Tinfoil Swans
Food & Cooking Podcasts
Food & Wine has led the conversation around food, drinks, and hospitality in America and around the world since 1978. Tinfoil Swans continues that legacy with intimate, informative, surprising, and uplifting conversations with the biggest names in the...
Location:
United States
Genres:
Food & Cooking Podcasts
Description:
Food & Wine has led the conversation around food, drinks, and hospitality in America and around the world since 1978. Tinfoil Swans continues that legacy with intimate, informative, surprising, and uplifting conversations with the biggest names in the culinary industry and beyond, sharing never-before-heard stories about the successes, struggles, and fork-in-the-road moments that made them who they are today. You'll hear from icons and innovators like Daniel Boulud, Padma Lakshmi, Tristen Epps, and Maneet Chauhan, going deep on their formative experiences, the dishes and meals that made them, their joys, doubts and dreams, and what's still on the menu ahead. Tune in for a feast that'll feed your brain and soul — and plenty of wisdom and quotable morsels to savor later. New episodes every Tuesday.
Language:
English
Episodes
Wolfgang Puck and the Tennis Match With the Pope
4/21/2026
Legendary chef Wolfgang Puck opens up about leaving an abusive home at 14, finding refuge in a pastry kitchen, and getting his first real validation from a mentor. From taking a Greyhound bus to Indianapolis expecting it to be like Monaco, getting life advice from Elton John and Mick Jagger, and building Spago with an open kitchen that changed dining culture, he reflects on cooking for celebrities and royalty — and why he says hello to the dishwasher first and Tom Cruise last when he enters his restaurants. Visit foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans for more Episode Art Courtesy of Food & Wine / Marco Bollinger Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:01:02:52
Paul Carmichael and the Blessing of Uncle Clive
4/14/2026
Chef Paul Carmichael traces his path from a teenage cook in Barbados to the chef behind Kabawa, which Food & Wine recently named the best restaurant in the U.S. He opens up about feeling like an impostor in top kitchens, the mentors (like Wylie Dufresne, Marcus Samuelsson, and David Chang) who shaped him, and the turning point that led him to “burn clean” and build a restaurant rooted in purpose, not pressure. Visit foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans for more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:01:01:45
Regé-Jean Page and the Sloppy Tomato
4/7/2026
What does it mean to “repaint” the world more truthfully and joyfully? Bridgerton and You, Me & Tuscany star Regé-Jean Page traces his path from a spider-fearing, Indiana Jones–loving kid in Zimbabwe to an actor determined to enrich how and for whom we see love, travel, and culture depicted on screen. He shares vivid memories of childhood meals eaten by hand around a fire, why moving to the UK pushed him to find belonging through music and theater, and how art can create “empathy bridges” between people. He gets candid about rom-coms as vehicles for real emotional transformation, the radical power of pleasure (including eating a perfect tomato like an apple), and his mission to tell stories that invite everyone into the experience. Visit foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:44:49
Tom Colicchio and the Shrimp Hazing Incident
3/31/2026
On the 25th anniversary of his groundbreaking restaurant Craft, and 20th anniversary of Top Chef, Tom Colicchio reflects on his path from teenage short-order cook to one of the defining figures in American dining. He opens up about ADHD, a dangerous road not taken, a surprise appearance by a Jacques Pépin cookbook, the moment he chose cooking over everything else, and why he’s now pushing for better work-life balance in restaurant culture. Visit foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:56:34
A New Season of Tinfoil Swans Starts March 31 With an All-Star Lineup
3/24/2026
Season 4 of Tinfoil Swans returns March 31 with an all-star lineup of culinary icons, storytellers, and industry trailblazers. Hosted by Kat Kinsman, this award-winning podcast goes beyond food to explore the personal journeys behind the people shaping what and how we eat. This season features powerful conversations with legends like Wolfgang Puck, Claudette Zepeda, and Tom Colicchio. Expect laughter, vulnerability, and hard-earned wisdom as guests share the triumphs, struggles, and defining experiences that fuel their passion. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts so you do not miss an episode, and visit foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:03:46
Phil Rosenthal and the Eternal Fluffy Eggs
12/9/2025
Phil Rosenthal is living his dream life as a newly-minted restaurant owner who gets to work alongside his family and one of the greatest chefs in the country. In this live podcast taping from the Food & Wine Classic in Charleston, the Somebody Feed Phil star, Everybody Loves Raymond creator, and bestselling cookbook author talks about his childhood culinary awakening at 7-Eleven, dragging his parents kicking and screaming to a fancy meal, why he believes diners might save America, and what he wants to do with the rest of his days on earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:52:55
Ruby Tandoh and the Spicy Dip Burgers
12/2/2025
Celebrated food writer and Great British Bake Off finalist Ruby Tandoh talks about growing up with Nigel Slater on her parents' bookshelf, hosting earnest teenage dinner parties, and finding her own voice on the page. She digs into regional food traditions from Manchester’s spicy dip burgers to Scotland’s arbroath smokies, the strange pressures of algorithm-driven food culture, the joy of old cookbooks and weird jelly molds, her new book All Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat Now, and why she’s still hopeful about the future of food. Learn more at: https://www.foodandwine.com/tinfoil-swans-podcast-s3-ep31-ruby-tandoh-and-the-spicy-dip-burgers-11857119 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:52:52
Encore: Byron Gomez and the American Dream
11/25/2025
Byron Gomez and his family arrived in the United States from Costa Rica when he was eight years old, and he was in for the shock of his young life. He spoke Spanish at home, had never seen snow or even a winter coat, and had to find his place in a world that didn't always want him there. But at age 15, he found restaurants. He put in the very hard work, let himself dream, and the success followed. The Top Chef contestant spoke about his path from Burger King to cooking in Michelin-starred restaurants, being a DACA recipient, getting sober, and the battle scars he earned along the way. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:01:00:48
June Rodil and the Cove Beneath the Comforter
11/18/2025
Houston-based sommelier and restaurateur June Rodil shares her journey from an immigrant kid decoding American culture through Babysitters Club books to becoming a hospitality visionary redefining what it means to serve with empathy. She opens up about fitting in, parental pressure, what Waffle House and Olive Garden taught her about hospitality, and the quiet refuge she finds beneath the covers when the world gets too loud. Learn more at: https://www.foodandwine.com/tinfoil-swans-podcast-s3-ep30-june-rodil-and-the-cove-beneath-the-comforter-11850897 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:56:42
Padma Lakshmi and the Cathartic Scream
11/11/2025
Bestselling author, award-winning TV host and producer, activist, and fledgling comedian Padma Lakshmi joined the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen for a live onstage conversation about what's next after Top Chef and Taste the Nation, her new book Padma's All American, how comedy is like sex without touching, the freedom in working from the bathtub, the value in building an "old broads network," and why it's so healthy to embrace your rage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:57:52
Angela Kinsey, Joshua Snyder, and the Courtship Soup
11/4/2025
If you're a fan of The Office, you're probably aware that co-star Angela Kinsey and her husband Joshua Snyder host an ultra-charming cooking show, but do you know how a giant pot of soup factored into their romance? They joined Tinfoil Swans to talk about their warm, wonderful, and empowering new cookbook; the way they feel when someone is rude to a waiter; the anxiety that still sometimes comes alongside the check at a restaurant; soup as a love language; and why Angela will in fact take those last two pieces of broccolini home in a doggie bag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:55:37
Elvira and the Butt-Crunched Potato Chip Casserole
10/28/2025
Cassandra Peterson — better known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark — grew up as a misfit kid with a bad perm, burn scars, and a mother who told her she'd never make it. Despite it all, she became a Las Vegas showgirl, a Groundling, a horror icon, and a beacon for weirdoes everywhere. The "Martha Stewart of the Macabre" talks about her new cookbook, the cooking tip Vincent Price gave her, the advice she didn't take from Elvis, and the power of entertaining to build community — even if it all goes hilariously wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:48:23
Harry Hamlin and the Pickled Tongue
10/21/2025
Harry Hamlin shares how his Sunday Bolognese went from a Real Housewives lunch to an open-source food company, the reason his psychology degree informs his hosting (at parties that serve as exposure therapy for his wife, Lissa Rinna), and why it's so important to him to support hunger relief groups. Did you know he's owned an energy company for almost 30 years? The actor, activist, and entrepreneur goes deep on his belief in ingredient transparency, the struggle meals he ate growing up, wooing Rinna, and why the podcast they host together is how they're finally getting to know one another on a deeper level. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:52:43
Encore: Madhur Jaffrey and the Trap of Perfection
10/14/2025
When Madhur Jaffrey published "An Invitation to Indian Cooking" in 1973, she had no idea that half a century later, the book would not only still be in print, but also get an anniversary reissue that would welcome future generations in the vast and varied cuisine of her homeland. In this encore of one of our favorite first-season epsiodes of Tinfoil Swans, Food & Wine's executive features editor Kat Kinsman finally meets her lifelong culinary hero and gets some sage advice from the writer, teacher, and actress about self worth, righteous anger, perfectionism, and what actually matters to you when you turn 90. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:39:37
Bryan Caswell and the Possum Cops
10/7/2025
2009 F&W Best New Chef and Houston icon Bryan Caswell opens up about single fatherhood, second chances, and his comeback with Latuli — plus the "redemption lies tomorrow" mindset reshaping his kitchen, and the time he sneaked into Jean-George Vongerichten's kitchen and came out with a job. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:59:17
Paola Velez and the Guy Fieri FaceTime
9/30/2025
From fixing radios and writing slam poetry as a kid in the Bronx, to becoming one of the most celebrated pastry chefs and community builders of her generation, 2021 Food & Wine Best New Chef Paola Velez has never followed the expected path. Along the way, she’s embraced subcultures that gave her belonging, built spaces where strangers connect over shaved ice and cocktails, and redefined what it means to be a chef — on social media, in restaurants, and in the wider world. In this conversation, she shares the courage it takes to choose joy in the face of struggle, the humility behind turning down a major accolade, and the celebrity chef moment that meant everything to her mom. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:55:45
Tavel Bristol-Joseph and the Backyard Coal Pot
9/23/2025
From three-mile walks to school in Guyana and “punishment baking” with his aunt to becoming the first pastry chef named a Food & Wine Best New Chef, Tavel Bristol-Joseph has never followed the expected path. In this episode, he shares the chaos and music of landing in Brooklyn, the quiet ritual he keeps each birthday to honor his late father, and why he believes cooking is just the vessel for something much bigger. For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:53:25
Dana Cowin, Hunter Lewis, the Rose, and the Thorn
9/16/2025
Food & Wine’s longest-serving editors in chief, Dana Cowin and Hunter Lewis, invite you into a revealing conversation about the history and impact of the Best New Chefs accolade since it started in 1988. From the early days of scouting talent with notebooks and stringers to today’s rigorous process shaped by mentorship, community, and culture, they share behind-the-scenes stories, heated debates, and the unforgettable moments that have defined the program — and American dining — for nearly four decades. Plus, can you beat them in a chef trivia quiz? For more info visit: foodandwine.com/tinfoilswans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:54:18
Hunter Lewis and the Road to the 2025 Best New Chefs
9/9/2025
Food & Wine editor in chief Hunter Lewis shares the untold story behind the magazine’s iconic Best New Chefs list and reveals the 2025 class. From the intense debates that shape each year’s BNC decisions to the lessons he’s carried from his days as a three-sport "prep jock," line cook, and local journalist, Lewis reflects on the long, strange trip that led him to the helm of Food & Wine. Along the way, he opens up about why he still calls himself a "glorified home cook," his upcoming cookbook, his brush with Anthony Bourdain, how he approaches leadership, and the future he sees for restaurants in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:54:55
Edward Lee and the Worst Lunch Service Ever
9/2/2025
From poring over cast-off food magazines in a Brooklyn laundry room to opening a New York restaurant at 25 and being nearly undone by a single New York Times mention, Edward Lee has lived through the exhilarating highs and bruising lows of the kitchen. On this episode, he goes deep about the worst lunch service of his life, how moving to Kentucky after 9/11 gave him the space to make mistakes and grow, and why revealing his Korean name on Netflix's Culinary Class Wars became one of the most important moments of his career. He also shares how he’s working to banish plastic from restaurant kitchens, why bartenders deserve more protection than they often get, and what he's hoping to teach his daughter about her Korean heritage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duración:00:51:31