Communal Table Podcast: Holidays in Limbo

Chefs and restaurant workers take great care of everyone else, but often they need a little help themselves. Each week, Food & Wine senior editor Kat Kinsman talks with hospitality pros about they manage their business, brain, and body for the long haul. Is there a topic you'd like to know more about or a guest you'd love to hear from? Tell us at fwpro@foodandwine.com or tweet to Kat @kittenwithawhip, and subscribe to the weekly Food & Wine Pro newsletter so you never miss an episode. Catch up on previous episodes here.

Episode 87: The December Issue

No one on earth needs to be told that this is a holiday season unlike any other because we're all living it. If you're a listener of this podcast you are painfully aware of the kind of year it's been, and that no one quite knows the way forward. In this year, more than any other, joy, rituals, and traditions matter—especially if we can't be together to celebrate. In this episode, the Food & Wine team and friends joined forces to talk through some of the foods that keep them feeling warm and bright. You'll hear Paola Briseño-González and Khushbu Shah getting deep on tamale making, Josh Miller talks with Melanie Hansche about her beloved Bavarian-Austria spitzbuben and Paige Grandjean on the gloriously geeky art of candymaking, and Sarah Crowder on the rites of her family's flaming "Flambo Jambo." Plus, a special mantra from Kelsey Youngman to get you through.

p.s. I forgot to thank our producer Antara Sinha at the end of this episode, but she's the human who makes it all happen behind the scenes.

Links and Resources

Read: Christmas Time Is Tamal Time

Make: Brown Butter-Cardamom Spitzbuben

Read: How to Make Candy Magic at Home

Behold: This Year I Have to Set the Ham on Fire Myself

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Previous episode: Rocco DiSpirito talks about why therapy is a lifesaver and how to snap back to feeling like a chef.