Food People, Parent Picks
Introducing a new segment featuring the things our One Potato Order Up! guests love!
At One Potato, we love a good conversation—especially when it’s about food, family, and the little things that make life delicious. With every interview we do, we find ourselves scribbling down book recommendations, pantry staples, and must-try ingredients from our guests. And we figured—why keep all that goodness to ourselves?
Enter Food People, Parent Picks a new series where we ask our favorite chefs, food writers, and industry insiders who we interview in our Order Up! Series to share the products, books, and bites they can’t live without. From the cookbook they’ve read a dozen times to the one ingredient that changed how they cook, consider this your insider guide to all the good stuff.
Small Bites:
📺 Don’t forget to mark your calendars! Finding Edna Lewis, the highly anticipated documentary executive produced and hosted by Deb Freeman, premieres on February 18th on PBS. Tune in on your local PBS station or stream it online!
📖 Buy The Taste of Country Cooking - the must-have cookbook by Edna Lewis, from Bookshop.org.
🍴 Shop delicious food from award-winning African-American Chefs for Black History Month from Goldbelly - ships Nationwide!
🥔 One Potato is a reader-supported newsletter - paid subscribers have access to the full archive of Recipes and Specials Interviews and Community Voices for $5/month or $45/year.
First up: Things Deb Loves!
Did you get a chance to read or listen to our interview with Deb Freeman earlier this week? Be sure to check it out here. Deb is a food writer, podcaster, and host of Finding Edna Lewis (premiering February 18th on PBS!). She’s sharing her must-haves, from life-changing rice to the book that shaped how she thinks about food.
📖 A food-related book you return to again and again?
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. I first read it when I was about 15, and it completely changed the way I thought about food—not just as something to eat but as an expression of emotion, history, and identity. I’ve read it far too many times, and it never gets old. It’s a beautiful book. Get it here on Bookshop.org.
🌟 A food product or ingredient you discovered through your writing that you now can’t live without?
Carolina Gold Rice. The first time I had it, my mind was absolutely blown. Once you taste it, regular rice just doesn’t compare. The flavor is incredible. And then there’s whole hog barbecue. I hadn’t had it until a few years ago, and wow—it’s a life-changing experience. If you get it fresh off the pig, you might actually weep. It’s easier to find on the East Coast - you can get it on Instacart Here or elsewhere in the U.S. you can order it online.
🧂 What’s always in your pantry?
Paprika, hands down. I also always keep a really good pasta sauce—because I love pasta so much—my go-to brand is Carbone, but I like to doctor it up with onion, garlic, and spices.
🥤 Your go-to snack or comfort food while writing?
Coca-Cola. The classic, in a can.
🎧 Food-related newsletters, podcasts, or websites you love for inspiration?
I love Sporkful—it’s always full of great historical references and deep dives into food culture. Another favorite is The One, where a food personality walks through a single recipe and shares the story behind it. I love hearing the inspiration behind dishes.
🍓 The best food-related purchase you made in the last year?
Fresh, in-season strawberries from the Amish stand at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. I thought I’d buy some to bring home, but instead, I ate two whole quarts in my hotel room. No regrets.
🥄 One must-have product for home cooks?
A good silicone spoon, like my Staub multifunction spoon. It’s simple but perfect for so many things.
💰 A specialty ingredient that’s totally worth the splurge?
Always buy the good vanilla. You won’t regret it. For example, this Nielsen Massey Organic Fairtrade Pure Vanilla Extract.
🎁 If you could gift one food-related book or item to every home cook, what would it be?
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. It’s such a great foundational book for understanding how to cook. Get a copy on Bookshop.org.
We LOVE these recommendations, Deb, and we’re so inspired! We can’t wait to get our hands on these books and ingredients, and press play on these podcasts.