Shows
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleLachi: Arthur’s Eggs in a Corn TortillaLachi is an award-winning recording artist, CEO of RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities), host of the PBS series Renegades, disability advocate and author of the new book, I Identify as Blind: A Brazen Celebration of Disability Culture, Identity and Power. She’s also a joyful, gregarious ray of sunshine! Like the name of her book implies, Lachi is legally blind. She tells host Rachel Belle how learning to cook was a big part of learning to be independent and how finally being out and proud of her blindness has made life so much easier and...
2026-02-0533 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleNeko Case: PopoversThe only thing Grammy-nominated musician Neko Case craves more than crisp-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside popovers is Hungarian food from a 61-year-old restaurant in Ohio. Neko tells host Rachel Belle about her favorite Eastern European dishes and how eating at The Balaton helped her reconnect with her long-lost heritage. But back to popovers! We’re joined by a pastry chef who baked thousands of popovers every day, five days a week, for five years at Acadia National Park’s Jordan Pond House, the popover epicenter of the United States. Sign up for Rachel’s The Nosh Newsletter to get her recipe...
2026-01-0832 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleJonathan Russell (The Head and the Heart): Seafood BoilJonathan Russell is one of the founding members (vocals, guitar) of The Head and the Heart, a band that organically formed at weekly open-mic nights at Seattle’s Conor Byrne Pub. Russell didn’t grow up with happy memories around the dinner table. He tells host Rachel Belle about his natural inclination to eat alone, why a crab boil is the perfect meal for an introvert and how working in bars and restaurants changed the way he orders. Rachel’s friend, Roz Ray, joins the show to share her best party strategies for shy and introver...
2025-12-2530 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Gaby DalkinThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from chef and best-selling cookbook author Gaby Dalkin, who's known online and on social as What’s Gaby Cooking. In this week’s lightning round, Gaby and host Rachel Belle bond over their favorite childhood birthday cake, Gaby shares the late-night, stand-over-the-sink snack she’d never put in a cookbook, and surprises Rachel with her answer to the question, “What do you wish people would ask you about in interviews, that’s not related to food?”
Become a Cascade PBS member and support public media! Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The N...
2025-12-0406 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle"Seattle Eats" LIVE with Tan Vinh, Rachel Belle & J. Kenji Lopez-AltEarlier this month, at Seattle’s Town Hall, Rachel Belle was a guest on a sold-out, live taping of Seattle Eats with host Tan Vinh, the award-winning food and drink writer for The Seattle Times. Bestselling cookbook author and chef, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt was also a guest! The first segment of the show is dedicated to Thanksgiving: we learn about a local sushi chef’s recipe for teriyaki turkey, how green bean casserole factors into Tan’s immigrant story, and why Rachel has fond Thanksgiving memories of KFC and Celine Dion. Then Tan asks Rachel and Kenji about t...
2025-11-2749 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleDorie Greenspan (re-air): Ice Cream, Lobster, Ice CreamProlific, five-time James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Dorie Greenspan is the queen of sweets, and she just released her 15th cookbook, Dorie’s Anytime Cakes. Famous for her beloved World Peace Cookies and many baking books, including one she wrote with Julia Child, it's not surprising that Dorie wants to start and end her last meal with dessert. What's wrong with eating dessert first, anyway? Rachel chats with Ayurvedic counselor Jodi Boone about the life-bettering benefits of starting your meal with sweets. And when Dorie told Rachel she ate the same exact lunch every single day for y...
2025-11-1326 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleAtsuko Okatsuka: Gluten-Free SpaghettiComedian Atsuko Okatsuka’s last meal, and the reason why she sometimes carries cooked scallops in her bag, trace back to her unstable, unpredictable childhood. She talks about being kidnapped by her grandmother and why a gluten-free spaghetti dinner brings her comfort, even as someone who doesn’t have a gluten sensitivity. Atsuko’s first foray into entertainment was working at an ice cream chain that made employees sing and dance for tips. Atsuko loved it, but host Rachel Belle interviews two other folks who had no idea they had to perform at their restaurant jobs, until they sa...
2025-11-0727 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleAtsuko Okatsuka: Gluten-Free SpaghettiComedian Atsuko Okatsuka’s last meal, and the reason why she sometimes carries cooked scallops in her bag, trace back to her unstable, unpredictable childhood. She talks about being kidnapped by her grandmother and why a gluten-free spaghetti dinner brings her comfort, even as someone who doesn’t have a gluten sensitivity. Atsuko’s first foray into entertainment was working at an ice cream chain that made employees sing and dance for tips. Atsuko loved it, but host Rachel Belle interviews two other folks who had no idea they had to perform at their restaurant jobs, until they sa...
2025-11-0627 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Rico NastyThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from rapper Rico Nasty, who is on tour now with her latest album, Lethal! In a lightning round, Rico Nasty tells host Rachel Belle about her first concert, and how embarrassing it was to attend with her mom, her ideal 'girl dinner,' her top five favorite things to buy at Trader Joe's and her favorite hiking snacks.
Get tickets to Food Fight x America’s Test Kitchen in Seattle, November 8!
Become a Cascade PBS member and support public media! Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with...
2025-10-3009 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleRico Nasty: Five Guys Burger & Boardwalk FriesSweet and boisterous, rapper Rico Nasty professes her love for making music; cooking for the people she adores most; and her grandmas, all while promoting her new album, Lethal. Her conversation with host Rachel Belle bounces from Maryland boardwalk fries (we’ll tell you what they are!) to Taco Bell (we learn what the Cinnamon Twists are made from) to a popular Puerto Rican party snack her grandma makes her, and only her, as a treat. Did you know those little strawberry candies, the ones with the cute strawberry-print wrapper and squishy center, most often found in gra...
2025-10-2330 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleTilly Ramsay: British Sunday RoastYes, food TV host Tilly Ramsay is the daughter of famed chef and TV host Gordan Ramsay, but she is working hard to pave her own way! Tilly recently graduated from culinary school, which she paid for herself, thank you very much, and she tells me about her fateful first day of school, where she was faced with eating her three least favorite foods. Host Rachel Belle asks Tilly the elephant-in-the-room question: Does her dad shout at his family like he shouts at TV contestants? And Tilly explains why a classic Sunday roast is so special to th...
2025-10-0931 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Matteo BocelliThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Italian singer Matteo Bocelli! In a lightning round with host Rachel Belle, Matteo, a self-described romantic, shares which celebrity wedding he had the honor of singing at earlier this summer; sets the record straight on what bruschetta really is; and discloses the only dish his dad – famed singer Andrea Bocelli – has ever cooked for him (and why most Italians would be angry with the way he makes it).
Get tickets to Food Fight x America's Test Kitchen in Seattle, November 8!
Become a Cascade PBS member and support public media...
2025-10-0208 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleMatteo Bocelli: CarbonaraLike any card-carrying Italian worth his focaccia, singer Matteo Bocelli says he could eat pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner! From his home in Tuscany, Matteo tells host Rachel Belle about the super-simple, but deeply delicious, sauce recipe he’s been trying to perfect, inspired by a three-Michelin-star restaurant, and why you should always choose Italian pasta made from ancient grains. You’ve probably heard the tales: A gluten-sensitive American travels to Italy or France, and can magically stuff their face with croissants, baguettes and pasta without any negative consequences. Rachel asks Dr. Alessio Fasano, professor of nutri...
2025-09-2528 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Pramila JayapalThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the U.S. Representative from Washington’s 7th congressional district. Representative Jayapal is almost as passionate about food as she is about immigrant rights, universal health care and income equality. Almost! And in this quick lightning round with host Rachel Belle, recorded live at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival earlier this summer, she shares her favorite Seattle restaurants and what dessert makes her the happiest on her birthday. Listen to last week's full episode with Pramila Jayapal!
Become a Cascade PBS member and supp...
2025-09-1805 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleCongresswoman Pramila Jayapal: ThaliOn this very special LIVE episode, recorded at The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival on May 31, 2025, host Rachel Belle sits down with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, who represents Washington’s 7th District. She’s also the first elected official to be a guest on Your Last Meal! Congresswoman Jayapal is an activist and fierce advocate of immigrant rights, but she was thrilled to (mostly) take a break from talking politics to chat about one of her favorite topics: food! She talks about what it was like immigrating to the United States on her own at 16, what she though...
2025-09-1145 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Isaac BrockThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Isaac Brock — lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the Portland, Oregon-based band Modest Mouse! Isaac tells Rachel Belle about the time Modest Mouse got to collaborate with an ice-cream company on a flavor that ... wasn’t so well received; he talks about the first concert he went to; and Rachel and Isaac bond over their love of milkshakes.
Become a Cascade PBS member and support public media! Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle - Season 2 out now!
Sign up for Rachel’s (free!) biwe...
2025-09-0410 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleIsaac Brock: Top RamenModest Mouse’s lead singer, guitarist and songwriter has one of the longest, and most disjointed, last meals in Your Last Meal history, but each dish draws from a lifetime of experiences and memories. A lover of culinary highs and lows, Isaac wants both traditional Japanese ramen and Top Ramen for his last meal, something he ate a lot of in his younger years. We’ll learn the history of instant noodles with Andrea Wang, author of the children’s book Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando. Isaac tells host Rachel Belle about the bar he u...
2025-08-2833 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Bridget EverettThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Bridget Everett, star of the HBO Max show Somebody Somewhere, singer, comedian and cabaret performer. In this fast and fun lightning round, Bridget sends host Rachel Belle into a spiral of jealousy by revealing her go-to New York City grocery store; struggles to pronounce the name of her favorite cake (Rachel can’t pronounce it either!); and together they discuss a Midwestern delicacy: St. Louis sushi, which is nothing like its Japanese namesake. Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle - Season 2 out now!
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2025-08-2106 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleBridget Everett: Dinner at Pascal’s ManaleBridget Everett’s last meal takes us to New Orleans’ second oldest restaurant, where Creole and Italian cooking collide into a cuisine called (you guessed it) Italian Creole! The owner of Pascal’s Manale, Dickie Brennan, joins the show to talk about the special menu and the restaurant’s long history. Bridget performed her delightfully raunchy cabaret act for years before landing the lead role on HBO Max’s Somebody Somewhere (and she still performs it!), but she made a living working in restaurants. We talk about the highs and lows of her 30-year restaurant career, and when she wa...
2025-08-1431 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleJeff Hiller: Chicken Fried SteakIf you fell in love with Jeff Hiller’s character Joel on Somebody, Somewhere (he was just nominated for his first Emmy for his performance!), you’ll want to pick up his new memoir, Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success. Jeff tells host Rachel Belle how he got his big break, his first role on a TV show at age 45 after 20 years of auditions, and why his childhood ambitions of becoming a pastor were dashed. Jeff loves eating in restaurants; he’d eat out every night if his husband would let him. S...
2025-07-3132 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Regina SpektorThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and pianist Regina Spektor! Regina grew up in the Soviet Union, moving to the United States when she was 10, and many of her eating experiences are colored by her young life in Russia — including the desserts she likes! Regina tells host Rachel Belle which foods she’d choose over a birthday cake, why she woke up at 3 a.m. to house a container of chopped liver (when she was a vegetarian!) and her thoughts on karaoke. Listen to Regina Spektor's full Your Last Meal episod...
2025-07-2412 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleRegina Spektor: Chicken BrothGrammy-nominated singer, songwriter and pianist Regina Spektor grew up in Soviet Russia, so when she moved to the Bronx with her family in 1990, American food was a bit of a culture shock. Cereal! Oranges! Chocolate pudding cups! It was all brand-new! Regina shares a handful of her family’s immigration eating stories. When in doubt, order the soup! That’s what Regina does. She tells host Rachel Belle about her (nearly) lifelong love of soup, what caused her to rebel against it in high school and why the simplest of broths would be her last meal. Cookbo...
2025-07-1739 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Dave BarryThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Dave Barry, award-winning humorist, columnist and author. Dave tells host Rachel Belle about the all-author band he’s been in for 30 years (that includes Stephen King!), what food he finds the funniest and why he hates lightning rounds (the entire episode is a lightning round!) Listen to Dave’s Your Last Meal episode from last week! Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Season 2 out now!
Sign up for Rachel’s new (free!) Cascade PBS newsletter for more food musings! Follow along on Ins...
2025-07-1010 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleDave Barry: Cheeseburger & French FriesDave Barry wrote a nationally syndicated, Pulitzer Prize-winning column that appeared in 500 newspapers from 1983 to 2005 and has published dozens of books. His newest is his very first memoir: Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass. How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up. Case in point: Dave really loves ketchup! He’s also very opinionated about it: where he stores it and what vessel it is delivered in. Spoiler alert: He keeps his ketchup on the counter. Food safety expert Angela Anandappa, executive director of Alliance for Advanced Sanitation, joins the show to tell us which condiments belo...
2025-07-0331 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Molly YehThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Molly Yeh, star of Girl Meets Farm on Food Network & bestselling cookbook author. Her latest is a book of desserts called Sweet Farm. Molly bakes beautiful cakes for everybody’s birthdays, but what treat does she request when celebrating her own? I'll bet you a thousand brownies that you’ll never guess! Molly says there is one kitchen tool that will vastly improve your bakes, something all professionals use, but which many home bakers still haven’t come around to. And she tells host Rachel Belle what inspired her to open...
2025-06-2612 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleMolly Yeh: Salami Matzo BreiMolly Yeh is the Emmy- and James Beard Award-nominated star of Girl Meets Farm on the Food Network; owner of Bernie’s, a bakery and cafe in East Grand Forks, Minnesota; and a bestselling cookbook author. Her new cookbook is Sweet Farm, 100 dessert recipes that feature oh-so-Molly flavors like tahini, marzipan, hawaij and halva, plus a whole chapter devoted to Midwestern cookie salads! Molly tells host Rachel Belle how her relationship to sprinkles has changed as she’s gotten older; how she, a Juilliard graduate with a degree in percussion, ended up living on a sugar-beet farm on t...
2025-06-1935 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Prabal GurungThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Prabal Gurung, celebrated fashion designer and author of the new memoir Walk Like a Girl. Prabal has made a habit of ordering a cheeseburger and fries in every city he visits – he tells host Rachel Belle who makes the best burger in the world. He recalls the magical celebrity sighting he had the first time he went to a restaurant in New York City after moving there from Nepal, and he talks about what he would pack to eat on weeks-long treks in the Nepalese mountains. Watch Rach...
2025-06-1211 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BellePrabal Gurung: Momos!Prabal Gurung’s new memoir, Walk Like a Girl, tells his life story: how he went from being a bullied queer boy in Nepal who was always an outsider to starting his own label in New York City, designing gowns for First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris and Oprah Winfrey. Prabal says he loves all kinds of food, but he is OBSESSED with momos, the steamed dumplings from his home country. He tells host Rachel Belle why they're so special to him and which A-list celebrity asked him to take her out for her first mom...
2025-06-0529 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with W. Kamau BellThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from W. Kamau Bell, Emmy- and Peabody-nominated TV host, comedian, filmmaker and best-selling author. Kamau tells host Rachel Belle about the delightfully different flavor of attention that came with winning Celebrity Jeopardy; how rare it is to find his favorite kind of burrito in California’s Bay Area, a region famous for burritos; and how losing a family member means he’ll never taste his favorite birthday cake again. Listen to last week's episode of Your Last Meal with W. Kamau Bell! Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV s...
2025-05-2913 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleW. Kamau Bell: Dim SumKamau Bell has a long and impressive resume, including hosting seven seasons of the CNN docuseries United Shades of America, winning a Peabody Award for We Need to Talk About Cosby, and winning the third season of Celebrity Jeopardy, and he’s about to take off on his “Who’s With Me” standup tour. Kamau wore a T-shirt on TV that read, “Not All Macaroni and Cheeses are Created Equal,” a political message and “insider Black conversation” that he explains to host Rachel Belle. We’ll also learn the true history of mac & cheese in America, a narrative that took...
2025-05-2246 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Sharon Van EttenThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from musician and actor Sharon Van Etten, who is on the road touring her new album now! An educated wine lover, Sharon tells host Rachel Belle which bottle best represents her personality and which countries are often left out of the conversation when we talk about fantastic wines. Nicknamed “Snacks” by her bandmates, she reveals what she loves to nibble on when she’s on a road trip, on an airplane, hanging with her son or late at night, starving after performing a show. Listen to Sharon on last wee...
2025-05-1508 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleSharon Van Etten: Mashed Potatoes on ToastSharon Van Etten is on the road now touring her seventh album, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory. But as much as she loves writing and performing music, she has considered a couple different career paths: therapist and sommelier! Sharon’s love of wine started in high school, when she was an exchange student living with a family in Spain. So host Rachel Belle interviews the founders of Open That Bottle Night, a couple of former Wall Street Journal wine writers who created an annual holiday to encourage people to open the special bottles of wine that no...
2025-05-0832 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Josh GrobanThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Tony-, Emmy- and Grammy-nominated singer and actor Josh Groban. Josh is getting ready for a string of shows in Las Vegas, so host Rachel Belle presents him with the most ridiculous, over-the-top, calorie-packed dishes she could find on Vegas menus (obviously Guy Fieri is involved) and asks him to pick which ones he'd eat. Josh and Rachel bond over a childhood love of New Kids on the Block, and he admits to loving a very trendy Los Angeles treat from a very trendy Los Angeles market (that he i...
2025-05-0110 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleJosh Groban: Chocolate Covered Gummy BearsIs Josh Groban’s best song about baked beans? Two foods Josh Groban’s dad turned him onto as a child: pickled and smoked fish and baked beans. So when Bush’s asked Josh to write them a commercial jingle, he took it a step further and composed a semi-autographical baked-bean power ballad! He tells host Rachel Belle the whole story. Josh learned to cook during the pandemic and developed a soft spot for ugly, misshapen farm produce. So Seattle chef Becky Selengut joins the show to talk about her cookbook Misunderstood Vegetables. Becky wrote it after...
2025-04-2435 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Danielle ChangThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Danielle Chang, host of Lucky Chow on PBS. And Rachel Belle takes a very special field trip to Seattle’s Mixed Pantry, a beautifully curated specialty foods shop that exclusively sells Asian and Asian American-made products. On last week’s episode of Your Last Meal, Danielle told Rachel she never goes anywhere without a little vial of high-quality soy sauce in her purse. So Rachel popped into Mixed Pantry for a soy sauce tasting, a fun activity open to anyone who visits. The shop sells soy sauces from s...
2025-04-1718 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleDanielle Chang: Hot PotPBS's "Lucky Chow" host, Danielle Chang, has been using food as a tool to promote diversity since her family immigrated from Taiwan to Texas when she was 5, and she eventually turned it into a career! Danielle tells host Rachel Belle which condiment she always keeps in her bag and Your Last Meal listeners call in to confess what flavor enhancers they have sneaked into restaurants, movie theaters and doughnut shops over the years. First Beyoncé sang about having hot sauce in her bag, then Hillary Clinton talked about her spicy stash on the campaign trail. Bu...
2025-04-1023 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Pink MartiniThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from China Forbes and Timothy Nishimoto from Pink Martini! The Portland, Oregon-based band is taking off on tour this week to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Get tickets here! China and Timothy reveal their perfect birthday cakes, the countries they most enjoy eating in when they’re traveling the world, and what foods they can’t wait to eat when they get back home. Listen to last week’s Your Last Meal episode with Pink Martini! Watch Rachel’s Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! S...
2025-04-0311 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BellePink Martini: A 14-Course French Feast + ThanksgivingPink Martini is celebrating 30 years of global music, and for the band’s pearl anniversary, China Forbes and Timothy Nishimoto dish on oysters (get it?!), the group’s unusual origin story and Thanksgiving dinner. It may be March, but thanks to lead vocalist China Forbes’ last meal, we’re talking turkey! China is very particular about which seven dishes should appear on her Thanksgiving table, so host Rachel Belle consults with a food historian about what was eaten at the very first harvest feast. Pink Martini is a Portland, Oregon-based band, but they sing in 30 language...
2025-03-2732 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle"The Pasta Queen" Nadia Caterina Munno: Nonna's LasagnaNadia Catarina Munno is best known to her 10 million social-media followers as The Pasta Queen, a glamorous, dramatic Italian who crumples her face in ecstasy and throws her fork across the room after slurping up a sauce-slicked noodle. Cooking traditional pasta dishes in her Florida kitchen has earned Nadia two bestselling cookbooks and a new Amazon Prime series, The Pasta Queen. Nadia says she sees a lot of Americans committing unforgivable pasta-cooking crimes, so she created The 10 Commandments of Pasta, a list she shares with host Rachel Belle along with a story about what she ate immediately...
2025-03-0627 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Kevin MorbyThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from singer/songwriter Kevin Morby. Kevin grew up in Kansas, and after 15 years of building a successful music career living in the coast’s largest cities, he has returned to his hometown. He tells host Rachel Belle why living in the Midwest can spark creativity, what Kansas City meal should be as famous as its legendary BBQ, and what he and his girlfriend (the musician, Waxahatchee) always eat when they return home from a long tour. Listen to Kevin on Your Last Meal. Subscribe to Your Last...
2025-02-2710 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleKevin Morby: PB&J + PhởSinger/songwriter Kevin Morby is a peanut butter and jelly man. Like most kids who grew up in the U.S. before peanut-allergy-mania, he loves the classic lunchbox version. But as an adult he’s taken to adding some very unorthodox ingredients like ... scrambled or fried eggs! In this economy?! You know who else eats a TON of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? NFL players! Actually, they eat a ton of Uncrustables, and there is data to prove it. Host Rachel Belle interviews the co-creator of Uncrustables to unpack why the world needed a premade PB&J.
2025-02-2035 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleAlton Brown: His Wife's Witchy SoupAlton Brown hosted Good Eats on the Food Network for 16 seasons, and says Julia Child, Mr. Wizard and Monty Python were his inspirations for the wacky, science-driven TV show he created. He just released his 10th book, Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations. Alton famously despises single-use gadgets, but he tells host Rachel Belle about the one item that must be present in every kitchen. He talks about why he is not worried about ChatGPT taking his job as a recipe developer, and admits that his wife Elizabeth, an interior designer, is a far more talented cook t...
2025-02-0638 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BellePaula Poundstone: Ring DingsVeteran comedian Paula Poundstone loves Ring Dings, her favorite little chocolate snack cakes only sold in a handful of East Coast states. She once told a very skeptical Michael Pollan, on NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!, that they are her reason for living. So host Rachel Belle interviews the pastry chef/owner of The Ring Ding Bar in New York City, a bakery that’s recreated the confection with “real ingredients” in 25 flavors. Paula talks about how she lived on a Greyhound bus in the 80s, when she didn’t have enough money for motels, wh...
2025-01-2332 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleLIVE Q&A with Rachel Belle on her debut cookbookHost Rachel Belle celebrated the launch of Open Sesame at Book Larder, Seattle's only dedicated cookbook store. The event sold out, but you can listen in! Rachel is usually the one asking the questions, but on November 13 the tables were turned! She was in conversation with Becky Selengut, a beloved Seattle cookbook author, cooking instructor, podcast host and chef. Rachel tells the magical story of how she was offered a book deal (despite having a small social media presence!), a reminder of the importance of building in-person, real-life professional relationships. She tells Becky what it w...
2025-01-0249 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleJonathan Van Ness & Tan France: Fast Food Feast & a British RoastQueer Eye Season 9 just dropped on Netflix, and Jonathan Van Ness (beauty expert), Tan France (fashion expert) and the rest of The Fab Five are back to make over folks who have big hearts but need lots of help in the self-care department. This episode is chock full of big energy and big personalities – so much so that host Rachel Belle hardly had to lift a finger as the buddies interviewed, complimented and lovingly roasted each other! British-born-and-raised Tan talks about his first-ever magical visit to Olive Garden and what he thinks of the food in U...
2024-12-1934 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleAl Roker: Steakhouse DinnerLongtime Today show weatherman and anchor, Al Roker, just released a cookbook of family recipes with his chef daughter called Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By...but it took some convincing. When Courtney Roker Laga asked her dad if he wanted to write a cookbook together, he knew his answer immediately: No thanks! Fifty years into a busy career, Al wrote a couple cookbooks years ago and knows how much work goes into them. But finally, they made a deal: Al would write the headnotes if Courtney develops and tests all the recipes. Al te...
2024-12-0534 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Chuck PalahniukThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Portland, Oregon, novelist Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club and nearly 20 other books, including his new novel Shock Induction. Chuck tells host Rachel Belle about his family’s favorite processed food gimmicks from the ’70s, who his dream dinner party guests are, and his favorite Portland restaurant. Spoiler: He says the food is terrible (So Chuck!). Plus, learn the creation story of the iconic Thanksgiving side dish, green bean casserole. Listen to Chuck on Your Last Meal! Subscribe to Your Last Meal on Apple...
2024-11-2810 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleChuck Palahniuk: Corn Pudding & Potato PancakesChuck 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 Barb...
2024-11-2135 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleKen Burns: Roasted Chicken from The Restaurant at Burdick'sFor 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 b...
2024-11-0735 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleHow the 2024 Election was Shaped by FoodFood 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 i...
2024-10-3126 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Tim HeideckerThis 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 Insta...
2024-10-2409 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleTim Heidecker: Aunt Mia's Christmas DinnerTim 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...
2024-10-1732 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Tali EdutThis 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...
2024-10-1009 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleTali Edut: Greek Salad from Cafe MogadorTali 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 Gre...
2024-10-0329 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with John EarlyThis 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...
2024-09-2509 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleJohn Early: Pasta all'AmatricianaGrowing 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 restau...
2024-09-1936 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleCelebrating 200 Episodes of Your Last Meal!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...
2024-09-1241 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Tamron Hall & Lish SteilingThis 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...
2024-09-0511 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Aly & AJThis 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 Instag...
2024-08-2210 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleAly & AJ: Canadian Sushi & Texas BurritosAly 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 spaghe...
2024-08-1531 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Thomas DohertyThis 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 R...
2024-08-0812 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleWhat's for Dinner at Burning ManEvery 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...
2024-07-2522 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with J. Ryan StradalThis 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...
2024-07-1811 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleJ. Ryan Stradal: Shakshuka at Barbary FigThe 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...
2024-07-1139 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with G. LoveThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from G. Love, frontman for G. Love & Special Sauce! The band is celebrating 30 years since releasing their self-titled first album, featuring beloved bangers like Baby’s Got Sauce and Cold Beverage. G. Love tells host Rachel Belle about his big backyard garden, where he grows both edibles and smokables, and shares how he turned his “special sauce” into a tangible product. When it comes to sugary kid’s cereals, you most likely know the mascots and slogans even if you've never taken a single bite. We learn the stories...
2024-07-0411 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleG. Love: Confit de CanardIt has been 30 years (!) since G. Love & Special Sauce put out their first album, and in that time G. Love has written a whole lotta food and drink lyrics. He tells host Rachel Belle the origin stories behind songs like Milk & Cereal, Cold Beverage and his album Lemonade. Lemonade has special meaning to G. Love, so Rachel chats with Gastro Obscura editor Anne Ewbank about the history of the sweet, puckery drink, the different ways it's prepared around the world and why American children have taken on the responsibility of selling it! Watch Rachel's Cascade P...
2024-06-2738 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Geraldine DeRuiterThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Geraldine DeRuiter, author of the new book If You Can't Take the Heat & James Beard Award winning writer. Geraldine tells host Rachel Belle about her dream Costco sample, shares her perfect birthday cake and, perhaps the most fun part of the episode, the long string of blooper cuts after the credits run! Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV show The Nosh with Rachel Belle! Follow along on Instagram! Thanks to Visit Kitsap for sponsoring this episode!Support Cascade PBS: https://secure.cascadepublicmedia.o...
2024-06-2009 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleGeraldine DeRuiter: Her Husband's CarbonaraIn her latest book, If You Can’t Take the Heat, Geraldine DeRuiter uses food, humor and her own (often ridiculous!) life to explore the topic of feminism. Geraldine has a way of, as she puts it, “going bonkers viral.” Millions of people read her James Beard Award-winning blog post, “I Made the Pizza Cinnamon Rolls from Mario Batali’s Sexual Misconduct Apology Letter,” and her essay about a bizarre experience at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Italy inspired a front-page New York Times article. Over the course of two interviews (host Rachel Belle forgot to ask Geraldin...
2024-06-1335 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Dan PashmanThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful podcast, inventor of the cascatelli pasta shape, and author of the new cookbook Anything’s Pastable. Dan was a guest on Your Last Meal in 2017, so host Rachel Belle checks in to see if his last meal has changed over the past seven years. Then, a speed round! Dan talks about the biggest challenge of writing a cookbook, his carb-on-carb recipe for pasta pizza, and his dream birthday cake. Order Rachel's favorite tortillas! Watch Rachel's Cascade PBS TV...
2024-06-0615 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleDan Pashman & his new book "Anything's Pastable"Award winning The Sporkful podcast host, Dan Pashman, invented a new pasta shape in 2021. Cascatelli was released with great fanfare -- Time magazine declared the pasta one of 2021’s best inventions and it was covered everywhere from The New York Times to Access Hollywood. But when fans started tagging Dan on Instagram, eager to show off their cascatelli creations, he realized everyone was bathing their pasta in the same three sauces! Eager to move beyond marinara and mac & cheese, Dan wrote his first cookbook, Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People. On his recent...
2024-05-3029 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Kathleen Hanna & Food Not BombsThis week on The Leftovers, never-before-heard audio from Kathleen Hanna, frontwoman for the groundbreaking feminist punk bands Bikini Kill and Le Tigre and author of the new memoir Rebel Girl. Last week, on Your Last Meal, Kathleen talked about meals she’s eaten that were so good, they made her cry. Like, really cry. Today she tells us about her major, if accidental, contribution to a Nirvana record, what it means to be punk-rock while living a comfortable adult life and what it was like working at McDonald’s as a teenager. Then host Rachel Belle me...
2024-05-2317 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleKathleen Hanna: A Giant Buffalo Chicken EggrollThe legendary riot grrrl and punk rock singer for Bikini Kill and Le Tigre has a reputation for crying over a delicious meal. As far as we know, she's shed tears over sushi, birthday cake, and gelato. Why does food make her so emotional? She breaks it down (but doesn’t break down!) for host Rachel Belle. Kathleen, who got her start in the punk scene in Olympia, WA in the early 90s, is best known for being an outspoken feminist and activist; at her early shows she’d speak out about domestic violence and sexual violence betwee...
2024-05-1627 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleJesse Tyler Ferguson: Green Chile EnchiladasThe Modern Family star grew up in New Mexico (the Chile Capital of the World!) where the native green chiles find their way into everything from burgers to mac & cheese. Jesse hasn’t lived in Albuquerque since high school, but he keeps his freezer full of New Mexico green (Hatch) chiles and green chile enchiladas are his forever favorite comfort food. The retired director of the Chile Pepper Institute tells host Rachel Belle about the history and migration of spicy peppers from the Americas to the rest of the world, which involves everything from bird poo...
2024-05-0228 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers with Tom PapaIf waiting two whole weeks for a new episode of Your Last Meal is way too long, we’ve got something to tide you over. On the weeks we’re not releasing a full-length episode of Your Last Meal, we’re airing The Leftovers: audio left on the cutting-room floor, interviews that host Rachel Belle really wants to do that don’t fit into the show’s usual format and, as you’ll hear today, a speed round with last week’s guest. Which means you will now be getting a little taste of Your Last Meal every sing...
2024-04-2507 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleTom Papa: A Steak DinnerTom Papa is a bread nerd. The comedian, author and podcast host is quick to point out that he got obsessed with baking sourdough bread long before the pandemic sourdough craze. He loves to talk about sourdough, read about sourdough and, of course, bake and eat sourdough. So host Rachel Belle chats with the owner of a Seattle bakery that uses a sourdough starter that’s more than 150 years old. Pasta with butter and Parmesan may be the meal of choice for picky American children, but in Italy the simple, comforting dish has an entirely different context. Rac...
2024-04-1832 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleBest of Julia Sweeney: Nanaimo BarsBy the end of this episode, you'll feel like the charming, hilarious and down-to-earth Julia Sweeney is your best friend! Julia and host Rachel Belle discuss everything from her true love of eating alone (and how that makes her husband feel) to the 60th birthday gift she gave herself: never dieting again. Julia wants to cap her last meal with Canada’s favorite no-bake, layered dessert: the Nanaimo bar! Rachel chats with Joyce Hardcastle, the contest winner who created the city’s official recipe back in 1986, and with the current mayor of Nanaimo, about the history of the...
2024-04-1137 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleThe Leftovers: My new TV show, The Nosh with Rachel BelleTune in to The Nosh with Rachel Belle on April 5 at 8:50pm PST on Cascade PBS, channel 9 in WA and BC, or catch it anytime from anywhere online at www.cascadepbs.org (just scroll down a tad to the Local Originals) Do delicious bagels actually exist in Seattle? What’s the story behind the city’s first non-alcoholic bottle shop? These are just a couple of the topics Rachel Belle digs into on season one of The Nosh, where stories about the outdoors, art, culture and community are told through the lens of food and drink. On...
2024-04-0417 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleRachel Belle on Desert Island DishesAcross the pond, in a country far, far away (um, England), Your Last Meal has a podcast cousin! On each episode of Desert Island Dishes, chef and host Margie Nomura asks her guests about the dishes that have shaped their lives, including the last dish they’d eat before being cast off to the desert island. Host Rachel Belle was a guest on the show and this week we are bringing you that episode! After interviewing thousands of people in her career as a broadcast journalist, food and culture writer and podcast host, Rachel takes a break from...
2023-12-2138 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleIron & Wine's Sam Beam: Stack of Tomato SandwichesIf you've ever had a tomato sandwich, then you know this is the best time of the year! In honor of *tomato season* (and host Rachel Belle being on vacation) we are re-airing this episode from 2019. Iron & Wine sounds like a band but in fact there is just one man behind the music: a soft spoken, North Carolina singer-songwriter named Sam Beam, who unintentionally stumbled into a music career later in life. A true Southern boy, Sam wants a stack of tomato sandwiches for his last meal. Just ripe summer heirlooms, squishy white bread and...
2023-08-3129 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BellePati Jinich: Milanesa de Pollo and Mashed PotatoesMexico City native Pati Jinich made an unusual career change: from a political analyst at a Washington, D.C. think tank to a cooking teacher and, eventually, award-winning PBS host. For over a decade, she’s been sharing her love of Mexico and Mexican cooking with the masses through her shows Pati's Mexican Table and La Frontera. Pati is Mexican-Jewish, and grew up eating Mexican takes on classic Ashkenazi Jewish dishes. So after speaking with Jinich, host Rachel Belle also interviews the authors of the new book Kugels and Collards about another lesser-known mashup: Jewish South Carolina co...
2023-08-0333 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BellePeppermint: Rock Lobster!Peppermint was the first out, trans contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race, the first trans woman to originate a principal role on Broadway and she stars in the new Netflix series “Survival of the Thickest!” And Peppermint … loves peppermint! Tea! Candy! All of it! So host Rachel Belle digs into the history of the ancient, zesty herb that has been mentioned everywhere from the bible, in Greek mythology and, far more recently, on your toothpaste tube. Follow host Rachel Belle on Instagram! Subscribe to Rachel's free newsletter so you can be the first to know...
2023-07-2022 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleBear Grylls: Red Meat, Butter & CocktailsBear Grylls is a survivalist, adventurist & host of soooo mannny TV shows, including the wildly popular Man VS Wild, Born Survivor and the new season of Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge, where celebs like Russell Brand and Bradley Cooper tag along on his extremely wild adventures. Bear tells host Rachel Belle about the nastiest foods he's eaten in the wild, why he no longer eats vegetables & what happened when he offered the president of Ukraine a bite of his chocolate bar. And we venture into territory we never imagined venturing into: drinking your...
2023-07-0643 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleTegan and Sara: McDonald's + Tuna SashimiCanadian twin sisters and band mates, Tegan and Sara, have been touring the world, playing music together, since they graduated from high school in 1998. In honor of their new book, a semi-autobiographical graphic novel called Junior High, host Rachel Belle asks them, and the listeners, about their most memorable middle school foods and HOLY GUACAMOLE we were human garbage cans when we were 12! Plus, the history of the chicken nugget and why raccoons wash their food! Follow Rachel Belle on Instagram! Subscribe to Rachel's free newsletter so you can be the...
2023-06-2238 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleMarc Summers LIVE! : Thin Crust Pizza & Junior's CheesecakeYou may know Marc Summers as the host of Nickelodeon's Double Dare and Food Network's Unwrapped, but you may not know that he got his start as a magician and helped launch Guy Fieri's career! Marc joined host Rachel Belle on stage at Seattle's Crosscut Ideas Festival to talk about what the iconic Double Dare slime was made of, how he almost gave up show business to sell salmon, and why he decided to go public about his OCD in the late 90s. Follow Rachel Belle on Instagram! Subscribe to Rachel's free newsletter...
2023-06-0841 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleTaylor Dayne: A Big BrunchTaylor Dayne blasted onto the pop/dance scene in 1987 with her first big single, “Tell It To My Heart,” and over the last 35 years she's released seventeen Top 20 singles, earned three grammy nominations and an American Music Award. This Long Island girl loves her brunch, a meal that makes her nostalgic for the bagel and lox she shared with her family, as a kid, on Sunday mornings. Did you know brunch has feminist roots? We explore that history + host Rachel Belle interviews the co-owner of one of her favorite places on Earth: Russ & Daughters, a 110 year ol...
2023-04-2728 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleRachel Bloom: New York Pizza + Pasta + Three DessertsBusiness doesn’t always mix with pleasure, but for comedic actor and writer Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Reboot), Olive Garden left a big, saucy mark on both her personal and professional life, popping up on her award-winning TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and in her last meal! Host Rachel Belle calls up Marilyn Hagerty, a 96 year old newspaper columnist, to talk about the viral Olive Garden review she wrote for the Grand Forks Herald. A review that earned her a book deal with Anthony Bourdain! And Rachel Bloom shares which Hollywood award shows have the best/worst...
2023-04-1327 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleTucker Shaw: Pantry PastaEvery home cook worth their can of anchovies can throw together a dish based on the bits and bobs knocking around their cupboards and crisper, and for writer Tucker Shaw, his pantry pasta is last meal worthy. Tucker’s debut novel, “When You Call My Name,” follows two, gay teenage boys who are navigating the AIDS crisis in 1990 New York City. But host Rachel Belle became a fan of Tucker’s in 2005, when she was gifted his book “Everything I Ate: A Year In The Life of My Mouth,” a book of photographs documenting every single thing Tucker ate in...
2023-03-0236 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleSloane Crosley: Favorite Adult Foods + Favorite Childhood FoodsA New York Times best-selling author of several humorous essay collections and novels, including her latest, Cult Classic, it’s no wonder Sloane Crosley’s last meal doubles as a culinary memoir. Sloane’s last meal is a collection of her current favorite foods and their childhood equivalents: the fancy bok choy and watercress salad from a New York City Japanese restaurant contrasted with the Wishbone Italian dressing of her youth. Host Rachel Belle interviewed a dozen kids to get their take on Kids’ Food VS Grown-Up’s Food. And we meet the coolest lunch lady in America: C...
2023-02-1642 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleHannah Berner: Nana's Eggplant ParmesanIn this spirited interview with host Rachel Belle, comedian Hannah Berner realizes her true calling: talking excitedly about how much she loves to eat! And she has what many of us dream of, a spunky Italian grandmother who cooks up a big pot of sauce every Sunday, has a pantry full of pasta, and feeds her family plate after plate of Italian-American food until they're unbuttoning their pants at the table. Nana Vera joins the show to tell us how she makes her famous eggplant parmesan, and shares an old Italian wives' tale about why it's always...
2022-07-0732 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleJohn Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls): Sweet Lady Jane Apple PieWhen John Rzeznik is on tour, he only requests one thing: a plain, grilled chicken breast. But, to his frustration and amusement, chefs can't resist zhuzhing up the bird with their own brand of pizzazz. He shares his long, arduous chicken-y journey with host Rachel Belle, including the story of a celebrity chef who tried to come to his rescue. John wants to cap off his last meal with a deep dish apple pie from Sweet Lady Jane, a Los Angeles institution frequented by folks like Barbra Streisand and the Kardashians, so Rachel calls them up to...
2022-06-1635 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleTaylor Hanson: Caprese with Perfect Tomatoes & BurrataTaylor Hanson is the middle brother in Hanson, the band he's been performing in with his brothers Isaac and Zac since he was nine years old. So it's not surprising that this Oklahoma boy had a palate changing culinary epiphany while touring in Europe when he was 15. That epiphany revolved around a perfectly ripe, locally grown tomato, and anyone who's ever picked a pink, mealy tomato slice off their burger knows that commercially grown tomatoes leave much to be desired. Host Rachel Belle chats with Dr. Harry Klee, a horticulture professor who has worked for nearly three...
2022-05-1932 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleJessica Seinfeld: Spaghetti & Meatballs, Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread & TiramisuJessica Seinfeld's latest cookbook, Vegan, At Times, is an ode to her current lifestyle of eating mostly vegan, but she still enjoys the occasional bowl of warming chicken soup or nostalgic spaghetti and meatballs. She calls it a "gentler approach" to veganism and doesn't believe in creating rules around eating or doing any plant-based proselytizing. Jessica's last meal took us down a path we never thought we'd go: organized crime! Host Rachel Belle chats with Anna Van Valin, co-host of the podcast Every Day Is A Food Day, about how Italian-American restaurants became the clubhouse of choice f...
2022-02-2433 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleVanessa Lachey: LasagnaVanessa Lachey's new book, Life from Scratch: Family Traditions That Start with You, features recipes and entertaining ideas, but the book is rooted in a deep and vulnerable place. Vanessa's mom left when she was a little girl, depriving her of motherly advice, care and the Filipino food she craved. It took decades, but the actor and TV host finally felt empowered to stop mourning what she lost, and start creating her own special traditions for her young family -- including a chicken adobo recipe her husband, 98 Degrees' Nick Lachey, loves. Vanessa and host Rachel Belle discuss...
2021-12-0930 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleNadiya Hussain: Mom's Korma & RiceWinning Season 6 of The Great British Bake-Off completely changed Nadiya Hussain's life. The fan favorite went from a stay-at-home mom to the author of more than a dozen books, she's hosted nearly as many television programs and was commissioned by Buckingham Palace to bake Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday cake (orange drizzle cake with orange curd and orange butter cream, in case you're cake curious). Nadiya grew up in a British Bangladeshi family, with a dad who owned and cooked in Indian restaurants. As a kid, she was frustrated that he served watered down, westernized versions of h...
2021-11-2431 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleCarla Lalli Music: Bread + Butter & Red WineCarla Lalli Music has found success in so many culinary corners of the food world; from her job as Shake Shake's very first manager to Bon Appétit magazine's food director to bestselling cookbook author. Her new, cheery, bright yellow cookbook is called That Sounds So Good -- a phrase we've certainly all moaned after reading about a particularly droolworthy dish. Carla's last meal doesn't contain a drop of religious significance, but the combination of foods she craves are unavoidably biblical. So host Rachel Belle talks with Italian archaeologist and researcher Generoso Urciuoli about what Jesus and his...
2021-10-2825 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleHost Rachel Belle: Vintage Party SnacksIt's Your Last Meal's 5th Anniversary, but instead of the traditional 5th anniversary gift of wood, we're giving you the gift of...this podcast episode! The show's very first guest, back in August 2016, was Seattle chef and restaurateur Tom Douglas. So we flipped the script and rallied Tom to interview host Rachel Belle about her last meal! This episode is all about party foods, so Rachel welcomes back some of her favorite celebrity guests to talk about the tiny, toothpicked party snacks they can't resist. And because there's nothing better than a surprise party, you'll have to...
2021-08-0530 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleBridgerton's Julia Quinn: Sushi & Ice CreamJulia Quinn is a New York Times bestselling author 19 times over, but a whole new audience has been introduced to her work since her popular Bridgerton romance novels were turned into a fantastically popular Netflix show. Julia doesn't write much about food in her Regency Era novels, so host Rachel Belle called on Paul Couchman, a food historian known as “The Regency Chef,” who offers Regency Era cooking classes at The Regency Town House, a restored 1820s mansion in Brighton, England. He indulges us in what the Bridgerton family would have eaten and says vintage British cuisine was far...
2021-03-1135 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel Belle100th Episode with three, 100-Year-Old Women: An Italian Sunday Supper, Swedish Meatballs & GiambottaFor the 100th episode of Your Last Meal, host Rachel Belle welcomes three, 100-year-old women to the show to share their extraordinary lives, their last meals and the secret to a long, happy life: red wine and “keeping your own teeth.” It is our pleasure to introduce you to Antoinette Underwood, a World War II nurse with a love of dry, Italian wines, Ruth Samuelson, who walked a half marathon at 96, and Eleanor Owen, whose career spans from Broadway actor to co-founder of NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness. IKEA’s US culinary director joins the show to tell...
2021-02-2540 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleRose McGowan, Taco BellActor, activist and musician, Rose McGowan, was born and raised in Italy, in what many would describe as a cult. When she moved to the United States at age 10, she said she cried, knowing her days of eating delicious Italian food were over. Rose offers up two very different versions of her last meal: one that speaks to her Italian palate, and another that's reflective of her teenage life in America.Turns out, Rose and host Rachel Belle had very similar teenage tastes: both got by on a steady diet of Taco Bell. Or, if you're Rachel...
2020-06-2528 min
Your Last Meal with Rachel BelleMother's Day Special: Rachel's Mom BarbaraHappy Mother's Day! To celebrate, we took a little time to talk to the woman responsible for bringing our beloved Rachel Belle into the world: her mom, Barbara. From the streets of Brooklyn, to digging through another Barbra (Streisand)'s garbage in LA, Barbara's life has never been boring. And speaking of moms, how 'bout that placenta?! Rachel talks to Heather Woskey of Seattle Placenta Encapsulation about the practice of mothers eating their placenta. (It's put into pills, so it's not as gross as it sounds. Unless you're already totally grossed out, then it might not get...
2017-05-1721 min