Food

Dr. Jessica B. Harris is a renowned culinary historian, James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame winner, and star of the Netflix docuseries ‘High on the Hog.’ Her latest book is ‘Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine.’ Joe Donahue spoke with her in a WAMC on the Road and CulinaryArts@SPAC event in Saratoga Springs, New York in March.

Food choices shape far more than our health. They influence land use, water resources, and the amount of heat-trapping pollution released into the atmosphere. Because of this wide-reaching impact, scientists have begun to measure just how much dietary change is needed to slow climate change.

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.

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.

The newest class of hotdoggers are rolling through Albany on their wiener-on-wheels.

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.

Next Thursday, April 11, The Egg in Albany, NY presents An Evening with Phil Rosenthal of the successful Netflix series - “Somebody Feed Phil.”

Sandra Foyt is an award-winning travel photographer, freelancer, and content media producer. In addition to publishing the family travel site, Albany Kid, and the guide to romantic getaways, Getaway Mavens, she is a freelance writer with credits in Parade, USA Today, and Huffington Post. This year, Foyt has launched Albany Traveler. Her new book is “100 Things to do in Albany Before You Die” - it is published by Reedy Press.

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."