Taste Buds With Deb

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Natalie Kalmar, the creator behind FitnessFoodieSTL, a resource that empowers women and families to live well without the pressure of perfection.

“ There are so many ways that you can move your body, whether it's dance fitness, playing a sport, [or] walking your dog,” she explains. “All of that counts; all of that is movement.” 

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Peter Shankman, entrepreneur, speaker, best-selling author, and founder of Source of Sources. A Jewish single dad, Shankman became an amateur chef, because he loves cooking with his 12-year-old daughter.

“I used to think [cooking] was just about creating food that I enjoyed, and then I had a kid and I realized the bar is actually no...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Georgia Freedman, author of “Snacking Dinners: 50+ Recipes for Low-Lift, High-Reward Dinners That Delight.”

“We put a lot of pressure on dinner,” Freedman explains. 

You need a protein, a starch, and at least one kind of vegetable - five if you are in California. Plus, it’s an important part of family life. It’s a tim...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Jewish romance author Jean Meltzer, founder of Jewish Joy Inc, which includes the Jewish Joy Book Club and the Jewish Joy Box.

Last week, Meltzer announced the inaugural Jewish Joy Con. The three-day cultural convention, set for March 13 to 15, 2026, in Fort Lauderdale, will celebrate Jewish pop culture, storytelling and creativity ...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with performance chef Aaron Clayton. Performance chefs are those who prepare nutritionally focused meals for athletes. 

“We're there to make sure that they're able to perform on the field, the court, wherever it may be,” Clayton says. 

When asked what regular people can do to eat healthier, Clayton says the easiest thing i...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Warren Rockmacher, known as the godfather of kosher barbecue. Rockmacher discovered competitive barbecue in 2013. He competes with his kosher barbecue team around the country and has started competitions of his own, including the Great American Kosher Barbecue Championship and Jewish Festival in Lake Worth, Florida. 

“People love co...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling chats with Jessica Fishenfeld, actor, singer, and host of “Bagels and Banter.” “I wanted my own show where I can talk to people and talk about bagels,” says Fishenfeld. “And this [is the] organic creation that came about.”

After moving from New York to Los Angeles, Fishenfeld's quest for a good local bagel led her to create this fu...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Byron Lazaroff Puck, president of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group. This legacy chef, the second son of chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck and designer Barbara Lazaroff, grew up in a flurry of cooking, art and hospitality. 

“There’s a Picasso quote that I love, which is, “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an ...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Amy Bebchick, Chief Program Officer of OneTable aka the AirBNB of Shabbat. OneTable is an online platform that connects hosts with guests - and vice versa - and also offers Shabbat support and resources. 

OneTable, aimed at adults 21 to 39, launched in 2014; two years ago, they expanded their offerings with OneTable Together, for pe...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Sam E. Goldberg, creator and host of “Respect the Chain,” a pop culture travel food show that dives into the stories behind the most iconic restaurant chains. 

“Whether it's Moe’s versus Chipotle, ketchup versus mustard, everybody's got an opinion and everybody's educated enough to discuss it,” Goldberg, who is team ketchup, says. “I ...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with musician Happie Hoffman, a former non-cook who discovered the joy of cooking during the pandemic

“I understood that if I wanted to have a proper Shabbat meal, I had to learn how to make it for myself,” Hoffman says. “A lot of times at [dinners] I'm always helping, but I'm not actually orchestrating the food portion. … m...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Evan Fox, founder and owner of Yeastie Boys Bagels. With eight locations around Los Angeles, the vibrant food truck is full of delicious New-York style LA bagels. Their creative combinations have fun names - mainly pop culture and music references - to go with them. 

When Fox started Yeastie Boys Bagels in 2014, there w...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with kosher sushi chef Marisa Baggett, who blends tradition, identity and intention in her culinary work. 

“My sushi journey and my Jewish journeys are actually very much entwined,” Baggett explains.  “When I was going through sushi school, I was also embracing Judaism, so there was always this kind of… pull between how I'm ...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Sasha Zabar, founder of Glace and Glace Candy in New York.

While many kids dream of opening an ice cream shop or candy store, it’s something Zabar actually did! The two stores are connected in the middle, so customers and their friends/family can visit one or both sides, and if they want, mix their candy into the ice cream for infin...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Emmy award-winning and Golden Globe-winning comedy writer, actor, and comedian Monica Piper. After a smash-hit run off-Broadway, her one-woman show, “Not That Jewish,” returned to The Braid in Santa Monica for the show’s 10 year anniversary; it runs through the end of May.

Piper was a high school English teacher, before she left to ...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Amy Dell, founder of Sababa Foods, which produces authentic Middle Eastern foods with a modern-day flair.  

Dell's first product, Saturday Sauce, is her take on matbucha. It is a slightly spicy tomato-based sauce, like the base of shakshuka. It’s like the Jewish version of Sunday sauce.

“Sunday sauce generally refers ...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Sarah Nathan, founder of NOOISH, a modern Jewish comfort food brand. Nathan has always been a huge fan of soup. Matzo ball soup in particular is well-known and beloved, so it’s no wonder instant matzo ball soup is NOOISH’s first product.

“[With soup] you get this melding of flavors and that warmth in your heart,” Nathan...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Hannah Sattler, owner of Hannah's Kitchen,  a Jewish-focused catering business and cafe in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sattler prides herself on nourishing the soul, preserving tradition and creating meaningful connections through food.

While Sattler always loved food and cooking, she started off as an engineering major, ended up in the f...

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with filmmaker, Accidental Talmudist and longtime “Jewish Journal” contributor Salvador Litvak. Litvak’s Passover classic, “When Do We Eat?” stars Max Greenfield, Ben Feldman, Shiri Appleby, Lesley Ann Warren, Michael Lerner, and Jack Klugman. Litvak directed the film that he co-wrote with his wife and partner, Nina Davidovich Litvak. 

T...