Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle

Latest Episodes:

Graham Elliot, Scrapple Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

Chef Graham Elliot has a knack for creating delicious, wacky, highly Instagrammable dishes that are as effervescent as his big, bubbly personality. His lobster corn dogs are adored by Eminem, Rihanna and Dave Grohl and YLM host Rachel Belle is a big fan of his foie gras lollipops rolled in Pop Rocks. But for his last meal? Graham craves a humble, breakfast table staple that he grew up eating in his grandparent's home state of Maryland: scrapple!
Rachel Belle welcomes William Woys Weaver, author of Country Scrapple: An American Tradition to the show to answer the age old question: what exactly is scrapple? And Mike Rassmussen, owner of Painted Stave Distillery in Smyrna, Delaware, tells us how and why he created his uber popular scrapple vodka.
Make sure and subscribe to Your Last Meal, leave a review and follow along on Instagram!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bonus Episode: The Snack! feat. Hari Kondabolu Oct 24, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to The Snack!

It's not a full episode, just a quick & tasty bite where host Rachel Belle asks the previous week's guest a handful of lightning round style questions.

Rachel Belle and new episodes of the podcast will be back stateside soon! If you'd like to follow along while she kayaks with baby fur seals and cooks on the world's tiniest stove in a van, you can find her in New Zealand - or on Instagram!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hari Kondabolu, Idli and His Mom's Peanut Chutney Oct 10, 2019

Show notes

Standup comedian Hari Kondabolu is known for his smart, political humor. But when it comes to what the self proclaimed "killjoy who does comedy" craves, this dude has a serious sweet tooth. According to Hari, his childhood was a fever dream of cookies and candy bars: chocolate milk sprayed from his shower, cars rolled around on Oreos instead of tires and colorful gummy worms wriggled around his garden. I mean, not really. But I was a creative writing minor in college and I really wanted to write that sentence. Hari reveals his favorite Halloween candy and what he believes is the tastiest treat when flying the friendly skies.
But his last meal is far more savory, a southern Indian dish prepared by his mother. So host Rachel Belle calls upon Asha Gomez, an award winning Atlanta, Georgia chef and cookbook author, who talks about her unique style of cooking: south India meets the American south. Gomez doesn't want to be pigeonholed as an Indian cook. After 30 years living in the US, she is an American with a kid who loves mac & cheese and pizza.
Check out Hari's Netflix special, "Warn Your Relatives," his documentary "The Problem with Apu" or catch him on tour!
Stay in touch: follow Rachel Belle on Instagram!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Iron & Wine's Sam Beam: A Stack of Tomato Sandwiches, Boiled Peanuts & White Burgundy Sep 26, 2019

Show notes

Iron & Wine sounds like a band but, in fact, there is just one man behind the music: a soft spoken, North Carolina singer songwriter named Sam Beam. Sam is the ideal conversation partner: he laughs generously and speaks with a warm southern drawl. He also happens to have excellent taste in food and drink.
A true southern boy, Sam wants a stack of tomato sandwiches for his last meal. Just ripe, summer heirlooms, squishy white bread and mayonnaise. A simple summer snack so sacred in North Carolina, locals get good and riled up at the mere mention of adding bacon or lettuce to the mix. We called upon a couple North Carolina culinary queens to talk about the do's and don'ts of the tomato sandwich: veteran food journalist Kathleen Purvis and chef, restaurateur and cookbook author, Vivian Howard. And sticking with the southern theme, food historian Robert Moss joins the show to tell the true history of the boiled peanut.
Lucky for us, tomatoes are still hanging heavy on the vines, because you'll be hankering for a tomato sandwich by the end of this episode.
Iron & Wine has a new album out, the latest collaboration with the band Calexico. Buy the album and check out their current tour here.
Make sure you're subscribed to the podcast and follow host Rachel Belle on Instagram!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Oates, Rib Eye Steak & Ice Cream Sep 12, 2019

Show notes

John Oates is the mustachioed half of Hall & Oates, the best selling musical duo in history. Maneater! I Can't Go For That! Rich Girl! These dudes were hit making machines.
So host Rachel Belle started thinking about famous food duos: Ketchup & Mustard. Peanut Butter & Jelly. But the best selling culinary duo of all time has got to be Salt & Pepper. When did they get together? And why do we automatically sprinkle them both on our food without questioning their coupling? Learn the history of salt & pepper from Ken Albala, professor of food history at the University of Pacific.
And like so many other Your Last Meal guests before him, ice cream is a part of John's last meal; specifically Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. Rumor has it, owner Jeni Britton Bauer created the salted caramel ice cream flavor that pops up on boutique ice cream shop menus across the country. She tells Rachel how music influences every flavor they dream up.
Hall & Oates are performing this Saturday, September 14th, 2019 at the Washington State Fair, get tickets!
Oh, and make sure to follow Your Last Meal on Instagram!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duff McKagan: Family Meal at Black Angus Steakhouse (circa 1984) Aug 29, 2019

Show notes

Guns N' Roses bassist, Duff McKagan, is the dictionary definition of rock & roll: he's got the skull tattoo, the tight black jeans & a dramatic, alcohol-related near death experience under his belt. But Duff is more than just a pretty bass. He's a history buff who went back to school to get a degree in finance & he's been living sober for 20 years.
Duff's last meal is a tribute to the family meal his Central American coworkers made for the staff when he worked at the Northridge, California Black Angus Steakhouse in 1984.
So host Rachel Belle and producer Laura visit Canlis, Seattle's James Beard Award winning fine dining mecca, where family meal is treated with as much reverence as the food presented to guests in the dining room each night. At 4pm sharp they sat down with co-owner Mark Canlis and a huge team of cooks, dishwashers, servers and bartenders to enjoy the restaurant industry's most important meal of the day.
Duff's new album, Tenderness, is available now.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bonus Episode! Introducing: The Snack! Ep 1: Lynn Shelton Aug 23, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to The Snack!

It's not a full episode, just a quick & tasty bite where host Rachel Belle asks the previous week's guest a handful of lightning round style questions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lynn Shelton, Baguette with Butter & Italian Gelato (the Dairy Free/Gluten Free episode) Aug 15, 2019

Show notes

Indie filmmaker darling, Lynn Shelton, has a brand spankin' new movie out, Sword of Trust starring Marc Maron. But to pay the bills, she's worked as a freelance director on television shows like Mad Men, New Girl, GLOW and Master of None. Not a bad side hustle!
For her last meal, Lynn would love nothing more than to get down with a good loaf of artisan bread and a big bowl of cookie dough ice cream, but sadly she can't have either. She's allergic to gluten, dairy, sugar, fruit (!) and a long list of other forbidden foods, so she uses her never ending supply of creativity and imagination to invent treats that will fulfill her cravings but won't make her sick.
Lynn has been gluten intolerant for over 20 years, so when gluten free and plant based bakery and cafe, Flying Apron, opened in Seattle in 2001, she literally sobbed with happiness. And she's not the only one! Rachel chats with Flying Apron's owner, Angela Cough, about the mourning many people go through when forced to give up their favorite foods. And what happens when a professional baker is diagnosed with Celiac? Elisa Castle tells her story.

AND .. we have a very exciting announcement! Join Rachel for a Meat (ahem) & Greet on Tuesday, September 3rd* from 7:00pm - 9:00pm at the Ballard location of Lil Woody's to break buns & chow down on the 'Your Last Meal' Charcuterie Burger, inspired by the last meal of past guest, actor and cookbook author, Tiffani Thiessen (Saved By The Bell, Beverly Hills 90210).

The 'Your Last Meal' Charcuterie Burger will be on the menu from September 3 - September 9 at all four Lil Woody's Seattle locations (Ballard, Capitol Hill, SLU, White Center). So get your buns down there and try it!

Oh, and follow Your Last Meal on Instagram!

*this is a date change from what you'll hear on the episode! Captions can be updated, but unfortunately, podcast episodes cannot. The correct date for the event is September 3rd.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cathy Guisewite, Dairy Queen chocolate-dipped vanilla cone Aug 01, 2019

Show notes

Ack! Cathy Guisewite wrote and drew the Cathy comic strip, syndicated in newspapers across the US from 1976 to 2010. She got her start in a very unorthodox way, having never drawn a comic strip in her life, in a time when men dominated the Sunday morning funnies. You're going to want to hear this story!
If you've ever taped a Cathy comic to your fridge or cubicle, you know the character is obsessed with chocolate chocolate chocolate and is often seen in a department store dressing room, scrutinizing herself in a bathing suit. So Rachel Belle chats with psychologist and Non-Diet approach advocate, Louise Adams, about how today's trendy diets (intermittent fasting, Keto, Paleo) are just as kooky and harmful as the cabbage soup & grapefruit diets of years past.
And summer just isn't the same without at least one cone topped with an ethereally creamy, mile-high swirl of soft serve. Dairy Queen has been in the cone biz since 1940 and its director of product development explains what makes soft serve different (ahem, better? *cough*) than hard packed ice cream.
Cathy Guisewite's book, "Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault: Essays From the Grown-Up Years" is out now!
Follow Rachel Belle on Instagram & sign up for the Your Last Meal newsletter.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kyle MacLachlan: Dinner at Peter Luger Steakhouse Jul 18, 2019

Show notes

In the nearly three years we've been producing Your Last Meal, one thing has become abundantly clear: there are a LOT of vegan celebrities. But Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks, Sex & the City, Portlandia, Dune) is a meat man. Burgers? He loves 'em! Steak? He'll have one for his last meal, thank you very much. And his favorite is from Williamsburg, Brooklyn institution, Peter Luger Steakhouse, a family run joint that's been serving steaks and schlag in the same exact location for 132 years. What's schlag? We will school you! Why haven't they ever hired a single female server? Fourth generation owner David Berson has answers.
Kyle hates food waste as much as he loves getting creative with leftovers, so Rachel welcomes Jill Lightner, author of Scraps, Peels, and Stems: Recipes and Tips for Rethinking Food Waste at Home to the show. Jill can make delicious magic with potato peels, cauliflower leaves and the goopy liquid we pour out of a can of beans. Less compost, more cooking!
Kyle's Walla Walla winery recently released a new fleet of wines. Check out Pursued By Bear wine! Make sure and follow Your Last Meal on Instagram! And if you haven't already, listen to our new (and first!) bonus episode about why there are so many Thai restaurants in America.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected