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The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters — Arts
The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

If you love to eat, cook and travel, The Splendid Table is your weekly go-to source. Our public radio program has been connecting people through the common language of food for over three decades. Hosted by award-winning food journalist Francis Lam, each week we bring you fresh voices and surprising conversations at the intersection of cooking, people and culture. We cover all things food – from recipes and restaurants to history and science, farmer’s markets and of course, the Thanksgiving feast. Our wide-ranging, freewheeling guest list includes both world-class and rookie chefs, bestselling authors, scientists, poets, musicians, and even an astronaut in orbit!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Weeknight Kitchen, to receive practical, delicious weeknight-ready recipes. Once a month, we also share a sweet treat or baking recipe. Sign up at Splendidtable.org/newsletter

Produced by American Public Media. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network

Copyright: © Copyright 2026 Minnesota Public Radio

Latest Episodes:

History of Sauces Jan 29, 2019

Show notes

How important are sauces in the world of food? In French kitchens, the most respected cook is the saucier – the person who makes the sauces. You can’t have tacos without salsa. And, Beyoncé keeps hot sauce in her bag. So, obviously, sauces are essential. But what is a sauce? And how did we start making them? Maryann Tebben is a food historian, the head of the Center for Food Studies at Bard College at Simon Rock, and wrote an entire book on the subject called Sauces: A Global History. Contributor Noelle Carter talked with Tebben about the origins of sauces, the difficulty of defining them throughout the centuries, and what the saucy future looks like. If they inspire you to make your own sauces at home, check out "Five sauces that bring a world of flavor into your kitchen," plus our Sauce Recipe Collections on our website and on Pinterest.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

January 29, 2019

Behind the Restaurant Jan 18, 2019

Show notes

This is a show about restaurants, but not necessarily about the chef. It's about the lives of kitchen workers, their triumphs and troubles, and the extended family they often find on the line. We talk to Amy Thielen, author of Give a Girl a Knife, about what life was like for her working in some of the great kitchens in NYC. In 'Chefs With Issues,' Kat Kinsman offers a place for kitchen and service industry workers to gather online to share their stories of dealing with mental health issues. We visit an old-school Indian restaurant in London, The India Club. It is a place frozen in time and facing an uncertain future. And Molly Birnbaum of America’s Test Kitchen teaches us the chef-y but surprisingly simple technique of the salt-cured egg yolk.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

February 2, 2018 (originally aired)
January 18, 2019 (rebroadcast)

Green Soup for the Winter Blues Jan 15, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects, our podcast on the stuff that makes us better cooks and eaters. It's January. It’s cold. It’s dark. You may find yourself fighting off a case of the sniffles, along with those eight pounds you gained over the holidays. Do not despair. We’ve got something to make your cold winter world a little more colorful – and it’s soup. But, not just ordinary soup; we’re talking about a soup some people obsess over. One of those people happens to be our own Managing Producer Sally Swift. She talked with the cookbook author and filmmaker Anna Thomas about her recipe for an amazing Basic Green Soup.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

January 15, 2019

Chefs, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll Jan 01, 2019

Show notes

We're going back in time, to the 1970’s and the beginning of the American restaurant revolution. It was a time when young, talented chefs started opening restaurants that didn’t feel bound to tradition. It was when cooking first became cool, and writer Andrew Friedman says the energy at that time was palpable. Friedman runs a website about chefs called Toqueland and wrote the book Chefs, Drugs, and Rock n Roll, which documents this special era in American culinary history. Contributor Russ Parsons talked to Friedman about it.

Huge thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill. If you, like them, believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, check our their muesli. They have three gluten-free mueslis that come in single serving cups; you can soak them with yogurt overnight, or just crack them open, pour in milk, and go for it.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

January 1, 2019

Eating Italy: A Holiday Menu Dec 18, 2018

Show notes

No matter what you celebrate – or where – one thing we all have in common this time of year is that we gather with family and friends to celebrate the season. And food is central to those celebrations. It’s in that spirit that we turned to Jack Bishop, the Chief Creative Officer at America’s Test Kitchen and part of the team behind the new travel and food book Tasting Italy: A Culinary Journey, to get his take on the holiday feast. Jack is an expert in Italian food, so it wasn't a surprise to Managing Producer Sally Swift that he chose to present an authentic six-course Italian holiday menu featuring regionally inspired cuisine.

Our presenting sponsor for Splendid Table Selects is Bob’s Red Mill. Remember that Bob’s Red Mill is a great source for all of your holiday baking needs, from whole grains and flours to foolproof gluten-free baking mixes. Visit the Bob's Red Mill website to see all of their products and to check out some of their holiday recipe collection.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 18, 2018

Recipes: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly Dec 07, 2018

Show notes

Host Francis Lam talks to chef Samin Nosrat about the four elements you need to understand to make your cooking sing. She is the author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking. Emily Kaiser Thelin brings us the story of legendary food writer Paula Wolfert and her struggle with memory. Thelin is the author of the new biography Unforgettable: The Bold Flavors of Paula Wolfert’s Renegade Life. Dan Souza of Cook’s Science brings us an update on the culinary world’s hottest ingredient, cannabis. And Tom Scocca exposes the controversy surrounding caramelized onions.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

May 5, 2017 (originally aired)
April 27, 2018 (rebroadcast)
December 7, 2018 (rebroadcast)

Best in Show Cookies Dec 04, 2018

Show notes

In our show’s home state of Minnesota, holiday cookie baking is a knock-down, drag-out competition thanks in part to the food section of the Star Tribune. Fifteen years ago, Rick Nelson, the paper’s restaurant writer, suggested that they have a little holiday cookie contest for readers. 3,500 recipes later, Rick and Lee Dean, the paper’s food editor, picked 150 of the very best for The Great Minnesota Cookie Book. Managing Producer Sally Swift talked to Rick about the best in show. He also shared four recipes from the book: Almond Palmiers, Italian Almond Cookies, Devil's Delight Cookies, and Pistachio Orange Cookies.

Our presenting sponsor for Splendid Table Selects is Bob’s Red Mill. Remember that Bob’s Red Mill is a great source for all of your baking needs, from whole grains and flours to foolproof gluten free baking mixes. See their website for more information about all of their products and to check out their baking recipes.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 4, 2018

The Sioux Chef Nov 23, 2018

Show notes

Francis Lam talks to chef Sean Sherman, author of The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, about the diverse elements of modern Native American cuisine in North America. Contributor Shauna Sever talks to Dorie Greenspan about the ingredient she has built her career around, butter. Tucker Shaw of Cook’s Country from America’s Test Kitchen comes to the defense of pumpkin pie spice, just in the nick of time. And The Mushroom Cookbook co-author Liz O'Keefe encourages contributor David Leite to think beyond the meatiness of mushrooms, and to embrace their more fruity, spicy and herbal attributes. Also see this week's featured recipe and video for 21st Century Mac and Cheese.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

November 3, 2017 (originally aired)
November 23, 2018 (rebroadcast)

Turkey Confidential 2018 Nov 22, 2018

Show notes

Francis Lam hosts the 2018 edition of our popular Thanksgiving call-in show. Francis fields two hours of calls from listeners and is joined by guests Dorie Greenspan, Pati Jinich, Samin Nosrat and Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Looking for something specific from the show? See this page for a full rundown of questions and topics from this year's phone calls.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

November 22, 2018

Lynne's Twists on Thanksgiving Side Dishes Nov 20, 2018

Show notes

We all know that the starring role of the Thanksgiving feast belongs to the turkey, but the side dishes are just as important. While traditional sides bring a classic feel to the meal, sometimes it’s refreshing to shake up your routine. With that in mind, Managing Producer Sally Swift talked with our dear friend Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Lynne always has a long list of wonderful ideas for adding new flavors to your holiday table. Enjoy their interview... better have your notepad ready! Then check out Lynne’s do-ahead flavor combinations and our complete our collection of Thanksgiving sides recipes. Don't forget to join us live from 12-2 p.m. Eastern on Thanksgiving for Turkey Confidential! See our event page for more information about the show and our guests.

Huge thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill. With baking season upon us, remember that Bob’s Red Mill is a great source for all of your baking needs. Visit the Bob's Red Mill website for more information about all of their products and to check out their baking recipes.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

November 20, 2018

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