit for it? In this episode, Matt talks with him about cooking without electricity, building a kitchen around live fire, and what it’s like to be Brian Dunsmoor. Brian’s restaurant, Dunsmoor, has been named to the LA Times’ 101 best restaurants list and recognized by the 2024 Michelin Guide, and it’s one of the most referenced and favorite LA restaurants on this very show. I love this conversation.

Also on the show, we have a great conversation with Jordan Michelman. Jordan wrote a terrific essay for TASTE about Costco, and we talk about how the club retailer means so much to so many people.

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Mélanie Masarin is founder and CEO of Ghia, the Mediterranean-inspired nonalcoholic aperitif. Mélanie returns to talk about her debut cookbook, Riviera: Recipes from the Coast of France and Italy. In this episode, we talk about how the book is anchored by the handwritten recipes and philosophy of her grandmother Mymo. We also talk about working in the surging NA category and what is exciting in the land of Ghia. We have a lot of respect for Mélanie’s career, and I really enjoyed going over it.

Also on the show we have a great conversation with Nichole Accettola, author of Scandinavian Everyday: Vibrant, Simple Meals from Northern Europe.

Listen to Mélanie's first appearance on This Is TASTE.
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Claire Wadsworth and Nikki Hill are the owners of La Copine, an oasis of a restaurant in California’s Mojave Desert. It’s been a beloved destination for over a decade, winning over a mix of Joshua Tree locals, LA weekenders, and celebrities passing through. Now they’re sharing La Copine’s thoughtful takes on all-day cooking in a debut cookbook. It’s so fun to have Claire and Nikki in the studio to talk about what it takes to run a restaurant in the high desert, their journey as a couple in business together, and making this book.

Also on the show we have a live recording from a recent panel conversation at Baldor BITE in New York City, a conference run by the legendary specialty food company. Matt is joined on the stage by four leading chefs including Missy Robbins (Lilia, Misi), Paul Carmichael (Kabawa), Tiffani Faison (chef, restaurateur, and judge on Chopped), and Tim Ma (Tim Ma Hospitality). The panel unpacks a pressing question in today’s restaurant world: how do you judge success? 

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