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.

Minnesota professor takes sabbatical, finds joy in waiting tables
When a professor takes a sabbatical, they typically don’t end up waiting tables at a local brewery. For Matthew Batt, a University of St. Thomas associate professor of English, that became his reality. He detailed the journey in his book the “Last Supper Club: A Waiters Requiem.”
Retiring Summit Brewing CEO reflects on Minnesota's changing beer scene
The founder of Summit Brewing is retiring. Mark Stutrud founded Summit on University Avenue in St. Paul back in 1986 and while the extra pale ale they started is still on the menu, almost everything else about Summit and crafting beer in Minnesota has changed.
'World of spices' inspires Minnesota chef to celebrate Turkish-Latin fusion for Hispanic Heritage Month
Join MPR News host Tom Crann as he explores the intersection of Turkish and Latin American cuisine with Amalia Moreno-Damgaard’s mouthwatering recipes for chicken kebabs and tacos al pastor.
Curtis Chin’s new memoir gives insight into life as a 'Chinese restaurant kid' from Detroit
Join MPR News Host Tom Crann as he interviews author Curtis Chin about his upcoming memoir, offering a glimpse into the vibrant world of a Chinese restaurant in Detroit.
With origin stories and modern Indigenous cuisine, a new chef comes to Minneapolis
Chef Sean Sherman has gained national recognition for lifting the profile of Indigenous food. Now he’s launching a residency program to lift up other Indigenous chefs. It’s part of his non-profit, North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems or NĀTIFS.
In her new cookbook, Amy Thielen argues hosting should be more party than performance
Minnesota author and chef Amy Thielen is out with her third book, which she refers to as her “so-called entertaining book.” In it, she encourages hosts to drop the Martha Stewart act and reframe entertaining as the “radically casual art of cooking for others.”
Prime, grass fed — bird friendly? Audubon Society label coming to a meat aisle near you
The Audubon Society is expanding its ranch certification program to the Midwest, in an effort to create consumer demand for bird-friendly ranching practices. A farmer in Clearwater, Minn., is one of the first in the state to start the process.