Appetites looks back on 2023: Restaurants, Vietnamese meatballs and the secret to entertaining
This year Appetites took a tour of the state, interviewed a writer who’s been keeping close tabs on the Twin Cities food scene for 25 years, and tasted dozens of delectable dishes.
Here are a few of our favorite conversations with the chefs, cookbook authors and tastemakers who make the Minnesota food scene vibrant:
Amy Thielen, author of ‘Company: The Radically Casual Art of Cooking for Others’
What’s the secret to cooking for others? In her new cookbook, chef Amy Thielen advises giving up on Martha Stewart perfectionism.
She practiced what she preached as she hosted the Appetites team in her home near Park Rapids: “If the host is all nervous and worried too much about things being absolutely perfect, it really kind of infects the group in a bad way,” Thielen said with tongs in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. “Is it a party, or are we performing food here?”
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Chef Scott Graden, owner of New Scenic Café
The New Scenic Café has been around long enough that it’s no longer new but this North Shore icon manages to keep things fresh. Chef Scott Graden talked to All Things Considered host Tom Crann about how the Duluth restaurant continues to remain relevant by pushing the region's culinary boundaries.
Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, food writer
Over the years, award-winning writer Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl has been a frequent guest on Appetites.
When she released her book “The Essential Dear Dara: Writings on Local Characters and Memorable Places,” it was only natural for her and Tom Crann to settle in for a wide-ranging conversation about writing, food and life in Minnesota.
Eric Pham of the Quang Restaurant family
Eric Pham grew up in Minneapolis’ Quang Restaurant family. Now a chef in his own right, he talked to Tom Crann about opening his own place — Khue's Kitchen, named for his mom Khue Pham — and showed us how he makes his favorite dish: bánh mì xíu mại, Vietnamese meatball sandwiches.
Loretta Barrett Oden and Beth Dooley, co-authors of ‘Corn Dance: Inspired First American Cuisine’
In this charming conversation, renowned Native chef Loretta Barrett Oden credits her friend Beth Dooley for getting her to write her first cookbook.
The two share anecdotes about their collaboration, discuss the evolution of the Indigenous food scene and share a recipe for Three Sisters and Friends Salad.