150 episodes

Join Margaret McSweeney in her kitchen each week for some Kitchen Chat®. You’ll not only hear great cooking tips from chefs but you’ll also learn the recipe for a great life with experts at Margaret’s table. Savor all that your day has to offer with the inspiration and insight from Kitchen Chat®. Everything always happens in the kitchen!

Kitchen Chat® – Margaret McSweeney Margaret McSweeney

    • Arts
    • 5.0 • 2 Ratings

Join Margaret McSweeney in her kitchen each week for some Kitchen Chat®. You’ll not only hear great cooking tips from chefs but you’ll also learn the recipe for a great life with experts at Margaret’s table. Savor all that your day has to offer with the inspiration and insight from Kitchen Chat®. Everything always happens in the kitchen!

    ENCORE: Alice Waters Queen of the Garden

    ENCORE: Alice Waters Queen of the Garden

    As we await the beautiful produce that will soon be arriving at our Farmer’s Markets, I thought it would be a good time to celebrate Spring with this encore piece featuring Alice Waters. Always remember to take a moment and Savor the Day!
    Chef Alice Waters is a counterculture culinary hero who has helped pioneer the farm to table movement in the United States at her iconic restaurant Chez Panisse. At age four, she won a costume contest dressed as “Queen of the Garden” that featured produce from her parents’ Victory Garden. This win was just a mere glimpse into her future as an award winning chef, cookbook author, philanthropist, activist and advocate for sustainability and freshly grown produce.
    Recently, Chef Alice Waters graciously greeted me at her Chez Panisse office in Berkeley. A lovely glass teapot sat atop the small round table. She had filled the teapot with her favorite recipe from the garden — fresh mint with hot water. We sipped and chatted about her latest book Coming to My Senses: The Making of A Counterculture Cook. She shared stories and lessons from her edible education including life changing moments in France when she discovered the incomparable tastes of the farmers markets, including les fraises des bois (strawberries from the woods). Chef Alice Waters brought back the literal and figurative seeds that would become the harvest of a delicious revolution. The actual seeds she planted in her backyard at Berkeley were the ingredients of a Mesclun Salad originating in Provence, France. Almost every dish at Chez Panisse has a little salad. Chef Waters explains, “A salad punctuates something that is rich and brings balance to the plate.”
    Her favorite quotes include: “The destiny of nations depends upon the manner in which they were fed” Brillat-Savarin and “We are what we eat.” Chef Alice Waters explains that “When you eat fast food, you eat the values of the fast-food culture – that farming and cooking are drudgery. Food is something precious and should not be wasted.” Her passion for sharing this lesson with others, especially children, became the impetus of The Edible Schoolyard Project. Chef Waters emphasizes a key tenet to an edible education: “Don’t ever compromise the idea of sustainability. That’s the bottomline.”
     

    • 40 min
    Sandra Gutierrez: The Julia Child of Latin American Cuisine

    Sandra Gutierrez: The Julia Child of Latin American Cuisine

    "Latin American Cuisine is like a house. I see Mexico as the front door with all the dishes we are most familiar with. But once you open and walk through that door, you can see twenty other kitchens full of food, vibrancy and amazing ingredients." Sandra Gutierrez.
     
    Sandra Gutierrez and I met in the White House Garden in 2015 during an International Association of Culinary Professionals conference. We have become dear friends throughout the years on our respective culinary journeys. Sandra has written four cookbooks and is an award-winning journalist. In 2019, her work was recognized as part of the permanent FOOD exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. On September 15, 2021, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Sandra was honored by the Smithsonian Institute as a Woman to Know and one of seven Latinas Who Shaped American Culture.
     
    Sandra Gutierrez is known as The Julia Child of Latin American Cuisine. Just as Julia brought authentic French recipes to the home cooks in America, Sandra has brought authentic recipes from Latin America to the homes cooks in America. Further uniting them in culinary history, Julia and Sandra even share the same publisher, Knopf. Sandra's new book, "Latinisimo: Home Recipes from the Twenty-One Countries of Latin America" is the book she has had in her heart for thirty years. 
     
    During our Kitchen Chat, Sandra provides insights into and recipes reflecting the cultural fusion through food across Latin America. She begins in her grandmother's kitchen in Guatemala and takes us on a delicious journey of shared ingredients that are prepared in ways that reflect the uniqueness of each country throughout Latin America. Sandra explains how the recipe for Lomo Saltado, the national stir-fry of Peru, depicts cultural culinary fusion with ingredients from Inca (potatoes and tomatoes) beef tenderloin (loco) brought by Europeans and soy sauce (sillao) from Asia.
     
    On a side note, I especially enjoyed the Brazilian recipes in Sandra's cookbook. During my graduation school days, I actually lived in Rio de Janiero and enjoyed eating the fejoida and other delicious meals there. As the Brazilians so beautifully say, "Aproveite" which is my life's tagline to Savor the Day. Enjoy this delicious journey with Sandra Gutierrez in her latest book, LATINISIMO and discover the flavors of Latin America.

    • 34 min
    Chef Florian V. Hugo: A Passion for Notre Dame and French Cuisine

    Chef Florian V. Hugo: A Passion for Notre Dame and French Cuisine

    “Everything changes. The only thing that remains immovable across the centuries and fixes the character of a people is cooking.” Victor Hugo
     
    The Cathedral de Notre Dame holds a special place of legacy for Chef Florian V. Hugo and for me. Chef Florian is the great great great great great-grandson of the literary maestro Victor Hugo, author of Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables and many other great works. He is an accomplished French chef who has lived and worked in New York City for two decades and he is author of “Les Contemplations Gourmandes” a biographical cookbook inspired by his forefather, Victor Hugo. Our mutual friend, Rita Jammet, Chief Bubble Officer and a founder of La Caravelle Champagne, introduced Chef Florian and me. Rita knows of my deep connection to Notre Dame.
     
    Notre Dame was the last place my father visited in Paris before he passed away in the Charles de Gaulle Airport. His colleague who was traveling with him said they walked through Notre Dame for an hour, and that my father lit a candle and said a prayer of forgiveness and blessing for someone who had wronged him in a business deal.
     
    During this Kitchen Chat, Chef Florian and I discuss Notre Dame and how this majestic cathedral reflects an important lesson and inspiration to rebuild and restore when we encounter unexpected challenges in life, both from a professional and personal perspective. It is exciting that Notre Dame will be reopening later this year. Michel Picaud, president of Friends of Notre Dame de Paris has worked hard to fundraise across the globe to help restore this important place. If you are interested in helping restore and preserve this place of history, here is a link to donate.
     
    Chef Florian also discusses the journey of writing “Les Contemplations Gourmandes”as a way to honor Victor Hugo and to get to know his forefather through their mutual love for food. He used letters, writings and menus of dishes that Victor Hugo loved, and Chef Florian created the delicious recipes. What a special delight to see a photo of Victor Hugo’s “potager” kitchen garden in Guernsey where he was exiled after standing up to Napoleon. Chef Florian featured a handwritten note from Victor Hugo in 1860 that reads, “Aujourd’hui pour la 2 fois de l’annee, nous avons mange de nos asperges,” which roughly translated means: “Today for the second time this year, we ate our asparagus”. Chef Florian recounts how he has read so many books by great people about Victor Hugo and his life; however, he felt that he got to know his ancestor on a personal level through this book. 
     
    On a personal note, my culinary journey with Kitchen Chat has helped me get to know and understand my father through conversations about food and sitting at the table to share meals with some wonderful people in the industry. It was a true honor to meet and befriend Chef Florian Hugo.

    • 50 min
    Wyatt Russell: Savor the Sip with Lake Hour Sparkling Cocktail

    Wyatt Russell: Savor the Sip with Lake Hour Sparkling Cocktail

    "Savor the Day" is the tagline of my life. It's a reminder to find and live your joy while connecting with family and friends. The multi-talented Wyatt Russell exemplifies how to "Savor the Day" and savor the sip with his approach to life and work. In addition to his athletic and acting careers, Wyatt is an entrepreneur as co-founder of Lake Hour, a line of ready to drink Sparkling Cocktails evoking the fond memories of “real leisure” and “sit-back-and-sip” camaraderie of a day on the lake with family and friends. We had a fun Kitchen Chat at the finale of the fifth annual Pr%%f Awards at The Palms in Las Vegas. Congratulations to Lake Hour for winning a double gold award at the Pr%%f Awards! I had a great time being one of the judges at the 2023 Pr%%f Awards.

    For Wyatt, a remote lake in Canada was the special gathering place for family time and inspiration. World-class hockey talent was what brought the family to Canada in the summers, when Wyatt was just 10, to support his passion and gift. Wyatt co-founded and launched Lake Hour in 2023 with friend and film producer, Richard Peete. They became great friends when their wives introduced them to each other. During a family vacation and while in a hot tub, Wyatt and Rich created the idea of Lake Hour which features a sparkling and fresh cocktail to capture the flavor and special memories and stories of being at a lake with family and friends. To avoid the fake sugar taste of many ready-to- drink cocktails, Wyatt and Rich chose to use premium vodka and 100% blanco tequila as the base of the drinks and only 3.4 grams of raw cane sugar. The flavors include Honeysuckle Ginger with vodka, Peach Jasmine with vodka, Rosemary Yuzu with vodka and Watermelon Cucumber with tequila and are available right now in markets across the US include Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma. Please always remember to drink responsibly and only if you are 21 years or older.

    As many of you know, Wyatt is starring in the popular Apple TV's Monarch: Legacy of Monsters with his father, Kurt Russell. How exciting that Kitchen Chat had the first media interview about this show!

    What are some of your favorite memories and stories at a lake?

    Savor the Day and Savor the sip!
    Visit the KitchenChat home page at Kitchenchat.info
     
     
    #SavorTheDay #LakeHour #SparklingCocktails #Pr%%fAwards #Pr%%fAwards2023 #FamilyTime #Memories #Friends #WyattRussell #KurtRussell #MonarchLegacyOfMonsters #AppleTV #KitchenChat #DrinkResponsibly #LakeLife #SummerMemories #RealLeisure #SitBackAndSip #Cheers #EntrepreneurLife #PremiumCocktails #DrinkUp #JoyfulLiving

    • 5 min
    Nancy Brinker: Leading the Global Movement to End Breast Cancer

    Nancy Brinker: Leading the Global Movement to End Breast Cancer

    "Find a great need in a near edge and act upon it to make a difference" as my father always encouraged. This has proven to be a powerful recipe for action, especially for Nancy Brinker, a three-time Ambassador and New York Times best-selling author, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. She launched two impactful charitable organizations from her kitchen table. Nancy is regarded as the leader of the global breast cancer movement. Her journey began with promise to her dying sister, Susan G. Komen that she would do everything possible to end the shame, fear and hopelessness caused by this disease.
    Since 1982, Susan G Komen Foundation has invested nearly $1.1 billion in breast cancer research. The second charity that Nancy recently founded is the Promise Fund of Florida, which helps ensure that every woman, regardless of her circumstances has access to life-saving cancer resources. She was shocked to discover that 80,000 women ages 18-65 in Palm Beach County do not have health insurance coverage, and 30% of breast cancers are at an advanced stage when diagnosed.
    Kitchen Chat was honored to sit with Nancy at this very kitchen table where she started The Promise Fund of Florida to discuss an issue that is important to both of us. Nancy and I are breast cancer survivors.
    Nancy Brinker and I met at Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) event at the United Nations where she was being honored by Wendy Diamond, the founder of the WEDO. During our Kitchen Chat, Nancy and I of course bonded over our love and appreciation of food. She shared highlights from her favorite meals as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary along with her appreciation of her late husband's accomplishments as a pioneer within the restaurant industry. Norman Brinker was the founder of Steak and Ale and CEO of Brinker International which owns Chili's Grill and Bar, Romano's Macaroni Grill and Maggiano's Little Italy. He is credited for revolutionizing the casual-dining restaurants in the United States.
    In a full circle, "hugs from heaven" moment, Nancy invited me to join her for the Women of Distinction awards luncheon in Palm Beach which is hosted by Palm Beach Atlantic University. She of course is a past honoree. What she didn't realize is that when my father was president of Palm Beach Atlantic University over thirty years ago, he actually helped create this concept of honoring women in the community.
    Please help support the Promise Fund of Florida and make an impact for women to have access to life-saving cancer resources. Thank you, Nancy Brinker for finding "a great need in a near edge and acting upon it to make a huge difference."
    Savor the day!
    Be sure and visit https://www.kitchenchat.info

    • 44 min
    Lidia Bastianich: "A Celebration of Family and Food"

    Lidia Bastianich: "A Celebration of Family and Food"

    What a joy it was to take Kitchen Chat on the road recently to New York's famed Becco and sit down with Lidia Bastianich in celebration of the publication of her sixteenth cookbook! Time with Lidia, a multiple Emmy and James Beard Award winning public television host, author, entrepreneur and fellow member of Les Dames d’Escoffier is always inspiring. Her most recent book is called Lidia : From Our Family Table to Yours published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House and features "More than 100 Recipes Made with Love for All Occasions." Lidia’s family is at the essential heart of this beautiful book which is a tribute to her Mother Erminia, who passed away two years ago at the age of 100. One of her mother's favorite dishes that Lidia made for her was Eggplant Rollatini. That recipe is in the new cookbook. Lidia and I first met through Barbara Lazaroff at Eataly Chicago during the James Beard Awards in 2015. Eight years later, I had the honor of introducing Lidia onstage as the 2023 recipient of The Andrew Zimmern Discovery Award at The Taste Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

    • 30 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
2 Ratings

2 Ratings

LouiseASL ,

Margaret McSweeney is worth the listen

I LOVE X 10 Kitchen Chat- a show not to be missed. Margaret McSweeney invites the audience to listen to industry favorites while sprinkling loads of humor and candor. Plus, great ideas as "take aways"!

Any FOODIE will LOVE this show!!

Top Podcasts In Arts

The Bright Side
iHeartPodcasts and Hello Sunshine
Fresh Air
NPR
The Moth
The Moth
99% Invisible
Roman Mars
The Recipe with Kenji and Deb
Deb Perelman & J. Kenji López-Alt
McCartney: A Life in Lyrics
iHeartPodcasts and Pushkin Industries

More by Web Talk Radio

Seek Reality - Roberta Grimes
Roberta Grimes
ADHD Focus with David Pomeroy, MD
David Pomeroy
Your Money: Your Choices Archives - WebTalkRadio.net
Your Money: Your Choices Archives - WebTalkRadio.net
Sex and Happiness
Laurie Handlers
Wine Without Worry Archives - WebTalkRadio.net
Wine Without Worry Archives - WebTalkRadio.net
ACT: Taking Hurt to Hope - JoAnne Dahl
JoAnne Dahl, Ph.D.