David Lebovitz podcast

• A Chat with Rachel Simons, owner of Seed+Mill

  Tahini has gotten a lot of press in the last few years, and the delicious sesame paste has become a staple in many of our pantries. Many cultures have embraced the borderless sesame seed in some form or another, including Japanese gomashio and furikake, hummus from the Middle East, Italian Reginelle cookies, and even in burgers. In her new book, Rachel Simons explores all the possibilities and guises of this versatile ingredient: Sesame: Global Recipes & Stories of an Ancient Seed Rachel is the co-founder of Seed+Mill, which offers top-quality tahini and halvah, a rich sesame paste that’s one of the best things you’ll put in your mouth. There are many brands of tahini and halvah (that vary in quality) but the ones offered by Seed+Mill are uniformly excellent, and I always make room in my suitcase to bring some back to Paris with me. And if you find yourself in New York City, the tahini soft-serve ice cream they serve in their shop at the Chelsea Market, served with crumbles of halvah, is truly a scoop—or swirl—of heaven. Rachel is one of the nicest people I know, although she did yell at me once…I was packing jelly rings at the Joyva halvah factory in Brooklyn with Jake Cohen, and that’s Rachel, yelling at me. 😂 We’ve since made up and I’ve been enjoying her new book, Sesame, so much that I invited her on my podcast when I was in New York, to talk about tahini, halvah, and the wonderful world of sesame seeds.Enjoy!-David Links* Follow Rachel Simons on Instagram, and Seed+Mill on Instagram* Get Sesame: Global Recipes and Stories from an Ancient Seed* Visit the Seed + Mill website, where you can order tahini and halvahSubscribe to my newsletter to get new posts, recipes, and more, sent right to your Inbox! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlebovitz.substack.com/subscribe

  --------  

  40:48

  --------

  40:48
• A Chat with Dorie Greenspan

  It may sound cliché, but I suspect for most of you, Dorie Greenspan needs no introduction. Dorie is an accomplished baker, whose books range from an oversize volume of never-fail cookie recipes, Dorie’s Cookies, to translating the recipes of master Parisian pastry chef Pierre Hermé, making them accessible to home bakers in Desserts by Pierre Hermé. And when Julia Child launched her TV show, Baking with Julia on PBS, she tapped Dorie to write the companion book, Baking with Julia. Dorie describes herself as a part-time Parisian, so I took advantage of her time while she was in Paris recently invited her to stop by my kitchen for a chat. We talked about many subjects, including our favorite baking pans, whether the U.S. is ready for metrics (or at least recipes in weights), how to get the hump in madeleines, and how she wrote, and cajoled recipes from pastry chefs and pâtisseries, for her Paris-based cookbooks; Baking Chez Moi, Around My French Table, and Paris Sweets.Her new book is Dorie’s Anytime Cakes and features casual cakes, in all different shapes, sizes, and flavors…When Dorie came by, she (of course) arrived with cakes from Pierre Hermé and a box of macarons, including one flavored with tomato leaves and another with tonka beans. A few show notes:* When asked about her three favorite bakeries in Paris at the moment, she mentioned Michalak, Rayonnance, and Tapisserie in the podcast.* My favorite California Blenheim dried apricots are from Apricot King. * The European-style cake pan we mentioned is the Tea Loaf Pan from King Arthur Baking. (I mention it in my chocolate book, coming out in the spring of 2026.)I hope you enjoy our chat!- David* Follow Dorie on Instagram and Facebook* Visit her website: doriegreenspan.com* Subscribe to Dorie’s newsletter: xoxodoriegreenspanSubscribe to my newsletter to get podcasts, recipes, Paris posts, and more sent right to your Inbox! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlebovitz.substack.com/subscribe

  --------  

  57:26

  --------

  57:26
• Podcast: A Chat with Preston Mohr, Director of the Wine Scholar Guild, on Enjoying French Wines

  Living in France, it’s hard to overestimate the prevalence and importance of wine. Not only is it a marker and reflection of the place where it’s made, but it’s an integral part of French culture and cuisine. It’s a natural pairing with meals and accompanies almost every gathering with friends and family.I like wine, but like most people in France, I’m an amateur. I know what I like and what I don’t like. But I’m taking more of an interest in wine to deepen my knowledge. So I’m fortunate to have friends like Preston Mohr, who’s an expert on wine but also knows how to communicate and explain wine in simple terms, without any pretense, so we can all get more enjoyment out of it. I invited Preston into my Paris kitchen to talk about French wines — what to look for when buying French wine, how to order wine without feeling sheepish in a restaurant or café, and what to do if the wine you’ve been served isn’t to your liking. (Which was discussed in the comments here.)We also chatted about how the French wine world has changed over the last few years, whether Beaujolais should be avoided, as well as his favorite wine bars in Paris.Originally from Minnesota, Preston has called Paris home for the last twenty years. He’s the Managing Director of the Wine Scholar Guild, which connects wine lovers from around the world and offers certification programs for wine professionals and enthusiasts who want to learn more about wine, either in person, at one of 130 locations around the world, or online, at your own pace. In fact, I’m thinking of signing up! We had lunch today at Le Cornichon and tried to power through this giant platter of frites (that were very good), but only managed to make a good-sized dent in them. Next time…In the meantime, enjoy listening to my chat with Preston. -David Links* Wine Scholar Guild (website)* Preston Mohr on LinkedIn* Preston Mohr on InstagramSubscribe to my newsletter to get new podcasts, recipes, Paris restaurant tips, and more, sent right to your Inbox! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlebovitz.substack.com/subscribe

  --------  

  44:20

  --------

  44:20
• My conversation with Yotam Ottolenghi

  Thanks to everyone for tuning into my live video with Yotam Ottolenghi! It was great fun to connect with Yotam and discuss everything from cooking and baking inspiration, to favorite kitchen tools and tips, as well as two “weekend friendly” recipes; Yotam Ottolenghi’s Baked Feta-Dill Frittata and my Croissants aux amandes, almond-filled croissants. I’ll be posting the recipe for them this week - stay tuned!If you’re not a subscriber to my newsletter, you can subscribe below to get posts, recipes, stories, podcasts and more, sent right to your Inbox: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlebovitz.substack.com/subscribe

  --------  

  51:33

  --------

  51:33
• Podcast: On Writing Cookbooks, with author Kate Leahy

  When Kate Leahy was in Paris recently, I was happy to have a chat with her in my kitchen for my podcast. A former restaurant cook, Kate seamlessly pivoted to food writing, collaborating on books with a variety of chefs, bakers, and sommeliers, and has also penned several books on her own.Kate co-authored La Buvette with Camille Fourmont, the owner of the charming La Buvette wine bar in Paris, and most recently, My Egypt with chef-restaurateur Michael Mina. She also co-wrote Lavash, which explores the world of Armenian flatbreads; Cookie Love with Mindy Segal; Burma Superstar, featuring recipes from San Francisco’s legendary Burmese restaurant; and A16 Food+Wine, from one of the best Italian restaurants in America.While Kate was in Paris working on a project with me, in between baking together and hitting the town, attending chocolate tastings, and checking out the $15 ham & cheese sandwich at the Ritz Hotel’s Le Comptoir bakery (see below), we talked about writing cookbooks in this podcast. A lot goes into writing a cookbook, especially when she’s collaborating with a chef and travels to places such as Egypt and Armenia to research and cull recipes. We discussed how she chooses what projects to work on, which chefs and sommeliers to work with, what are the most rewarding parts of writing cookbooks…and what are the most difficult. (And no, working with me wasn’t one of the latter…hopefully!😉)Our chat also touched on the subject of the world of cookbooks today, what makes a good cookbook, and what direction cookbooks are going in. Other topics include how the world of food writing has changed with the internet and recipes on social media, where recipe sharing has pivoted to what Alicia Kennedy has called the test kitchen-ifcation of food media, as people vie for attention in a changing landscape.Enjoy the podcast!-David* Follow Kate Leahy on Instagram.* Visit Kate Leahy’s website.* Check out Kate Leahy’s books.* Listen to Kate’s podcast with Kristin Donnelly, Molly Stevens, and Andrea Nguyen — Everything Cookbooks. (My episode with them is here.)Subscribe to my newsletter to get posts, recipes, interviews, podcasts, and more, sent right to your Inbox![Thanks to audio engineer Justin Golden for working his magic, and his editing talents, on my podcasts.] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlebovitz.substack.com/subscribe

  --------  

  48:21

  --------

  48:21

More Arts podcasts

Trending Arts podcasts

About David Lebovitz podcast