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Good Food

Good Food

KCRW

Society & Culture

Evan Kleiman is your guide to the best cooking and eating

Episodes

An ube blueberry pie wins PieFest 2026

An ube blueberry pie wins PieFest 2026

This week on Good Food: Jashmine Corpuz takes Best in Show at this year's PieFest with her ube blueberry pie. Trevor Warmedahl became a self-described "cheese trekker," living a pastoral life alongside animals and guiding the cheeses that come from their milk. Tami Parr chronicles the history and importance of goats in America. An obsessed mushroom hunter, chef Chad Hyatt is beloved by the mycological world for his culinary prowess. At the farmers market, artichokes are on offer. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Mar 20, 2026
Making Khmer food accessible to everyone

Making Khmer food accessible to everyone

This week on Good Food: Nite Yun aims to make Khmer American food accessible to everyone. Kate Brown argues that the most fertile agriculture is in small garden beds often on the edges of mainstream society. Hans Fama breeds unique tomato varieties with a surprising shelf life. Casey Lane shops for English peas at the farmers market. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Mar 13, 2026
The struggle to save wine from wildfires

The struggle to save wine from wildfires

This week on Good Food: Nicola Twilley explores the problem of smoke taint, the latest challenge in the wine industry. Khushbu Shah makes a meal of Nepali dumplings. The secret to an award-winning pie is in the flour, say bakers extraordinaire Roxana Jullapat and Clemence DeLutz. Ifrah F. Ahmed looks to preserve Somali dishes of the diaspora. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Mar 6, 2026
How glyphosate got a greenlight from Trump

How glyphosate got a greenlight from Trump

This week on Good Food: Journalist Lisa Held digs into the controversy around Donald Trump's executive order encouraging the production of glyphosate, the key ingredient in the herbicide Round Up. Benjamin Delwiche aka Benjamin the Baker has tips for bakers entering the fruit and cooked custard categories in this year's PieFest. Culinary anthropologist Ozoz Sokoh explores the cuisine of Nigeria. Julia Child Foundation Fellow Janek Schaller dives into California's purple urchin explosion. Ilhan Mohamed Abdi weaves together flavors and techniques to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. At the farmers market, chef Josiah Citrin cheers for cherimoyas. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Feb 27, 2026
Your freezer can be your meal prep hero

Your freezer can be your meal prep hero

This week on Good Food: Vivian Howard's love of the freezer has never thawed and she uses it as a secret weapon for meal prep. Sophie Sadler proves that German home cooking is more than pretzels and brats. Natasha Pickowicz prepares for a communal Lunar New Year over a bubbling hot pot. Kate McDermott shares a recipe and tips for the quintessential apple pie. How the founders of Granada Coffee turned their Echo Park home into a bustling business. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Feb 20, 2026
New Orleans street food lets the good times roll

New Orleans street food lets the good times roll

Laissez les bon temps rouler with a bit of food history. Looking toward Mardi Gras, historian Ashley Rose Young explores the vibrant street food culture of New Orleans, with roots stretching back to the city's origins. Food writer Adrian Miller enlists the help of Deborah Chang to share the story of Asian heritage chefs cooking in the White House. Molecular biologist and PieFest judge Nik Sharma reveals the secrets behind thickening agents in pies. For the last 30 years, attorney Bill Marler has represented victims of deadly foodborne illnesses. His latest cause is tainted baby formula. At the farmers market, mandarins are in season. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Feb 13, 2026
Our PieFest & Contest is back!

Our PieFest & Contest is back!

Plus: A powerful pie documentary, Puerto Rican party food, a loverly chocolate tart, the best Mexican restaurants, and hydroponic tomatoes at the farmers market. KCRW's PieFest & Contest is back! We talk to Iowan Beth Howard about her documentary Pieowa, which brings together church ladies, state fair contestants, farm wives, and historians to explore the power of a flaky crust. Mia Castro transports herself to Puerto Rico with inspired dishes for Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny. Psychotherapist and Ottolenghi Test Kitchen recipe developer Helen Goh incorporates baking into a meaningful life. L.A. Taco's Memo Torres finds time to help compile the city's best Mexican restaurants. At her Highland Park gastropub, chef Debbie Lee incorporates farmers market produce into creative bar snacks. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Feb 6, 2026
Marion Nestle breaks down our new food pyramid

Marion Nestle breaks down our new food pyramid

The good, the bad and the ugly about our new dietary guidelines. Marion Nestle reconsiders her seminal book What to Eat Now, two decades later. Polina Chesnakova sneaks in a few comforting, cool weather recipes from the Caucuses. Pyet DeSpain drew on her Native American and Mexican heritage to find a deeper purpose. Cha McCoy shines a light on underrepresented wine regions and pairings for foods of the diaspora. At the farmers market, Erika Chan of Kato shops for parsnips for dessert. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Jan 30, 2026
René Redzepi brings Noma to Silver Lake

René Redzepi brings Noma to Silver Lake

Would you pay $1,500 for dinner? René Redzepi explains how he's orchestrating Noma's LA residency and why it comes with such a hefty price tag. Anna Ansari follows flavor down the Silk Roads. Khushbu Shah knows where to get the best veggie burgers. At the farmers market, Walter Manzke finds fun uses for chanterelles. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Jan 23, 2026
Are grocery stores charging you more than your neighbor?

Are grocery stores charging you more than your neighbor?

AI might be making your groceries more expensive. Reporter Eric Gardner explains how grocery stores are exploring "dynamic pricing," charging different people different prices for the same items. Sean Sherman, the Sioux Chef, links the natural environments, traditions, and histories of Indigenous peoples across North America in his latest cookbook. Krystle Hickman journeys through the world of California bees, one letter at a time. Jason Cheng explains why his farm, Yao Cheng Farm in Camarillo, is dropping its organic certification. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Jan 16, 2026
One year after the Eaton & Palisades fires

One year after the Eaton & Palisades fires

Amid the loss and devastation, there is resilience and hope. We remember our friend Christine Moore, owner of Little Flower, who unexpectedly passed away this week. Leah Ferrazzani of Ferrazzani's Pasta & Market tells the tale of multiple fires, pointing out the disparities in how Altadena residents were affected. Teddy and Andy Leonard weigh in on the challenges of rebuilding the Reel Inn, their cherished coastline seafood shack, which was lost in the Palisades Fire. Elina Shatkin hangs out with the Altadena Dining Club, the brainchild of Brooke Iva Lohman, who gathers locals at struggling eateries for a weekly meal. Janek Schaller visits the Altadena Community Garden, where scientists and volunteers use bioremediation practices to clean up contaminated soil. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison reviews two Altadena restaurants — Miya, a Thai spot, and Betsy, a venture from Tyler Wells. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Jan 9, 2026
Seeds of hope for our broken food system

Seeds of hope for our broken food system

New year, new ideas. We revisit a conversation with Austin Frerick who shares the stories of seven agricultural titans, their rise to power, and the consequences for the rest of us. Nancy Matsumoto celebrates the women who are fighting Big Food by building sustainable food systems. At Alma Backyard Farms in Compton, co-founder Erika Cuellar feeds the soil and the soul with programs targeting youth and people who were once incarcerated. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Jan 2, 2026
Our favorite interviews of 2025

Our favorite interviews of 2025

A year in the life of food. Michael Shaikh tells the stories of people preserving their culinary traditions amid war and violence. Ted Genoways considers José Cuervo's colorful history, from eluding Pancho Villa's death threats to bringing tequila north of the Mexican border. Sarah Ahn's viral food videos of her mom have captivated millions of viewers with their behind-the-scenes look at Korean cooking and multigenerational life. Humberto Raygoza aka the Chori-Man links four generations using one chorizo recipe. Olivia Haver loves cheese so much, she has devoted her career to babysitting it. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Dec 26, 2025
The story of an iconic Chinese restaurant

The story of an iconic Chinese restaurant

Generational family recipes take center stage. Kathy Fang spent her childhood shaped by 24 square blocks of San Francisco, where her father manned a wok, feeding hungry customers at the House of Nanking. Forager Pascal Baudar hunts down wild seeds and grains. Jess Shadbolt helms the kitchen at King, the ingredient-focused New York City restaurant with an aesthetic of eating simply but lavishly. One of the world's foremost authorities on libations, former Shakespeare professor David Wondrich delivers the history of the cocktail in comic book form. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Dec 19, 2025
The best pancakes in LA

The best pancakes in LA

A breakfast odyssey begins. Food & Wine contributing editor Khushbu Shah shares where to grab the best stack of pancakes in Los Angeles. Hetty Lui McKinnon puts salad at the center of the table for intimate gatherings. Molecular biologist Nik Sharma tests taste buds with Sichuan peppercorns. Golden Delicious apples come to the Mar Vista Farmers Market. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
49min•Dec 12, 2025
Go global with your holiday baking

Go global with your holiday baking

Fire up the oven and get creative with your holiday baking. Kat Lieu offers 108 Asian cookie recipes that you can bring to your next cookie exchange. Maureen Abood unlocks memories as she finds inspiration in the Lebanese bakeries of Dearborn, Michigan. An American baker living in Berlin, Laurel Kratochvila dips into the Polish canon with black breads, bagels, sour rye breads studded with caraway, and challah. Jūrgen Krauss, everyone's favorite trombone-playing Great British Bake Off contestant, prepares for the holidays with traditional German Christmas treats. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison visits Sora Craft Kitchen, a Turkish restaurant in DTLA. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Dec 5, 2025
The Best Cookbooks of 2025

The Best Cookbooks of 2025

It's a cookbook bonanza! Celia Sack of Omnivore Books on Food shares a roundup of the year's best cookbooks, including graphic novel memoirs and one of the only Cambodian cookbooks written in English. Bee Wilson explores how quotidian kitchen items become powerful symbols, representing friendship, grief, love, superstition, safety, and even political resistance. Design curator and writer Corinne Mynatt became fascinated with culinary objects she found at flea markets and began researching their history and function. New York Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi follows a Haviland china set that has graced the table of five generations of women. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Nov 28, 2025
A fabulous Thanksgiving potluck with Good Food's chosen family

A fabulous Thanksgiving potluck with Good Food's chosen family

All the best food with people you actually like? We're in! We kickstart Thanksgiving with Nashville chef Arnold Myint, author of Family Thai, who joins Evan Kleiman to co-host a special Thanksgiving episode about chosen family. Although Minneapolis chef Yia Vang cooks Hmong food that's rooted in his family's refugee story, he treats tradition as something living and adaptable. Atlanta chef Deborah VanTrece, who has been transforming narratives about soul food, brings us a bunch of killer sides. Bar expert and cocktail consultant John deBary has just the thing for keeping your holiday libations fun, festive, and nonalcoholic. What better way to complete the Thanksgiving meal than a few unapologetically sweet desserts from pastry chef Justin Burke? Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Nov 21, 2025
Surveying "sushi row" and its spectacular seafood

Surveying "sushi row" and its spectacular seafood

Raw fish reaches its apex on a stretch of Ventura Blvd. that's home to the highest concentration of sushi restaurants in the US. Brant Cox of The Infatuation surveys the sushi restaurants of Ventura Boulevard. Chef and TV host Andrew Zimmern imparts lessons from his time on the water to set up home cooks for seafood success. Ixta Belfrage creates recipes that embrace her multicultural lens and Brazil's layered cuisine. For nearly two decades Aldo Sohm has poured wine at Le Bernardin in New York City, creating harmony between what's in the glass and on the plate. Chef Michael Fiorelli of Fiorelli Pizza pairs Brussels sprouts with persimmons and pomegranates in a salad that screams autumn. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Nov 14, 2025
Instant ramen gets a gourmet upgrade

Instant ramen gets a gourmet upgrade

Pull out that package of ramen and get ready to dress it up! Instant ramen is most frequently associated with tired clichés about quick dorm room eats but Peter J. Kim wants us to rethink the dried noodles. Beloved baker Dorie Greenspan takes the cake in a new collection of recipes. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison pays a visit to Cafe 2001. Fighting our food confusion with science, journalist Julia Belluz and scientist Dr. Kevin Hall attempt to answer, "Why do we eat the way we eat?" Chef Harry Posner of Tomat explores farmers market pomegranates. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
59min•Nov 7, 2025