Let's Talk About Food

The best thing -- and the worst -- thing about food businesses is that it seems so easy to begin one. And it is not. Our guest Jack Barber and his brother Max started Mainely Burgers over 10 years ago as green college kids looking for summer jobs. Now they are full-fledged entrepreneurs. Bravo to them!

Our guest today, Henry Patterson, has decades of experience in the food business. Along the way, he has learned a thing or two about how to keep customers yours forever. But, right now, HPatt is off to a border town in Poland to cook for Ukrainian refugees with Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen. It's his present to himself for his 70th birthday. Let's hear how and why he is going.

The redoubtable Marion Nestle is the closest I can come to a modern-day Joan of Arc, rallying us for decades against private and public institutional forces as she advocates for good food, sensible nutrition, and responsible public health. Author of fourteen seminal books, and hundreds research papers, Op-Eds, and collaborations, Marion Nestle founded NYU’s department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, where she trained––and most importantly––inspired an army of scholars and activists. A most-respected watchdog of our corporate food culture, she can be counted on to tell the unvarnished and occasionally “unsavory” truth about food and health, corporate food business, and the politics behind it all. Occasionally controversial, but always right on target, Marion Nestle is the first call for journalists when they need reliable, smart explanations of anything having to do with nutrition, food, or health. She says, “I get in trouble a lot because I say what I think.” You can follow her daily blog foodpolitics.com.

This is a story of bravery and purpose. If food safety seems like an abstract policy concept to you, you must listen to Darin Detwiler's story. When Darin's 16-month-old son Riley contracted E. coli at daycare, Darin's world turned upside down. In the decades since, Darin, a former US Navy nuclear engineer has dedicated himself to making sure that we all understand the true human cost of unsafe food practices. Listen and weep.

Our guest today is Claire Cheney, the founder and owner of the renowned Curio Spice Company. Curio is a mission-driven spice company, importing spices sustainably and directly from growers all over the world. Claire has an obsession for spices, which she discovered in her early travels to South East Asia. She is “the blender in chief” -- she selects the spices, and she unleashes her incredible sensory abilities to create unique spice blends. We were curious how Claire learned to trust her “nose” and her palate. How did she know she was special?

If you enjoyed our last episode with John Piotti, we have good news! Heritage Radio Network is producing a monthly show hosted by John. The show is called No Farms No Future, the podcast of American Farmland Trust. The show will dig into the issues facing farms and farmers today. We all need to eat, and as a result, we all need to know what faces the folks who raise our food. Today we are proud to premiere the very first episode of No Farms No Future. For more than 40 years, American Farmland Trust (AFT) has fought to keep farmers on their land, promote environmentally sound farming practices, and protect U.S. farmland. At a time when independent farmers and ranchers face ever-increasing financial and climate challenges, AFT works nationwide with them to help create innovative solutions for a sustainable food system. In this opening episode of No Farms No Future, American Farmland Trust, and the Food Voice, AFT president and CEO John Piotti explains how reversing the trend toward fewer local farms and declining soil health is critical to preserving our food supply and the planet. You’ll also meet two farmers—one at the end of a career and one who is just beginning—who show how ingenuity and collaboration can brighten the future, one farm at a time.

Our guest is John Piotti, the president and CEO of American Farmland Trust, the nation’s leading non-profit dedicated to protecting farmland, promoting sound farming practices, and keeping farmers on the land. How did a kid growing up on Nantucket Island, hoping to design sailboats, end up in Maine (and now in Washington DC), and become laser focused on preserving rural life and the livelihood of America’s farmers?

Food photography is a marvel. Beautiful photos make me want to own the book, cook the dish, visit the restaurant, travel to the source. But how do you become a celebrated food photographer? You may not know his name, but you’ve been admiring his art for years in best-selling cookbooks, magazines, websites and more. Michael Piazza will tell us how he became a food-focused photographer, and why “it’s all about the light.”

Our guest today is Tamar Haspel. Tamar is a columnist for the Washington Post. Her column UNEARTHED focuses on the intersection of food and science. She's a force of nature -- and food. In High School she was awarded the Teacher's Pest Award for her incessant curiosity and willingness to challenge authority. Now she has a James Beard award to match.

Today is a real treat for those of us with lock-down wanderlust. A married couple – Rachel Greenberger and Cristiano Bonino. Rachel is a 2020 Eisenhower Fellow working on Regenerative Agriculture and Food Systems – she was one of the creators of Food Sol – a thought leadership initiative for Food Entrepreneurs at Babson College. Rachel also works with her husband, Cristiano, on his Italian Tour Company Food.Stories.Travel. I love his voice – and couldn’t we all use a little escape to the countryside of Italy right now? Spoiler alert: There’s a lot of anchovies in this piece.