Pod Insights The Sporkful 2 Chefs And A Lie: Canadian Prime Minister Edition (Reheat) About this episode Dan gives up the hosting chair and becomes a contestant in our most popular (and only) Sporkful game show, 2 Chefs And A Lie! The game is simple. Dan talks with three “chefs.”
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Dan Pashman? If you're the kind of person who plans vacations around where you're gonna eat, Scottsdale belongs on your list. And look, whenever I go somewhere, my priority is on eating things that are the specialties of that region, eating things that I can't get at home. So when I'm in that area, I'm looking for the specialties of the region, like authentic southwestern and Native American flavors, modern Mexican cuisine, and as basic as it sounds, homemade, fresh flour tortillas. There's nothing like it, and you can't get them like that in the Northeast. And there is such a farm-to-table culture in Scottsdale, inspired by the Sonoran Desert. Everything is so fresh, the peppers, the spices, it is so vibrant. And Scottsdale's just got a great vibe. It's one of those places where breakfast becomes brunch, happy hour turns into dinner, and every patio has another amazing view.
0:45 Dan Pashman? And explore Old Town Scottsdale between meals, or relax at a spa after brunch. From award-winning and James Beard-recognized chefs to neighborhood gems and nationally acclaimed restaurants, every meal in Scottsdale tells a story. So come hungry and leave with new favorite restaurants. Start planning your next culinary getaway at experiencescottsdale.com. I grew up on Lando Lake's cheese. I still remember going to the supermarket deli counter with my mom and her ordering Lando Lake's American cheese. And now, Lando Lake's cheese and butter are a huge part of my home. There are so many easy weeknight recipes using Lando Lake's cheese and butter that bring delicious restaurant taste right to your table. From chicken parm to weeknight shrimp pad Thai, Lando Lake's has plenty of quick dishes that'll have the whole dinner table talking.
1:28 Dan Pashman? Visit landolakes.com/reцепes/collection for easy weeknight dinners.
1:46 Dan Pashman? Hey, everyone, it's Dan here. And as you may know, every summer, we do an episode called Two Chefs and a Lie, like Two Truths and a Lie, where I interview three people. I don't know anything about them. I just know that two of them are real chefs, and one of them is a liar, and I have to try to guess, and you can play along. And we started thinking, Everyone loves these episodes. Why do we only put them out once a year? Let's reheat one of them in January, in the dead of winter. And remember, this is a game show and you are one of the contestants. So I want you to play along. And I think even if you heard this one the first time, you're gonna have trouble figuring it out. Of course, if there's an episode of The Sporkful you want us to reheat, drop me a line at [email protected] . Tell me your first name, location, what episode you want us to reheat and why. All right, get ready to play.
2:31 Dan Pashman? Here we go.
2:35 Dan Pashman? Hey, Andres.
2:36 Speaker 01 How you doing?
2:37 Dan Pashman? I'm doing well.
2:38 Speaker 01 Good.
2:38 Dan Pashman? Here we are in the studio.
2:39 Speaker 01 Yeah.
2:39 Dan Pashman? We're taping a show and I have never prepared less.
2:44 Speaker 01 Oh, wait, Dan, you don't have your, you don't have your prep?
2:47 Dan Pashman? I mean, I have a few random notes.
2:49 Speaker 01 Oh, sorry, hold on. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot the prep. Okay, here, I'll get you your prep. One second.
2:55 Dan Pashman? Normally my prep is like 15 pages. Andres just handed me a piece of paper on which he wrote in Sharpie, "Two chefs and a lie."
3:03 Speaker 01 Cue the music.
3:12 Dan Pashman? This is The Sporkful. It's not for foodies, it's for eaters. I'm Dan Pashman. Each week on our show, we obsess about food to learn more about people. And for the second time in our show's history, we're turning this into a game show. We're playing "Two chefs and a lie." And I am not really the host of this game. I'm a contestant like you, dear listener. We're gonna play together. And here's our master of ceremonies, his producer, Andres O'Hara.
3:36 Dan Pashman? So we've played this game on the show once before, Andres. Tell folks how it works.
3:39 Speaker 01 For sure, Dan. So this game is sort of like "Two truths and a lie." Here, we've got three chefs set up for you on Zoom. Two are real chefs, one is the liar. Your job is to find the liar.
3:51 Dan Pashman? They're on Zoom, but we've turned off video. So I can't see them, just like listeners can't see them.
3:55 Speaker 01 You're not biased by them.
3:56 Dan Pashman? Right.
3:56 Speaker 01 But they're all here. And your job is to figure out who are the two chefs and who is the liar.
4:01 Dan Pashman? Okay. And what other rules are there?
4:03 Speaker 01 So each of the chefs are gonna give you a quick intro to tell you who they are. And then you get to ask them questions. But the rules are no Google, no internet, no phones. And that goes for the folks at home, too. The last rule, you only have five questions.
4:16 Dan Pashman? Oh, I forgot about that rule. Yeah, I didn't, I didn't pick the liar last time.
4:22 Speaker 01 And so, Dan, do you think you can redeem yourself this time?
4:24 Dan Pashman? I, I, I hope so.
4:25 Speaker 01 So this is your second time around. Do you have any thoughts on how you're gonna approach these chefs?
4:31 Dan Pashman? A lot of it just comes down to kind of gut feeling at the end. The real challenge is that if you try to figure out whose story seems most outlandish or most extraordinary,
4:45 Dan Pashman? that can be a pitfall because being the good producer that you are, Andres, you didn't just find me. I'm sure the real chefs are not just any old chefs. You found some good chefs with some good stories. So the fact that their story may be noteworthy
4:58 Speaker 01 Right.
4:59 Dan Pashman? doesn't mean that it's not true.
5:01 Speaker 01 I mean, that could be true. I could have found you chefs with a good story. I could be a good producer, but you never know.
5:07 Dan Pashman? Maybe that's the lie.
5:08 Speaker 01 Maybe that's the lie. I've been the liar the whole time, Ben.
5:22 Speaker 01 So let's meet our first chef. Take it away, Angela.
5:25 Speaker 02 Hi, I'm Angela Fortunato. I'm originally from Youngstown, Ohio, and I'm still in Youngstown, Ohio with my entire family. I've been a head chef at Bubba Nettas for 12 years. When I was in high school, I started as a buster and I worked my way up and I held almost every position. So I have no classic training, but I was trained there.
5:48 Speaker 01 Okay, Dan, so you've got five questions for Angela.
5:51 Dan Pashman? Tell me about the history of the name of the restaurant, Bubba Nettas.
5:55 Speaker 02 So Bubba Nettas is their grandmother and they call her Bubba, which actually means old woman. So it's a really, really flattering name. And but her name was Annette, so it's Bubba Nettas.
6:10 Dan Pashman? What's the address of the restaurant?
6:12 Speaker 02 64 Cardinal Drive. That's Campfield, Ohio, 44406.
6:18 Speaker 01 I don't know. Would a real chef give the zip code? What do you think?
6:21 Dan Pashman? I don't know. I mean, that's, yeah.
6:22 Speaker 02 It's a real small town, guys. I'm proud of it.
6:25 Dan Pashman? Okay. What is your favorite thing to cook and why? I'm counting that as one question.
6:31 Speaker 01 All right, all right. Your show, Dan.
6:34 Speaker 02 Lot of loopholes. Lot of loopholes.
6:36 Dan Pashman? I come from a lot of lawyers.
6:39 Speaker 02 My favorite thing to cook is bolognese. Um, I grew up going to the Italian fest, it's called the Briar Hill Fest, that's in Youngstown, with my cousins and they have a stand there. And so we'd always cook bolognese and it's like overnight. It just brings a lot of family memories back and my cousin is no longer with us, so it's very special to me to cook that. And I actually was able to put that on our menu at Bubba Nettas.
7:04 Dan Pashman? Explain to me in detail how you cook the bolognese.
7:06 Speaker 02 So you can use pounded beef fillet. We use that good old fashioned skirt steak, baby. And we pound it really, really thin and then we, we stuff it with cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil. We rub that all on it and then we now put Italian greens inside of it as well. But we put that in, then we roll it together and we tie it up and we put it in our homemade sauce. I can't give you the detail about that. We just simmer it for a very long time overnight. And there was a lot of black velvet drank while we're cooking it and then we put it in.
7:47 Dan Pashman? Wait, this is a quick sidebar. This doesn't have a question. What's black velvet?
7:50 Speaker 02 Oh my, it's a, it's a whiskey.
7:52 Dan Pashman? Okay.
7:53 Speaker 02 You've got to come to have a bonfire. We, we just passed around a bottle of it.
7:58 Dan Pashman? While making the bolognese?
7:59 Speaker 01 Yeah.
8:00 Speaker 02 No, I'm saying you have to come to my house for a bonfire and be nice and midwestern and inviting you to my home.
8:06 Dan Pashman? Oh, that's very nice. Got it, got it. Okay, thank you.
8:09 Speaker 01 The cynical New Yorker couldn't believe it.
8:11 Dan Pashman? Right, right.
8:12 Speaker 02 Yeah, I'm so sorry. A lot of red flags being kind, I guess.
8:19 Speaker 02 No, but we just, and we, and we just, and so we simmer that overnight. And then we actually, we don't put it in like a fork and knife dish. We put it in a hoagie.
8:29 Dan Pashman? That was all.
8:32 Dan Pashman? Very believable.
8:33 Speaker 01 Last question, Dan.
8:35 Dan Pashman? All right, here we go. One more question. Why haven't you gone to another restaurant, Angela?
8:42 Speaker 02 My entire family lives in a 15-mile radius of my house. And I don't want to be the, like, monster of the family that leaves because one of my siblings left and they are very frowned upon. And I, I mean, they taught me everything I know. When I got hired, the woman, her name's Phyllis Olin, she works the front of the house. She was like, "I like people that have never worked anywhere else because I get to train them exactly as I can be." And so, call it Stockholm syndrome, but I really like where I work.
9:16 Dan Pashman? And wait, your, your brother who left, where'd he move? Like, Cleveland?
9:20 Speaker 02 No, it was my sister. And, um, and, and unfortunately, yes, she moved to Cleveland, but now she's in Charleston, South Carolina.
9:26 Dan Pashman? Okay, well, that is, that's a whole other place.
9:28 Speaker 02 Mm-hmm. Yeah.
9:29 Dan Pashman? Okay.
9:29 Speaker 02 That's a whole other state.
9:31 Dan Pashman? Angela, thank you very much. If your restaurant actually exists, it sounds fantastic, and I would love to eat there sometime.
9:38 Speaker 02 Well, thank you for having me.
9:43 Speaker 01 All right, Dan, those are your five questions for Angela. How do you feel about your strategy after talking to our first chef?
9:49 Dan Pashman? I think it was okay. I think I, I think that questions, when you ask someone, are sort of about, like, a story or how they feel, that's kind of easy to fudge.
9:58 Speaker 01 Uh-huh.
9:59 Dan Pashman? I think I should be asking a little bit more pointed detail-type questions.
10:02 Speaker 01 Okay.
10:03 Dan Pashman? We got into a couple, the recipe for the braise.
10:04 Speaker 01 Mm-hmm.
10:05 Dan Pashman? I just think that the whole story just seemed believable to me.
10:10 Speaker 01 Mm-hmm.
10:10 Dan Pashman? And, um, the family details and being at this restaurant, it just like, you know, it just... I, I would, I would rate that one as pretty credible.
10:22 Speaker 01 So let's go with chef number two.
10:25 Speaker 03 My name is Ji-hye Kim. I am chef in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My restaurant is called Miss Kim. It's part of Zingerman's Community of Businesses.
10:34 Dan Pashman? Zingerman's, the famous Ann Arbor deli, and that's also a restaurant group, is that right?
10:39 Speaker 03 Yes.
10:39 Dan Pashman? Got it. Go on.
10:41 Speaker 03 I was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. My mother was an excellent cook and still is. Gosh, she's not passed away. And I emigrated to New Jersey and I ended up in Michigan because I went to University of Michigan. My food is inspired by midwestern Michigan produce and ancient Korean cookbooks.
11:06 Dan Pashman? Hi, Ji-hye, first of all.
11:07 Speaker 03 Hi.
11:08 Dan Pashman? Nice to meet you.
11:09 Speaker 03 Nice to meet you, too.
11:10 Dan Pashman? Describe to me a dish you make that you think brings together ancient Korean recipes and midwestern Michigan produce especially well.
11:21 Speaker 03 We have this dish called takbokki. It's sauteed rice cakes. We do several different versions, but the version that I think that brings the ancient traditions better is the Royale style. This is a sauteed rice cakes dish that originated from the palace and has many luxurious ingredients like mushrooms and vegetables and eggs and different kinds of meat. And then it slowly evolves into braised, like spicy rice cakes that you see everywhere in Korea without those ingredients. So at the restaurant, we use Michigan mushrooms, beet, sometimes asparagus, if asparagus is in season.
12:06 Speaker 03 And we saute that traditional way with soy sauce-based sauce rather than kochjang-based sauce, which is chili paste. And then we serve it as vegetarian. And I think that has become one of our most popular dishes on the menu.
12:22 Dan Pashman? I love takbokki, first of all. It's so good. What is the secret to keeping it crispy even after it has been added to a sauce or broth?
12:31 Speaker 01 That's question two.
12:32 Speaker 03 Our version is sauteed really quickly with not that much sauce. The sauce is intensely flavored, but it's not sitting in sauce and it's sauteed pretty hard. So it's crispy on the outside and chewy and textural interest is still there. So it stays crispy without the sauce.
12:50 Dan Pashman? I mean, it's a Hall of Fame food, duck bokki, the rice cakes crispy on the outside. But usually when I've had it, I've had it in a stew and it does still manage to maintain crisp even being in a broth, which to me is part of its magic and something that I love about it because you don't usually get crispy components inside the liquid of a stew.
13:09 Speaker 03 Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, rice cakes are made 100% with rice flour rather than wheat flour. It holds, holds its texture a little better.
13:17 Dan Pashman? Right, right. All right. I'm just, I'm just chatting here, Andre.
13:23 Speaker 01 Sure, sure.
13:23 Dan Pashman? Just chatting.
13:24 Speaker 01 Sure, yeah. I didn't hear, I didn't hear a question mark, so I let it slide, you know?
13:29 Dan Pashman? What's the address of your restaurant?
13:30 Speaker 03 Are you gonna ask this to every single chef? Just checking. It's 415 North Fifth Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
13:39 Dan Pashman? No zip code. Suspicious.
13:43 Speaker 03 I'm gonna mess with you a little bit.
13:46 Dan Pashman? Who was the starting quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines last year?
13:49 Speaker 03 Oh, I have no idea. I don't follow sports, but I do follow the dates because it does impact the, um, the business of the restaurant. I think the last quarterback I know is Tom Brady from like 20 years ago.
14:04 Dan Pashman? Of course, it's okay to not be a sports fan, but I mean, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the University of Michigan, it's a college town. I would think even if you're not that into it, you would, just through osmosis, pick up a few basic bits of information. I'm gonna risk it, I'm gonna take another question on the same vein. Who were the Michigan Wolverines' arch rivals?
14:23 Speaker 03 Oh, Ohio and Wisconsin.
14:26 Speaker 03 I don't know the team names.
14:27 Dan Pashman? Ohio?
14:28 Speaker 03 Yeah, Ohio and Wisconsin.
14:31 Speaker 01 Dan's looking a little disappointed. He's writing.
14:34 Dan Pashman? Okay. All right, so that's four questions in.
14:36 Speaker 01 One question left.
14:38 Dan Pashman? This, I'm just confirming a fact here.
14:40 Speaker 01 All right.
14:40 Dan Pashman? You said that your restaurant is part, is connected to Zingerman's, the famous deli in Ann Arbor?
14:45 Speaker 03 Yes.
14:45 Dan Pashman? Okay. What is your favorite menu item at Zingerman's? Not counting your restaurant, and why?
14:52 Speaker 03 Oh, are we, are we talking sandwiches or all the entire product line?
14:57 Dan Pashman? Entire product line.
14:58 Speaker 03 Okay. The entire product line, Zingerman's Bakehouse have this bread called Country Misch. They use locally milled grains and it's super crusty and the crumbs, the crumb is still soft. It's the best bread in the country.
15:14 Dan Pashman? You could have Googled that, but okay.
15:19 Speaker 03 Or did I?
15:23 Dan Pashman? All right, Ji-Hae, well, thank you so much for joining us and it was lovely to speak with you. And if your restaurant exists, I would love to come there sometime.
15:30 Speaker 03 Come on by. Thank you.
15:35 Speaker 01 All right, Dan, that was Ji-Hae Kim. And you, you kind of tweaked your strategy a little bit. You even did two questions about sports when you knew she wasn't a sports fan. Did that tell you anything? Was there anything?
15:46 Dan Pashman? Well, I, as I said, I feel that in a major college town like Ann Arbor, Michigan, even if you're not much of a fan, you should have some, like just from talking to the people coming into your restaurant, you know, from chatting with your neighbors in town, you're gonna pick up information, even if you don't really care. So that's why I didn't ask complicated hardcore questions, just very basics, like who is Michigan's rival?
16:10 Speaker 01 Mm-hmm.
16:11 Dan Pashman? And she said Ohio and Wisconsin. So that's not a great answer on two fronts. First of all, it's Ohio State, which is not the same as Ohio. And I mean, you, you gotta know that. And it's not, I mean, Wisconsin is, I guess, kind of a rival. Michigan, Ohio State.
16:25 Speaker 01 Right.
16:26 Dan Pashman? Is one of the, it's like the Yankees and the Red Sox, the Dodgers and the Giants, Duke and North Carolina in college basketball. It's one of the classic sports rivalries in America.
16:34 Speaker 01 Uh-huh.
16:36 Dan Pashman? So the fact that she didn't know that right off the top of her head, you know, like you don't need to be a sports fan to know that if you're living in the heart of it.
16:43 Speaker 01 Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
16:44 Dan Pashman? She also didn't give me a zip code.
16:46 Speaker 01 Ooh, didn't give you a zip.
16:49 Speaker 01 (Music)
16:56 Speaker 01 Okay, Dan, time to take a quick break. When we come back, we've got our last chef and then the big reveal. Who are the chefs? Who's the liar? Stick around.
17:13 Dan Pashman? When you're cooking, ingredients matter, right? You use higher quality ingredients, you usually get better results. And if you're listening to this show, you're probably the kind of person who puts some thought and effort into your ingredients. But ingredients don't just matter with food, they also matter with laundry detergent. Of course, the cleaning job needs to get done. The odors and stains have to be tackled and I want to feel good about the detergent and the ingredients in it. Because remember, whatever's in your laundry detergent is essentially in your clothes. And then you're putting those clothes on, you want good stuff in there. And All Free Clear uses only essential ingredients. It's 100% free from dyes, perfumes, parabens, and irritating residues. Check out the label and see for yourself, it lists all the ingredients and what they do. We've been using it in my house, we're very happy with it. And let me tell you, family of four, two teenagers, we do a lot of laundry.
17:58 Dan Pashman? So we have put All Free Clear to the test. It's a powerful clean that you can feel good about. All Free Clear is the number one detergent brand recommended by dermatologists for sensitive skin. When it comes to laundry detergent, the choice is clear. All Free Clear. Pick up a bottle for your next laundry day. If you're the kind of person who plans vacations around where you're going to eat, Scottsdale belongs on your list. And look, whenever I go somewhere, my priority is on eating things that are the specialties of that region, eating things that I can't get at home. So when I'm in that area, I'm looking for the specialties of the region, like authentic southwestern and Native American flavors, modern Mexican cuisine, and as basic as it sounds, homemade, fresh flour tortillas. There's nothing like it and you can't get them like that in the Northeast.
18:42 Dan Pashman? And there is such a farm-to-table culture in Scottsdale, inspired by the Sonoran Desert. Everything is so fresh, the peppers, the spices, it is so vibrant. And Scottsdale's just got a great vibe. It's one of those places where breakfast becomes brunch, happy hour turns into dinner, and every patio has another amazing view. And explore Old Town Scottsdale between meals, or relax at a spa after brunch. From award-winning and James Beard-recognized chefs to neighborhood gems and nationally acclaimed restaurants, every meal in Scottsdale tells a story. So come hungry and leave with new favorite restaurants. Start planning your next culinary getaway at experiencescottsdale.com.
19:20 Dan Pashman? I grew up on Lando Lakes cheese. I still remember going to the supermarket deli counter with my mom and her ordering Lando Lakes American cheese. And now Lando Lakes cheese and butter are a huge part of my home. There are so many easy weeknight recipes using Lando Lakes cheese and butter that bring delicious restaurant taste right to your table. From chicken parm to weeknight shrimp pad Thai, Lando Lakes has plenty of quick dishes that'll have the whole dinner table talking. Visit landolakes.com/reцепes/collection for easy weeknight dinners.
19:50 Dan Pashman? Last year, right around this time, I got a new jacket from Quince, a lightweight fall jacket. And it has turned into my favorite jacket. And this is why you need a lightweight jacket, and probably a new one, because it's time to freshen up your look. You need a lightweight jacket from Quince, because the beauty of a lightweight jacket is you can wear in the early fall, you can wear it in the early spring, but also it goes over a sweater, over a sweatshirt. And then suddenly, your lightweight jacket is a great accessory for pretty much the whole winter. Bottom line, when the temperatures start to drop, Quince makes it easy to build on those everyday staples with versatile layers designed to keep you warm and comfortable all season long. They make elevated everyday essentials using premium materials and designs that are timeless, thoughtfully crafted, and made
20:31 Dan Pashman? to be worn again and again. So find your next fall favorites at Quince. Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers, or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was the Sporkful. It's the best way to support the show.
21:01 Dan Pashman? Welcome back to another Sporkful reheat. I'm Dan Pashman. Want to watch me walking my dog while ranting about some food-related issue that's on my mind? Want to see what I'm cooking? Want to see what I'm eating? The best way to do that is to follow me on Instagram. My kids make occasional appearances. There's a lot of fun to be had. So please follow me on Instagram, at the Sporkful. Again, that's at the Sporkful. Thanks.
21:25 Dan Pashman? Okay, back to the show. And Andres, I turn things back over to you.
21:28 Speaker 01 All right, Dan. Welcome back to Two Chefs and a Lie.
21:38 Speaker 01 We're talking to three chefs here on Zoom. Two are real chefs and one is a liar. Your job is to figure out who's the liar. Dan, we've got only one chef left to go. Five questions. Are you ready?
21:48 Dan Pashman? I'm ready.
21:50 Speaker 04 Hey, everybody. My name is Shanti Yen. I am calling from Canada's capital city in Ottawa. And I've been cooking for about 20 years. And I'm currently the chef to the prime minister.
22:03 Dan Pashman? What? Oh, man. Major curveball here. See, this is like, on one hand, that sounds ridiculous. But it also like, you know, could be the kind of thing that you, Andres, would have been like, I'm gonna get the chef of the prime minister on the line. And you can't make those things up.
22:21 Speaker 01 Or can you?
22:22 Dan Pashman? Or can you? Oh, man. All right. Okay, this is intense. All right. So just recap the facts. This isn't a question. So Shanti, hi, nice to meet you.
22:30 Speaker 04 Hey, nice to meet you.
22:32 Dan Pashman? You're from Ottawa?
22:33 Speaker 04 I am currently residing in Ottawa. I was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario. And yeah, I've been cooking for about 20 years.
22:40 Dan Pashman? And you are now the chef to the prime minister of Canada?
22:43 Speaker 04 Correct.
22:45 Dan Pashman? Who is Justin Trudeau?
22:46 Speaker 04 Yes.
22:46 Dan Pashman? So Shanti, sorry, I interrupted you. But go on with your intro, please.
22:50 Speaker 04 So I've been cooking in Michelin-starred restaurants. I've cooked across the country. And I'm also writing a cookbook.
22:58 Dan Pashman? Well, congratulations, if that's true.
23:01 Speaker 04 I guess we'll have to find out.
23:03 Dan Pashman? Right. Okay. So hmm.
23:07 Speaker 04 You don't even understand. I'm smiling so hard right now.
23:11 Dan Pashman? I mean, this is a lot of questions rushing through my mind right now. Okay, okay. Let me think. Tell me the story of getting this job that you have as the chef to the prime minister of Canada.
23:24 Speaker 04 All right. So I was in Montreal, about to make a move to Vancouver, which is where my partner is from. And I was outside and I received a phone call from an unknown number, offering me a job to be the personal chef to the prime minister. And I thought it was one of my friends making a joke. So I entertained it and I accepted it. And then a couple of months later, it came to fruition. And I am now the chef of the prime minister.
23:54 Dan Pashman? Okay, okay. Question two. So you accepted the job, not knowing whether the offer was actually real?
24:00 Speaker 04 That's right. It was a long process, but I ended up passing the criminal record checks for some reason.
24:11 Speaker 04 And here I am.
24:13 Dan Pashman? What kind of socks was Justin Trudeau wearing yesterday?
24:16 Speaker 04 I have no clue. I would have to ask a housekeeper, I guess.
24:20 Speaker 01 Doesn't even know the color of the socks.
24:22 Dan Pashman? That was a waste of a question. Or was it? Isn't he famous for wacky socks?
24:26 Speaker 01 That's definitely what he's famous for.
24:33 Dan Pashman? All right, all right. So that's three questions down, huh?
24:36 Speaker 01 Two to go.
24:37 Dan Pashman? Okay, okay. We gotta get serious here.
24:42 Speaker 01 Ask him a sports question.
24:46 Dan Pashman? All right, Shanti. I'm gonna say the name of another world leader, and I want you to tell me what you cooked for this person when they came to Canada for a state dinner.
24:55 Speaker 04 Isn't that like wrong? Isn't that like against confidentiality?
24:59 Dan Pashman? Are you not supposed to say?
25:00 Speaker 04 I wouldn't be able to, I don't believe.
25:03 Dan Pashman? Really? You can't say what you serve?
25:06 Speaker 04 Mm-mm.
25:06 Dan Pashman? Oh. I don't know if that's believable or suspicious.
25:10 Speaker 01 It's too good to be true.
25:11 Dan Pashman? Yeah, that seems like an easy out, Shanti.
25:13 Speaker 01 Yeah.
25:13 Dan Pashman? Can you tell me about some meal that you cooked in your job without referencing who it was for?
25:18 Speaker 04 Um, absolutely. So I made...
25:23 Dan Pashman? Details, please.
25:24 Speaker 04 I made a blueberry cheesecake for an actor, and that actor is vegan in Vancouver.
25:33 Speaker 01 Vegan only in Vancouver.
25:39 Speaker 04 And it was a very home-style blueberry pie with rock sugar topping.
25:45 Dan Pashman? How many questions have I used so far, Andres?
25:46 Speaker 01 That's four questions.
25:47 Dan Pashman? That's... Oof. I'm gonna stick with the strategy that I had last time, which is to go deeper when I sense weakness.
25:52 Speaker 01 Uh-huh.
25:53 Speaker 04 All right.
25:53 Dan Pashman? I wanna hear more about this blueberry cheesecake because...
25:56 Speaker 01 Vegan.
25:56 Dan Pashman? How is it vegan? And tell me more than just you put rock sugar on it.
26:00 Speaker 04 Absolutely. So it is a pâté, but made with a vegan butter.
26:05 Dan Pashman? That sounded like made-up words.
26:08 Speaker 04 It's French.
26:12 Dan Pashman? Okay.
26:12 Speaker 04 And it was wild blueberry season in Vancouver. So that the blueberries were cooked down and tossed in cornstarch slurry and then crusted with a bit of rock salt topped with smoked whipped cream.
26:27 Dan Pashman? Smoked whipped cream? I mean, that sounds delicious. It sounds like something that only a real chef or someone pretending to be a real chef would think of.
26:36 Speaker 01 Those are the two categories.
26:41 Speaker 01 All right, Dan, those are your five questions. Shanti, thank you so much.
26:44 Dan Pashman? Thank you, Shanti.
26:45 Speaker 04 Thank you.
26:49 Speaker 01 So just to recap, we've got two chefs and a liar. Angela Fortunato, whose restaurant, Baba Netas, is in Ohio. We've got Jihei Kim, the owner of Miss Kim's in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And we've got Shanti Yen, personal chef to Justin Trudeau. And just for a little twist, now I want each of our chefs to tell me who they think the liar is. And we're going to tally it up. Angela, who do you think the liar is?
27:13 Speaker 02 Jihei.
27:15 Speaker 01 All right, Angela thinks Jihei is the liar. Jihei, who do you think the liar is?
27:20 Speaker 03 I think Angela.
27:24 Speaker 01 Angela, ooh. I don't know if she really thinks that about those recommendations. But either way, we can't clean each other out.
27:29 Dan Pashman? All right.
27:29 Speaker 01 All right, last one. Shanti, who do you think the liar is?
27:33 Speaker 04 I think it's Angela.
27:37 Speaker 01 Angela, okay. All right, we've got two for Angela, one for Jihei, none for Shanti, who is the personal chef to Justin Trudeau but doesn't know what socks he wears.
27:49 Speaker 01 So, Dan, after listening to these three stories, how are you approaching who you think the liar is?
27:56 Dan Pashman? A lot of it's just sort of a combination of gut and how they handle details. Angela's story just sort of felt very kind of complete. It was very simple. It's strange to me, I've never heard of a chef being at the same restaurant for that long from the time they started. I'm sure it's happened.
28:11 Speaker 01 Yeah.
28:11 Dan Pashman? But like, you know, it's not the most stable career. Like, usually you're bouncing around a little bit. So that makes me a little bit suspicious, but still, like, it just... She knew the address and the zip code right away.
28:20 Speaker 01 Yeah.
28:21 Dan Pashman? It just felt very, like, kind of self-contained.
28:23 Speaker 01 Yeah.
28:23 Dan Pashman? There was nothing that was a red flag. Jihei, there's part of me that feels like I've heard of a place called Miss Kim's in Ann Arbor. But, you know, I can't be sure.
28:36 Dan Pashman? Her not knowing that Michigan's archrival is Ohio State. Very suspicious. And then there's Shanti, who felt like he didn't have specific answers to much of anything.
28:49 Speaker 01 Huh. And is that because he's the liar, or he's bound by state secrets?
28:52 Dan Pashman? Right, right. It just felt like everything I asked him, he wanted to give the shortest possible answer.
28:58 Speaker 01 Yeah, yeah.
28:59 Dan Pashman? And only when he was pressed did he reveal a little bit more.
29:02 Speaker 01 Yeah.
29:03 Dan Pashman? In my experience, most chefs, if you ask them, "How'd you make that dish?", they're gonna tell you in a lot of detail how they made that dish.
29:10 Speaker 01 Yeah.
29:10 Dan Pashman? All right. And when I asked Shanti to talk about the blueberry cheesecake, he was like, "Hey, blueberries and rock sugar." That's not a very chef-y description of a thing that you made.
29:20 Speaker 01 Okay, Dan, I want to give you and our listeners a moment to compose your thoughts and to figure out who you think the liar is.
29:39 Speaker 01 Now it's time to tell us who you think are the chefs and who you think is the liar. Who do you think the liar is, Dan?
29:47 Dan Pashman? After much consideration and deliberation, I think the liar is Shanti, the supposed chef to the Prime Minister of Canada.
29:58 Speaker 01 Now, if the real liar can come forward and tell us a little bit about themselves.
30:06 Speaker 02 Hi, I'm Emily Pendergast.
30:08 Dan Pashman? Oh, man.
30:10 Speaker 02 I'm sorry.
30:11 Dan Pashman? It's Angela from Youngstown, Ohio. Have you ever been to Youngstown?
30:15 Speaker 02 I have. That's where I'm from. And I'm the daughter that my family is now disowned because I moved to California.
30:22 Dan Pashman? Oh, so there's a kernel of truth in it.
30:25 Speaker 02 Oh, there is some truth in it, yeah. Oh, my God. Gee, hey, I'm so sorry. I feel awful saying that you were the liar.
30:35 Speaker 02 I've been a sweaty mess over here. Yeah, my name's Emily Pendergast. I am an improv comedian at Groundlings.
30:44 Dan Pashman? One of the best.
30:45 Speaker 02 And I started. It's the most fun, but I will tell you, I have 9,000 tabs open here.
30:52 Speaker 02 And I have like screenshots of like, "Save food temperatures." Because I was like, "What is he gonna ask me?"
31:05 Dan Pashman? Wow, that is impressive. That's um...
31:07 Speaker 02 Thanks.
31:08 Dan Pashman? Well Emily, you got me. You definitely got me.
31:11 Speaker 02 I'm so happy. I'm so, I've never been so happy to fool someone.
31:14 Dan Pashman? Is there, like, do you have any connection to like, Bubba Neta? Is that a real person?
31:20 Speaker 02 Um, Bubba was my grandmother. Her name was Vicky Fortunato, but we called her Bubba. And we are very Italian and like, the whole Briar Hill, like, the Brajole thing was real. Cause I was like, I can pull from this. I know what this is.
31:33 Dan Pashman? Right, right. Smart, smart.
31:35 Speaker 02 Yeah. And, but yeah. And I, oh man, when those Ann Arbor questions started happening, I was like, this is my...
31:44 Dan Pashman? Well, you did a great job Emily.
31:46 Speaker 02 Thank you.
31:47 Dan Pashman? I, I wanna chat briefly with Jihei and Shanti. Jihei?
31:51 Speaker 03 Yes.
31:52 Dan Pashman? It's Ohio State. Okay, that's the ri- that's Michigan's rival. Alright. Just so you know, you don't have to care about sports if you don't want to, you can like what you like, but I'm just telling you, if you're chatting with customers, and you wanna make friends and have them come back to just be like, "Yeah, Ohio State, they suck."
32:07 Speaker 03 Ohio, Ohio State.
32:10 Speaker 01 And how did you feel when Dan assumed that you were lying because you didn't know these sport facts?
32:16 Speaker 03 Well, I didn't think it was gonna come from sports trivia.
32:20 Dan Pashman? Yeah, I'm trying to keep you on your toes. So, Shanti, I'm sorry that I accused you of being a liar. So, so you're actually the chef for the Prime Minister?
32:27 Speaker 04 Uh, yes, I am.
32:29 Speaker 01 It's true that there is a lot that you can't say about the food, right?
32:34 Speaker 04 Absolutely, yes.
32:35 Dan Pashman? Right. You can't be like, "Oh, Angela Merkel is allergic to pine nuts." Because then someone's gonna slip her some pine nuts and, you know, half the western world will go down.
32:44 Speaker 04 Yes, absolutely. I'm here to protect people.
32:46 Dan Pashman? Okay, good, good. Alright. And, and do you actually not know what socks he wears, or is that part of the non-disclosure agreement?
32:52 Speaker 04 Oh, I, I do know some of the collection, but...
32:55 Dan Pashman? I told you, the socks. He knows about the socks.
32:57 Speaker 01 He knows about the socks, yeah.
33:07 Speaker 01 Well.
33:08 Dan Pashman? I'm 0 for 2 at this game.
33:09 Speaker 01 0 for 2.
33:12 Dan Pashman? My thanks to our emcee for Two Chefs and a Lie, Sporkful producer Andres O'Hara, and to you, our listeners at home, for playing along. This was fun. Let's do this again next summer. I think we should do this every year. Also, a big thanks to our two chefs. Ji-Hae Kim is the chef and owner of Ms. Kim's in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was a semifinalist in this year's James Beard Award and was named one of Food and Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs. I thought I had heard of her. I thought I had heard of that restaurant. Next time I'm in Ann Arbor, I'm going to Ms. Kim's. Shanti Yen is, in fact, the chef to the Prime Minister of Canada. He also has a restaurant in Vancouver called Nightshade. And he's writing a cookbook called Recipes by Yay. No affiliation with Kanye. Yay was his grandmother's name. That's coming out in 2024. Finally, thanks to our improv comic Emily Pendergast.
33:56 Dan Pashman? You can see her on the show live and local on the streaming platform Pure Flix, and she's in the film Out of Office, which comes out later this summer. This show is produced by me, along with senior producer Emma Morgenstern. And producer
34:07 Speaker 01 Andres O'Hara.
34:08 Dan Pashman? Our editor is Tracy Samuelson. Our engineer is Jared O'Connell. Music help from Black Label Music. The Sporkful is a production of Stitcher. Our executive producers are Eric Eddings and Colin Anderson. Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman. And this is Ellen Brady from Peninsula, Ohio, reminding you to eat more, eat better, and eat more better.
34:47 Dan Pashman? This reheat was produced by Gianna Palmer. The team that produces The Sporkful today includes me, along with managing producer Emma Morgenstern. And senior producer.
34:56 Speaker 01 Andres O'Hara.
34:57 Dan Pashman? Our engineer is. Jared O'Connell. Music help from Black Label Music. The Sporkful is a production of Sirius XM Podcasts. Our executive producer is Camille Stanley. And hey, did you know you can listen to The Sporkful on the Sirius XM app? Yes, the Sirius XM app, it has all your favorite podcasts, plus over 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era. Plus, live sports coverage. Does your podcasting app have that? And there's interviews with A-list stars and so much more. It's everything you want in a podcast app and music app all rolled into one. And right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the Sirius XM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporkful. Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.
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