CulinaryArts@SPAC

Culinary Arts at SPAC Events features the talents of both local and visiting chefs along with a visiting guest cookbook author who share their expertise and insights alongside their food. Barbeque legend, James Beard Award Winning author, and host of PBS’s “Project Fire” Steven Raichlen kicked off the Culinary Arts SPAC Fall season with a sizzling celebration of the griddle. His latest book is “Project Griddle: The Versatile Art of Grilling on a Flattop with Steven Raichlen.” [Encore airing.]

Justin Burke is a food writer, recipe developer, queer food activist, and award-winning pastry chef and baker. Burke’s debut cookbook “Potluck Desserts: Joyful Recipes to Share with Pride” was released this past summer by Countryman Press.

Ozoz Sokoh is a culinary anthropologist, food historian, and author of the new cook book “Chop Chop: Cooking the Foods of Nigeria” (Artisan, 2025). In the tradition of Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and Madhur Jaffrey’s “An Invitation to Indian Cooking,” “Chop Chop” offers both a cultural history and a hands-on introduction to the flavors of Nigeria.We spoke with Ozoz in a CulinaryArts@SPAC and WAMC on the Road event in Saratoga Springs, New York on November 15. At the event, we were all treated to authentic Nigerian dishes including a goat pepper soup, chin chin, puff puff, jollof rice, and more prepared by Keobi Restaurant of Albany, New York.

Culinary Arts at SPAC Events features the talents of both local and visiting chefs along with a visiting guest cookbook author who share their expertise and insights alongside their food. Barbeque legend, James Beard Award Winning author, and host of PBS’s “Project Fire” Steven Raichlen kicked off the Culinary Arts SPAC Fall season with a sizzling celebration of the griddle. His latest book is “Project Griddle: The Versatile Art of Grilling on a Flattop with Steven Raichlen.”

Edward Lee is the chef/owner of 610 Magnolia in Louisville, Kentucky; and culinary director of Succotash in National Harbor, Maryland, and Penn Quarter, Washington, DC. He earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the PBS series “The Mind of a Chef.”The acclaimed restauranteur is also the author of “Smoke & Pickles,” “Buttermilk Graffiti,” and “Bourbon Land.” He participated in a CulinaryArts@SPAC event in October based around his “Bourbon Land” book - and for this event, the conversation was facilitated by a former editor at The New York Times, Tiina Loite.

Former NYC chef, James Beard award finalist, and Forts Ferry Farm founder Emma Hearst made her first CulinaryArts@SPAC appearance to celebrate the release of her new book "Flavors from the Farm."

At a CulinaryArts@SPAC event on April 11, we were joined by Marti Buckley to discuss her book “Pintxos: A Taste of Spain’s Basque Country.” The book is published by Artisan.

The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) will welcome back its resident companies -- New York City Ballet and The Philadelphia Orchestra -- to their summer home in Saratoga for a celebratory season that will feature masterworks from the classical cannon, alongside SPAC premieres and debuts. Before they arrive, SPAC will host the Freihofers Saratoga Jazz Festival, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will continue their residency, there educational programs and CulinaryArts@SPAC events. President and CEO of SPAC Elizabeth Sobol, and Vice President of Artistic Planning at SPAC Christopher Shiley join us to tell us more.

Nils Bernstein is the food editor for Wine Enthusiast magazine and has written and developed recipes for such publications as Bon Appétit, Epicurious, GQ, New York Times, Cooking Light, and Men’s Journal. He traded an illustrious career in the music industry, running the publicity departments at independent record labels Sub Pop and Matador for a career in food, drink, and travel journalism. He is the co-author of "The Outdoor Kitchen" by Eric Werner and "Made in Mexico" by Danny Mena.In this CulinaryArts@SPAC interview, he spoke with us about his newest book "The Joy of Oysters."

Dr. Katie Takayasu is an Integrative Medicine physician, author, and speaker in the holistic health space, bridging the gap between traditional Western medicine and the evidenced-based complementary health tools of nutrition, acupuncture, meditation, botanicals and lifestyle optimization. She is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University/New York Presbyterian and teaches the next generation of doctors about healing the whole patient mind, body and spirit. Joe Donahue spoke with her at a CulinaryArts@SPAC event on March 25, 2023. Dr. Katie Takayasu’s book is “Plants First: A Physician’s Guide to Wellness Through a Plant-Forward Diet.”