This Is TASTE

Yara Herrera is the chef-partner at Hellbender, a Mexican-American restaurant in Ridgewood, Queens. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she honed her skills in the city’s fine dining restaurants like Wolfgang Puck’s Spago and Providence before moving to New York in 2018 to work at Momofuku Ko, Xilonen, and Sobre Masa. Today on the show, we talk about Yara’s culinary journey, running Hellbender, and creating her distinctive approach to Mexican-American cuisine. And before that, Rob Rubba, chef-owner of Oyster Oyster in Washington D.C. takes the Resy Questionnaire. In 2023, Rob won the James Beard Award® for Outstanding Chef and continues as a leader in plant-focused, sustainable cooking.  The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not of Resy—and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over two decades, Andrew Zimmern has starred in some of the most thoughtful and compelling food television being made for TV and online. He’s the longtime host of Bizarre Foods and a number of other food travel shows that defined a generation of programming. He’s also a longtime friend of mine, and it’s crazy that this was his first time appearing on the show. We go in so many great directions with this conversation, including talking about his incredible new seafood cookbook, The Blue Food Cookbook. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was so much fun having Carla Hall in the studio. Carla Hall is a chef and TV host who is currently serving as judge on Fox’s Next Level Baker, a show that tests both professional and home bakers on their baking bona fides. In this episode, Carla shares some great baking ideas for the holidays, and she answers the question that some of us have been asking: What is Gordon Ramsay like in real life? And, at the top of the show, it’s the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. The show’s hosts were on the road and report back about what they ate during their travels, including Aliza making stops for onion rings at Frisko Freeze and a big serving of vibes at Bob’s Java Jive in Tacoma, Washington. Matt visited Cleveland and was blown away by the creative Midwestern cooking at Cordelia, the waffles fries with Ranch and sharp comfort cooking at Heart of Gold, and a little museum called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In Seattle, Aliza has short rib and dry pho at Phở Bắc. And we couldn’t forget about New York, and Aliza enjoys her visit to Zeena Bakery at the Ft. Greene Farmers Market. Watch: Prince, Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (no, really, watch it). Read: It’s About Time You Bought a Digital Scale Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zoë Kanan is the baker-partner of Elbow Bread, a very special Jewish-American bakery in New York’s Lower East Side. She’s produced some of the most important pastries in New York over the past 15 years, from being one of the first-ever interns at Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar to baking bagels at Sadelle’s under Melissa Weller and running the bread and pastry programs for the Freehand Hotel. Today on the show, we talk about what it’s like to have a bakery of her own, developing her own signature pastries, and much more. And also on the show, Aliza chats with TASTE contributor Grayson Samuels about his work as a writer, actor, and baker in New York, including some of his favorite stories for TASTE. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was really great to have Jessica Koslow in for a conversation. Jessica is the chef and founder of Sqirl in Los Angeles, a pioneering breakfast and lunch counter that serves inventive rice bowls and jams on toast and that inspired a whole generation of all-day cafés. In this episode, we talk a bit about Jessica’s early career before going into her exceptional jam business and hearing some big news about changes at the restaurant. And before that, we have a fun conversation with Tigist Reda, chef and owner of the popular Chicago Ethiopian restaurant Demera. Tigist completes the Resy Questionnaire, and we find out about her favorite food book, her ideal last meal on earth, and, most important, her favorite Chicago pizza.  Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices