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Artwork for Special Sauce

Special Sauce with Ed Levine

Ed Levine
Pizza
Thanksgiving
Food Industry
Food Insecurity
Martha's Vineyard
Cooking
Seattle
Teriyaki
ICE
Food Culture
Leftovers
Spices
Cooking Tips
Pasta
Grilling
Chocolate
Kamala Harris
Immigration
Cookbooks
Turkey

Serious Eats' podcast Special Sauce enables food lovers everywhere to eavesdrop on an intimate conversation about food and life between host and Serious Eats founder Ed Levine and his well-known/famous friends and acquaintances both in and out of the food culture.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes453Founded10 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
FoodArts

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Artwork for Special Sauce

Latest Episodes

The idea that food is medicine has been around for centuries. On this week's Special Sauce The New York Times's Kim Severson and the Aspen Institute's Corby Kummer talk about how doctors, the government, and even insurance companies have been engaged... more

Last November ICE launched Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, terrorizing both restaurant customers and workers in immigrant communities all over the Windy City.We heard firsthand accounts of ICE's violent misdeeds by Chicago Tribune reporter Zareen ... more

Tom Valenti, one of my favorite chefs of all time (who also happened to be a swell, generously spirited human being), died suddenly last week. Tom was a friend of mine, so I gathered writer Andrew Friedman (who co-wrote Tom's cookbooks) and Dinosaur ... more

As someone who has spent the greater part of a half-century searching for and obsessing about where to find the best of any kind of foodstuff, I was immediately drawn to Ella Quittner's book Obsessed with the Best. Quittner and I delved into the plea... more

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Kim Severson
New York Times food reporter
The New York Times
Episode: Can Food Actually Be Medicine? Yes!
Corby Kummer
Executive director of the Food and Society Policy Program at the Aspen Institute
Aspen Institute
Episode: Can Food Actually Be Medicine? Yes!
Zareen Syed
Chicago Tribune reporter
Chicago Tribune
Episode: Chicago and ICE: An Update
Marcos Carbajal
Second-generation Mexican-American restaurant owner
Carnitas Uruapan
Episode: Chicago and ICE: An Update
John Stage
Upstate New Yorker, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que founder
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
Episode: A Tribute to Tom Valenti, The Best Chef You Never Heard Of
Andrew Friedman
Fine writer and podcaster, co-author of Valenti's cookbooks
Host/Creator of Andrew Talks to Chefs
Episode: A Tribute to Tom Valenti, The Best Chef You Never Heard Of
Ella Quittner
Writer and author of Obsessed with the Best
Food 52 (column Absolute Best Tests) / Author
Episode: Ella Quittner: Obsessed With The Best
J. Kenji López-Alt
Author and food writer, long-time partner of Ed Levine
Serious Eats / The Wok
Episode: Noma and Redzepi: A Shocking Tale of Abuse
Bill Addison
Restaurant critic
Los Angeles Times
Episode: Noma and Redzepi: A Shocking Tale of Abuse

Host

Ed Levine
Founder of Serious Eats and host of Special Sauce, Ed Levine is known for his deep connections to the food industry and engaging storytelling. He brings a thoughtful yet humorous perspective to conversations about food and culture.

Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars from 494 ratings
  • Political show

    This is not a cooking show. Way too many politically based opinions. Its more of a left leaning news program. I just like food too bad your waisting my time with your agenda

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    jloy oyster
    United States9 days ago
  • Using your platform for good

    Thank you to Ed Levine and the podcast team for being one of the few “fun” podcasts out there for shining a light on ICE and making sure the truth is told about their inhumane and unlawful tactics. We need more brave people in the media using their voices to highlight the ways in which the most vulnerable members of our community are being targeted.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    meownisota
    United States5 months ago
  • these reviews make me lol

    Giving this show a 5 stars for getting Zionists and folks who wish discussing food could really be apolitical (or rather that it would leaning more to their own views/beliefs) BIG mad!!! It’s very funny and I haven’t even listened to the podcast yet! But I loveeee to see whiny adult baby reviews, always an incentive to listen!!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    txhxy j
    United Statesa year ago
  • LA look at New Orleans

    Look how long it took New Orleans to come back. It was the chefs that bought New Orleans back. Building back will take years. And a lot of people moved away to never to return.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    Bsbooker
    United Statesa year ago
  • Great show

    Very much enjoy the show but, enough with the pizza already!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    mgd1961
    United Statesa year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Many find the host's storytelling to be genuine and inviting, creating a relatable atmosphere.
Some listeners express frustration over the integration of politics into food discussions, preferring a focus purely on culinary topics.
The podcast shines a light on important social issues through food conversations.
Listeners appreciate the diverse and engaging range of guests featured in episodes.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#27
United States/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#155
United States/Arts
Apple Podcasts
#33
Canada/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#116
United Kingdom/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#63
France/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#76
Australia/Arts/Food

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Chicago and ICE: An Update
Q: What changes have restaurants implemented to cope with ICE activity?
Restaurants are posting signs, restricting entry without judicial warrants, locking doors during raids, and coordinating with local allies and councils to keep operations going while prioritizing staff and customer safety.
Chicago and ICE: An Update
Q: Has it gotten better slowly since the low point last month?
There has been a modest uptick in sales at some locations, with a few locations reporting a 20% increase week over week, suggesting a slow recovery alongside ongoing enforcement concerns.
Noma and Redzepi: A Shocking Tale of Abuse
Q: How has media coverage shaped the understanding of the Noma controversy?
Media coverage has highlighted corroborated accounts and investigative reporting, but the panel notes the risk of surface-level narratives and the need for deeper context beyond what's on the plate.
Food Critic on a Diet, Part One: The NYT's Pete Wells
Q: Why not calorie counting?
Pete discussed how numbers don't motivate him and he finds calorie counting complicated and not sustainable, preferring a behavioral approach instead.
Food Critic on a Diet, Part One: The NYT's Pete Wells
Q: Why did you choose to dramatically change your diet instead of doing what me and a few other food writers have successfully done, starting a regimen of a GLP-1 drug?
Pete expressed that he hadn't made significant efforts to lose weight previously and felt he needed to make a serious change after being told by his doctor to do so.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Special Sauce

What is Special Sauce about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This podcast explores the intricate relationship between food and culture through engaging conversations with renowned chefs, writers, and food industry insiders. The topics often traverse not just food itself, but its connections to societal issues, political landscapes, and personal narratives, making each episode rich with context and meaning. Listeners can expect to hear stories that celebrate both the joys and challenges within the culinary world, providing a multifaceted look at how food shapes and reflects broader cultural dynamics. Unique episodes frequently address current events affecting the food industry, such as immigration and health, intertwining personal stories with critical social commentary.

Where can I find podcast stats for Special Sauce?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Special Sauce. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Special Sauce and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Special Sauce get?

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What are the audience demographics for Special Sauce?

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How many subscribers and views does Special Sauce have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Special Sauce has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Special Sauce?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Special Sauce:

1. Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
2. Good Food
3. Bon Appétit
4. The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters
5. Food with Mark Bittman

How many episodes of Special Sauce are there?

Special Sauce launched 10 years ago and published 453 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Special Sauce?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Special Sauce?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Special Sauce from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on Special Sauce?

Recent guests on Special Sauce include:

1. Kim Severson
2. Corby Kummer
3. Zareen Syed
4. Marcos Carbajal
5. John Stage
6. Andrew Friedman
7. Ella Quittner
8. J. Kenji López-Alt

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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