Appetites®

Every week, we bring you local and regional food and drink news, trends, reviews, flavors, recipes and advice. Appetites airs every Wednesday on MPR News' All Things Considered with host Tom Crann.

Chef Sammi Loo's Ootori Sushi, Mezza 9 bring international flavors to Rochester
The Appetites tour wrapped up in Rochester. MPR News host Tom Crann met with restaurateur Sammi Loo to talk about her journey from sushi to pastries and all things food in Med City.
Program brings farm fresh produce to incarcerated youth in Bemidji
Forget what you think you know about the food served in correctional facilities; these youth are getting farm-to-table meals thanks to a Minnesota Department of Agriculture grant program designed for schools.
New Scenic Café's chef Scott Graden pushes Duluth's culinary boundaries
Appetites stopped in Duluth and MPR News host Tom Crann talked with New Scenic Café owner and chef Scott Graden about the iconic North Shore restaurant.
Krewe, Flour & Flower Bakery bring fresh flavors to St. Joseph and central Minnesota
Appetites traveled to St. Joseph, Minn. and MPR News host Tom Crann spoke with local restaurateurs Mateo Mackbee and Erin Lucas of Krewe and Flour & Flower Bakery about how they're bringing fresh flavors to Central Minnesota and bringing people together.
Keng Dechawuth shares recipes, stories from his Puposky Pearl mushroom farm near Bemidji
Appetites visited Bemidji, Minn., and MPR News host Tom Crann talked with restaurateur Keng Dechawuth to discover how he “pays it forward” to his workers.
When fufu is a taste of love and a taste of home
For the 14,000 Nigerians who now live in Minnesota fufu is a west African taste of home. Uche Iroegbu who arrived in Minnesota some years ago now fully understands its importance.
In J. Ryan Stradal's new book, the Midwest supper club is a character unto itself
“Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club” is a family drama set in and around a supper club in the fictional northern Minnesota town of Bear Jaw. Author J. Ryan Stradal says it’s “the kind of book you can’t take the Minnesota out of in editing.”
Minnesota-made tofu is cleaner for the planet — and your palate
MinnTofu is interrupting the industrial food system by turning soybeans into tofu locally instead of shipping them to California. And it has the added benefit of producing a cleaner-tasting tofu.
Ancient vessels and fresh ingredients: MIA and local chef team up for neighborhood boost
The Minneapolis Institute of Art tapped local chef Tammy Wong to prepare a multi-course menu for a lavish, after-hours banquet inside one of its exhibit Wednesday night. For both Wong and the organizers, it was a chance to bring people together again in the Whittier neighborhood after a tough few years.
A shared fast, a shared feast: Ramadan's lessons in unity
During Ramadan, Minnesota's Muslim community participates in diverse Iftar meals that foster unity among the Muslim community — and beyond. The practice offers opportunities for spiritual reflection, hospitality and interfaith work, highlighting Islam's rich cultural diversity in America.