Alex Prud'homme had a special bond with his great aunt, Julia Child. I found Alex an affable and warm person. Perhaps that's because we both had a special connection to Julia – I was her dear friend. In 2016, I interviewed Alex Prud'homme while he was on a book tour promoting The French Chef in America. You can listen to our conversation here (and I highly recommend it – Alex is delightful!):  https://www.marionkane.com/podcast/julia-childs-act-alex-prudhomme/  There are two staples from...

Eloquent Toronto restaurateur Jen Agg is a strong woman. Her book “I Hear She's a Real Bitch” relates how the media has not always been kind, mischaracterizing Jen's feminine strength and ambition as pushy and bitchy. As a strong woman, who also had a career in a male-dominated field, I can relate. I don't find Jen to be a bitch. When I interviewed her in 2017, I found her to be passionate, principled, caring, creative and a credit to her profession. Listen to my interview with Jen Agg here:...

Old-school fast food is in Sean Brock's blood. The Nashville-based, James Beard award-winning chef recently opened Joyland - a burger-fries-fried chicken joint that hearkens back to the 1950s. We can see Sean's love of diner food in Charleston episode of Parts Unknown clip of him with Anthony Bourdain to the iconic Waffle House. In this funny and nostalgic video, Sean waxes poetic about the virtues of scattered, smothered chunks while Anthony declares the food is better than French Laundry....

The Waldorf Salad – named after its birthplace, Manhattan's legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel – has evolved since it was first created in 1896. In my 2013 interview with the hotel's then executive chef David Garcelon, we talked about the enduring popularity of the famous salad. At the time of this interview, the Waldorf Astoria was serving 20,000 salads/year! Hear David and me chat about the evolution of the world's most famous salad here:...

My friend pastry chef Joanne Yolles made Tarte Tatin together at least six times before we perfected the recipe. We went through a lot of apples and butter - but oh my, was it worth it! Practice makes perfect. Tune into this episode to learn the recipe the hacks we discovered after baking this ultimate apple scrumptious dessert: https://www.marionkane.com/podcast/talk-tarte-tatin-joanne-yolles/ Here is the Ultimate Tarte Tatin recipe: https://www.marionkane.com/recipes/recipe-tarte-tatin/...

Apples are my favourite fruit, and I particularly love the McIntosh. It's truly part of Canada's culinary heritage, originating as a wild seedling in the Ontario village of Dundela. The story of the McIntosh is compelling, with moments of triumph and tragedy. Listen further to learn about the dramatic history of the McIntosh: https://www.marionkane.com/podcast/core-mcintosh-apple-story/ My recipe for Apple Crumble works best with tart apples. Try making it with a mix of McIntosh, Northern...

BBQ guru Rob Firing taught me two important lessons about grilling steak. First is to use a coulotte cut of beef; for the uninitiated, the coulotte is boneless, has the flavour of a flank steak but is less chewy. (Bonus: Coulotte is usually reasonably priced). The second piece of advice Rob gave me was to reverse-sear. This method requires slow, low temp cooking before briefly searing the juices in. Trust when I say that reverse-searing guarantees a tender, juicy steak, every time! Listen to...

Should peaches be crunchy or soft? What is the best peach dessert? Are peaches an aphrodisiac? Find out these things and more when you listen to my podcast episode about the Winona Peach Festival which takes place this weekend August 25-27. https://www.marionkane.com/podcast/sleuth-ultimate-dessert-annual/ Visit the Winona Peach Festival website for more information: http://winonapeach.com/ I have an outstanding recipe for Peach Galette. It uses a trick I learned from chef Jacques Pepin -...

Today is the birthday of my mentor and friend Julia Child. In 2014, I interviewed Julia's long-time assistant Stephanie Hersh. She confessed to me that she told a fib to get her job! She also shared a story about a time Julia made her break the law. Stephanie affectionately thinks about Julia every day: https://www.marionkane.com/podcast/stephanie-hersh-talks-beloved/ After Julia passed, Stephanie Hersh sent me the most warm, beautiful reflection on our dear friend. You can read Stephanie's...

Newly elected mayor of Toronto Olivia Chow has long been an advocate for social reform. In 2015, I visited Olivia in her downtown home just weeks before she announced her NDP candidacy in the federal election. We chatted about our mutual passion for food and cooking, in particular our wish for a Canadian national program offering nutritious food for all schoolchildren. Like her late husband, Jack Layton, she had a message of hope.

In 2018, I went to Miami and interviewed the delightful food journalist Carlos Frias. Carlos spoke lovingly of his father, who was saved from hard labour in a Cuban prison camp by his ability to cook. It is clear from this interview how much Carlos's father influenced his love of food. Carlos and I also talk about our shared love of yucca, recommends Miami’s Palacio de los Jugos and how to make mojo. I should be in Miami now – fun in the sun! You can listen to the full interview here:...

Confession: I love fish & chips! Growing up in London, I joined the Girl Guides because weekly meetings were followed by a trip to The Regent, a fish & chips shop around the corner. I wasn’t interested in slip knots or lighting a bonfire. I went there for the chips. In 2015, I sat down with food journalist Daniel Young - aka @youngandfoodish - a fish & chips expert, to discuss the merits of this tasty dish in London U.K.:...

Thinking outside the box is Len Senater's special talent. Ten years ago, Len set out to create a space where cooks, chefs and communities could collaborate. The Depanneur became a hub for food creativity in Toronto, attracting a loyal following to its many pop-up dining events. I had a memorable meal there, made by the brilliant Greg Couillard, one of Toronto's most talented chefs. Len also came up with a brilliant idea of how to use The Depanneur to empower Syrian refugees in a...

Smoked meat and bagels. Both of these foods were made popular in Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood which, at one time, was mainly home to Jewish immigrants. It is also where my father grew up. On a recent trip to dad's old stomping grounds, I spoke to two general managers of Mile End's culinary institutions: Schwartz's Deli and St-Viateur Bagel. We chatted about the history of their businesses and the enduring popularity of their food. Both destinations were favourites of Anthony Bourdain and...

On a 2014 trip to a food writers’ convention in Memphis, I learned that virtually every topic related to Southern food is a matter of debate. Does sugar belong in cornbread? Should we pronounce it pe-cahn or p-can? Fortunately, my friend and expert on Southern culture Kathleen Purvis was on hand to settle these and other matters of culinary debate. Tune in to hear me pepper Kathleen, currently a freelance food journalist, with questions about Southern food – she is a real gem!...

There are some people in this world who have a light that shines so bright, it illuminates everyone around them. My friend Wendy Bray is one such person. Wendy, Senior Fund development Manager at the Red Door Family Shelter in Toronto, has an enduring positive outlook on life - something we both learned from a mutual friend who survived Auschwitz. Listen to my recent podcast interview with Wendy and you'll be reminded that even in the darkest times there is room for hope. Donate to support...

NYC's iconic Katz's Deli - yes, that deli from the movie When Harry Met Sally - has served their famous pastrami to hungry customers since 1888. Katz's is New York's oldest deli and has survived two pandemics: the flu of 1918 and now, Covid. In 2015, I had a conversation with the deli's delightfully funny owner Fred Austin shortly before he retired. Read the podcast transcript here: https://www.marionkane.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Katzs-Deli-Transcript.pdf For recipes of all kinds,...

I teamed up with my trusty recipe tester chef Lesleigh Landry to perfect home-cooked chicken wings. My criteria for superior wings: they must be salty, spicy, crunchy and crispy. Lesleigh and I taste-tested 7 recipes - baked & fried. Find the winning versions plus my special recipe for Blue Cheese Dip here: www.marionkane.com/recipe-2/lesleigh-landry-loves-work-recipe/

Julia Child loved her visits to Toronto. On her first visit to our fair city in 1991, she was wowed by a lunch cooked by some of Canada’s top chefs. I'll always remember the touching moment when she walked into the kitchen to thank the chefs who had cooked for her. Listen to my podcast and you'll hear from Toronto’s finest chefs, the former Cookbook Store manager and an elite ice cream maker recall their love and respect for Julia.

JULIA and JUDITH: Next Tuesday, the Canadian Food Network premieres The Julia Child Challenge (it has begun in the U.S. this week) - a show where home cooks enter culinary challenges, each competing to win a paid three-month cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Julia was my friend and mentor until her death in 2004. She changed my life forever. Another friend of the beloved TV cooking star was Judith Jones - Julia's long-time editor. From the moment the manuscript for Mastering the Art...

The Waldorf Salad – named after its birthplace, Manhattan's legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel – has evolved since it was first created in 1896. In my 2013 interview with the hotel's then executive chef David Garcelon, we talked about the enduring popularity of the famous salad. At the time of this interview, the Waldorf Astoria was serving 20,000 salads/year!

A few steps away from my home in Toronto's Kensington Market is the Pow Wow Café where they make the most delicious #indiantacos. The restaurant, owned by the talented and energetic #Ojibway / #Jewish chef Shawn Adler, has turned to catering for homeless shelters in the wake of Covid. The Pow Wow Café isn't offering take-away or dine-in until further notice but Shawn has hinted that pop-ups at the restaurant are likely to happen during the spring/summer months. Shawn’s second restaurant, The...

Rosemary Kelly is my long-time friend. Her Facebook name is: rosieonthemove. Her LinkedIn profile is: Independent Health, Wellness and Fitness Professional. Rosemary is an intrepid traveller. She cooks. And she’s treated cancer patients with massage. She is a free spirit. Rosemary told me her story at the kitchen table in her cozy apartment in downtown Toronto. I began asking how long we’ve known each other.

17% of food produced globally each year is wasted. In 2020, 811 million people around the world went hungry. When I interviewed chef Massimo Bottura in 2017, we talked about his consuming passion to end hunger. Massimo believes we can restore dignity to society's most vulnerable people with a sense of community and food. Massimo was warm and friendly. We had an instant connection over our shared interest in decreasing food waste and he was delighted with this photo of me dressed in cabbage...