The Making of James Beard, An American Legend

Presented by John Birdsall, Author,
The Man Who Ate Too Much

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Food of the past that comes to us through recipes and cookbooks can appear to be fixed evidence of what generations before us ate, their tastes and preferences. John Birdsall says that his research for The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard (Norton, 2020) challenged all his assumptions about that. Continue reading

How the Frugality of Rural Foodways Reshaped this Nationally Acclaimed Chef

Presented by Vivian Howard
Chef, Author, PBS Host

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Vivian Howard moved from New York back to her rural hometown to open a fine-dining restaurant that she hoped would reshape the palates of eastern North Carolina. But an encounter with collard kraut and a trip to “America’s largest pork display” ignited her interest in the traditional foods and culinary techniques unique to the Carolina coastal plain she calls home. Continue reading

The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food

An interview with 
Chef Marcus Samuelsson

Conducted by culinary historian and food writer
Donna Pierce

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Black cooking has always been more than “soul food,” with flavors tracing to the African continent, to the Caribbean, all over the United States, and beyond. 

Join us as internationally acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson highlights the diverse deliciousness of Black cooking today. Continue reading

Gordon Sinclair – Live!

An interview with the Chicago culinary icon
conducted by award-winning foodwriter and publisher
Michael Gebert

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Recipes: Artichoke Fritters and Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Cake

The following information appeared in The Chicago Food Encyclopedia, University of Illinois Press, 2017, and was authored by Barbara Revsine.

Gordon Sinclair was working in public relations when a psychic predicted he would become a famous restaurateur. After working part-time as a maître d’ to see whether he liked it, he opened his flagship restaurant Gordon in 1976. Continue reading