Can We Talk?

Dear Pros,

You've got Kat this week. I can't recall the last time I picked up the phone to talk to someone about anything other than business. I swear I have friends, family, a husband, and other connections to the world. It may be that my head is so full of other people's voices as I make my way through a bustling city, texting, listening to playlists, scrolling through social feeds, and overhearing the intimacies and mundanities of my fellow New Yorkers' lives that it feels as if I have actually connected.

It's probably why I find sometimes that I am starving for the sustenance of a simple conversation. Not one made up of quick texts and emoji hearts and reaction GIFs, but that rare and luxurious chance to look at another person for a solid hour while the rest of the world falls away. This is why I am so lucky to host a podcast. (For work, even!) It gives me an excuse to commune with people I find fascinating, who shape our culture and influence the way we eat, drink, and think.

We launched the trailer for Season Four of the award-winning Tinfoil Swans podcast this week, and will drop the first episode on Tuesday, March 31. I’ve known 1991 F&W Best New Chef Tom Colicchio for almost 16 years and have interviewed him for countless stories. This was the first time I really got to understand more about the human being behind some of my fundamental food experiences.

He told me about what it was like as a kid when suddenly his brain changed and ADHD stripped him of his sense of self. We talked about how his dad brought home a copy of Jacques Pépin's La Technique from his job at the county jail and it completely reframed how he understood recipes and allowed him to understand that there could be a life in kitchens ahead. We went deep on how 25 years into his groundbreaking restaurant Craft, even with his many accolades and Top Chef celebrity, it's harder than ever to get customers through the door.

It's a generous and intimate conversation with Tom like I've never had before, and I hope you'll come and be part of it. If you follow Tinfoil Swans on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, you'll be the first to hear never-before revealed lore, belly laughs, turning points, aspirations, and life lessons from guests including Wolfgang Puck, Nancy Silverton, Regé-Jean Page, Claudette Zepeda, Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate, Paul Carmichael, and plenty more throughout the season.

Is there someone you'd like to hear in the hot seat? My inbox and DMs are always open, and you just might catch me sipping a Tickled Pink at the bar at Craft. Let's talk.

Be well,
Kat