Jenny Yang is waiting on an RSVP from the “Goop” goddess and L.A. queen of clean eating, Gwenyth Paltrow. Why? To have a fact-based conversation about MSG. A seasoning and flavor enhancement, monosodium glutamate has a bad rap stemming from racist and xenophobic rhetoric. On the Season 3 finale of the Extra Spicy podcast, Yang talks to Extra Spicy host and Chronicle food critic Soleil Ho about the world of wellness, who decides what is “clean” in “clean eating,” plus the importance of...

In early 2020, Paola Velez was inspired to bring Bakers Against Racism to life. It's an organization she co-founded with chef Rob Rubba, to fundraise for causes they care about, like their latest fundraiser in support of Ukraine during the Russian invasion. They've also baked for Black artists and Haitian refugees, raising over $2.5 million in the process. Host Soleil Ho speaks with Velez about how she got started in the industry and her goal to remain a "good person" throughout her career. |...

Chef and newly minted tech entrepreneur Eric Rivera has done everything in the food world from running his own restaurant, to cooking 12-course tastings in people's homes, to publishing e-books and selling Puerto Rican seasonings online. Rivera speaks with host Soleil Ho about his latest project, Beet, which is a foray into the tech industry. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Chronicle podcast: Host Laura Wenus and producer Cintia Lopez are on a quest to find out why one of the wealthiest and best-educated cities in America, one where most people belong to the same political party and subscribe to the same basic values, has so many intractable problems. And more importantly: Can they be fixed? Join us as we find out, one San Francisco story at a time. Coming June 21 from the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFNext project. Follow Fixing Our City on your favorite...

High-pressure, super-structured coffee competitions consist of baristas making coffee for a panel of judges who scrutinize everything from how many times a cup is tapped to the color of someone's pants. These events prompt the question: who determines what is "professional" and who can access this field? On this episode of the Extra Spicy podcast, host and restaurant critic Soleil Ho speaks to Veronica Grimm, founder of Glitter Cat Barista, a non-profit organization reimagining the coffee...

On this episode of the Extra Spicy podcast, host and restaurant critic Soleil Ho speaks to Shared Cultures founders Eleana Hsu and Kevin Gondo about their use of local, seasonal ingredients in products like miso and soy sauce. Koji is the star microbe popping up at restaurants all over the Bay Area, made by artisans who have taken up traditional fermentation methods with deep roots in Japan, Korea and China. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices....

At Starbucks locations across the country, workers are unionizing. Dozens of stores have joined the union, and many more are scheduled to vote soon. One of those is in Mill Valley, California, where high school junior Ella Clark is leading the efforts to organize. Ella joins host Soleil Ho to talk about holding Starbucks accountable to its values, then UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education chair Ken Jacobs explains why the wave of Starbucks unionization is spreading — and why...

On this Extra Spicy episode recorded in front of a live audience, TikTok mycologist Dr. Gordon Walker (@FascinatedbyFungi) joins host Soleil Ho to discuss what’s behind the mushroom mania. From gatekeeping in the foraging community to mycophobia and why fungi can be considered socialist, they dive into all the magic of mushrooms. Plus: stay tuned for an after-show special sponsored by Alaska Airlines with “Your Korean Dad,” Nick Cho. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“High-quality meals for those who aren't expecting it.” That’s the idea behind Community Kitchens, an Oakland organization that provides restaurant meals to community members in need. During the pandemic, co-founder Maria Alderete leveraged her restaurant-industry colleagues to cook for their most vulnerable neighbors and add a 1% surcharge to their bills to subsidize the meals. Now a question lingers: Can pandemic solidarity outlast COVID? | Unlimited Chronicle access:...

Emmanuel Galvan didn't set out to become San Francisco’s “masa guy.” But after starting to experiment with nixtamalization, he felt an obligation to share what he was learning with others. Now his company Bolita Masa is introducing Bay Area customers to the wonders of fresh masa, connecting him with his culinary heritage and creating a community of maiz geeks. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you consider nuking a can of soup cooking dinner, if you live off takeout or drive-thru, if your plates never live up to their Instagram inspiration, Leanne Brown understands. The author of budget cooking guide "Good and Cheap" and new book "Good Enough," Brown is dedicated to understanding the reasons people don't cook and helping them surmount them. On this episode of Extra Spicy, Brown and host Soleil Ho get "subterranean" on the issues that keep people out of the kitchen, TLDR recipes...

“Is anyone actually really canceled?” That’s the question today’s guest, Joe Rosenthal, ponders while discussing his work as a self-proclaimed “food antagonist” on Instagram. Rosenthal is what host Soleil Ho calls a “serial receipt-keeper,” documenting and shedding light on food-world wrongdoing — and much more. On this episode of Extra Spicy, Rosenthal and Ho dive into accountability, the fallacy of cancel culture and why people don’t want to give up their problematic favorites. | Unlimited...

For chef Nelson German, it's important that his restaurant, Sobre Mesa, is a welcoming space that reflects his African and Dominican ancestry. On this episode of the Extra Spicy podcast, host and restaurant critic Soleil Ho sits down with chef Nelson German to discuss his stint on Top Chef and the importance of cooking food that's close to your heart. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Extra Spicy, Lil’ Eagle Burger founder and chef Zack Fernandes joins host Soleil Ho to discuss his first smashburger, why San Franciscans like standing in line and the therapeutic effect of working the griddle in the middle of the pop-up crush.  | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We need longer tables, not higher walls.” Chef José Andrés and his organization, World Central Kitchen, emphasize the importance of human connection through food, from aid to Ukrainian refugees to backyard paella on social media. On the Season 3 launch of the Extra Spicy podcast, host and restaurant critic Soleil Ho sits down with Chef Andrés to discuss his work, why charity isn’t about making you feel good and the danger of taking food for granted. | Unlimited Chronicle access:...

Host and restaurant critic Soleil Ho returns for a brand new season of The Chronicle’s food and culture podcast, Extra Spicy. Launching March 28, 2022, Season 3 dives into topics like the food world’s unionization boom, the intersection of mental health and cooking, plus foraging for fungi on TikTok. Guests this season include renowned chef and philanthropist José Andrés of World Central Kitchen, Oakland restaurant owner and community organizer Maria Alderete, chef and author Leanne Brown,...

Soleil Ho, podcast host and restaurant critic for The San Francisco Chronicle, is back with a fresh, new season of The Chronicle’s food and culture podcast, Extra Spicy. They’ll be diving into topics like the intersection of mental health and cooking, the dream of sustainable shrimp farming, how local food workers are unionizing their workplaces and what makes a great restaurant chair. Season 3 launches March 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Season 2 finale, Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips talk about, in Soleil's words, "the cream of the chaff." The most nonsensical food world nonsense from the last five months. It's a What Is This Nonsense field day, with topics running the gamut from mac and cheese ice cream to mac and cheese Oreos. And TikTok. And boiled Hot Cheetos ... in mac and cheese. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The global black market for eels is a multi-billion dollar industry. Food systems writer Karen Pinchin discusses why the industry is riddled with crime, plus how a biological mystery and capitalism jeopardize the sustainability of these creatures. Send us your questions about food, life and everything you’re obsessed with at sfchronicle.com/spicy. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before he launched his music-meets-food podcast, Peter J. Kim was the founding director of the Museum of Food and Drink. He talks to Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips about why such a museum was needed, his favorite exhibitions there, and what the food culture is like at his current gig, food creator lead at Pinterest. Send us your questions about food, life and everything you’re obsessed with at sfchronicle.com/spicy. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad...

British restaurant critic Jimi Famurewa talks about how he became the U.K.’s first Black food critic at London’s Evening Standard — a journey co-host and Chronicle restaurant critic Soleil Ho is all too familiar with. This is the last of two episodes that go into the many differences between U.S. and U.K. food criticism. Plus: Why Jimi and Soleil are excited about writing bad reviews again. Plus: Why Jimi and Soleil are excited about writing bad reviews again. Send us your questions about...

British restaurant critic Jimi Famurewa talks about how he became the U.K.’s first Black food critic at London’s Evening Standard — a journey co-host and Chronicle restaurant critic Soleil Ho is all too familiar with. This is part one of two episodes that go into the many differences between U.S. and U.K. food criticism. Plus: Why Jimi and Soleil are excited about writing bad reviews again. Send us your questions about food, life and everything you’re obsessed with at sfchronicle.com/spicy....

Irene Li, chef and co-founder of Mei Mei restaurant in Boston, wrote about 8 Totally Achievable Ways to Show Up for Racial Justice… When You’re White and Own an Asian Restaurant! Li breaks downs each item on her list, the difference between appreciation and appropriation, and how white chefs can use their power to work toward racial equity. Send us your questions about food, life and everything you’re obsessed with at sfchronicle.com/spicy. | Unlimited Chronicle access:...

Will future generations only know meatless burgers and other food alternatives? It sounds dystopian, but that is a legitimate possibility if Silicon Valley gets their way. Hosts Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips talk with author and journalist Larissa Zimberoff about her latest book, “Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley’s Mission to Change What We Eat” and whether demand for “alternative” foods will overcome California’s farm-to-table culture. Send us your questions about food, life and...