Max and Melanie have been food exploring together for many year at home, in restaurants and on vacation. Today's chat touches on their shared meals, but the real conversation is about Max's cooking and food adventures.
Max's Gran Gusto Recipe:
Episode Links:
Odd Duck (https://oddduckrestaurant.com)
Nicer Dicer Plus (https://youtu.be/nVMydkdfgKc)
Flemmings Selection Hotel Frankfurt City (https://www.flemings-hotels.com/en/frankfurt-city-selection-hotel)
The Pasta Tree Milwaukee (https://pastatreemilwaukee.com)
Oscars Pub & Grill (https://oscars-pub-grill.site)
Maharaja Indian Restaurant (https://www.maharajarestaurants.com)
13 Feb 2026
Don't Be Shy With the Broiler - Andy
Melanie's last guest this season, Andy, brings a lot to the table; food & flower gardener, grill & smoker man, soup & stew maker, and salsa king. From his food beginnings to his latest meal. This episode, Andy and Melanie will share their food joy.
Episode Links:
Gloriosos (https://www.gloriosos.com)
New York Times Cooking (https://cooking.nytimes.com)
Cuisinart Hand Blender (https://www.cuisinart.com/shopping/appliances/hand-blenders/)
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33313.Kitchen_Confidential)
Bon Appétit (https://www.bonappetit.com/?_sp=53a731f4-68bc-4017-b57c-8201d673892f.1743013989680)
Lisa's Pizza MKE (https://www.lisaspizzamke.com)
Dom & Phil DeMarinis (https://www.demarinisdomandphils.com)
Conejito's Place (https://conejitosmke.com)
6 Feb 2026
Simple and Informal - Lea
Today's conversation with Lea serves up a bit of evrerything, everywhere. She is American-born, English-influenced and globally-focused, so it's no surprise we'll talk about curries, castles and cleaners all in the same episode.
And....if you're wondering the English term "faffing" is the same as the American term fussing ;)
Lea's Persian Orange Cake Recipe (https://www.kulinarian.com/recipes/persian-orange-and-almond-cake/)
Episode Links:
Madhur Jaffret Indian Cooking (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75385.Madhur_Jaffrey_Indian_Cooking)
Windsor Castle (https://www.rct.uk/visit/windsor-castle)
Jamie Oliver Recipes (https://www.jamieoliver.com)
30 Jan 2026
Fun to Play With My Food - Ethan
Melanie's conversation with Ethan is a first for the podcast: Ethan is a professional chef. They'll discuss his influence, the winding road that led to catering, meal kits and being a private chef.
Ethan's Recipe:
Episode Links:
Vitruvian Farms (https://www.vitruvianfarms.com)
Peck: First Food Hall in Milan (https://peck.it)
Vom Fass (https://vomfassmadison-universityave.com)
Chifa: Peruvian-Chineese Fusion (https://www.peruforless.com/blog/chifa)
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33313.Kitchen_Confidential)
Topolobampo (https://topolochicago.com/about/)
Glorioso's (https://www.gloriosos.com)
Mad City Chefs (https://www.madcitychefs.com)
23 Jan 2026
Just Invite Them All - Moe
Moe's food journey starts on Grandma' s farm and includes soup, salad and feeding a choral group. Melanie and Moe have spent hours in each other's kitchen, cooking for each other, family and friends. Today you'll hear a few ideas from a very good homegrown cook.
Moe's Crab Rangoon Pizza Recipe: (https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:17a77fa2-402e-4063-9371-bcc624ef0020)
Episode Links:
Brother Sebastian's Steakhouse and Winery (https://brothersebastians.com/)
"The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book" by Fannie Merritt Farmer (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65061)
Rosewood Restaurant (https://rosewood.restaurant/)
Asheville Proper (https://www.ashevilleproper.com)
Milwaukee Public Market (https://milwaukeepublicmarket.org)
Oro di Oliva (https://orodioliva.com)
Penzey's Spices (https://www.penzeys.com)
The Spice House (https://www.thespicehouse.com/pages/about-the-spice-house)
16 Jan 2026
French Fries & Ice Cream Dip - Sean
The saying "like father, like son" says a lot this episode. Last week John and I chatted all things food at the Tehan house and today you'll hear echoes of that conversation. My son-in-law, Sean, honors his father's cooking and moves on to create some great food and food memories of his own.
Episode Links:
Room Service Bay View (https://www.roomservicebayview.com/)
Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (https://kingshawaiian.com/original-hawaiian-sweet-rolls-2-packs-12-rolls-per-pack-gift-boxed/)
Outlaw Oyster (https://outlawoysterwi.com/)
The Famous Racing Sausages (https://www.mlb.com/brewers/fans/mascots/racing-sausages)
Soft Cookies Trick (https://www.foodandwine.com/keep-cookies-soft-trick-8708456)
Johnsonville Original Brats (https://johnsonville.com/products/original-bratwurst/)
G. Groppi Food Market (https://groppis.com)
Bartolotta's Harbor House (https://www.bartolottas.com/harbor-house)
9 Jan 2026
Holy Mackerel - John
This episode you’ll meet the in-laws. My guest today is John. We’ve shared some great food together since his son, Sean married our Elise. John’s a great cook, and his happy place is the stove, grill or fish-camp oven. We get into everything from Florida scallops to northeast crab, and......wine, of course!
John T's Macaroni and Cheese Recipe: (https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:va6c2:0b7a26f9-ce1e-440e-b687-4676fa473ccc)
Episode Links:
Magic Seasoning Blends (https://www.magicseasoningblends.com)
Super Taster Blends (https://supertaster.com)
Meater (https://www.meater.com)
Pampered Chef Food Chopper (https://www.pamperedchef.com/shop/Kitchen+Tools/Specialty+Cutting+Tools/Food+Chopper/2585)
Grumpy Gourment (https://cmhgourmand.com/tag/grumpy-gourment/)
2 Jan 2026
Hooked On Hot Sauce - Ray
Years ago, Ray and Melanie started hanging out with a group of work friends, affectionately called “the usual suspects”; first for happy hours, next at each other’s houses and then they took the plung to vacation together. The rest is history. Today Ray and Melanie discuss meat, AirBnB cooking and Christmas in Connecticut. Be sure to listen till the end, when you'll find out the most important ingredient for a great party.
Ray's Seared Steak Recipe: (https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:b8263ebd-d0e1-4f88-8644-a4fb088e93cd)
Episode Links:
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (https://www.cff.org)
Findlay Market (https://www.findlaymarket.org)
Traeger (https://www.traeger.com)
Kitchen Aid (https://www.kitchenaid.com)
17 Jul 2025
Food Is Why I Travel with Meagan
Meagan and Melanie’s friendship was sparked by their mutual love of family, food, friends and travel. The two have had some ridiculously good times together and appreciate the other’s delicious food and thoughtful hosting. Meagan will talk about food from her adventures and….what a Wisconsin girl misses while living out-of-state.
Meagan's Weekly Bread Recipe (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U7QyxHUHJ5CSGg5zZc23yuksE_MieBic/view?usp=sharing)
Follow me on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/food_with_friendsmke/)
10 Jul 2025
Tallest, Best Eater in Segovia with John
It’s all in the family, again. John is a friend and…another one of Melanie’s nephews. John and Melanie share a love of travel, food and people. Fortunately, they’ve been able to enjoy all of them together, and today they’ll share a glimpse into John’s tasty life.
Chilindron, Spanish Stew Recipe (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vyxX8qEWxwMsS3yUcMDu0bTvZSKNx39p/view?usp=drive_link)
Check out:
Klements Sausage https://klements.com (https://klements.com/)
Modern Carnivor https://modcarn.com/category/recipe/ (https://modcarn.com/category/recipe/)
Hank Shaw https://honest-food.net (https://honest-food.net/)
Follow me on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/food_with_friendsmke/)
3 Jul 2025
You Can’t Beat A Burek with Steven
Melanie Manuel interviews Steven, her nephew, about family food connections, travel treats, local restaurants, and test-kitchen experiences, offering a delicious trip down memory lane.
26 Jun 2025
Daddy’s Girl with Desti
Desti shares her culinary traditions and kitchen wisdom, revealing the secrets behind her delicious Italian cooking, including a family recipe for arancini appetizer, in a conversation with Melanie.
19 Jun 2025
Drinking In The Local Offerings with Tom
Tom shares stories with Melanie about sampling local food and drink while traveling, including bento boxes and slivovitz, in this interview episode.
12 Jun 2025
Putting All The Love And Ingredients In with Amy
Amy shares her food origins and connection with Melanie, exploring memories and meals like bread, soup, pizza, and dessert in this interview episode.
5 Jun 2025
Season From Your Heart with Stephanie
Home cook Stephanie shares her culinary journey with host Melanie, from Napa Valley vacations to perfecting homemade porchetta, offering listeners insights into creating heartfelt meals, in this interview.
27 May 2025
Quest For Crispy Duck with Christine
Christine discusses her culinary journey with Melanie, from restaurant experiences to the joys of cooking for guests, including remodeling insights and knife preferences in this interview.
Who has been a guest on Food With Friends
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Steven
Desti
Tom
Amy
Stephanie
Reach and audience
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 24 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
35
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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