607: Hot Galette Summer with Rebecca Firkser

25:48So I tried to I tried to be thoughtful about my substitution options and my like different vessel options when it comes to galettes. But it is really true that I think you can be a lot more – recipes are a lot more adaptable than you often think. Right. Just because something's written doesn't mean it's written in stone, you know. Right. And I think it's nice that you have this kind of resource for it in the front of the book because, as we already said, like, it does feel like kind of like a higher stake thing to make sometimes. So I think, like, really centering, like, this is what's possible kind of hopefully gets some of those anxieties out of the way.

26:20Yeah, for sure. So talking about, like, the seasonality matrix, we're getting into spring and summer right now. I'm curious if there are any spring-summer galettes you're excited to make. Yeah, well, there's a really lovely rhubarb one. I feel like when the book comes out in June, it'll be sort of the tail end of rhubarb season. But I've been able to find it further into the summer, I feel like. So there's a rhubarb and halva galette that's really special. But that one's really fun because you can also make it with persimmon in the winter. Wow. Because I wanted to do, like, two really harder-to-find, more obscure fruits.

26:53It's one very spring summer, one very fall winter. Like the Fuyu hard prisman? Yeah, exactly. Not the, I don't know how to pronounce that one. I think it's Hachia. Hachia, is that how you pronounce it? The soft one. I'm always like, that's the one that you eat with a spoon. Yes. And it's not good when it's hard. But the Fuyus are firm and soft. They're like something between an apple and a peach. And like, those are lovely. But more spring summer, I mentioned the roasted and raw one. That's like berries. So really, literally any berry that you can find at the farmer's market. That one came to me or the supermarket, obviously.

27:25But that one came to me because I had just like half a pint of a bunch of different berries. And I was like, OK, I like a mixed berry galette. All right. That sounds fine. But then I was like, but wait, some of these are just too beautiful to bake. Like that's my thing is like sometimes fruit like I just eat raw fruit like by the carton. Sometimes it's too good to bake into a pie or a galette. So it's like, what if instead half of the fruit or like three quarters of the fruit is baked into the galette and then that last quarter you save macerate in a little sugar and lemon and then spoon it over raw?

27:59The ugliest ones go in the galette. The ugliest ones go in the smushed ones, the ones that were in the bottom of the tote bag, you know, underneath your corn and your tomatoes. And then the really beautiful ones. Just plot them on top. I love that idea. That's a fun one. It sounds really great. I want to talk about cross-testing also for this book because I know that you do a lot of cross-testing for other books like Eric Kim's book, Korean American, or Haley Catalano's new book. So I feel like you must have had lots of thoughts on how to do the cross-testing for your own book. I have so many thoughts about cross-testing.

28:29And, like, for those who don't know, like, I often find that people ask me, like, what is recipe cross-testing? Yeah, good question. And it's really like, so when you are a recipe developer, you're the one cooking, you're creating the recipe. You've made it yourself probably a handful of times. And you're like, this works. This has been successful the few times I've made it or the 27 times I've made it. But someone in their own kitchen, when they get the book or the recipe one day, they might have a differently powered oven. They might have an induction stove over a gas stove. So it's really important for someone else who's never seen the recipe before to also make the recipe before it's published.

29:07And that's what's called a cross test. And they're looking for little inconsistencies that just are general, like that are probably going to happen regardless from one kitchen to another. But they're also, OK, so I measured out the flour. You said a cup of flour weighs 120 grams. My cup of flour weighs 135 grams. Like, is that going to be OK? Will it ruin the recipe? So it's important to like check those notes or like, oh, you said it will get golden brown after 12 minutes in the oven. But for me, it was actually golden brown at six minutes. Should I take it out or should I keep going for the 12 minutes you said?

29:44So that's a very long winded, boring description. But that is. No, I'm riveted, honestly. So I do a lot of cross-testing for various publications and cookbooks. So for my book, it was very important to me that every recipe be tested by someone other than me multiple times. But, you know, I didn't have a huge budget for this book. And cross-testing is a really valuable skill. And everyone should pay their cross-testers if they can. but so for what I did is I had a professional and a home cook test every recipe at least once and I have like a lot of really dear friends who are professionals who volunteered to test a couple for me as they should you know it's it's a nice little friends and family moment but it was really important to me because like you know I had a friend of mine bless their heart that you know read the recipe and they were like what's a sheet pan okay so this is going to be a really interesting recipe test.

30:40So you don't only want people who don't know what they're doing. Like I think a lot of people are like, oh, recipe test. It can be like, you know, my neighbor, my aunt, like who never baked before, like they can make it and we'll see if that works. But I also think it's really important for someone who knows what they're doing to do the formal cross test as well. Yeah. Because you want someone who knows what a sheet pan is. Right. And like, I mean this in the nicest way, but like the recipe could be written perfectly and they could just not be that good at making it. Right. Or like, oh, I didn't, I saw that you called for kosher salt.

31:06I just used my table salt, like that'll be a, that'll make a big difference. It'll be very salty. You know, it'll be really salty. So that, I mean, it was really wonderful to me to get feedback from so many people too. Cause oftentimes like when I'm cross testing a larger project, it's just, just me and maybe one other tester splitting the project. But I had like over 25 testers, which was really wonderful to get all this different feedback. And I got like, one of my favorite cross tests is from a family friend who is a science teacher. and I was like you could have a side hustle as a recipe tester.

31:37It was thorough. It was so thorough. Her feedback was like absolutely accurate. She like had a scale like it was phenomenal. I was really impressed by that one. Yeah did you like have any other ideas or maybe like shift your process after receiving so much cross-testing versus doing it? I definitely edited some recipes after receiving some cross-testing notes and actually the biggest thing that changed was the crust recipe. It got more and more detailed every time. I feel like the crust recipe was probably like a page when I first started because I was like, I don't know, I don't want to get too wordy.

32:10I don't want to bore people first thing or like intimidate people first thing. But I swiftly realized that people want a lot of information about the crust. Yeah, it made me feel safe reading it. Exactly. Like, I mean, I got a little into the details, but I'm like, no, like you want some of the butter to be like a cannellini bean size, three quarters of an inch. You want some of the butter to be like more of like a chickpea or a lentil size. And then you want like, you know, don't use all the water at first. Like that's another thing is I feel like people are so they want to just like, OK, calls for half a cup of water.

32:41Dump in half a cup of water. But I think one of the things that you realize the more adept you are making pastry is sometimes there's more humidity in the air and you need less water. or if you're measuring with a measuring cup by volume versus with a scale by weight, you might have a lot more flour. This is like, again, I tend to get a little too into the detail about it, but the crust recipe ended up being so much longer and more thorough as a result of my wonderful feedback from my testers. So I feel really grateful for that. I'm so glad. I feel like the humidity thing is like, it's like our curly hair.

33:14Literally. Like you use less product if it's, or use more product if it's humid because you're going to have more frizz. Yes. I think it's the same thing. See, you're all set to make galette pastry. You're better than you think you are. I might have to like FaceTime you in because it really is like my biggest. Oh, my gosh. Next time you do it. Pain point. My friend Pearl Jones, who's a food stylist, told me to put my dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and then chill it in the freezer with the butter pieces for a little bit. So that like if it's hot out so that way, like everything is colder when I'm starting and it doesn't melt as quickly, which I thought was a good piece.

33:53That's a really great. That's a really great tip. I call to chill the water and I call to chill the butter for sure. And actually for the food processor method for the crust I have, because some people are just like, I don't want to make dough with my hands. Right. Well, that was another piece of feedback from a tester. He was like, I would never make dough by hand. I'm doing it because you've given me this recipe test. But can you do this in a food processor? And at first I was like, no, I don't want people to have to feel like they need a food processor. I want people to know that a bowl in their hands are enough.

34:22But the food processor method is easy and it's fast. And that's what I do when I'm making like more than six crusts at a time. But I do call to chill the butter a little bit longer for the food processor method because it can, those whirring blades can get a little bit too powerful. And you don't want to overmix the dough. It's a real science. Yeah. But it's also like I think it's a very tactile process. I'm like, you know, moving my hands around as if I'm smooshing the butter right now. Smooshing it, yeah. I can just do it in my sleep at this point. But I think it's something that you need to repeat a lot.

34:54Yeah, you must be really good at making dough now. I can do it with my eyes closed. I can do it. I can do it really fast now at this point. That's really cool. I aspire. It's a special skill. You know, we all have our talents in life. Yeah. Okay, I wanted to ask you about transporting galettes. My gosh. How do you do it? this is um i honestly this has been one of the biggest things that i have encountered is it is hard to transport a galette but you can get pretty creative with it like the easiest and most uh thrifty way to do it is a piece about a pizza box i was gonna say that's what that's the only time i did this you just get a you just get a piece of parchment and put line your pizza box and you're good to go but i have to say one of my favorite tools is um a nordic brand lid that snaps onto a sheet pan.

35:42It's like a plastic lid. I mean, I hate to say another one use plastic tool, but I use them so often. Well, for you, this is - For me, I mean, it's a work. It's a business expense. I use them for every job. I'm often transporting food in Ubers to set - Uber drivers love her. Uber drivers love to see me coming with a tray full of salmon. That was something I had to do once at like four o 'clock in the morning for a job. I had to bring half cooked salmon in an Uber from my home kitchen to a TV studio. But yeah, I transport galettes in their sheet pan with a little lid that snaps on. But a pizza box is great.

36:21You can get like bakery boxes too. I just can't believe that I didn't know that exists because it's so genius because the most stressful thing for me, especially if like you're not as confident in the structural integrity of The galette is picking it up off of the tray. And even when I put it into the pizza box, which I felt like I was a genius because I live. This is like the New York privilege also is that there's pizza places everywhere. So I went to my local slice shop, got a slice and asked for an extra box. But the process of putting it into the box, I did not. You need a large spatula. I feel like sometimes I use like one large offset and one fish spatula.

36:57But you really like, you know, you go at it at both ends and just move fast. but a real sign of a successful galette so he can just pick it up and move it. See, I know that's what you were going to say. You'll get there. You're like, I could just carry it in my hand. It would be fine. I have done that with a couple of them, but some of the fruit ones, they're too delicate. Like you have to just slide it and move really swiftly. Yeah. Okay, so we've talked a lot about galettes today, but I know that like that's just one section of your cooking and your life in general. And like maybe you've actually had a lot of galettes recently.

37:29So I'm curious, like, what else you are, like, interested in making and eating these days? My gosh, that's such a great question. I feel like I was able to take a nice break from Gullett's once we stopped testing and retesting the book. And now I'm, like, getting back into it. Good. And it's been exciting. But honestly, I'm so, so happy that winter is over. I'm really looking forward to not cooking all of my meals, like, warm. Like, I literally love just a giant mixing bowl salad. That's, like, a real treat for me. I'm honestly, I'm really looking forward to so much of my food that I eat is for work.

38:06So it's like I'm testing like wintry recipes right now because they'll be published, you know, in future books or publications. But when I get like the opportunity to make something for myself, I really just like lean into my cravings. I'm like, OK, like peaches sound really great right now. Or like I could really go for some asparagus. Like, why don't we just like stroll on over, see what looks good and put something together. I rarely follow a recipe when I'm cooking for myself. Yeah. I mean, I feel like you spend so much time following recipes that it must be nice to kind of step away from that.

38:38That's how I know I still really enjoy cooking is like I'll still do it in my free time. I just don't want to have to take notes while I'm doing it. That's very fair. You don't have to measure anything. No, I don't. I never take out a measuring spoon. I was just talking about this with Haley. She said one of the hardest parts of because I tested her recipes for her cookbook and, you know, they were measuring herbs. She was like, I've never measured an herb before because it's just not something you need to do if you know how to cook. And it's true. I'm like, never in my life have I taken out a measuring spoon and measured two tablespoons of chopped dill.

39:09It's like, it'll be fine. But you have to do that when you're testing. Yeah. I think I would rather have the measurement for take like a handful or like even, okay, six sprigs of dill. Exactly. Like the raw, I don't know if that's the right word for it. The unprocessed measurement versus the like scooping up the dill. I'd prefer if someone was like, okay, two ounces of dill, I guess I can take out my scale. But honestly, it usually doesn't matter that much. Like I think that's the other thing is I feel really strongly about properly tested recipes that are like down to the gram precise. But also, it's fine.

39:43You have a little bit more, a little bit less. It all works out. I'm not going to mess it up. It'll all come out. Did you do all of the food styling for this book also? I did. Did it feel different to be styling your own book versus someone else's? It did. I mean, actually, so I've never food style. I've never been the lead food stylist on a cookbook project before. So that was like, yeah, let me do it for my own book. That'll be a great idea. But it honestly, it was such a rewarding experience for me because I'm most often cooking other people's recipes. And I think I mean, that's one of the things I admire so much about watching the other food stylists I've worked with in the past do their job because they've never seen this recipe before.

40:20They've seen it maybe once or twice, but they probably haven't cooked it. And to watch them just masterly make it is a true artistry. It's a really important job and a really important process. But for me, I wanted to style my own book primarily for budget reasons, but also because it was just a really interesting challenge for me to do like to do that breakdown of groceries, to do that breakdown with the prop stylist and food and the photographer, Jess Marks and Julia Rose, my photographer and prop stylist, did such a beautiful job. I loved working with them. And they were a little hesitant about me food styling it myself because they were like, you know, you're the you want to be the creative director on your book project.

41:05Yeah. Slash the talent. The talent. Like, you know, like get your hands in there for the shot of the crust. But like for the most part, like, you know, watch us work our magic and like tell us when you want like, you know, little things adjusted in the shot. But for me, I'm just far too much of a control freak about my own recipes. And I mean, I had wonderful assistants. Megan Litt was my assistant food stylist. She's wildly talented. And I had a handful of other bakers come in and help us for various days of the shoot because you need you need at least two or three people on set because the lead food stylist isn't often the one doing the bulk of the baking.

41:42That's often the job of the assistants, which is what I've done many times on set. And so, again, wildly important job. Would I do it again? I don't know if I'm ever lucky enough to do another book. I might bring on a food stylist so that I could spend a little bit more time holistically observing the process. But, I mean, I feel so proud of the images. And I think we were able to make each one look very different. And it doesn't feel like, go let on a sheet pan, go let on a sheet pan. You know, they really look so great. And also, I think the fact that you have the different things you're baking them in, like the puffy galette.

42:19I don't know the exact name of that recipe title, but it's like the puffy peach granola. Oh, yeah. Lofty peaches and granola. Oh, thank you. Yes. The lofty peaches and granola galette. It looks like a Dutch baby pancake almost. It has this height and it really is. I was like, lofty. What does this mean? And then I saw the photo and it made so much sense. Yeah, it's baked in a springform cake pan. So it's like two or three inches tall. It's really cool. That one's really fun. That one's great for breakfast, I gotta say. She's my favorite, I think. She's wonderful. I hope you get to make her. I will try.

42:48And also, I like that we're talking about food styling. I don't know if you've seen the, like, Nolita dirtbag memes about, like, made-up job titles, but... No, oh my gosh. There's a meme that's like, what do you mean you're a... And there's all these different... Oh, wait, yes. Some of them are, like, you know, meme coin, like, entrepreneur. One of them is food stylist. And I feel like if you don't work in food media, then it really does sound like a made up job. You're like you're a food fluffer. Like what does that mean? Or people think that it's like fake food. Yes. They often are like, oh, are you using mashed potatoes instead of ice cream or like glue?

43:20No, it is real people cooking real food. And it's so much work in terms of you're doing all of the shopping and all of the prep. And like in the same way that being a line cook is a real job, like being a food stylist is a real job. It's such an important role. Like I'm so glad to see when I first started in food media, no one ever credited the food stylist. But now you'll see like even on digital media, like it'll be photographer, prop stylist, food stylist credited on a lot. And I think that's really, really important. Like that's one of the best things I've seen come out of food media is, you know, crediting the creative team.

43:53Yeah. I remember when I worked at Bon Appetit, there was this huge like discussion about in the Instagram captions. I think online everyone had always been credited. But in the Instagram captions, only the photographer had been credited. And then it was like food stylist, prop stylist. I was like, what emojis are we using for that? Literally, camera emoji, fork emoji. Exactly. Plate emoji. Specific era. You just took me right back. I did that a lot at Food52 as well. I guess I want to play a little lightning round to close with you. But before we do that, do you have any fun book promo plans? I'm hoping to do some pop-ups with bakeries.

44:30Oh, I would love this. Yeah, some local places in New York and maybe some other places around the country. If anyone has a bakery, they want me to come, I'd love to come. But yeah, got a couple of fun things in the works. Yeah, that sounds great. And we'll, you know, obviously link to your social media in the show notes. So by the time people are listening to this, they can find where to find you. Hi there. It's Matt, co-host of the show. We are currently running a This Is Taste listener survey, and we'd love to hear from you. Do you have a guest request? A restaurant you wish we'd visit to talk about on three things?

45:02What about a lesser-known cookbook author who deserves a spot in our studio chair? You can let us know by clicking the link in our show notes to complete the survey. It will only take a couple minutes, I swear, and will help us continue to make the best show possible. That's the This Is Taste listener survey, link in our show notes. Today's episode is brought to you by ButcherBox. As a food writer, I can be a little skeptical about subscription cooking boxes you hear about on podcasts. There's big talk about cooking simplicity, but you're usually left with disappointment after smashing that promo code.

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46:53That's butcherbox.com slash taste. Don't forget to use our link so they know we sent you. Okay, are you ready to play some favorites? Yes, I'm ready. Okay, your favorite cookbook right now that is not your own? Salt Sugar MSG by Calvin Eng and Phoebe Melnick. I love that book. It's so wonderful. I think I'm going to make the corn fried rice this week. I made the cabbage tofu salad recently. Phenomenal. A favorite bakery in New York? Honeys. I love them. I love Shilpa, Miro. They're so talented. I went to brunch at their house once and they were literally making rolls in a steam oven for the egg sandwiches.

47:31And I was like, I am in the presence of chefs. It was phenomenal. We did a double feature episode with them on the show. I listened to that. Which was really sweet. And I would do unspeakable things to be invited to brunch at their house. I was so honored. I mean, I'm sure you. It was the best meal I think I've ever had. Honestly. Okay. your favorite recipe in galette right now oh gosh so hard it's picking a favorite child the caramelized onion and anchovy and black olive galette it's kind of like a piece of ladier that's a great one your go to celebration restaurant in New York Bernie's in Greenpoint do you have a specific thing that you order there a house salad better than the Caesar in my opinion and then either chicken piccata or vinegar chicken, depending on how many people are with me, or the burger.

48:25I mean, I think the vinegar chicken is the best thing. The vinegar chicken is actually like a surreal eating experience. It's so good. I know that they've published the recipe online, but I can't even bother to make it myself because I'm too close and I just walk over and get it. And then obviously a sundae, but their little lime, key lime pie or lemon pie, I think it's lemon icebox pie, is really, really good. I know everybody is like going for the sundae. The lemon icebox pie is really great. I go to Bernie's a lot. I mean, as you should. Your favorite bookstore in New York? I love the Sweet Pickle books, the used bookstore.

48:59You can like donate books and they give you pickles. I really I think it's a really special place. And I personally love a pickle. Yeah. So that's I love that spot. Your go to late night snack? Cereal. Right. Like Rice Krispies in particular. With milk or dry? If I have milk, I will do it. But I've been known to just like make an absolute mess eating Rice Krispies straight out of the box on my couch. It's the only time I let myself be really messy. Rice Krispies out of the box? Rice Krispies out of the box. And then you'll catch me vacuuming at 6 a.m. the next morning. That's how it goes. Your favorite ice cream flavor?

49:36I'm a soft serve girly. I think you are as well. But I love a vanilla chocolate twist with rainbow sprinkles. From like the trucks around New York? From the trucks. And I'm like, it doesn't have to be Mr. Softy. It can be New York Soft. It can be random no-name truck. But I prefer a truck to like the artisan ones. The only soft serve I like from a restaurant is from Leo. Their soft serve, the Concord one they do is quite good. I have not had my Mr. Softy yet for the year. I haven't either. Maybe we'll go look. Oh my gosh. Okay, final question. A fictional food scene from a book or a movie or something like that that you wish that you could eat in real life.

50:12Okay, so you sent me this question. This was so this was the hardest question because food in books and movies was like what I thought I'd write a book about one day. But I've narrowed it down. I don't know if you ever read Little House on the Prairie or like the series of books. Wait, I'm really hoping. I wonder if it's the same one, but I need to hear yours if it's not. But there's this one scene. It's a Christmas morning and they get the maple candy. So that's not the one I was thinking of, but I love that one. I'm like getting really excited. The mic is probably like spiking. they got these beautiful heart-shaped cakes.

50:47And they talked about how they could tell that they were lighter in color. They were made with white sugar and white flour instead of like a coarser sugar and flour. And they were like, these cakes are too beautiful to eat. We just took a little nibble and then put them back. I just, I love the way that Laura Ingalls Wilder describes food. I think that's probably what got me excited about food writing. Like the maple sugar. I literally remember that. Yeah, very brief maple. They just pour hot maple syrup into the snow, into different shapes. But I grew up in California, so I'd never experienced snow before.

51:19So I think that's why that really— Have you ever done that? No, but I would love to. It's really fun. You've got to do it. Okay. What's the other one? Well, there's another one from the book Farmer Boy, which is another one of her books. Lauren Williswater ended up marrying Almanzo Wilder. I'm sorry. I know too much about this. This is, like, really embarrassing for me. But he was a farmer, so he worked really hard in the fields all day. and his family would come home and have these like enormous spreads of food. And I just remember like it's pages and pages of just descriptions about food. And then at the end, she's like, Almanzo was very comfortable after the meal.

51:55And I was like, so beautiful. That's really sweet. I think you're the first person to talk about Laura Ingalls Wilder on the show. And I ask everyone this question. So I'm really glad that you got the reference, though, because some people are like, what are you talking about? And, you know, we have curly bangs and we read Laura Ingalls Wilder as children. That's how it goes sometimes. You know, when you find a friend, you got to connect. Yeah. Well, I love that. And thank you so much for coming on the show. This is so much fun. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. Mitchell Davis, welcome to This Is Taste.

52:28How are you? I'm excellent. I'm excited to chat with you. This is going to be a brief chat about the great Nosh. We'll have you back to have a full retrospective of your career because I've been really meaning to have you on to talk about all the great work you've done. But let's just focus on the Great Nosh. You are the chief picnic officer. Tell me about coming to this organization. How did that happen? Yeah, well, so the organization is the Jewish Food Society. And I have been involved in some events on and off over the years. They have this amazing series called Schmaltzy, which are the storytelling evenings with five Jews, five foods, and five stories.

53:06And I've often emceed them over the years. But the founder, Nama Shefi, who's a good friend and who always has an ambitious, amazing vision of what she wants to do, asked if I would help her make this idea for a large celebration of Jewish food and culture, a picnic in particular, was what she had in mind, a reality. And I had some time and I had some expertise in producing large events. And so here we are, just a week out. And it's crazy. Well, tell us where, when, how you can buy tickets. Let's get all that information out there. Sure. So The Great Nosh is taking place June 22nd. It's Sunday.

53:46It's on Governor's Island, which for this project, it's the first time I ever stepped foot on Governor's Island. And after having lived in New York for 35 years, I can't believe it took me that long to get there. It's an amazing setting under the skyline of Manhattan and next to the Statue of Liberty. And it really is a picnic. The whole point is that you come and spend the day with us. Your ticket includes a picnic blanket and a beautiful tote that has all the things you're going to need to enjoy, the amazing food and other activities that are going to be there on the island from 11 to 4 p.m.

54:19So it really is a full day. And you ferry out there, is that correct? You ferry out there from Manhattan or Brooklyn. Yeah. And it's that ferry that makes it so special, Well, in my opinion, you sort of step on and you're like, you can't believe you're still in New York when you get there just five minutes away. Like, it's really an amazing place. Yeah, I love Governor's Island for events. I've been to many and I'll be there on Sunday. I can't wait to see all these incredible chefs. Let's talk about the programming. I mean, what I love about this event, the lineup just like, wow, it just jumps off the page.

54:53You came up with a great idea, you and the Jewish Food Society, to make collaborations part of it. And I think that's really smart, as opposed to having a bunch of single chefs at single tables and booths. You're doing collabs. Talk about how you landed on that idea. Sure. Well, so first, it probably behooves me to say that the idea for the picnic isn't just to have another food festival, lots of great food festivals, but there's really a larger mission behind it. And the philanthropic support is invested in the idea of creating a movement of Jewish food and culture as it relates to New York City food and culture and the contributions that Jewish restaurants and institutions, but just in general, that the richness of life in the city is part of what we wanted to show.

55:39And the collabs were what we imagined as the best way to show the relationships that only happen in a city like New York or other cities around the country and around the world, where it's not just Jewish restaurants, but it's Thai Diner and Katz's Deli are working together. It's Damaka and Gertrude's. It's Elbow Bakery and the Korean restaurant Sons. Like, our whole point was to show this sort of something that couldn't happen anywhere else in food on the plate. And each of the collabs is making something that doesn't really exist anywhere else in the world for that day. And on top of that, it's for a picnic.

56:15So it's not even just a tasting or you're not supposed to stand there and eat it. But we're encouraging everyone to graze, gather their food for their picnic and go back to their picnic blanket and then share with their friends and their neighbors and what have you. So we're doing everything we can to make people sort of take a step out of their daily lives and the craziness of the world that we're in and just sort of be present, be analog, and enjoy a picnic that you could only ever have in New York City. I really, really love this idea. It's very fresh. Have you been previewing some menus? Because I'd love to get an idea of what a Tide Diner Katz's collab is like.

56:57I know you don't want to spoil the show. I mean, you're only going to get it there, so there's not much to spoil. You have to come to try it. They are actually doing a marbled rye roti pastrami. Amazing. A corned beef, maybe, actually, thingamajig. Yeah. There's Elbow Bakery is doing one of their famous bialis filled with the banchan from Sons. So all sorts of kimchi and various banchan. We've got, oh, one of my favorite, Caroline Schiff, is working with Juniors. bakery and she's making a black and white cookie Junior's cheesecake sandwich with a sour cherry swirl. I mean, put that on the menu.

57:38I know. Actually, there's talk of that at Junior's that actually they may want to put that on the menu. Yeah. Oh, one of my favoritely named dishes, Mike Salamana from Kefar and famously from Zahav in Philly is working with Dane and they're doing schnitz and chips as opposed to fish and chips, which you would expect from Dane. proper English chips and some traditional Israeli schnitzel. Yeah, it's, you know, the, again, we really wanted to reflect this idea of these sort of cross-cultural friendships or relationships. Some of the collabs are people who are friends, actually, Sunny Lee and Elbow Bakery.

58:17They're very close, but some of them we made, we sort of forced the relationships. And so the Thai diner and Katz's, even though they're neighbors, they've never actually cooked together. And so, yeah, Matt and Jake from Katz's are sort of having fun, dreaming up what it is that they could do. That's great. So how many collabs are going to be there? There's 10 collabs. So 20 chefs and restaurants. Oh, I didn't even mention Tatiana's working with Jake Dixon, which is doing, they're kind of doing a shawarma and suya, West African, Middle Eastern, spiced chicken thing. Anyway, there's lots to go on.

58:50And they are, and so there's 10 collabs, but then we also have this Malka's, the restaurant that Eyal Shani, the famous family chef, is doing. They're doing this enchanted garden thing where it's like a deconstructed sabih and all sorts of the famous roasted vegetables and mezze that they do that you can assemble sort of custom for your experience. I mean, there's so much going on because the other options of food are more traditional. So the collabs are that piece of this sort of crazy never happened before, may never happen again items. But we also have these cooking demos where we're calling it the grandma's tent.

59:28And we've invited these intergenerational pairs, so mother and daughter and father and cousin and what have you, to do traditional foods. And those will be tastings and demonstrations of things like challah, obviously, of hand-rolled couscous, of all sorts of stuff. Less creative, a little bit more from around the world, the diaspora of Jews in the world, and also free for those of you who are in there to try. That's amazing. Lots to do. It's cool that you have programming as well. And it's not just the picnic element. It's some learning. Well, it's learning. It's sitting on your blanket with your family or with your friends.

1:00:04So we've got magicians. We have artists. We have jewelry makers who will be doing like summer camp activities, like all kinds of stuff going on. And then, you know, it's an adult event. So we've got the Four Horsemen have curated a wine bar for us. And then the whole thing is going to devolve into a – or evolve, I should say. I mean, evolve or evolve. Into a dance party at the end. And I mean, famously – and I don't know that many people know this, but Mark Ronson is going to spin a set on vinyl to dance us home on the ferry. Wait, that's low – like that's flex. You programmed this thing. I mean, how do you get Mark Ronson to show?

1:00:38I mean, that's very cool. I mean, he's a great DJ. We all know that. He's a great DJ. He's a fan of the Jewish Food Society. He has a memoir coming out in the fall, so he's interested in getting—and it's a little bit about growing up in New York. It's the theme of the whole event. His Jewish upbringing on the Upper West Side is resonant with what we're doing, and we're just excited to have him there. We can't actually believe it, honestly. You talk about a DJ and you're like, okay, great, cool. But like Mark Ronson is closing out this event with a DJ set. That's really, really, really cool. I really, we all imagine shoes off, dancing in the grass, like just the end of a kind of a moment in time.

1:01:18Like we really hope that people come and step out of, you know, the world is nuts right now. Let's face it. Not just in New York, not just with what's going on around the country. I mean, whatever. And the point here is take a step out of your day, of your life, and just sort of be, have a good time, eat some good food, be with people, come to the Great Nosh. Well, I just want to, I mean, I've been thinking about my brothers and sisters in the Jewish community. And, you know, with the rapid rise of anti-Semitism in our country and in our world, I mean, these types of events are really important to bring people together of all backgrounds with the subtext of Jewish culture.

1:02:00Exactly. And honestly, Nama, the founder of the Jewish Food Society, whose vision this picnic has been, you know, as she's traveled around the country, she's just seen this need to find a place to be proud and to welcome others in. And, you know, this is a Jewish cultural event. It's not a Jewish event. It's actually for the city. The intention is a kind of festival of the contribution of Jewish food and culture to the sort of larger food and culture of New York City. and that, as you say, to find a space that feels safe and that you can be proud and that you can celebrate with your friends, whether they're Jewish or not, and invite everyone in.

1:02:42There aren't that many places to feel that way these days. And so we're really hoping to create it. It's not easy. It's not, but I think it's very much needed. Our response has been so tremendous, whether it's from podcasts like this or other media outlets that have recognized that we've really struck a chord by creating an event like this. And it's intended to both be an annual event in New York and also to go national to bring it to other cities because we all could use that space to relax and exhale a little bit. Well said, Mitchell. I really appreciate the work you and NAMA and the Jewish Food Society are doing.

1:03:19It's super important in this very divisive time and really appreciate it. It's going to be an incredible event. And I can't let you leave without going over some of your recent New York City dining experiences. You held a leadership role at the James Beard Foundation for many years. And somebody I know deeply cares about food, about restaurants, about cookbooks. Incredible chef. You love cookbooks. Here we are at Penguin Random House. I have some cookbooks here from here. You do. You've made cookbooks. You've been an author. But you love cookbooks. Sure. But let's actually focus on restaurants.

1:03:53Where have you been going in New York recently? Well, so the funny thing is, my husband and I moved out of the city just over a year ago. And I've been coming back a lot for this project. And I have eaten in more new, exciting restaurants than when I lived here because I'm visiting. And it's so fun to be. I actually have some answers for you. And normally it would be just at home with my dog. But, you know, this weekend alone, I had an amazing meal at Borgo, which I loved. is just is so grown up and yummy and lovely. And we had a celebratory meal at Cafe Carmelini, which was on another end of the spectrum and felt kind of like stepping into old New York a little bit.

1:04:33I've had great slices of pizza. I can't believe that in the West Village now, within walking distance, you have L 'Industria and Mama's 2. That feels like an exciting corner. That's a quick skip to each other. I did that recently. That's a great one too. Where else have we eaten? Carnitas Ramirez. Oh, my God. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I shouldn't be talking about a Jewish event and about the many cuts of pork there. But, yeah. Listen, Jews can eat pork. I'm one of them. That is true. Not all Jews, but there are plenty of us. If you're listening, there's no pork at the Great Nosh. There is some kosher food, and it's all within the cut.

1:05:11Yeah, of course. There's nothing treif being served. That makes sense. But, yeah, it's funny. for a while there. It felt like there wasn't much exciting going on, at least when I was here. It was harder to motivate, but it seemed like a really dynamic time in restaurants right now. You hit up some spots and I know the feeling of leaving New York and then coming back and getting to enjoy it. Yeah. Do you miss working at the James Beard Foundation? Yes and no. I was there for 27 years, so I kind of put in my time. They're doing great work. We're on the eve of the awards, which is always an exciting time.

1:05:44I won't be able to go to Chicago this year because we'll be deep in the last minute plans for the picnic. But yeah, one of the things that's been really nice about working on this event is it has connected me to a kind of new generation of chefs. So my time was spent in the Eric Repairs and Danielle Ballou's and they're all still wonderful and what have you. But I've spent more time on the Lower East Side with chefs this time and in other neighborhoods of Brooklyn that have been really exciting to get to know the young generation coming up in little, tiny, wonderful, independent restaurants. Oh, I just remembered a meal I had at Penny that was really spectacular.

1:06:22And I just feel like that's where right now some of the excitement is. And it's really been nice to connect with those people making those things happen. Well, again, we'll have you back and talk all about your career and your writing and your home cooking. But it's the great nosh. And grab tickets are going to go fast. There's no doubt you're going to sell this one out. Yeah, absolutely. And we will be back. And we've thought about this as a prototype. And we are learning that we're onto something. And so we're all going to be really smarter. And next year, it's going to be bigger and better.

1:06:51If you can't get tickets this year, we hope we'll see you next year. Yeah, absolutely. Mitchell Davis, thank you so much for joining This Is Taste.

1:07:01This is Taste is hosted and produced by Matt Rodbard and me, Eliza Abarbanel. The show is edited by lead producer Clayton Gumbert and supervised by Pat Stango, director of media production and development at Penguin Random House. Thanks to Shalia Harris and the production team at Penguin Random House. Theme music by Steve Rydell, logo and guest illustrations by Ellie Skrzat. Visit Taste online at tastecooking.com and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated on all cool things in the world of taste.