The Fine Art of Coffee Slurping March 31, 2005 • Coffee cupping is the equivalent of wine tasting. Susan Roesgen of member station WWNO in New Orleans reports on a family-owned retail coffee company that finds good beans by slurping.
Heirloom Produce, Saving an Heirloom Farm March 30, 2005 • After six generations, the Jones family was in danger of losing their Ohio farm. But the growing appetite for specialty produce has helped turn their fortunes around. Now they sell to renowned chefs.
Fine Southern Food from a Native Son March 27, 2005 • In a colorful new cookbook, Alabama chef Frank Stitt shares moutwatering recipes from his award-winning restaurant Highlands Bar and Grill. He talks with NPR's Debbie Elliot about the tradition of food in the South.
Spring Holiday Recipes from Nigella Lawson March 25, 2005 • British cookbook author Nigella Lawson celebrates springtime with special dishes for the holiday feasts of Easter and Passover. She discusses some of her favorite dishes for the season with Michele Norris.
Army Chefs Battle for Best-Dish Honors March 20, 2005 • K rations weren't on the menu at the Army's 30th annual Culinary Arts Competition. At Fort Lee, Va., military chefs waged battles to see who could make the tastiest and healthiest morale-boosting dishes.
Business Irish Pubs Go Global March 17, 2005 • On this St. Patrick's Day, a look at a Dublin man who is trying to bring the authentic Irish pub experience and authentic Irish craic to countries around the world. Mel McNally is the creator and director of the Irish Pub Company.
Opinion Irish Cuisine, Renewed and Reshaped March 13, 2005 • Contrary to popular belief, Irish cooking has evolved beyond potatoes and corned beef and cabbage. Essayist Bonny Wolf explains what's been happening in the kitchens of Ireland's most creative chefs.
Diversions Dining in the Dark March 10, 2005 • The Blind Cow Restaurant in Zurich, Switzerland, offers up a different dining experience: Guests eat in complete darkness and are served by blind or visually handicapped waitstaff.
Diversions Coffee Barista Preps for National Competition March 10, 2005 • Washington D.C.'s champion barista, Ryan Jensen of Murky Coffee, is headed to the annual barista competition in Seattle. For Jensen and his fellow coffee-philes, pouring a "cup of joe" is art.
Opinion NPR Replay: Soul Food A Return to Black Cuisine, Via the Rabbi's Wife March 9, 2005 • Our commentator explains how the rabbi's wife led him back to the African-American cuisine of his childhood.
Celebrity Status Americans' Insatiable Hunger for Celebrity Chefs March 5, 2005 • The cult of the TV celebrity chef has created multimedia empires, but it has also helped transform the way Americans think about food.
Opinion Kitchen Window An Ode to Hash Slingers March 5, 2005 • Celebrity chefs may grab all the headlines, but it's the unsung working stiffs that end up feeding most of America. Commentator Betsy Block pays tribute to the country's un-famous hash slingers.
Flora's Wild Mushroom Soup March 5, 2005 • A recipe for a hearty vegetable soup from Bob Sargent, the chef at Flora, a restaurant in Arlington, Mass.
Caramelized Pear and Red Onion Salad with Stilton Cheese March 5, 2005 • Chef Bob Sargent, of the restaurant Flora in Arlington, Mass., shares a recipe for a crowd favorite, a salad combining pears (or apples) with blue cheese.
World Irish Potato Growers Meet with Drop in Demand March 4, 2005 • As Ireland's economy improves and its population becomes too busy to cook, consumption of fresh market potatoes has been gradually declining. The result has been a decline in revenues for potato growers. Melissa Block talks with Kieran Leddy, horticulture and potato secretary with the Irish Farmers Association.