🎙️ EP142 – The Rise of the Basque Cheesecake. On the road to Etxebarri, Eric chats with José Pelares—chef, entrepreneur, and founder of LA VASCA, Colombia’s cult-favorite Basque cheesecake brand. From nostalgic late-night cheesecake sessions in San Sebastián to adapting the classic recipe for a new audience, the two dig into what makes this dessert so addictive.

🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

🍰 The Cheesecake Origin Story – How a late-night craving turned into a brand

🇨🇴 Exporting Flavor – Bringing Basque cheesecake to Colombia

🧂 Salt > Sugar – Why the best cheesecakes aren’t that sweet

🍪 Cookie Base Controversy – Breaking tradition or improving it?

🐐 Mamia & Sheep’s Milk – Basque desserts in all their minimal glory

🍠 Sweet Potato, Matcha & Dulce de Leche – Remixing the recipe

💡 Tips for Home Bakers – How not to mess it up

🧀 Cheesecake Cheese? – From secret cheeses to white mold crusts

🍷 Pairings We Love – From Sauternes to Pacharán

📈 Going Viral – Runny centers, arepa confusion, and social media gold

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🎙️ EP141 – Finding Your Culinary Identity? After a stretch of solo episodes, Eric and Phil are finally back together—and Phil’s got stories. In this episode, he unpacks his new role at the Arts Club in Dubai, from chef’s table tastings to 1,000-cover yacht clubs. The two dive into the sacred simplicity of chuleta, a ridiculously rich pastrami bao, and the croissant sandwich that broke their brains. Then, listener Chef Ryan sparks a big question: how do you find your culinary identity? The conversation veers into authenticity, remix culture, and why your story is your style—even if it’s German, Spanish, and Venezuelan all at once.

🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

🇦🇪 Back in Dubai – Phil rejoins the Arts Club with a creative R&D role

🥩 The Basque Way of Steak – Chuleta, salt, and zero bullshit

🥐 Croissant x Pastrami – A sandwich only a pervert could invent

🍜 Tuna Tarts & Tonkotsu Ramen – Why simplicity hits hardest

🧪 Pastrami Science – Brining Wagyu short rib for bao buns

🧠 Remix or Ripoff? – How identity is built through inspiration

📍 What Is ‘Authenticity’? – Tortillas, Thomas Keller, and French-Peruvian food

🌍 German Chef, Japanese Food – Cooking outside your passport

🎭 Chef Impostor Syndrome – Finding your place when you feel like a fraud

🧬 Tell the Story Only You Can – Why all art is autobiographical

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🎙️ EP140 – Chef Jackie Villena, a.k.a. The Caviar Queen, knows more about caviar than most people know about salt. From harvesting secrets to wild pairings, she breaks down the luxury ingredient like only an insider can.

She’s cooked in renowned kitchens across the Americas — from Gusto in Bolivia and Barra Lima with Francis Mallmann, to The Inn at Little Washington with Patrick O’Connell — and now serves as Executive Chef at RH’s Champagne & Caviar Cellar, earning her the crown as The Caviar Queen.

🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

🐟 Fisherman’s Butter – Caviar’s humble beginnings

⏳ Ten-Year Fish – Why it takes a decade to harvest

🍷 Caviar Matures Like Wine – Flavor gets better with age

🌍 Caviar Around the World – From Madagascar to China

🍩 French Toast & Donuts – Sweet pairings that just work

🧈 Brioche, Butter & Bliss – The perfect bite

🥩 Tartar Without Capers – Why caviar replaces the classic

🥄 Never Use Metal – Caviar etiquette and preservation tips

🍗 Fried Chicken & Caviar – The pairing no one expects

🏰 The Inn at Little Washington – Jackie’s fairytale kitchen

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🎙️ EP139 – The Umami Conspiracy. From parmesan-in-mayo hacks to kombu-fueled flavor bombs, Phil and Eric dive mouth-first into the misunderstood world of umami. They trace the Japanese origin of the term, bust myths about MSG, and confess the bastardized secrets that supercharge their sauces. Also in this episode: dessert umami bombs, rule-breaking parmesan, and a tomato sauce that hits harder than it should. This one’s full of science, swearing, and savory revelations.

🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

🇦🇪 Back in the Fryer – Phil lands in Dubai

🍄 What Is Umami, Really? – And why no one can describe it

📜 The Japanese Chemist Who Named Umami – A kombu-flavored discovery

🧂 MSG, Sugar & Ajinomoto – The factory-made flavor crystal

🚫 Chinese Restaurant Syndrome – The racist roots of anti-MSG panic

🍟 Shio Kombu on Fries – A flavor bomb you didn’t know you needed

🧀 Parmesan Power Moves – How to hack beurre blanc and mayo

🍅 The Tomato That Punches You – A sauce built to kick your ass

🍫 Dessert Umami – From cheesecake to ganache with blue cheese

🥄 Umeboshi Turnips – A subtle Japanese breakfast that hits deep

🌀 Too Much Umami? – When your pupils become tea saucers

🇮🇹 Rule-Breaking Parmesan – Culinary Crimes Against Italy

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🎙️ EP138 – 🔬From Fine Dining to Harvard Ft. Alejandra Touceda. From her early days dodging crazy chefs, staging at El Celler de Can Roca to now managing the food lab at Harvard University, Alex’s path is anything but linear. In this episode, she dishes on what happens when food meets science.

🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode

👨‍🍳 First Kitchen Trauma – Crying cooks, forced coffee, and surviving a toxic brigade.

🥘 Traditional Roots – Falling back in love with cooking at La Taverna del Clínic.

🌟 Fine Dining Entry – Product-forward learning at Casa Solla.

🏛️ El Celler Energy – Why staging there felt like summer camp for the obsessed.

📚 Thesis at LCA – Rediscovering forgotten plants through grandma’s recipes.

🧪 Nerding Out at Harvard – Teaching food science through pizza elasticity and Harold McGee lectures.

🍶 Amazake Hits Different – A ferment that smells like fruit and flowers.

🧫 Indigenous Beverages – How Alex’s PhD is mapping microbes in traditional fermentation.

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🎙️ EP137 – 🥣 Soup, Salsas & Sea Urchin: Why the Simple Stuff Blows Your Mind From Basque fish soups to sea urchin redemption arcs, Phil and Eric go deep on the dishes that stick with you for life. They swap stories about ramen joints that smell like dashi, jarred bouillabaisse, and introducing moms to the magic of sucking prawn heads. Plus: the quiet power of meat garum, a tuna gut sauce that tastes like sake, and how MSG is the cheat code in Mexican salsa. A warm, savory episode full of flavor bombs and comfort food revelations.

🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

🇲🇽 MSG in Mexican Salsa – The flavor hack that’s more common than you think.

🥄 Soup Memories – Why simple broths hit the deepest emotional notes.

🐟 Bouillabaisse Bucket List – Paying €160 for the real thing in Marseille.

🐦 Quail Dashi – The minimalist broth Phil swears by.

🦐 Prawn Head Juice – A mom’s first taste of carabineros.

🥩 Meat Garum Magic – Fermented umami that levels up lean cuts.

🥔 God-Tier Meatballs – How onions, potatoes, and tradition make you question everything.

🌊 Sea Urchin Redemption – The Hokkaido Uni that changed Phil’s mind.

🐟 Tuna Gut Sauce – A fermented fish condiment made for sake.

🍜 Sushi with Mom – Navigating crab brains and shirako like a pro.

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🎙️ EP136 – 🧈 Fat is Flavor: From Robuchon’s legendary mashed potatoes to duck fat caramel and toasted yeast butter, Phil and Eric go full-fat in this unapologetic ode to cooking’s richest ingredient. They break down emulsions like mayo and alioli, get nostalgic about real cream, and share chef secrets like using pork fat in tortillas or chuleta fat for glazing veg. If you’ve ever wondered why your dressing is flat or your potatoes are boring—this one’s for you.

🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

🧠 Olive Oil & Brain Power – Why the good stuff boosts more than just salad flavor.

🥧 Lemon Pie Is Mostly Butter – The sneaky ratios behind custards and “lemon” desserts.

🥔 Robuchon Potatoes – How to fold in butter until it nearly splits (and that’s a good thing).

🦆 Duck Fat Caramel – The Michelin trick that deepens sweet complexity.

🌮 Pork Fat Tortillas – A Mexican grandma move that changes everything.

🌰 Nut Oils & Plum Seed Magic – Alternative fats that bring surprising elegance.

🥄 Mayonnaise 101 – Why emulsions are the real power move in flavor and texture.

🍞 Toasted Yeast Butter – Umami-rich, roasty, and criminally underused.

🥛 Real Cream vs. Supermarket Slop – A passionate rant on why quality dairy still matters.

🧈 Brown Butter Forever – The squeeze bottle hack you’ll wish you knew earlier.

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🎙️ EP135 – 🍜 Phil’s Japan: Ramen, Tempura & the Soul of Japanese Cooking. Back from a 10-day pilgrimage across Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Phil shares stories of smoky yakitori counters, jazz-filled soba barns, dashi-soaked ramen, and mochi wrapped like origami. From sushi rice philosophy to frying as steaming, this is a deep-dive into Japanese food culture—equal parts nostalgia and chef-geek heaven.

🎧 Topics Covered in This Episode:

🍜 Ramen That Tastes Like Carbonara – How a chicken tonkotsu hit all the right fatty, salty notes.

🍆 Eggplant Epiphany – A single tempura aubergine that rewired how Phil thinks about frying.

🔥 Yakitori & Momentum – Why timing and juice matter more than garnish.

🍣 Sushi Rice & Chef Apologies – What happened when Phil almost broke the nigiri.

🥢 Dashi is Umami – Inside Kyoto’s broth temple and the scent that changed everything.

🌿 Angelica Tempura – Foraging traditions and herbs that taste like lovage and celery.

🎷 Soba & Jazz in Osaka – A noodle barn where duck broth meets Miles Davis.

🚄 Real Japan vs. Tourist Japan – Ryokans, temple lunches, and jogging through graveyards.

💸 Don’t Be a Trash Panda – The case against living off 7-Eleven food in Japan.

🌍 Going Once a Year – Why Japan remains a culinary reference point for any serious cook.

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