Who Really Was James Beard?
The Sporkful4 Marras 2024

Who Really Was James Beard?

Before the James Beard Awards, there was the man himself. Beard was the first celebrity chef of the TV era, preaching home cooking and fresh, local food even as frozen TV dinners gained popularity. But he also had to navigate the complexities of being a closeted gay man in a time when the kitchen was considered a place for women. Dan talks with food writer John Birdsall, author of the Beard biography The Man Who Ate Too Much, which traces Beard’s life from his start at queer cocktail parties in 1930s New York, to his winks to the queer audience as he became more famous. Eventually he needed to change his public persona into a professorial bachelor, too obsessed with food to have time for a wife. As we hear, even today, James Beard remains one of the most misunderstood people in the food world.

John has a new book coming out this spring called What Is Queer Food? How We Served a Revolution — you can pre-order it now.

This episode originally aired on October 12, 2020, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O’Hara, and Tomeka Weatherspoon. It was edited by Tracey Samuelson and mixed by Jared O’Connell. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Nora Ritchie, Jared O'Connell, and Giulia Leo. Publishing by Shantel Holder and transcription by Emily Nguyen.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Get all your favorite podcasts, more than 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, and live sports coverage with the SiriusXM app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(283)

A Rare Look Inside Food At Disney World

A Rare Look Inside Food At Disney World

Years ago, when Dan was at Disney World with his family, he saw a gumbo recipe on the wall in the queue for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Since then, he’s wondered: Is the recipe real? Where did it come fr...

20 Huhti 38min

The REAL Sausage King Of Chicago (Reheat)

The REAL Sausage King Of Chicago (Reheat)

Live on stage from Chicago! Hot Doug explains why he turned down millions and closed his famous sausage shop. Plus, filmmaker and food writer Kevin Pang talks about his documentary, For Grace, about C...

17 Huhti 29min

The Mysterious Case Of Alpha Gal

The Mysterious Case Of Alpha Gal

For the first 40 years of her life, Amy Pearl was a card-carrying member of the meat club; she literally had a credit card from the famous Brooklyn steakhouse Peter Luger. Then one day she ate a porte...

13 Huhti 40min

Live: Kenji López-Alt No Longer Calls His Recipes “The Best” (Reheat)

Live: Kenji López-Alt No Longer Calls His Recipes “The Best” (Reheat)

Chef, YouTuber, and cookbook author J. Kenji López-Alt joins Dan on stage at Swedish American Hall in San Francisco to celebrate the release of Kenji's new book, The Wok: Recipes and Techniques. It wo...

10 Huhti 42min

What’s The State Of The Bagel?

What’s The State Of The Bagel?

Should bagels ever be toasted? Why does the restaurant industry have so many scandals? And what could possibly possess someone to feed their baby a straight-up stick of butter? We answer all these que...

6 Huhti 40min

A Passover & Easter Doubleheader (Reheat)

A Passover & Easter Doubleheader (Reheat)

We ponder the question that Jews have been pondering since they crossed the desert: Can matzoh be salvaged? We also discuss techniques for dipping your egg into salt water, and trivia that will make t...

3 Huhti 35min

The Seafood Proxy Battle Between China And Japan

The Seafood Proxy Battle Between China And Japan

Last year, in the midst of a political spat between China and Japan, China enacted a ban on importing Japanese seafood and warned Chinese citizens that visiting Japan was unsafe. But the impact of the...

30 Maalis 34min

Beer Serving Techniques (Reheat)

Beer Serving Techniques (Reheat)

How much foam is too much? Bottles or cans? Pint glasses or tulip glasses? Plus we discuss beer-filled guitars and absurd beer packaging gimmicks. This episode originally aired on September 13, 2010, ...

27 Maalis 21min

Suosittua kategoriassa Vapaa-aika

nikotellen
antin-matka
sita
the-harlin-show
ihan-oikeesti
unicast
everypodi
eturivi
rss-nikotellen
tahtitehdas
rss-naapurissa
mutsiputki
rss-viihde-media
terkuin-jenna
oral-sex
mysteeripodcast
himocast
kaikkea-hyvaa
teen-spirit
moottoripodi-2