Maybe It’s Not a Philly Cheesesteak

Top Chef finalist and James Beard-nominated author Chris Scott has spent nearly 40 years in professional kitchens, tracing his family's story to the intersection of Black Southern cooking and Pennsylvania Dutch Amish foodways. In this episode, Chef Claudia Sandoval and Chris remember a penny candy store in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, the grape-flavored Swedish Fish he's still looking for, and the scrapple his ancestors reworked into something between a poor man's pâté and a dish worthy of the James Beard House.  From there, the conversation turns to the overlooked people in every kitchen—the dishwashers, the servers, the produce drivers—and the marginalized stories Chris is telling in his new short film What's Left. They get into why he thinks competition cooking shows have run their course, and the real rules for a proper cheesesteak (hint: don’t call it a "Philly" cheesesteak). Recorded on September 11th, the episode also sits with grief, memory, and what restaurants come to mean for the people who keep them running. New episodes every Wednesday. You can find Chris Scott on Instagram @chefchris512 and learn more about his film What's Left and his cookbook Homage. Follow along on Instagram ⁠@bitefullypod⁠ and ⁠@chefclaudiasandoval⁠ Host & Executive Producer: Claudia Sandoval | Producer: Shei Yu I Executive Producer: Saadia Khan I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Theme Music: Lou Raskin | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover Art: Mike Fennessy Bitefully is an Immigrantly Media Production. If you like what you hear, write a review at Bitefully and subscribe to Immigrantly Uninterrupted for ad-free episodes For advertising inquiries, you can contact us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices