This Is TASTE

Jinwoo Chong is the author of the novels I Leave It Up to You [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746688/i-leave-it-up-to-you-by-jinwoo-chong/] and Flux [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/720885/flux-by-jinwoo-chong/9781685891930/], a New York Times Editor’s Choice and a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. We really enjoyed I Leave It Up to You. It’s a family story set in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and it features a Korean family working in a Japanese-Korean restaurant, with a family dynamic that feels quite realistic. Jinwoo talks about the research that went into writing so colorfully about restaurant culture as well as his own food memories from growing up in New Jersey.  And, at the top of the show, it’s the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: David Lebovitz has revised Ready for Dessert [https://www.amazon.com/Ready-Dessert-Revised-Recipes-Baking/dp/0593836294], a visit to Pavé NYC [https://www.instagram.com/pave_nyc/?hl=en], Coffee Project NY [https://coffeeprojectny.com/] is roasting exceptional coffee. Also: One Love Community Fridge [https://www.onelovecommunityfridge.org/] launched a CSA, Van Leeuwen [https://vanleeuwenicecream.com/] is king of non-dairy, and Muteki Udon [https://www.instagram.com/mutekiudon/?hl=en] is serving one of our favorite salads. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-taste-podcast/id1393739959?mt=2], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3LsLXfnYt6Ugml415hyUfh?si=MRMn32W-S5i9HktfZ_eBIg], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ThisIsTASTE]  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Hunter Lewis joined us in the studio for an entertaining conversation about his career working in food media. Hunter has led Food & Wine [https://www.foodandwine.com/] as editor in chief since 2017, and before that he held editorial roles at Cooking Light, Southern Living, Bon Appétit, and Saveur. That is some résumé, and we talk through his various stops as well as digging into the terrific work currently being done at Food & Wine. We also asked him about the general health of editorial in 2025. It’s an interesting time to be doing what we do, and he doesn’t hold back. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-taste-podcast/id1393739959?mt=2], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3LsLXfnYt6Ugml415hyUfh?si=MRMn32W-S5i9HktfZ_eBIg], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ThisIsTASTE]  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Eric Sze is the chef-owner behind the Taiwanese restaurants 886 [https://eighteightsix.com/]and Wenwen [https://www.wenwenbrooklyn.com/] in New York City. He’s also working on a debut cookbook, Taiwanese?, and he recently returned from a whirlwind trip conducting research and taking photos for the book. Eric is one of our favorite voices in food, and it’s so fun having him in the studio to unpack his culinary career, the tricky task of defining Taiwanese food, operating restaurants in NYC, and more. Also on the show Matt catches up with journalist Elizabeth Dunn to talk about her terrific story [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/business/david-protein-bars.html] in the New York Times about the protein bar arms race. What is up with the David bar, and the age protein era we are living in? Elizabeth has many thoughts and we had a great time talking esterified propoxylated glycerol. Wild stuff. Read: The Protein Bar Arms Race [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/business/david-protein-bars.html] Read: Consumed [https://consumed.substack.com/] Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-taste-podcast/id1393739959?mt=2], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3LsLXfnYt6Ugml415hyUfh?si=MRMn32W-S5i9HktfZ_eBIg], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ThisIsTASTE]  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

What a special episode we have today with Cathy Strange, Whole Foods Market [https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/]’s ambassador of food culture and a world-renowned cheese expert, buyer, and consumer packaged goods tastemaker, among many other things. Matt invited Cathy to join in a walk around Whole Foods’ Columbus Circle location. We wanted to get her take on several categories of groceries, including beverages, snacks, and, of course, cheese. We go over what’s exciting her lately and how she thinks about the future of groceries. After our walk, Cathy joins us in the studio to talk about her amazing career, which spans both pre- and post-Amazon acquisition of Whole Foods nearly a decade ago. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-taste-podcast/id1393739959?mt=2], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3LsLXfnYt6Ugml415hyUfh?si=MRMn32W-S5i9HktfZ_eBIg], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ThisIsTASTE]  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Claire Dinhut is known as Condiment Claire [https://condimentclaire.substack.com/] online, but as we find out in this entertaining conversation, Claire’s knowledge about food goes well beyond spotting the perfect mustard for sandwiches (though, of course, she has thoughts). She is the author of a terrific book, The Condiment Book [https://www.amazon.com/Condiment-Book-Brilliantly-Flavourful-Unsung/dp/1526669781], which is sneaky in its brilliant discussions on food science, terroir, history, and flavor pairing. The book is really great, and it was fun to talk with Claire about her life in and out of the kitchen. Also on the show we catch up with Anna Hezel to discuss her latest writing on TASTE [https://tastecooking.com/the-tinned-fish-backlash-was-inevitable/], a close look at the exciting, multidimensional tinned fish era we are currently living in. Anna is this show’s former co-host, and the co-editor of Best Food Blog [https://www.bestfoodblog.net/] and it’s always great catching up with her. Read: The Tinned Fish Backlash Was Inevitable [https://tastecooking.com/the-tinned-fish-backlash-was-inevitable/] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].