The Street Vendor Who Sleeps In His Van To Protect His Turf

"Flirting over food is really the best way to flirt," says actor Alan Alda, and he would know. He met his wife, Arlene, at a dinner party in college. A rum cake fell off the top of a refrigerator, and Arlene and Alan were the only ones to grab a fork and eat it off the floor. More than sixty years later, they’re still married. Their secret? Good communication. Alan and Arlene advise Dan on how to communicate with his own family about food, why a dinner party is about so much more than the meal, and why short memories help build long relationships. This episode originally aired on July 2, 2018, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Aviva DeKornfeld, and Rob McGinley Myers. The Sporkful team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O'Connell.Transcript available at www.sporkful.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

13 Feb 202326min

When the French chef Jean-Robert de Cavel died in December, hundreds of chefs wore their white coats to his memorial service in downtown Cincinnati. It was a testament to how many people Jean-Robert had inspired in the thirty years he lived in the city. So how did this fancy French chef end up in Cincinnati — and why did he stay? We hear about Jean-Robert’s unlikely love affair with his adopted city, and we talk with food writer Keith Pandolfi about how the chef’s legacy has inspired Cincy’s food scene to reclaim its local pride. Then Dan and Keith come up with a new Super Bowl food craze just for Cincinnati.The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O'Connell. The first half of this episode originally aired on November 5, 2018, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, and Aviva DeKornfeld, with editing by Gianna Palmer and mixing by Dan Dzula.Transcript available at www.sporkful.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

6 Feb 202328min

The number one question Dan has gotten since inventing cascatelli is: Are you going to invent another pasta shape? The answer is probably not — the sequel is never as good as the original. Instead, he gets a better idea: find some old, obscure shapes that he loves, make a tweak or two, and team up with Sfoglini to produce them. But first he has to figure out which shapes, and how to get his hands on them. That requires a lot of taste testing and a trip to Italy. Plus, an accident threatens to derail Sfoglini’s production, and we get an update on cascatelli.Click here to shop all Sporkful pastas and products at Sfoglini.The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O'Connell, with additional editing this week by Hali Bey Ramdene, Abigail Keel, and Nora Ritchie.Transcript available at www.sporkful.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

23 Jan 202335min

When cascatelli first went viral, Dan heard from dozens of listeners who wanted to try it, but couldn’t because they were gluten-free. Well, challenge accepted: Dan sets out to make a version of cascatelli without gluten, a project that’s now nearly a year in the making. Along the way, he learns about the science of starch with an Italian pasta researcher; he cold messages pasta execs on LinkedIn; and he meets a kindred spirit pasta maker who tries to make his gluten-free dreams come true. If you thought regular ruffles were a challenge, just wait until you try to make them gluten-free.Buy Banza cascatelli made from chickpeas here! The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Johanna Mayer, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O'Connell, with help this week from Mary Diduch, Gianna Palmer, and Nora Ritchie.Transcript available at www.sporkful.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

15 Feb 202236min

Mandy Naglich is an award-winning home brewer who also writes and teaches about beer. Now she wants to become a Master Cicerone — basically the beer equivalent of a master sommelier. There are only 19 in the world, and just three are women. If Mandy wants to be number 20, she’ll need to pass a grueling two-day exam that includes identifying beers by taste and smell, pairing beers with food, and fixing a broken draft line. Dan selflessly offers himself up as Mandy’s beer-tasting study buddy, and we get a glimpse of the depth of her knowledge. But will it be enough for her to become a Master Cicerone?To sign up for one of Mandy Naglich's virtual beer workshops, go to BeersWithMandy.com. //Get 500+ more great Sporkful episodes from our catalog and lots of other Stitcher goodness when you sign up for Stitcher Premium: www.StitcherPremium.com/Sporkful (promo code: SPORKFUL).Transcript available at www.sporkful.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

3 Jan 202237min

We’re back with the latest on Cascatelli, the new pasta shape that Dan invented. Now that the chaos around Cascatelli’s launch has died down, Dan has to make some big decisions about what to do next — with help from his cousin Carrie and die maker Chris Maldari. Then while Sfoglini upgrades their factory and tries to get the pasta into stores and restaurants, Dan explores other opportunities. Can he land the kind of deal he’s hoping for? Plus: Dan puts his mom to work developing recipes for Cascatelli.Order your limited edition cascatelli gift box now at Sfoglini.com! And use The Fresh Market’s store locator to find cascatelli in a store near you. //Get 500+ more great Sporkful episodes from our catalog and lots of other Stitcher goodness when you sign up for Stitcher Premium: www.StitcherPremium.com/Sporkful (promo code: SPORKFUL).Transcript available at  www.sporkful.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

8 Nov 202140min

The first run of cascatelli sold out almost immediately. In the weeks that followed, the pasta basically went viral. In this update, you’ll hear how Dan and his family reacted. Then, Dan weighs his options for the future of cascatelli. For help, he turns to die maker Chris Maldari, and Cara Nicoletti and Ariel Hauptman from Seemore Meats & Veggies. For more information on cascatelli ordering and shipping, check out these FAQs from Sfoglini. // Get 500+ more great Sporkful episodes from our catalog and lots of other Stitcher goodness when you sign up for Stitcher Premium: www.StitcherPremium.com/Sporkful (promo code: SPORKFUL). Transcript available at www.sporkful.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

26 Apr 202131min

After months of revisions, Dan thinks he’s got his shape. But he’s been working on this for so long, he’s not sure he knows what’s good anymore. So he brings in an all-star panel of taste testers, including Sohla El-Waylly, Francis Lam, Dorie Greenspan, Christopher Kimball, Claire Saffitz, Jet Tila, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. Then J. Kenji López-Alt, Justin Warner, and Samin Nosrat help Dan pick a name for his shape before, finally, it’s production day! The shape is on sale right now! Get it at Sfoglini, and use promo code SPORKFUL for 15% off your whole order. Want to see photos and videos from Dan’s journey? Follow @thesporkful on Instagram! // Get 500+ more great Sporkful episodes from our catalog and lots of other Stitcher goodness when you sign up for Stitcher Premium: www.StitcherPremium.com/Sporkful (promo code: SPORKFUL). Transcript available at www.sporkful.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

18 Mars 202139min