The Sporkful4 Nov 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.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(305)

Does McDonald’s Want Their Soft-Serve Machines To Stay Broken?

McDonald’s soft-serve machines break down so often that a corner of the internet is awash in memes and videos about their unreliability. Enter Jeremy O’Sullivan and Melissa Nelson, two entrepreneurs w...

6 Juli 32min

The Enslaved Chefs At Monticello Who Created American Cuisine (Reheat)

In honor of July 4th, we’re exploring an important part of American history – the contributions of enslaved Black chefs, whose work influences American cuisine to this day. In 1784, Thomas Jefferson b...

3 Juli 33min

Welcome To The Clam Capital Of America

Summer is here, and for years, Dan has spent part of his summer in New England visiting family and friends. This week he’s visiting two New England summer institutions. First is Woodman’s—known as the...

29 Juni 48min

Inside The Consumer Reports Test Labs (Reheat)

Dan goes inside Consumer Reports, the independent nonprofit that tests and rates everything from toaster ovens to frozen pizzas to luxury cars. CR takes testing very seriously, and Dan gets to see the...

26 Juni 36min

How Much Should You Tip At A Coffee Shop?

How do restaurants decide who gets the worst tables? Why are Americans obsessed with the German supermarket chain Aldi? And should iced coffee only be consumed in hot weather? We get into all that and...

22 Juni 43min

Modern Family’s Ty Burrell Cases Hollywood Parties For Free Food (Reheat)

As a struggling young actor, Ty Burrell pretended to be a guest at hotels to get the free breakfast buffet. Now he fights the urge to pocket food at the Emmys. He talks about his hors d'oeuvres strate...

19 Juni 34min

What Will America’s 250th Birthday Cake Look Like?

In just a few weeks, the United States will mark its 250th birthday, with celebrations all across the country. But when cake artist Grace Pak started looking into it a few months ago, she realized the...

15 Juni 49min

Hasan Minhaj Says Life Is Like Biryani (Reheat)

For comedian and former Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj, biryani is more than a delicious food. It's a guide to life: pulling out the good bits and pushing the weird stuff to the side. And when ...

12 Juni 37min