This week, we're all about two summer traditions. First, we meet photojournalist and documentarian Kate Medley to talk about her decade-long project documenting gas stations all across the South. She has stories about the amazing cast of characters, their diverse selection of foods, and their impact on their communities across the South. Kate Medley is the author of Thank You Please Come Again: How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American South. Then, we talk to the chefs behind Kismet, an award-winning vegetable-forward restaurant in Los Angeles. Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson bring us fresh ideas for your summer cookout, including their modern must-haves for your grill, like their Springtime Chicken Skewers. Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson's latest book is Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• July 5, 2024 (originally aired)
• July 4, 2025 (rebroadcast)

Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora

This week, we make our 30th anniversary tour stop in Tampa in partnership with WUSF, where we learn about what makes the food of South Florida so unique. First up, Dalia Colón, host of The Zest podcast and author of The Florida Vegetarian Cookbook, gives us an overview of the rich Tampa food scene. From its diverse cuisines to its old-school Southern charm. Then, we talk about Tampa’s cultural and culinary history and legacy with Andrea Gonzmart Williams, fifth-generation owner of Columbia Restaurant, a landmark in the Cuban American community, and Megan Sorby, co-founder and CEO of Pine Island Redfish, a startup land-based fish farm with an environmental restoration focus. And finally, we meet up with community leader Anthony Gilbert, better known as “Call Anthony,” for his video reviews of Tampa Bay’s under-the-radar- eateries.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 27, 2025 (originally aired)

Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show

This week, we look at modern food and culture from two popular cuisines. First, we sit down with acclaimed food writer Khushbu Shah to talk about her debut cookbook, which is all about Indian home-cooked dishes. She shares ingenious hacks and delicious Indian-inspired recipes that can come together in a pinch using everyday pantry items, and teaches Francis how to make her Chili Cheese Toast. Khushbu Shah is the author of Amrikan: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora. Then, we are off to Korea with Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard. We talk about why Korean cuisine has taken the world by storm, their travels to Korea to document modern Korean cooking, and how regional Korean dishes are showing up in many parts of Korea. Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard’s latest book is Koreaworld: A Cookbook. They left us with their recipe for Sauteed Rice Cakes with Gochujang & Cream.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 21, 2024 (originally aired)
• June 20, 2025 (rebroadcast)

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

This week, we talk to two longtime restaurant critics from different parts of the country about what makes their work so interesting and what they're excited to eat. First, Bill Addison, restaurant critic for The Los Angeles Times, talks about his approach to critical writing, his favorite restaurant experiences, and the evolution of California cuisine. He just wrapped up one of the most ambitious projects of his career, the list of the One Hundred and One Best Restaurants in California for The Los Angeles Times. Then, we turn to the Midwest to join Wini Moranville, a restaurant critic based in Des Moines, Iowa. She tells us about her first job as a restaurant server and how that influenced her current work reviewing restaurants, and how restaurant criticism in smaller cities often have very different considerations. Wini is the author of the memoir "Love is My Favorite Flavor: A Midwestern Dining Critic Tells All," and you can check out her Substack, Dining Well in DSM.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 13, 2025 (originally aired)

Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

Have you ever wondered how June looks and tastes in different parts of the country? This week, we visit three different corners of the country to hear about their Junes. Gullah Geechee Chef-Farmer, Matthew Raiford in Coastal Georgia describes this time of year as “where the wild things are”. He tells us how his decision to come back to the south to become a farmer came to be and paints a picture of his favorite low country boil. Matthew's latest book is Bress ‘N’ Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer. Then, we take a trip to Alaska to hear from Native Alaskan fisherwoman, Melanie Brown as she takes us into a radiantly green scene with sloughs and creeks and paints a vivid picture of millions of sockeye Salmon rolling into Bristol Bay. And then, we sit in with Ronni Lundy, author of the award-winning Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes to talk about June in the mountains and summer preserves.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 11, 2021 (originally aired)
• June 10, 2022 (rebroadcast)

• June 6, 2025 (rebroadcast)

  
  

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

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora
We're celebrating our 30th Anniversary on the road, and this week, we make our fourth stop in Iowa City in partnership with IPR. We talk to bakers, chefs, restaurateurs, and farmers about the food of the heartland. First up, Shae and Anna Pesek of Over the Moon Farm and T.D. Holub of The Garden Oasis Farm talk about their personal experiences with farm life, from agricultural challenges to sustainability and the community and passion that contribute to the success and drive of a farm. Then, we talk to Jamie Powers, owner and executive chef of Deluxe Bakery, and Carrie and Andy Schumacher, owners of the restaurant Cobble Hill, about opening their restaurants in Iowa and how building community is the most important part of their businesses.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 30, 2025 (originally aired)

Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today.

When it comes to seafood, frozen is the new fresh. We talk to seafood industry expert, Jennifer Bushman about how technology has improved the quality of frozen fish and how to make the most of canned seafood from your local grocery store. Her latest project is Sea Pantry, how to keep your pantry stocked up with ingredients from the sea. Then, Senior Editor of New York Times Cooking, Genevieve Ko brings us her best at-home seafood cooking tips and recipes.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 9, 2021 (originally aired)
• April 8, 2022 (rebroadcast)
• May 31, 2024 (rebroadcast)
• May 23, 2025 (rebroadcast)

Generous listeners like you make The Splendid Table possible. Donate today to support the show

This week, we spend the hour with Deborah Madison, one of the trailblazers in popularizing vegetarian cooking in America — even though she’s not a full-time vegetarian herself. We chat with her about how she came to be the founding chef of Greens, likely America's first high-end vegetarian restaurant, at a time when fine dining meant meat at the center of the plate, and her study of Buddhism and the food path it opened up for her. Then she helps us answer your cooking questions. Deborah is the author of the classic Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, The Greens Cookbook, The Savory Way, and her latest, memoir — An Onion in My Pocket: My Life with Vegetables.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 5, 2021 (originally aired)
• March 11, 2022 (rebroadcast)
• May 16, 2025 (rebroadcast)