Keep Calm and Cook On with Julia Turshen

Latest Episodes:

League of Kitchens Cooks with Love Oct 01, 2019

Show notes

Lisa Gross, the founder of League of Kitchens, and Mab Abbasgholizadeh, one of their instructors, sit down with Julia and talk about the organization and its impact. The conversation covers a range of meaningful topics including activism, feminism, sexuality, identity, ideology, immigration, home, memory, trauma, healing, agency, cooking, and love. There are also answers to listeners' questions about cooking.

Follow-up links:

For more about League of Kitchens and to sign up for one of their classes, head here.
For more about Mab, head here.
For more about Lisa, head here.
For more about Julia Turshen, head here.
For more about Oxo, who helped make this episode possible, head here.

Elle Simone Scott is a Warrior Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

You might know Elle Simone Scott from the PBS cooking show America’s Test Kitchen where she is a regular on-air contributor. You might know some of her other work without even realizing it— she has created beautiful food behind the scenes as a food stylist and culinary producer for the Food Network, Cooking Channel, and Bravo. In 2013 she incorporated SheChef, a networking organization for women chefs of color.

Elle’s career began in social work, and she and Julia talk about the impact that’s had on her work. They also talk honestly and openly about navigating burnout and more.

There are also answers to listeners' questions about cooking and a shoutout to Future Chefs.

Follow-up links:

The More Visibility with Karen Akunowicz + LJ Johnson Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

Karen Akunowicz, named Best Chef: Northeast in 2018 by James Beard Foundation, is well-known from her stint on Bravo’s Top Chef, her time as Executive Chef at Myers + Chang in Boston, and from Myers + Chang at Home, the cookbook she co-authored with Joanne Chang. She owns and runs her new restaurant Fox & the Knife in Boston with her spouse, LJ Johnson, plus their poké shop, SloPoke.

Julia sat down with Karen and LJ to talk about their partnership in and out of their businesses and how they navigate things like talking about their relationship on television, work-life balance (whatever that is!), and more.

There are also answers to listeners' questions and a work about No Kid Hungry.

Follow-up links:

For more about Oxo, head here.
Karen Akunowicz
Fox & the Knife
SloPoke
No Kid Hungry
Julia's Turshen's Applesauce Cake with Cream Cheese + Honey Frosting
The article Julia wrote for the Washington Post about cooking a big meal for a group with different dietary restrictions

Antoni Porowski Loves His Sensitivity Sep 09, 2019

Show notes

The 3rd Season of Keep Calm and Cook On kicks off with Antoni Porowski from Netflix’s Queer Eye and author of the brand new cookbook Antoni in the Kitchen. He and Julia cover everything from imposter syndrome to throwing dinner parties to how to handle being an empathetic person.

One lucky listener is eligible to win a copy of Antoni’s new cookbook! To enter for a chance to win, leave a review of Keep Calm and Cook On on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts, screenshot it, and send it to keepcalmandcookonpodcast@gmail.com or DM it on Instagram to @turshen. One submission will be randomly selected one to win a copy of Antoni’s wonderful new cookbook!

Follow-up links:

For more about Antoni and his book, head here.
For more about Julia and her work, head here.
For more about Oxo, head here.
For more about The Trevor Project, head here.
For the Medjool dates that Antoni loves, head here.

Live at Eater Young Guns 2019 with Shakirah Simley Aug 13, 2019

Show notes

Listen to a live recording of the "Goodbye Food World, Hello City Hall" panel from the Eater Young Guns Summit with Shakirah Simley and Julia Turshen. The Summit was a day-long event put on by Eater that celebrated young talent in the restaurant industry and the issues that are important to them. The panel was a purposeful conversation with tangible ideas about all sorts of ways we can all use food to get involved in our communities.

Shakirah Simley lives by the motto: “If the personal is political, then there is nothing more personal or political than food.”

Whether you work in food or just like eating food, there’s something we can all do. Remember what Shakirah said: “Revolution and food have always been intertwined.” And there’s a way, many ways!, for all of us to be part of the revolution.

Below is the list of important reminders addressed in the episode. If you have other ideas or any other questions email keepcalmandcookonpodcast@gmail.com.

Be in dialogue with your local representatives. Save their contact information and be in touch. To make sure you’re represented, it’s good to let them know what you care about.
Use food spaces to gather - to invite people and welcome them - and then inform these groups. Create comfortable spaces to have uncomfortable conversations. This can be your restaurant or your own kitchen table at home.
Fill out the census!
Do your homework. Know what’s going on in your local elections and sign up for any election alerts or any other community notices.
Remember the term “Community Benefits Agreement” when new businesses come into your neighborhood.
Check your power and privilege and how you came to possess those things and how you can shift those things.
Shop and eat locally.

Jia Tolentino on Writing + Cooking Jul 02, 2019

Show notes

Jia Tolentino is a staff writer for The New Yorker and her new book of essays, Trick Mirror, is about to come out in August. Before writing for The New Yorker, Jia worked as a deputy editor at Jezebel and a contributing editor at the Hairpin.

Jia and Julia talked about writing, real life versus online and print versus digital, how she learned to cook when she was in the Peace Corps., the role of cooking in her life now, a bit about her new book and her anticipation of it being out in the word.

There are also answers to listeners' questions and a shoutout to Make the Road NY.

Follow-up links:

To learn more about Jia's and her work and her new book (and to order it!), head here.
For Shauna Ahern's gluten-free pizza dough recipe that Julia mentioned, head here.
For more about Make the Road New York, head here.
For more about Julia and her work, head here.
For more about the entire Great Jones set, head here. And be sure to enter the code 'COOKON' at checkout for $25 off!!!

How the Sausage Gets Made Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

Jocelyn Guest and Erika Nakamura are the butchers behind J&E SmallGoods, a newly launched quote-on-quote Mom & Mom Shop that makes mail-order hot dogs, kielbasa, and bratwurst. There are more meats are in the pipeline.

They have dedicated their careers to supporting local family farms that raise animals with big space, clean water, good feed and respect. They believe you shouldn’t have to support the industrial food supply just to enjoy hot dog.

Jocelyn and Erika are partners in both business and life, which is a bit of a running theme on this show. I’m referring to my conversations with Jody Williams and Rita Sodi who run Via Carota together in New York City, Mona Talbott and Kate Arding who run Talbott & Arding in Hudson New York, and the two couples on the bonus episode from Atlanta— Deborah VanTrece and Lorraine Lane from Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours and Virginia Willis, the cookbook author, and Lisa Ekus, the literary agent.

Like I was able to with each of those couples, I got to talk to Jocelyn and Erika about what drives them as business owners and what their work means to them as both individuals and as a couple.

Prior to starting J&E Small Goods, Jocelyn and Erika ran White Gold Butchers on the Upper West Side of New York and then moved north of New York City, not terribly far from where Grace and I live, had a daughter named Nina, and got to work building their new company.

They joined me, Nina too!, to talk about the genesis of their new company, life as new parents, sandwiches and much much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Follow-up links:

https://www.oxo.com/8-piece-snap-glass-rectangle-container-set.html
https://www.jesmallgoods.com/
https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/nancy/queer-money-matters
GREAT JONES - COOKON!!!

Food is Love, Food is Medicine Jun 20, 2019

Show notes

This episode features a conversation with Emmett Findley, the Manager of Communications at God’s Love We Deliver, and Craig Palmer, one of God’s Love We Deliver’s longtime clients.

God’s Love We Deliver is based in New York City and their mission is to improve the health and well-being of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses by alleviating hunger and malnutrition. Everyday they prepare and deliver thousands of beautiful meals to people who, because of their illness, are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves. They also offer nutrition education and counseling and all of their services are given free to clients without regard to income. God’s Love We Deliver believes so much that food is love and it is medicine.

Julia and Emmett reflect on the queer community and Julia talks to Craig about what it means to be on the receiving end of God's Love We Deliver's meals.

There are also answers to listeners' questions about food and cooking.

Follow-up links:

For Emmett's music video about food safety (No Tanks Tops in the Kitchen), head here.
To purchase Chuck's Brownies from God's Love We Deliver (great gift!), head here.
For more about Third Root Community Health Center, the organization that Emmett mentioned, head here.

Does the World Need Another Song? On Cookbooks with Matt Sartwell Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

Julia talks all things cookbooks with Matt Sartwell, the managing partner of Kitchen Arts & Letters, a bookstore in New York City that specializes in food and drink. Matt came to Kitchen Arts & Letters more than twenty years ago after a career as a book editor. Kitchen Arts & Letters is a small shop but it holds over 12,000 titles that aren’t just cookbooks— they have books on the history of food and operation and technical manuals, plus tons of out-of-print books. They opened in 1983 and Julia Child, James Beard, and Laurie Colwin were among their early customers.

Julia also answers listeners' questions about food and cooking and gives a shoutout to the Ali Forney Center.

Follow-up links:

For more about Kitchen Arts & Letters, head here.
To follow Kitchen Arts & Letters on Twitter, click here.
For more about the Ali Forney Center, head here.

Food is a Conduit with Marci Waldman Jun 06, 2019

Show notes

If you’ve ever tuned into CBS This Morning: Saturday and seen a chef or cookbook author get to talk with the anchors about their career and their food on the segment known as "The Dish," producer Marci Waldman was behind what you saw on your television screen. Born and raised in New York City, Marci started working at CBS News when she was 13 years old. Her father, who very sadly passed away after this interview was recorded, worked at CBS News for almost 50 years. Marci pretty much grew up in the building. It’s the only place she’s ever worked. Marci sat down with Julia and spoke about what goes into making television, what it’s been like to work her entire life in the same place she grew up in, how she has stood up for herself, and how The Dish came to be.

There are also answers to listeners' questions and a shout out to La Cocina whose new cookbook was just released.

Follow-up links:

To view Julia's segment of The Dish, head here.
For Julia's recipe for Citrus Rum Punch, available exclusively on oxo.com, head here.
To order the La Cocina cookbook or to get details about their book tour, head here.