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)June 5, 2026 (rebroadcast)Subscribe to @TheSplendidTable on YouTube for full podcast episodes and full-length video interviews!Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

This week, we went deep into our archives to bring you a conversation with the legendary, Anthony Bourdain. In the early days of our show, Lynne Rossetto Kasper, the OG and co-creator of the show, talked with Tony about his book, A Cook’s Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal. He tells us about his adventurous travels, his definition of “perfect meals,” and how his Food Network series by the same name came to exist

This week, we’ve got suggestions to start your summer reading list. First, we sit down with bestselling author and poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil to talk about her upbringing and the nature of her poetry. She writes about her parent’s gardens and their food, and how she carries her childhood experiences with her today. Her latest book is Bite By Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees. Then, we learn about the life and legacy of the iconic book editor Judith Jones through her biographer Sara B. Franklin. Sara documented Judith’s amazing journey from her first job at a publishing house to transforming the cookbook industry at large. Plus, we hear from Judith herself from an interview we did several years ago with our former host, Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Sara B. Franklin’s book is The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America.Broadcast dates for this episode:May 24, 2024 (originally aired)May 2, 2025 (rebroadcast)May 29, 2026 (rebroadcast)Subscribe to @TheSplendidTable on YouTube for full podcast episodes and full-length video interviews!Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | YouTubeWe've put together a collection we're calling Culinary Masters. It's our favorite interviews with truly iconic people in the world of food, people who have fundamentally changed how so many of us cook, enjoy, and understand food. This week, we’re revisiting a conversation with my dear friend, Dr. Jessica B. Harris. Enjoy!

This week, we spend an hour with award-winning chef and author, José Andrés. We talk about his illustrious career, his world travels, and his love of regional Spanish cooking, its products, and its people. José Andrés is the founder of World Central Kitchen and author of many books, including Tapas, Vegetable Unleashed, We Fed an Island, and his latest, Spain My Way: Eat, Drink, and Cook Like a Spaniard. He left us with his delicious recipe for Gambas al Ajillo, sizzled shrimp in a delicious garlicky oil.Head to our YouTube channel and watch this extended cut of our interview with Chef José Andrés. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything!Broadcast dates for this episode:May 22, 2026 (originally aired)

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | YouTubeWe've put together a collection we're calling Culinary Masters. It's our favorite interviews with truly iconic people in the world of food, people who have fundamentally changed how so many of us cook, enjoy, and understand food. This week, it’s an interview with the great French chef Jacques Pépin.

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)May 15, 2026 (rebroadcast)Subscribe to @TheSplendidTable on YouTube for full podcast episodes and full-length video interviews!Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | YouTube.For decades, we’ve sat down with some of the greatest culinary minds — and now we’re re-sharing a few of those remarkable conversations as a part of our Culinary Masters series. This week, we're visiting the home of one of the world's great ambassadors of Indian cuisine, author of 30 books, and award-winning actress, Madhur Jaffrey.

This week, we get some seasonal Italian inspiration and delicious Italian sweets. First, we sit down with chef and cookbook author Hillary Sterling to talk about some of her signature dishes, how her obsession with Italian cooking began, and what it takes to get an exquisite dish on the table. Famous for her Creamy Parmigiano-Braised Beans, Hillary Sterling is the chef of Ci Siamo in New York City and author of Ammazza! Culinary Adventures from New York to Italy and Back Again. Then, we are on to Italian sweets with award-winning writer Domenica Marchetti. Domenica has written a book that is kind of a cookie travelogue! She joins us to talk Italian cookies, from North to South, everything from soft macaroons to crunchy amaretti, ready for dunking. Domenica is the author of Italian Cookies, Authentic Recipes and Sweet Stories from Every Region, and she left us with her recipe for Amaretti from Sardinia.Subscribe to @TheSplendidTable on YouTube for full podcast episodes and full-length video interviews!Broadcast dates for this episode:May 8, 2026 (originally aired)Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

Every week on our show, we celebrate the intersection of food and life. And this month, we’re highlighting some of the most iconic people in the food world. It’s a new collection called Culinary Masters. We revisit interviews with some of the people who have fundamentally changed how many of us cook and think about food. This week, the man who brought Chinese cuisine into the homes of millions of Americans, the one and only Martin Yan.