Keep Calm and Cook On with Julia Turshen

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Bonus: Behind the Scenes at Oxo Mar 07, 2019

Show notes

Julia sits down with two of the women behind the scenes at Oxo. Becca Del Monte is a Product Engineer who works mostly on fruit and vegetable tools and Lua O’Brien is a Product Category Director for food storage. They discuss how they got into their careers, what goes into making products (literally and emotionally), and what excites them about their work.

For more about Oxo: Oxo.com.
For more about Julia: JuliaTurshen.com.

On Building Community with Liz Alpern Feb 27, 2019

Show notes

Liz Alpern is passionate about bringing people together through food.

She is the creator of Queer Soup Night. Each QSN a time to feel welcome who identify as queer to not feel like an exception in the room. There are now Queer Soup Night communities across the country.

Liz is also the co-founder of The Gefilteria and co-author of The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods. Liz and her co-founder Jeffery’s mission for their work is to reclaim and revolutionize Ashkenazi cuisine.

In all her free time, Liz is also a faculty member at the International Culinary Center's Culinary Entrepreneurship program in New York and consults for the national food justice organization Fair Food Network.

Liz and Julia talk about the work Liz does, the intention she brings to it, and the intersection of their shared queer and Jewish identities.

There's also a shoutout to the Third Wave Fund and answers to listeners' questions.

For more about Julia and her work, head here.

On Mentorship with Hawa Hassan and Beth Linskey Feb 20, 2019

Show notes

Hawa Hassan (of Basbaas, a line of Somali condiments) and Beth Linskey (formerly of Beth's Farm Kitchen) join Julia for a conversation about friendship and mentorship and how both can transcend age, race, and place.

Hawa started her company Basbaas because she wanted to shift the narrative about being Somali. In her words, “What could be a better way to do that than through food?” To get her company off the ground, she enlisted her mentor Beth. Beth is the creator of the New York-based jam company Beth’s Farm Kitchen, which she founded in 1981. She ran the company for 35 years before selling it in 2016.

While it's been noted that mentorship helps drive success, but we don’t hear enough about how people find their mentors or what the mentors themselves get out of the relationship. In sharing some insights about their relationship, Hawa and Beth show us a really beautiful example of what mentorship can look like. It’s not just good for business, it’s also good for humanity.

The show also includes answers to listeners' questions and a shoutout to ZanaAfrica Foundation.

To purchase Hawa's sauces, head here.

For more about Julia Turshen and her work, head here.

On Food as Conversation with Yasmin Khan Feb 13, 2019

Show notes

Award-winning cookbook author and former human rights campaigner Yasmin Khan sits down with Julia to talk about her new book, Zaitoun, and the logistics of a career transition, the importance of rest, the way food can be an entry point to conversation, and why we have to hold onto hope.

Yasmin's first book, The Saffron Tales, includes recipes and stories from the Persian Kitchen. It’s a very personal book as Yasmin grew up between Iran, where her mother is from, and England. The Saffron Tales won tons of awards and opened the door for her newest book, Zaitoun, which came out in the UK a few months ago and just was published in the US. Zaitoun is all about Palestinean cooking. In only a week since publication, it’s been celebrated in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post and more.

There are also answers to listeners' questions (including an answer from the wonderful baker Cheryl Day) and shoutouts to Jewish Voice for Peace and Be the Match (#TeamElise).

On Being a Leader with Ashley Christensen Feb 07, 2019

Show notes

Ashley Christensen cares as much about people as she does about food. The Raleigh-based chef and restaurateur started cooking when she was in college and now runs an empire of restaurants in the Triangle in North Carolina including Poole’s Diner which she opened over a decade ago. She employs over 200 people and is known for not being afraid to speak up. Ashley’s cooking, restaurants, and cookbook have been celebrated by outlets like Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, The New York Times, and Eater and she’s the recipient of a James Beard Award.

She sat down with Julia to talk about her career, her restaurants, her leadership and communication style, her commitment to community, and her support system.

There are are also answers to listeners' questions and a shout out to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

For more about Julia Turshen and her work, head here.

On Embracing Fear with The Rousseau Sisters Jan 30, 2019

Show notes

Jamaican sisters, cookbook authors, and restauranteurs Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau join Julia for a conversation about the spirit they bring to their work and the experiences that have informed how they approach life. It’s a conversation about learning to trust your own voice, to embrace fear, to be your own champion, and to just keep going.

Michelle and Suzanne have a long history of collaboration. They’ve run a boutique, a catering business, restaurants; they’ve appeared on television and have co-authored two cookbooks. Their first, Caribbean Potluck, came out in 2014 and their latest, Provisions: The Roots of Caribbean Cooking, came out in December of 2018. It’s not just a book of contemporary vegetarian recipes— and it is a great one!— it’s also the history of Caribbean cooking, which is the history of women and the dual legacies of slavery and colonization. It’s a book about what was available, what wasn’t, and how women have sustained their communities despite all odds.

The episode also features answers to listeners' questions (for more about Leanne Brown's book that Julia mentions, Good and Cheap, head here!) and a shout out to Brownsville Community Culinary Center (to learn more about them, head here).

For information about the February 21st event Suzanne, Michelle, and Julia will be doing together at MoFAD in Brooklyn, head here! Please join if you can.

For more about Suzanne and Michelle, head here.

And for more about Julia Turshen, head here.

On Telling Women's Stories with Sara B. Franklin Jan 24, 2019

Show notes

Sara B. Franklin is a writer, teacher, oral historian, and a home cook. She teaches food culture and writing at both NYU and at the Wallkill Correctional Facility. Her first book, Edna Lewis: At the Table with An American Original, came out in 2018. Before the book came out, Sara finished her dissertation based on a series of oral history interviews she conducted with Judith Jones, the famous editor who worked not only with Edna Lewis who but also Julia Child and so many more— she also, remarkably, took The Diary of Anne Frank out of the reject pile.

Sara joins Julia for a conversation centered on Edna Lewis, Judith Jones, and also Sara’s own mother. This episode is all about how critical it is to celebrate the older women in our lives, to name their challenges out loud, and to listen to them when they share their stories.

There's also a shoutout to the Kingston YMCA Farm Project (for more about them head here) and answers to listeners' questions.

For more about Sara B. Franklin, head here.
For the Overnight Chicken that Sara wrote about for the Washington Post, head here.
For more about Julia Turshen, head here.

Asha Gomez, On Her Own Terms Jan 18, 2019

Show notes

Asha Gomez, the chef and cookbook author, sits down with Julia for a conversation that casts a wide net and covers everything from switching gears to finding your own voice and using it.

They discuss her venue, The Third Space, and the impetus behind it. They talk about finding out what works by first finding out what doesn't. They talk about how Asha continuously explores her two Souths— the area of Southern India where she’s from and the area of the American South where she calls home. They also discuss the perception, and misconception, of Indian food in America. The conversation closes on Asha’s advocacy work and finding the power of her own voice.

For more about the Third Space, head here.

For The New York Times article about Asha by Kim Severson, head here.

For more about CARE, head here.

And for more about Julia Turshen and her work, head here.

For the Italian Flag Baked Pasta from Now & Again that Julia mentions, head here.

On Partnership with Jody Williams and Rita Sodi Jan 09, 2019

Show notes

Jody Williams and Rita Sodi— the women behind Buvette, I Sodi, and Via Carota and the upcoming Bar Pisellino— join Julia for a personal conversation about their partnership, both personal and professional.

They talk about how they feel about labels, what they hope to instill in their employees, and the energy and feel they work to create in their restaurants. "We want to make a place that we miss," said Jody.

There are also answers to listeners' questions and a shoutout to God's Love We Deliver (find out more about the organization here).

For more about Buvette, head here. For more about Via Carota, head here. And for more about Bar Pisellino, head here. For more about Julia Turshen and her work, head here.

From the Ground Up: Sara Elise and Yemi Amu Jan 03, 2019

Show notes

Sara Elise, who runs the catering company Harvest & Revel and the creative brand Blind Seed, and Yemi Amu, the co-founder of Oko Farms and specialist in aquaponics, join Julia for a personal conversation about how to create your own path from the ground up.

The conversation centers on figuring out careers in and around food and features honest reflections from both Sara Elise and Yemi about being Black women in food in Brooklyn.

There are also answers to listeners' questions and a shoutout to Fresh Future Farm (find out more about the organization here).

For more about Sara Elise, check out Harvest & Revel. For more about Yemi Amu, check out Oko Farms. And for more about Julia Turshen and her work, head here.

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