Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle

Latest Episodes:

Pod Swap: FOOD with Mark Bittman + David Sedaris May 11, 2023

Show notes

It's a pod swap! This week I'm bringing you an episode of Food with Mark Bittman and Mark is sharing an episode of Your Last Meal with his listeners.

Mark Bittman is the prolific author of 30 cookbooks, he wrote about food for the New York Times for 30 years and he was once a guest on Your Last Meal!

This week you'll hear his conversation with another prolific writer, one of America's favorite humor essayists, David Sedaris. Davis tells Mark about his Jello habit, what his dad used to wear (or, rather, didn't wear) to the family dinner table, and much more. Mark's podcast is delightful and I'm excited for you to have a listen!

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Taylor Dayne: A Big Brunch Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

Taylor Dayne blasted onto the pop/dance scene in 1987 with her first big single, “Tell It To My Heart,” and over the last 35 years she's released seventeen Top 20 singles, earned three grammy nominations and an American Music Award.

This Long Island girl loves her brunch, a meal that makes her nostalgic for the bagel and lox she shared with her family, as a kid, on Sunday mornings.

Did you know brunch has feminist roots? We explore that history + host Rachel Belle interviews the co-owner of one of her favorite places on Earth: Russ & Daughters, a 110 year old appetizing shop in NYC’s lower east side, famous for selling classic Jewish brunch items like bagels, lox and whitefish salad.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rachel Bloom: New York Pizza + Pasta + Three Desserts Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

Business doesn’t always mix with pleasure, but for comedic actor and writer Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Reboot), Olive Garden left a big, saucy mark on both her personal and professional life, popping up on her award-winning TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and in her last meal!

Host Rachel Belle calls up Marilyn Hagerty, a 96 year old newspaper columnist, to talk about the viral Olive Garden review she wrote for the Grand Forks Herald. A review that earned her a book deal with Anthony Bourdain!

And Rachel Bloom shares which Hollywood award shows have the best/worst food & her appreciation for public school home ec!

Get tickets to her live show, Death, Let Me Do My Special.

Get tickets to a LIVE taping of YLM podcast at Crosscut Festival May 5, 2023! Listeners get 50% off VIP Tickets (the taping is a VIP event) with the code FOOD at checkout!

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Subscribe to Rachel's free newsletter so you can be the first to know about events, giveaways & content only available to subscribers! Support the show by becoming a paid subscriber!

Support Cascade PBS: https://secure.cascadepublicmedia.org/page/133995/donate/1/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Margaret Cho: Spam Musubi Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

Margaret Cho has been a standup comedian for four decades (since she was 14 years old!) but she also LOVES to cook and collects specialty cookware and gadgets – she has her very own mochi machine!

Her last meal takes us to Hawaii, where Spam is so popular it’s even served at McDonald’s. But here on the mainland, Spam is often stigmatized. Robert Koo, author of Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA, walks us through the complicated history of the world’s favorite canned ham.

True food fanatics appreciate the highs and the lows; they can equally enjoy caviar and Cap’n Crunch, and Margaret is no different. Margaret shares her strangest cravings, and listeners call in to talk about theirs.

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Thanks to our sponsors:

Ooni Pizza Ovens

Safe Catch & Pure Cravings Get 15% off at checkout with code YOURLASTMEAL

Boll & Branch Get 15% off with code LASTMEAL

Copper River Salmon & Sena Sea Get 10% off at checkout with code YOURLASTMEAL

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Salt & Straw Founders Kim & Tyler Malek: Swedish Pancakes & Dumplings in Sauerkraut Mar 16, 2023

Show notes

Cousins Kim and Tyler Malek opened Salt & Straw Ice Cream over a decade ago in Portland, Oregon, and from the very start they were scooping up unusual flavor combinations like pear & blue cheese and bone marrow with bourbon smoked cherries.

Tyler shares the WORST flavor he's ever made (hint: there was seafood involved) & they talk about Grandma Malek, the matriarch behind both of their last meals.

Food historian Sarah Lohman joins the show to talk about the history of ice cream (Black Americans played a huge role) and we'll learn about Staten Island's delightful Enoteca Maria, a restaurant staffed by a rotating crew of grandmothers who cook up dishes from their native countries.

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Subscribe to Rachel's free newsletter so you can be the first to know about events, giveaways & content only available to subscribers! Support the show by becoming a paid subscriber!

Support Cascade PBS: https://secure.cascadepublicmedia.org/page/133995/donate/1/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tucker Shaw: Pantry Pasta Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

Every home cook worth their can of anchovies can throw together a dish based on the bits and bobs knocking around their cupboards and crisper, and for writer Tucker Shaw, his pantry pasta is last meal worthy.

Tucker’s debut novel, “When You Call My Name,” follows two, gay teenage boys who are navigating the AIDS crisis in 1990 New York City. But host Rachel Belle became a fan of Tucker’s in 2005, when she was gifted his book “Everything I Ate: A Year In The Life of My Mouth,” a book of photographs documenting every single thing Tucker ate in a year.

Two archeologists join the show to share the discoveries they’ve made about how early humans ate, including some 70,000 year old burnt bread crumbs that debunk the Paleo diet!

And Tucker loves cereal, so we explore the stories behind some of the most iconic cereal mascots (Tony the Tiger! Cap’n Crunch!) with Tim Hollis, author of “Part of a Complete Breakfast: Cereal Characters of the Baby Boom Era.”

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Subscribe to Rachel's free newsletter so you can be the first to know about events, giveaways & content only available to subscribers! Support the show by becoming a paid subscriber!

Support Cascade PBS: https://secure.cascadepublicmedia.org/page/133995/donate/1/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sloane Crosley: Favorite Adult Foods + Favorite Childhood Foods Feb 16, 2023

Show notes

A New York Times best-selling author of several humorous essay collections and novels, including her latest, Cult Classic, it’s no wonder Sloane Crosley’s last meal doubles as a culinary memoir. Sloane’s last meal is a collection of her current favorite foods and their childhood equivalents: the fancy bok choy and watercress salad from a New York City Japanese restaurant contrasted with the Wishbone Italian dressing of her youth.

Host Rachel Belle interviewed a dozen kids to get their take on Kids’ Food VS Grown-Up’s Food. And we meet the coolest lunch lady in America: Chef Emme Collins, Food Network Chopped champion and district chef for Seattle Public Schools.

Plus, Sloane spontaneously opens up her freezer to reveal its shocking contents! So Rachel digs into the oh-so-American phenomenon of households with multiple refrigerators and freezers.

Follow Rachel Belle on Instagram!

Subscribe to the newsletter so you can be the first to know about events, giveaways & content only available to subscribers! Support the show by becoming a paid subscriber!

Support Cascade PBS: https://secure.cascadepublicmedia.org/page/133995/donate/1/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Glen Phillips: Kitchari Feb 02, 2023

Show notes

Glen Phillips recently released his first solo album in 6 years; a collection of love songs to counter his last album, written following a divorce. Glen and host Rachel Belle talk about what foods he’s drawn to when he’s sad and what he tends to eat when he’s happy.

Glen grew up on his mom’s microwave cooking, so we’ll learn the connection between microwaves and feminism and why acclaimed food writer Barbara Kafka wrote (and was mocked for writing!) The Microwave Gourmet cookbook.

Glen’s last meal is a food Indians have been eating for thousands of years. Ayurvedic chef/owner of New York City’s Divya’s Kitchen joins the show to tell us more about kitchari.

Follow along on Instagram!

Please subscribe to the Your Last Meal newsletter so you can be the first to know about events, giveaways & content only available to subscribers! Support the show by becoming a paid subscriber!

Support Cascade PBS: https://secure.cascadepublicmedia.org/page/133995/donate/1/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cheech Marin: Chicken Marbella Jan 19, 2023

Show notes

It's Cheech & Chong's 50th anniversary! The epic comedy duo is best known for their cinematic pot smoking antics, but Cheech's palate is far more sophisticated than stoner snacks. The enthusiastic cook first tasted chicken marbella, from the legendary Silver Palate cookbook, at a dinner party and he swore he heard angels singing.

The Silver Palate cookbook "changed the way Americans ate" when it came out in 1982, and host Rachel Belle chats with its editor, Suzanne Rafer about the impact it had.

And chef, cannabis cookbook author, and founder of Laurie + Mary Jane edibles, Laurie Wolf, joins the show to talk about how far we've come from the ubiquitous potent pot brownie.

Follow along on Instagram!

Please subscribe to the Your Last Meal newsletter so you can be the first to know about events, giveaways & content only available to subscribers! Support the show by becoming a paid subscriber!

Get tickets to the SF Sketchfest Tribute to Cheech & Chong: 50th Anniversary Celebration on January 31, 2023.

Support Cascade PBS: https://secure.cascadepublicmedia.org/page/133995/donate/1/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duff Goldman: Mom’s Passover Dinner Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

Duff is famous for baking and building thousands of big, bonkers cakes, like the giant R2-D2 robot cake he baked for Star Wars director George Lucas and a lifelike elephant cake that stood taller than him. So you know the Food Network star, and longtime owner of Baltimore’s Charm City Cakes, baked his own wedding cakes. Cakes! Plural! Including a four-tiered meat cake topped with hot dog bride and groom.
We’ll learn the fascinating history of the wedding cake with Claire Stewart, author of As Long As We Both Shall Eat: A History of Wedding Food and Feasts.

Duff grew up in a town that shares its name with a very popular food. We’ll explore some of the country's most ridiculous (and tasty!) town names and, of course, reveal the name of Duff’s hometown!

Pick up Duff’s new cookbook, Super Good Cookies For Kids!

Follow along on Instagram!

Please subscribe to my newsletter so you can be the first to know about events, giveaways & content only available to subscribers!

Support Cascade PBS: https://secure.cascadepublicmedia.org/page/133995/donate/1/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.