My Life As A Foodie

Today we’re discussing Ugly Delicious, a Netflix show hosted by David Chang. Each episode of the show highlights a single dish, explores how it’s made, and how to tell if what you’re getting in your neck of the woods is authentic or a total fugazi. Ugly Delicious digs deep to explore the cultural, sociological, and culinary history of each popular dish.

Vegetarians had it right all along. Then, vegans came along and spoiled everything by being attention whores. The idea: If it comes from the ground, eat it. If it comes from an animal, don’t. Everyone has their reasons for excluding meat from their diet. Today, I explore the possibilities and the reasons why people make this radical change in their dietary lifestyle.

My brother Chuck joins the show to discuss all things coffee as he launches his new coffee roasting company Elevated Roast. Like most artisans, his passion for roasting coffee started as a hobby over a decade ago and it didn't take long for that passion to turn into a profession. Chuck knows practically everything there is to know about what makes the difference between an acceptable roast and an exceptional roast. I can tell you with great certainty that his beans are the latter. Visit elevatedroast.com to order fresh roasted beans that will change your perspective on coffee.

He has lived in the shadow of his brother most of his life, and now he is building an empire of his own. For decades, when people thought of El Bulli, it was synonymous with Ferran Adria. But those who knew the inner workings of that project were well aware that it was Albert who was responsible for its success all along.

Outside of the LeBron era, being a sports fan in Cleveland has been as enjoyable as a root canal. Thankfully, there's a great mustard war going on that makes an otherwise dreadful ballpark hot dog relatively gameworthy. Still reeling from Bourdain's death, I discuss some recent revelations that shed light on his possible motives for suicide. My brother will be my guest on the next episode, and we're talking really good coffee. I mean, REALLY GOOD COFFEE.

EAT. RACE. WIN. is a behind-the-scenes adventure into the biggest annual sporting event in the world: The Tour de France. Yes, even bigger than the Super Bowl. The show follows Chef Hannah Grant, who takes us on her race within the race as she sources performance food for Australia's pro cycling team, Orica-Scott. Hannah shows us exactly what it takes to perform at the edge of human endurance for 21 days of racing - the hardest bike race in the world.

The recent deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Jonathon Gold have left a void in the world of food writing and entertainment. Today I pay homage to both, but stress the importance of living in the moments they left behind. While it’s often thought to be unhealthy to live in the past, I wonder if it’s more unhealthy to live in the present, given the current climate.

It’s been over two years since I turned my back on the craft brew scene. In doing research for the show, I found that the landscape had changed drastically. The numbers are staggeringly high. What made the biggest impression on me, however, was the growth of home brewing. As of last November, there were an estimated 1.2 million people making beer at home. And while I know that a lot of you have dabbled in the craft of brewing beer at home, I think that if you truly love the taste of handcrafted beer, the time has never been better to get your feet wet and brew something delicious in your kitchen.

Even for viewers who've never read or heard of food critic Jonathan Gold, City of Gold offers a thoroughly entertaining introduction to a talented writer and brilliant career. In this documentary, Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold shows us a Los Angeles where ethnic cooking is a kaleidoscopic portal to the mysteries of an unwieldy city and the soul of America.

After a controlling owner pushes him too far, chef Carl Casper quits his position at a prestigious Los Angeles restaurant. As he tries to figure out what his next step should be, he finds himself in Miami. Carl joins forces with his ex-wife, best friend and son to launch a food-truck business, and the venture provides a chance to reignite his passion for cooking, as well as his zest for life and love.

Through the years, I’ve been more than unkind to Guy Fieri. I’ve come to the realization that I have no reason to be that way. He’s done nothing wrong, is living his dream, staying positive, and making a career out of helping small business owners flourish. In this episode, my public apology. I still don’t understand the hair, the cloths, the catchphrases, and everything else - but that’s not what makes the man.

Nancy Silverton was the subject in Season 3 of Chef's Table on Netflix. In this episode, we discuss her impact on the LA food scene and her obsession with creating the perfect pizza.

Amazon buys Whole Foods, cooking lobster the original way - over the grill, and introducing a new segment 'Cooking With the Devil'.

This week we're discussing the book Eat Bacon, Don't Jog by Grant Petersen. In it, he destroys 30 years of conventional health wisdom and offers a common sense approach to weight loss and fitness. The main point of Eat Bacon, Don't Jog is the real reason we need to drop carbs from our diet and instead embrace fat. On top of that, he sees no real health benefit in jogging. High intensity workouts that hurt like a bitch are what really help. The jogging thing I struggle with, as it was jogging that helped me to get into the shape I’m in now, and shave off the excess fat I was lugging around. It is for this reason that I like to refer to the book as Don’t Jog, Eat Bacon. They’re both very dear to me, but one more than the other. We also return to the kitchen to cook a quick 15-minute meal - Chicken with Chilaquiles and Green Salsa.

Life is full of changes, and all we can do is roll with them and ride the trail that life carves out for us. In this episode I talk about the changes happening all around us and the meat company I dreamed of starting, but never did. It was a novel idea that never caught fire, but I learned a lot in the process. There's also talk of the national discussion about an immigrant ban and Jose Andres legal battle with Donald Trump over his restaurant that also never happened inside of the Trump International Hotel. Sometimes you simply have to stand up for what is right. We also cook from Anthony Bourdain's Appetites Cookbook, making Vietnamese Do Chua Salad with Nuoc Mam Cham dressing.

When you suddenly become a parent, cooking for children presents a whole new set of challenges. In this episode, I talk about how I have made the transition from cooking strictly adult food to cooking for kids while doing my best to expose them to new things. I also show you how easy it is to brew and ferment your own kombucha at home.

After getting her degree and finding her way to the Wall Street trading floor, she settled into a career in finance. After a few years, her passion for food proved to be too much and she gave up Wall Street to attend culinary school. A decade later, she’s an Iron Chef, an Iron Chef America host, restauranteur, cookbook author, and the host of her own cooking show on Food Network. Meet Judy Joo. She took the path less chosen.

More useless food studies | Bobby Flay is making Food Network interesting again | Why prisons should hire Hells Kitchen rejects | Meatless Mondays | The Nutrition Spectrum | The Secret Power of Protein

We are joined on the show by Debbie Rose of Fine Sconehenge Baking Company. Debbie is dedicated to baking only the finest all-natural and handmade desserts for her customers. Her products are known for their simple flavors. You can taste the nuts, the berries, the oats because the sugar doesn’t overwhelm you. Nothing contains high-fructose corn syrup - they use only the highest quality ingredients, no preservatives, and NO MIXES! Fine Sconehenge Baking Company chooses to make a perishable product without artificial preservatives or other ingredients because we believe in the principles of purity and freshness in food.

I felt it was necessary to bring the show back today for two reasons - the first reason being an explanation of why I ended the show when I did in the Fall of 2012. The second reason being to catch you up with the fallout after that day, and how my life, as a foodie, has gotten me through the subsequent days, weeks, and months that followed. Life as a chef, a cook, a foodie, or gourmand holds weight. It grounds us. It neutralizes all of the negative things around us. It makes us whole. For me, in the months that followed my departure from this podcast with episode 100, it helped me prepare for closure. And in doing that, helped me prepare for my future life. It became, in essence, the best therapy I could have ever asked for. I'm living that life today, and I'm here to share that with you in this episode. I'm an open book today on a day that means so much, in so many ways. This is an audio Thank You card to every single one of you who stood by me during a very difficult time during my life as a foodie.