This Is TASTE

Maggie Hoffman is the writer and host behind The Dinner Plan, a podcast and Substack where she talks to a cookbook author every week about weeknight cooking realities, kitchen burnout, and what people actually cook at home. She joins Matt for a look back at the standout cookbooks of spring 2026. Here are the spring books mentioned, and listen at the end for our early fall favorites.

And it’s the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt discuss what’s interesting in the food world, including Aliza’s swing through the Pacific Northwest for strawberry picking and visits to The Paper Bridge and a Portland Pickles game. Matt tries push-pop sushi at Suka Sushi, pays tribute to the mujaddara at Kalustyan's, and he checks out the new infused oils from Primis Imports.

MAGGIE’S FAVORITE SPRING COOKBOOKS

Özlem Warren’s Istanbul

Natasha Pickowicz’s Everyone Hot Pot

Georgina Hayden’s MEDesque

Hillary Sterling’s AMMAZZA!

Joe Woodhouse’s Weeknight Vegetarian

MATT’S FAVORITE SPRING COOKBOOKS

Ham El-Waylly’s Hello, Home Cooking

Ella Quittner’s Obsessed With the Best

Jena Derman and Jack Schramm’s Solid Wiggles

Adeena Sussman’s Zariz
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It’s the return of Food Writers Talking About Food Writing. Every couple of weeks, Matt invites a journalist to talk about some favorite recent food writing as well as their thoughts on the industry as a whole.

Nadia Chaudhury is the deputy editor of Eater New York and Eater Northeast, a born-and-raised New Yorker who spent a decade running Eater Austin before coming home. Her family is behind Kalustyan’s, the legendary NYC specialty food store that has been feeding chefs, cooks, and curious eaters since 1944. On this episode, Nadia and Matt discuss the state of food media, the stories she’s chasing at Eater, and what it’s like to grow up with one of New York City’s most essential food institutions in the family.

Featured on the episode:

The Carbone Team Will Open an American Tavern in the Tribeca Grill Space [Eater]

The Whimsy Killer in Your Pocket [Best Food Blog]

New East Village Restaurant Threads Korean and Italian Culinary Lines [Eater]

Faux Is a Real McNally Restaurant [NY Mag]

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Jena Derman and Jack Schramm are the Brooklyn-based cofounders of Solid Wiggles, the cocktail jelly company that turned the Jell-O shot into a legitimate art form—and a legitimate cocktail. Their debut book is a full system for making layered, clarified, beautifully decorated cocktail jellies at home, from quick party animal shots to three-day party pro cakes with injected flowers and glitter. Jena comes from Momofuku Milk Bar; Jack from Booker and Dax and Existing Conditions. Together they’re making the case for the solid cocktail—and that parties matter.

Also on the show I spend some time with Carolyne Lane, director of coffee at Noma Projects. We stop by her cafe in Copenhagen to hear about how she thinks deeply about coffee sourcing, with an emphasis on Mexico. I really enjoyed getting to know her a bit and hope you enjoy this episode.  

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Brendan Chareoncharutkun is the founder of Uncle’s Thai Food, a freeze-dried curry brick brand based in New York. He got his start in food by working on farms around the world, learned to cook by working in restaurants in Bangkok, then came to New York to work in marketing, all while doing food pop-ups on the side. That experience and wisdom is combined in Uncle’s, and today on the show, we go deep on everything it took to bring this brand to life—plus Brendan’s new products in the works. 

Also on the show, Matt has a great conversation with Chef Nelson German, author of the terrific new book Caribbean Cocktails.

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Josh Scherer didn’t set out to make an expansive and deeply heartfelt show about mortality. He set out to make a funny YouTube video about a carne asada burrito. A hundred episodes of Last Meals later—with Tom Hanks, Jason Kelce, and Elijah Wood having sat in the chair—he’s built the best food talk show online. The executive director of culinary content at Mythical Entertainment and NYT best-selling author joins Matt to talk food, grief, celebrity, and the last thing you’d ever want to eat.

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