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

Latest Episodes:

774: On the Road – Hawaii with Chefs Sheldon Simeon, Ed Kenney, Robynne Maii and More! Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

We took the show on the road for a live event at the Hawaii Theatre Center in Honolulu. First, we spoke to Hawaii Public Radio’s Culture and Arts reporter Jayna Omaye and Chef Sheldon Simeon of Tin Roof Maui about Hawaiian cuisine’s unique mix of cultures. Then, James Beard award-winning chef Robynne Maii of Fête in Chinatown, Honolulu, and chef-owner of Mud Hen Water, Ed Kenney, explained how native Hawaiian traditions influence their cooking. And then, we talked to three legacy business owners about the importance of beloved local institutions in the food scene: Chris Kanemura, co-owner of Fujiya Hawai’i, Emma Bello, goat and dairy farmer at Sweet Land Farm, and Kevin Yim of Zippy’s.

The live event at Hawaii Theatre was co-presented by Hawai‘i Public Radio and the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapi‘olani Community College and sponsored by Hawaiian Airlines, Alohilani Resorts, and FarmLovers Markets.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

February 3, 2023 (originally aired)
February 2, 2024 (rebroadcast)
January 23, 2026 (rebroadcast)

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841: Celebrating 30 Years: Live from St. Paul! Jan 16, 2026

Show notes

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | YouTube

This week, it's the final show of our 30th anniversary celebration, recorded from the stage of The Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, MN, where it all began. Francis is joined onstage by some of the best chefs in Minnesota, including American Oglala Lakota Sioux chef, Sean Sherman, Somali-American chef, Jamal Hashi, Karyn Tomlinson of Myriel the winner of the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest and 6-time James Beard Nominee, Diana Moua of Diane's Place to talk about their culinary journeys and the importance of community and culture in food. We’re then joined on stage by a very special guest, Lynne Rossetto Kasper.

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Broadcast dates for this episode:

January 16, 2026 (originally aired)

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818: Ireland’s National Culinary Treasure, Darina Allen Jan 09, 2026

Show notes

This week, we’re spending the hour with the charming and beloved Irish cooking teacher and writer Darina Allen. It’s a spirited conversation about growing up in a country kitchen, her love of eating, and the single moment she decided to pursue her career in cooking. She tells us about her organic farm atthe Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland, shares her unusual and brilliant teaching style, and explains why learning to cook and connect to nature is one of the greatest life skills anyone can achieve. She leaves us with a recipe for an Irish classic, Spotted Dog Railway Cake. Darina is the author of many best-selling books, including The Forgotten Skills of Cooking: 700 Recipes Showing You Why the Time-Honored Ways Are the Best.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

January 10, 2025 (originally aired)

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771: Holiday Cookbooks 2022 Jan 02, 2026

Show notes

We’ve got the most exciting cookbooks to gift this holiday season. Chef Chris Scott talks to us about his latest, Amish Soul Food and pays homage to the food of his Pennsylvanian German ancestors, and talks us through traditional recipes like chow chow, biscuits, and scrapple. He leaves us with his recipe for Okra Chow-Chow.Cynthia Shanmugalingam takes us on a deep dive into the seductive, cuisine of Sri Lanka. Her book is Rambutan: Recipes from Sri Lanka. Then, Ben Mervis, author of The British Cookbook, talks about the many food regions of Britain and the influences that have inspired them. His Yorkshire Parkin recipe is a must-try for this holiday season. Then, we get a lesson in home-made vinegar making with Pascal Baudar, author of Wildcrafted Vinegars. He leaves with a lot of inspiration and a recipe for Seaweed-Infused Vinegar.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 16, 2022 (originally aired)
December 15, 2023 (rebroadcast)

When you shop using our links, we earn a small commission. It’s a great way to support public media at no extra cost to you!

Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

817: Holidays with Lisa Kyung Gross and Helen Rosner Dec 26, 2025

Show notes

This week, we’re all about community and coming together for the holidays. First, we talk to Lisa Kyung Gross, founder of The League of Kitchens, a unique cooking school where women from all over the world, welcome you into their homes and teach you how to make one of their family recipes. She talks about the delicious recipes she has collected in her new book, The League of Kitchens Cookbook: Brilliant Tips, Secret Methods & Favorite Family Recipes from Around the World. She leaves us with an Afghan recipe for Cake Jawari, a delicious yellow cake with rosewater and cardamom. Then, The New Yorker’s food writer Helen Rosner stops by the studio with treats and ideas for your last-minute gifts.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 20, 2024 (originally aired)

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840: Holiday Traditions Around the World with Hetty Lui McKinnon and Yasmin Khan Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

This week, we’re celebrating the holidays by looking beyond, into global stories that shape the season. First, we talk with Hetty Lui McKinnon about her new book, Linger: Salads, Sweets and Stories to Savor, and what the holidays look like in Australia, where Christmas is hot and the seafood markets buzz at midnight. Hetty reflects on the vegetable forward meals that defined her Chinese Australian upbringing and leaves us with her recipe for Coronation Cauliflower and Chickpeas. Then, we turn to writer Yasmin Khan for a deeper look at Yalda Night, the Persian winter solstice celebration that reminds us of the return of the sun, after the longest night of the year. Her latest cookbook, Sabzi: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes, explores vibrant vegetarian cooking rooted in Persian culture. Yasmin shares how Yalda brings people together through poetry, pomegranates, and seasonal comforts, and leaves us with her recipe for Eggplant Fesenjan.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 19, 2025 (originally aired)

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816: Crumbs with Ben Mims and Wild Chocolate with Rowan Jacobsen Dec 12, 2025

Show notes

It’s the holiday season, and we’re kicking it off this week with some sweet treats. First, food editor and recipe developer Ben Mims joins us with his latest project, covering over 300 cookie recipes from Asia to the Levant to Scandinavia to the Caribbean. The varieties are astonishing. We get into cookie styles, the fascinating ingredients in regional cookies, and the hundreds of flavor combinations. Ben is the author of Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World. And he left us with a recipe for Guava-Filled Butter Cookies from Brazil. Then, we step into the world of wild chocolate with Rowan Jacobsen. We hear about the new breed of cacao farmers and the amazing flavor profiles found in wild chocolate and meet some of the farmers who are making it. Rowan is the author of Wild Chocolate: Across the Americas in Search of Cacao’s Soul.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 6, 2024 (originally aired)
December 12, 2025 (rebroadcast)

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839: A Journey Through Southern Food with Michael W. Twitty and Deb Freeman Dec 05, 2025

Show notes

This week, we’re taking a trip through the South and its food – how it tells the story of a region shaped by migration, memory, and culture. First, we talk with scholar and writer Michael W. Twitty about his new book, Recipes from the American South, a sweeping look at the many communities – Black, white, Indigenous, immigrant – whose traditions built Southern cooking as we know it. Michael reflects on the histories that define the region and leaves us with his recipe for Maque Choux, the Louisiana classic made of corn and peppers. Then, we turn to writer and filmmaker Deb Freeman for a deeper look at one of the South’s most influential voices: Edna Lewis. Her new PBS documentary, Finding Edna Lewis, traces how Miss Lewis’s rural Virginia roots shaped her cooking and her revolutionary impact on American food. Deb shares why Lewis remains essential today and what we can still learn from her.

Our annual cookbook giveaway is live! To enter for free, visit splendidtable.org/cookbook

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 5, 2025 (originally aired)

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Bonus Episode: Do Holidays Leave You Exhausted, Not Restored? Priya Parker, Francis Lam & Kate Bowler on Celebration Dec 02, 2025

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Today we have a bonus episode for you from Happier with Gretchen Rubin, featuring our very own Francis Lam.

Gretchen Rubin is HAPPIER, and she wants you to be happier too. The #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before gets more personal than ever as she brings her practical, manageable advice about happiness and good habits to this lively, thought-provoking podcast. Gretchen’s cohost and guinea pig is her younger sister, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in Los Angeles, who (lovingly) refers to Gretchen as her happiness bully.

On this episode of More Happier:

It’s easy to get swept up in a cycle of holidays that feels more like a relentless to-do list than a source of joy. In this Celebration Roundtable, we talk about how to embrace the holidays as opportunities for intentional connection and meaning.

796: Soup Season with Mariana Velásquez, Gregory Gourdet, and Jing Gao Nov 28, 2025

Show notes

This week, we welcome the cold with delicious soup! Food Stylist Mariana Velásquez Villegas, author of Colombiana: A Rediscovery of Recipes and Rituals from the Soul of Colombia talks us through Colombia's biodiversity and regional identity and the unique foods it inspires like Sancocho. This hearty stew brings people together in a communal dining experience. Be sure to listen to her playlist while preparing it!Then, we talk about Haitian cuisine with award-winning chef Gregory Gourdet as he shares his childhood memories of growing up, commemorating Haitian Independence Day with Soup Joumou, a hearty squash-based soup typically served on New Year's Day. Gregory Gourdet is the chef-owner of Kann in Portland, Oregon, and the author of Everyone's Table. Then, chili sauce entrepreneur Jing Gao, author of The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp, talks about Hot Pot, a zingy broth served in a large metal pot that gets tastier as you feast.

Broadcast dates for this episode: