James Beard Award–winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel has shaken up the pastry world with innovation and creativity at the heart of his work. As chef-owner of eponymous bakeries around the world, Ansel has been responsible for creating some of today’s most popular pastries, including the Cronut, the Cookie Shot, the Frozen S’more, and the Blossoming Hot Chocolate. But where did Dominique Ansel come from, and how did his time working with Daniel Boulud and throughout France help him create the most iconic foods of a generation? It’s a great talk with the great Cronut Daddy about his new book, Life’s Sweetest Moments.

Also on the show, Matt has a great conversation with Emma Impavido, Director of Educational Travel Programs at Academic Travel Abroad. Emma and Matt work together on TASTE Travels, and they discuss why organized travel is as popular as ever. They also dig into the countries people are visiting specifically for the food, as well as talk about the upcoming TASTE Travels in 2025, including a spring trip to Mexico City.

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MORE FROM DOMINIQUE ANSEL:

• The Cronut Flavor Dominique Ansel Is Dying To Make [Chowhound]
• The Mind Behind the Cronut Just Launched a Dessert Soup Dumpling [F&W]
• TASTE Travels Mexico City [TASTE]

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Amadou Ly is the baker-owner of ALF Bakery, a destination for delights like mushroom danishes and laminated baguettes in New York City’s Chelsea Market. After 18 years of jobs in restaurants, from dishwasher to pastry chef to chocolatier, he apprenticed under Roger Gural at the iconic Arcade Bakery. Arcade closed, and now he’s making some of the most exciting bread and pastries in the city at ALF. In this episode, we talk about the craftsmanship, technique, and passion that guides his work.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about their home bread baking journeys. Does one co-host (hint: Matt) aspire to bake more bread in the coming months, and start a bread practice? Does Aliza have a “bread person” past? They also talk about some great recent bread baking books that can help kick-start this journey.

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MORE FROM AMADOU LY:

• Meet the West African Baker Reshaping French Pastry [Atlas Obscura]
• ​​Inside the Menu at the New Spot From an Alum of the Legendary Arcade Bakery [Eater]
• This Is TASTE 488: There's a Bread Baker Inside All of Us with David Tamarkin [TASTE]

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Julia Turshen is the author of four cookbooks, including the new release What Goes With What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities. It’s a comprehensive guide to building cooking intuition and transforming odds and ends into a meal, and we had a great conversation live at Rizzoli bookstore all about making the book come to life, plus things like body acceptance and what constitutes queer food. We hope you’ll enjoy it.

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MORE FROM JULIA TURSHEN:

• Keep Calm and Cook On [Substack]
• My Mom Was a Magazine Editor in the ’90s. We’re Finally Talking About What It Did to Our Body Image [SELF]
• This Is TASTE 22: Julia Turshen [TASTE]

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.