Dinner Last Night (with Emma & Dimity)

About Dinner Last Night (with Emma & Dimity)

We’re Emma & Dimity—identical twins, mamas, and co-hosts of Dinner Last Night. When we became parents, figuring out what to make for dinner—and how to get our families to eat it—was hard. One minute, we were serving up a home-cooked meal; the next, we were in high-stakes negotiations over one bite of broccoli. Between finding time to shop and cook, dodging tantrums, balancing nutrition, and honoring traditions, we often felt like we were facing the daily dinner struggle alone. So we started asking other parents, “What did you have for dinner last night?” We quickly learned we’re all connected by this daily ritual—but also discovered a world of game-changing mealtime tricks and recipes. That’s why we started Dinner Last Night, a podcast where we swap unfiltered stories with parents around the world, diving into how culture, family dynamics, and daily rhythms shape mealtime. Whether it’s pasta from scratch or cereal in a pinch, every meal has a story—one that proves we’re all in this delicious mess together. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to our newsletter, where you’ll also be entered to win exclusive giveaways from our amazing guests and be the first to get updates about the podcast: https://emmafrisch.substack.com/ A bit about your co-hosts: Dimity Palmer-Smith is a co-host of Dinner Last Night, a hobby fitness instructor (her secret accountability hack), and a career educator and nonprofit leader. With a knack for fostering connection and community, Dimity understands the magic of shared meals and the delightful chaos of family dinners. She swore she wouldn’t be a short-order cook, but here she is, whipping up gourmet meals tailored to each kid’s whims! When she’s not discussing dinner with parents worldwide, you’ll find her on the soccer field, at the climbing gym, advocating for local education issues, or exploring nature. Emma Frisch Emma Frisch is a co-host of Dinner Last Night, a chef, culinary instructor, and writer known for helping people fall back in love with home cooking through simple, seasonal recipes. She’s the author of Feast by Firelight and Seasonal Family Almanac, and co-founded two hospitality ventures—La Buena Onda in Nicaragua and Firelight Camps in Upstate New York—before she had kids and dinner got complicated. A Food Network Star finalist and Fulbright Scholar, Emma’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Epicurious, and more. She lives in the Finger Lakes with her husband and two daughters.

Publisher

Dinner Last Night

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

8 Apr 2025

Latest episode

17 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

27 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Jun 2026

   Esi Lewis: Attorney and Community Activist on Building Black History, Family Legacy, and Joy as Resistance

   Esi Lewis grew up on Huguenot Street in New Paltz, in the same house she lives in now with her daughter. It wasn't until later in life that she learned the property sits on a burial ground for enslaved Africans, a discovery that reshaped how she understood the place she'd always called home.Esi is an attorney and the founder of the Dr. Margaret Wade-Lewis Center for Black History and Culture, named for her mother, a pioneering Black Studies professor who chaired the department at SUNY New Paltz for over three decades. In this episode of Dinner Last Night, we follow Esi's path from New Paltz to a decade in New York City, including six years as a prosecutor in Brooklyn's Sex Crimes Bureau, and back home again after her daughter was born. We talk about the Center's work to save the Ann Oliver House, built in 1885 by Jacob Wynkoop, from demolition, the field trips to Huguenot Street that taught Esi about French Protestant settlers but nothing about the Black community that built and worshipped alongside them, and the moment she learned what her own childhood home was built on. We also talk about her podcast We Be Griots, the role of Black churches and song as historic anchors of joy, and the dish that most reminds her of her mother. In this episode: Ribeye, a 10-year-old dancer's protein craving, and why Esi tries never to rush through dinner Growing up in the shadow of her mother's legacy, and how Margaret Wade Lewis shaped everything from food to faith to community Jacob Wynkoop, the Ann Oliver House, and why Esi fought to save a piece of New Paltz history from demolition What a griot is, and why Esi's podcast We Be Griots is an act of documented resistance Living on Huguenot Street and learning that her family home sits near a burial ground of enslaved Africans Joy as resistance: how Black communities in the Hudson Valley use celebration, song, and togetherness as a form of healing Raising a daughter with roots, ritual, and a sense of her own place in history Mentioned in this episode: The Margaret Wade Lewis Center (https://www.mwlcenter.org/) for Black History and Culture We Be Griots podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/75hkH1f2P0JUH1ISMzB8Qa?si=37e455d39bda4022) (Esi's show) Historic Huguenot Street (https://www.huguenotstreet.org/) in New Paltz, NY The Ann Oliver House (https://oracle.newpaltz.edu/ann-oliver-house-preservation/) SUNY New Paltz (https://www.newpaltz.edu/?https://www.newpaltz.edu/science-of-reading-center/thank-you/&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22883512546&gbraid=0AAAABA2yAUmkv3VKc6fJzW9STjG5qCYRt&gclid=CjwKCAjw6MPRBhBTEiwAd-7MryZeto03s5hYMH9vYufUplIUt2pq4jkm51oEGITa8rzidc8mlgmXsBoCFRsQAvD_BwE)

2. 

   3 Jun 2026

   Katrín Björk: Icelandic Food Photographer and Cookbook Author on ARFID, Adoption, and Redefining the Family Dinner

   Katrín Björk is an Icelandic food photographer, cookbook author, and mom of three adopted kids, and she'll be the first to tell you that dinner in her house is a disaster. Katrín grew up in North Iceland in a fishing and farming family, where wild Icelandic lamb and fresh fish three times a week were just Tuesday. She went on to study photography in Copenhagen (where she met her husband!), publish From the North, a love letter to Icelandic and Danish food, and build a career in commercial food photography. But none of that prepared her for the reality of feeding a family where one child has ARFID (avoidant restrictive food intake disorder), one is autistic and struggles significantly with eating, and all three carry early childhood trauma with deep ties to food. In this episode, Katrín talks openly about the therapy, the letting go, and the slow, hard work of replacing perfectionism with presence. In this episode: Growing up in North Iceland with wild lamb, fresh fish, and from-scratch everything What ARFID actually is, and how it shows up at the dinner table differently than picky eating The "safe list" tool: what it is, how Katrín's daughter helped build hers, and why it has to stay flexible How her romantic idea of the perfect family dinner collided with the reality of raising three kids with complex needs Sourcing prepared food locally and releasing the pressure to cook everything from scratch The evolution of her blog Modern Wife Style and why its messaging no longer rings true to who she is Why her family connects over bike rides and nature, not dinner, and why that's okay Mentioned in this episode: From the North (https://a.co/d/0j3VYOGk) by Katrín Björk Katrín's website (https://katrinbjork.com/) Modern Wifestyle Blog (https://modernwifestyle.com/) Follow Katrín on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/katrinbjork/) Black Eyed Susie's (https://www.blackeyedsuziesupstate.com/) in Kingston, NY Common Table (https://www.commontableny.com/) meal prep service in Kingston, NY Dia Beacon (https://welcome.diaart.org/) in Beacon, NY Julia Turshen's Episode (https://open.spotify.com/episode/67iKbEm0QuRhJOKzktoNdf?si=C3SlqT5GT267oTMGwZx_xA) on Dinner Last Night

3. 

   20 May 2026

   Paragini Amin: Designer on Indian-American Identity, a Husband Who Cooks Like a Chef, and a Game That Opens Kids Up

   Paragini Amin grew up in Jersey City in a Gujarati household where dinner, cooked daily by her mother, was always Indian food and everything else was negotiable. Today, Paragini's husband does all the cooking — and he is exceptional at it, moving from French technique one night to Caribbean-Southeast Asian the next, with an instinct for sniffing out the best restaurant on any highway. In this episode, Paragini takes us through the experiences that shaped her: early racism in school, the radically intentional desegregation high school where she learned that when kids from different backgrounds are just given room to be, something beautiful happens. She also tells us what a psychic once told her about getting into the kitchen — and why she still hasn't done it. We talk about the conversation game she created, Things & Things, which pairs cards with physical objects and helped her son finally open up at the dinner table. And we talk about perimenopause and HRT, because we are all in our forties and we have things to say. Paragini Amin is co-founder and creative director of Design for Progress (https://designforprogress.co/), a brand strategy firm serving social justice nonprofits focused on criminal justice reform and mass incarceration. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and their eight-year-old son. Subscribe Never miss an episode: Follow Dinner Last Night and ⁠subscribe to our newsletter⁠ (https://emmafrisch.substack.com/). If you loved this episode, please leave us a review, tap “like”, and share it with a friend! It helps more people discover the show. 💛 Giveaways ⁠CLICK HERE⁠ (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScN3ZQCUTgDYa_rx3gUinh_jgs-4-f-Ki-1NEeOZrLvxXFnPg/viewform) to enter the giveaway for any episode! Follow Us Substack: ⁠subscribe to our newsletter⁠ (https://emmafrisch.substack.com/) YouTube: ⁠@DinnerLastNightPod⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/@DinnerLastNightPod) Instagram: ⁠@dinnerlastnightpod⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/dinnerlastnightpod/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet) Website: ⁠dinnerlastnightpod.com⁠ (https://dinnerlastnightpod.com/) Credits Produced: Wombmate Productions, Inc., ⁠REP Studio⁠ (https://repstudio.com/), and Stuart Hetzler Editing: ⁠REP Studio⁠ (https://repstudio.com/) and Stuart Hetzler Music by: ⁠⁣⁠ (https://whiskeyclass.bandcamp.com/)⁠Emerson ‘Longstory’ Bartlett⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/longstory_music/?hl=en) (feat. ⁠Drew Martin⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/idrewmartinmusic/?hl=en) on Saxophone)

Who has been a guest on Dinner Last Night (with Emma & Dimity)

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Reuben Beck
• Laura Arteaga
• Davinia Tomlinson
• Amy Lee
• Cat Seixas

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 34 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

36

Social presence

91

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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