Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle

Chuck Palahniuk is best known for his novel-turned-cult-classic-film Fight Club, but the prolific author has published a book nearly every year for the past two decades. His newest is called Shock Induction.  Chuck tells host Rachel Belle about the recipes fans have sent him from prison (and which he’s made!), why he can hardly look at a peach, let alone eat one, and why his mouth waters at the mere thought of a crusty, stale Hostess snack cake.   Chuck’s mom was not a great cook, but she was excellent at frosting cakes, specifically the Barbie cakes she made for her children in the 1960s and ’70s. We explore the long history of decorated doll cakes with food scholar KC Hysmith.   And, an extreme culinary creature of habit, Chuck reveals the meal he’s eaten three times a day for the past several years! Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Order Rachel’s brand new cookbook Open Sesame!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Ken Burns, the prolific, award-winning filmmaker who has been making historical documentary films for PBS for more than 40 years.  Ken lost his mother when he was just 11 years old, a tragic event that has shaped both his personal life and career; in last week’s episode of Your Last Meal he said his mother’s death is what led him to filmmaking. She also shaped his taste in food. Ken shares his favorite dessert, one his mother made for his birthday when he was a child.  Ken shares what it’s like making films with his eldest daughter, Sarah Burns; why he’s not a big fan of Christmas; and his favorite movie theater snack.  Ken Burns' latest film, Leonardo Da Vinci, premieres on Cascade PBS in two parts on Monday, November 18 and Tuesday, November 19 at 8:00 pm, and will be available to stream with the Cascade PBS app.   Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or YouTube. Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Order Rachel’s brand new cookbook Open Sesame!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the past 50 years, Ken Burns has written, directed and produced historical films on a wide variety of topics, from country music and baseball to the Vietnam War and the Brooklyn Bridge. His brand-new film investigates the life of Leonardo da Vinci who, very appropriately for this show, painted The Last Supper! So host Rachel Belle consults an Italian archaeologist about what Jesus and the 12 apostles were actually eating in the famous painting.   Over 20 years ago, Burns helped open a restaurant in his small New Hampshire town called The Restaurant at Burdick’s. He claims to be a silent partner, but his name is printed on the brunch, lunch and dinner menus! He'll explain what the Ken Salad is and how it came to be.  Many famous dishes are named after real people, from the Caesar salad to eggs Benedict. We explore the stories behind some of the most well-known eponymous foods, like Granny Smith apples and the Cobb salad.   Pre-order Rachel’s cookbook Open Sesame, out November 12, 2024! Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Get tickets to Food Fight, a culinary game show hosted by Rachel Belle!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Food can play a significant role in a presidential race as candidates attempt to show how relatable they are through the dishes they eat and the restaurants they visit. Not only do Vice President Kamala Harris and presidential hopeful Donald Trump have different politics, they have extremely different tastes in food.  In this special election episode of Your Last Meal, award-winning New York Times food reporter Kim Severson says if Harris is elected, she will be the first president with a genuine love and prowess for cooking. Severson elaborates on what a big role cooking has played in the Harris/Walz campaign.   American food scholar KC Hysmith joins the show to tell us more about Trump’s tastes, and how big a role McDonald’s has played in both his personal and professional life.   Then we’ll go back in time to learn what was served at the very first American elections and rehash some embarrassing moments from years past, when a politician’s public display of eating went terribly wrong.  Here's the recipe for the original Election Cake recipe! Pre-order Rachel’s cookbook Open Sesame, out November 12, 2024! Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Get tickets to Food Fight, a culinary game show hosted by Rachel Belle!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Tim Heidecker, one half of the sketch comedy duo Tim & Eric, actor and musician.  Eric shares a very controversial opinion about pizza (that host Rachel Belle does not agree with!) and, a big baseball fan, he talks about what he likes to eat at the ballpark.  Listen to last week's YLM episode with Tim! Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or YouTube. Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Pre-order Rachel’s cookbook Open Sesame, out November 12, 2024!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim Heidecker, one half of the Tim & Eric comedy duo, is best known for sketch comedy and acting, but he’s also a musician – he just released his eighth album, Slipping Away.   One thing Tim isn't? A foodie. He would take a hoagie from Wawa over a fancy meal any day. Tim is from Pennsylvania, which is also the birthplace of Wawa, a convenience store/gas station chain with a cult following. Why? A Wawa-obsessed food writer explains how their hoagies, soft pretzels and iced tea create a sense of belonging.  When Tim’s on tour with his band, he spends a lot of time on a tour bus – he tells host Rachel Belle about a solitary eating ritual he looks forward to when he’s out on the road.   Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Pre-order Rachel’s cookbook Open Sesame, out November 12, 2024! Listen to YLM with Graham Elliot to learn more about scrapple.Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from astrologer Tali Edut, one half of the Astro Twins. Tali and her twin sister are longtime astrologers for Elle magazine, matchmakers on the Amazon Prime show Cosmic Love and best-selling authors.  Tali grew up in Michigan but spent a long time living in New York City, so host Rachel Belle challenges her to debate which pizza is better: a Detroit-style pie or a New York slice. And then we launch into a speed round to get to know Tali’s tastes a little bit better.  Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Pre-order Rachel’s cookbook Open Sesame, out November 12, 2024!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tali Edut and her twin sister Ophira are the Astro Twins: longtime astrologers for Elle magazine, matchmakers on the Amazon Prime show Cosmic Love and best-selling authors; their new book is The Astrology Advantage: Use Your Horoscope for Personal and Professional Success.Tali grew up in a multicultural household eating lots of classic Middle Eastern dishes.When she eventually moved to New York City, she found comfort at Cafe Mogador, aMoroccan-Jewish-owned restaurant open since 1983.Host Rachel Belle chats with the second-generation owner of the East Village favoriteabout what makes their Greek salad so special. And Tali uses star signs, not Michelin stars, to choose the perfect restaurant. When she writes horoscopes, she chooses to work at restaurants that represent eachZodiac sign – listen in to see if your taste matches your horoscope! Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Pre-order Rachel’s cookbook Open Sesame, out November 12, 2024!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from comedian and actor John Early! John grew up eating Southern staples like pimento cheese sandwiches and cheesy grits, but since making his home in Los Angeles, his cooking style is drastically different. He tells host Rachel Belle about his most cliche and stereotypical LA eats.   When John was a kid, he was such a big fan of the Australian actor Toni Collette, he ran a fan appreciation website! He tells Rachel what he would cook if Ms. Collette was coming to dinner.   Listen to last week's episode of Your Last Meal with John Early! Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Pre-order Rachel’s cookbook Open Sesame, out November 12, 2024!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing up in Nashville with two ministers for parents, John Early’s (Search Party, John Early: Now More Than Ever) formative food memories are linked with church, where the sermons were boring but the donuts were plentiful. Plenty of people go out for breakfast after church on Sundays, but not many know that one of America’s most beloved brunch foods descended from the wafers placed on tongues in the Catholic church in medieval Europe. John and host Rachel Belle discuss when it’s OK and when it’s not OK to send a dish back in a restaurant. Then etiquette expert Lizzie Post chimes in with her professional opinion on that and other modern dining dilemmas. John Early is on tour now with his all-new comedy show – click here to get tickets. And here to read his Grub Street Diet, discussed in the episode! Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Pre-order Rachel's cookbook Open Sesame, out November 12th, 2024!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your Last Meal is celebrating 200 episodes (er, belatedly – this is technically episode 203!) with a replay of the podcast’s 100th episode – a very special show where host Rachel Belle interviewed three spectacular 100-year-old Seattle women about their careers, favorite food memories and, of course, their fantasy last meals. Many of the last meals shared on the podcast are rooted in nostalgia – a dish someone loved as a child, a celebration meal shared with family, a memorable dinner shared with a partner on vacation. And this episode is no different! Inspired by one of the women’s love for the Swedish meatballs her mother-in-law taught her to cook, Rachel gets in touch with the world’s most famous Swedish meatball makers: IKEA! We’ll learn why a furniture store started slinging meatballs, and where the name IKEA comes from. Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Get tickets to Rachel's Open Sesame cookbook launch in Seattle!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Tamron Hall & Lish Steiling, authors of the new cookbook, A Confident Cook. These buddies met on the set of The Today Show, where Tamron was in front of the camera, and Lish worked behind the scenes as a food stylist for the cooking segments.   Close friends, Lish and Tamron have shared many meals and holidays together with their friends, family and chosen family, so host Rachel Belle put together a little quiz to see just how well they know each other! If you missed last week’s Your Last Meal episode with Tamron & Lish, give it a listen! Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Get tickets to Rachel's Open Sesame cookbook launch in Seattle!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Emmy Award-winning journalist and talk show host, Tamron Hall, and James Beard Award and Emmy Award–winning culinary producer, Lish Steiling, became fast friends working at The Today Show, they never would have predicted they'd write a cookbook together. But they just released A Confident Cook, a collection of recipes inspired by Tamron’s and Lish’s backgrounds, plus lots of basic techniques for newbies, like how to properly fry and scramble an egg.   Tamron’s dad was the cook in the family, and when he passed, she wanted to learn how to gather friends and family for tasty meals just like he had. With Lish's guidance, she slowly became a confident cook. In this episode, we talk food, friendship, tattoos and noisy parrots! Follow along on Instagram! Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Pre-order Rachel's cookbook Open Sesame!Sign up for Rachel's newsletter!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from musicians Aly and AJ, who landed their first record deal as teenagers in 2005, and are still singing for their suppers!  Aly and AJ are bandmates and sisters who give off big BFF energy, and when it comes to food and fashion, they have a lot in common. So host Rachel Belle quizzes them to see just how much they know about each other’s culinary tastes.   If you missed last week’s Your Last Meal episode with Aly & AJ, give it a listen.   Follow along on Instagram! Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Pre-order Rachel's cookbook Open Sesame! Sign up for Rachel's newsletter!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aly and AJ signed their first record deal when they were just 13 and 15 years old, and nearly 20 years later they’re still singing for their supper. Literally! The sisters love to eat and keep a running list of their favorite restaurants at tour destinations around the world.    One of their favorite spots in the U.S. is Marfa Burritos, a hole-in-the-wall, family-run Texas burrito joint with a cult following. Columnist and author Gustavo Arellano joins the show to talk about what makes the long, skinny bordertown burritos so special.   How many times have you dribbled spaghetti sauce down the front of your previously clean white shirt? Aly, AJ and host Rachel Belle wonder why adults don’t wear bibs! So British food historian Pen Vogler tells us how people used to protect their clothes from stains.   Follow along on Instagram! Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Pre-order Rachel's cookbook Open Sesame! Sign up for Rachel's newsletter!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from actor Thomas Doherty, who stars in Disney’s Descendants movies, the reboot of Gossip Girl and the new indie romance film Dandelion.  Thomas is from Scotland, but moved to the U.S. to pursue acting. When he goes back home to the U.K., his dad always cooks up a big batch of his favorite comfort food: haggis served with neeps and tatties (you can learn all about these dishes on last week’s episode of Your Last Meal!).   Eager to learn about other traditional Scottish dishes, host Rachel Belle asks Thomas about classics like cullen skink and cock-a-leekie soup, but ...Thomas is just as stumped as she is! Listen to the hijinks and learn a bit about Scottish cuisine along the way!    Follow along on Instagram! Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Pre-order Rachel's cookbook Open Sesame!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scottish actor Thomas Doherty (Gossip Girl, Descendants, Dandelion) isn’t hungry in America. But the Brooklyn-based film and TV star says he’s famished in Scotland, where artificial dyes and chemicals are banned from food products. Doherty went to a 900-year-old high school in Scotland, so he loves the fresh energy that a young country like the United States offers. But he’s not a fan of American food, and misses the strict UK food regulations, saying he pretty much lost his appetite since moving to the States. What he does love is haggis. But Scotland’s national dish is outlawed in the U.S.! Scottish food historian Paul Gilchrist joins the show to talk about the ban and tells you everything you’d ever want to know about haggis. Follow along on Instagram! Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Pre-order Rachel's cookbook Open Sesame!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every Labor Day weekend since 1990, tens of thousands of people descend upon a Nevada desert to build an elaborate, eccentric, temporary town called Black Rock City. This is the famed Burning Man festival, and once you’re inside the gate, nothing (but ice) is for sale and bartering and trading are forbidden.   So how do 70,000 people feed themselves at the Black Rock Desert festival without electricity or running water? Burning Man runs on a gifting economy, and food is a major currency. On this Very Special Episode of Your Last Meal, we’ll explore Burning Man’s culinary camps, where festival attendees set up makeshift restaurants and feed thousands of Burners for free. You’ll meet the creator of Cheese & Advice Palace, who says waiting in line for a grilled cheese sandwich is part of the experience, and the chef behind Domakase, a desert sushi bar. Follow along on Instagram! Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Sign up for the free newsletter! Pre-order Rachel Belle's new cookbook, Open Sesame: 45 Sweet & Savory Recipes for Tahini & All Things Sesame!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from J. Ryan Stradal, the bestselling author of three novels, all set in Minnesota: Kitchens of the Great Midwest, The Lager Queen of Minnesota and Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club.  Through a not-so-rapid-fire speed round, J. Ryan tells host Rachel Belle about his favorite Minnesota State Fair food, what the J. in his name stands for, and why you really need to open that bottle of wine you're forever saving for a special occasion.  And we'll explore the history behind a Midwestern fried-food debate: corn dog vs Pronto Pup! What's the difference? Listen and find out!  Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Pre-order Rachel Belle's new cookbook, Open Sesame: 45 Sweet & Savory Recipes for Tahini & All Things Sesame!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New York Times bestselling novelist J. Ryan Stradel tells host Rachel Belle it was “totally weird to be a teenage foodie in the 1990s.” He couldn’t wait to get his driver’s license so he could drive into the Twin Cities and eat at restaurants serving mysterious, flavorful, global food — a complete contrast to the bland dishes his parents cooked at home. Food plays a role in all three of Stradal’s novels, all set in his home state of Minnesota: Kitchens of the Great Midwest, The Lager Queen of Minnesota and Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club — supper clubs being a uniquely Midwestern throwback institution. Rachel chats with the owners of two multigenerational supper clubs, Lehman’s and Ettlin’s Ranchero, about what sets them apart from other restaurants. Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram!Support the show: http://rachelbelle.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.