Comedian Nicole Byer Sees Her First Shrimp (Reheat)

Comedian Nicole Byer hosts the cooking competition show Nailed It! on Netflix. It’s family-friendly, but that doesn’t stop her from deploying her raunchy humor with her co-host, the chocolatier Jacques Torres, when the cameras are off. Nicole talks with Dan about the parallels between a restaurant kitchen and comedy club, and why she makes her own favorite cake for her late mom’s birthday.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Dan Pashman?

  My whole extended family and I went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this past spring. And I gotta say, I came away feeling like, number one, this is a great family destination. Number two, this is a great place to come all year round. The mini golf alone is probably worth, it's like the mini golf capital of the country. They have the most incredible elaborate mini golf courses. They also have more than 80 championship, full-size golf courses, plus 60 miles of beautiful coastline, all-season sunshine. Of course, you can relax by the beach or the pool. There's also jet skiing, fishing charters, paddle boarding, and of course, food. Oh, man, did we eat well in Myrtle Beach. From fresh, local seafood, to Kraft burgers and Kraft beers, to kebabs on the boardwalk. With more than 2,000 restaurants to choose from, from legendary no-frill seafood shacks

• 0:43Dan Pashman?

  to chef-driven dining, Myrtle Beach has it all. Plus, live entertainment at the beach, there's always something epic going on. So, summer may be winding down, but in Myrtle Beach, you're gonna find the coastal vacation of your dreams all year long. Start planning your ultimate beach vacation at visitmyrtlebeach.com. 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.

• 1:23Dan Pashman?

  Visit landolakes.com/reцепes/collection for easy weeknight dinners.

• 1:33Speaker 01

  Sirius XM Podcasts.

• 1:41Dan Pashman?

  Time for your Friday reheat, my friends. And this episode with comedian and Nailed It host Nicole Byer includes what I think, to my memory, is the moment that I laughed harder than any other moment in the history of the Sporkful. Do you need more of a setup than that? Well, look, Nicole and I are gonna talk about her love of raunchy humor, what restaurant kitchens and comedy spaces have in common, and the cake Nicole likes to bake in honor of her mom. Of course, if there's an episode you want us to reheat, we take requests. Send me an email or a voice memo to [email protected]. Tell me your first name, location, what episode you want us to reheat, and why. Thanks so much, and see if you can figure out which moment is the moment that I laughed the hardest in Sporkful history.

• 2:23Dan Pashman?

  This episode contains explicit language and adult subject matter, and some of it starts right here at the very beginning, so I'm just gonna pause. Okay? If you're a parent in the car, you got kids in the backseat, maybe this came on autoplay, now you're fumbling, don't get in an accident. It's okay, I'm giving you a second. This one's probably not family-friendly. Sorry, kids, okay? This one's for grownups. All right? Everyone okay? You got it? All right, here we go.

• 2:51Dan Pashman?

  I recently went out to Red Lobster, which I know is one of your faves.

• 2:55Speaker 01

  I fucking love Red Lobster! Red Lobster and Chili's and Applebee's are my favorite chain restaurants.

• 3:05Dan Pashman?

  This is comedian Nicole Byer. She hosts the absurd cooking competition show, Nailed It. And she is passionate about her chain restaurants. As I understand it, you've gone through a tough time with some of these chains, though, Nicole, and I really feel for you, because you love the Cajun chicken linguine at Red Lobster, right? But they changed the recipe on you.

• 3:23Speaker 01

  They did. There's something off about it now, and I can't put my little fingey on it.

• 3:28Dan Pashman?

  And then you were a big fan of the Chicken Caesar Pita at Chili's, I read.

• 3:32Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 3:33Dan Pashman?

  And they took that off the menu.

• 3:34Speaker 01

  And they got rid of it.

• 3:35Dan Pashman?

  What was so special about that?

• 3:37Speaker 01

  I guess I just like salad wraps. I like salad that I can hold. So...

• 3:44Speaker 01

  And the dressing was good. So, it's like you can pretend that you're eating healthy, and you're definitely not.

• 3:50Dan Pashman?

  Right, right.

• 3:51Speaker 01

  And then Applebee's got rid of their apple chimmy cheesecake, and I'm really hoping if I talk about it enough, they'll bring it back.

• 3:58Dan Pashman?

  There's a lot of things I've...

• 3:58Speaker 01

  Have you ever had it?

• 3:59Dan Pashman?

  I have not, but I've heard tell of it. Describe it for people who don't know it.

• 4:03Speaker 01

  Okay. An apple chimmy cheesecake from Applebee's is cheesecake put in like a sugared tortilla, and then it's deep-fried to perfection. And then they put it on a plate, and then they put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it. I'm like beaming, talking about this. Like, this is the fattest I've ever felt, where I'm like literally squealing about this dessert. But it's so good. It's like light, flaky, the cheesecake is like just warm enough that it's gooey. It's so good.

• 4:40Dan Pashman?

  Do you need a minute here, Nicole? It sounds like you're getting a little emotional.

• 4:44Speaker 01

  And then I just started crying, and I was like, I just want the apple chimmy cheesecake!

• 5:02Dan 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. As I said, Nicole Byer hosts Nailed It, this cooking competition show where the contestants basically have no idea how to cook. They're clueless, and the show is hilarious and a huge hit for Netflix. In 2020, Nicole was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Host category, the first black woman to be nominated in that category. She and I will talk about Nailed It later on. But Nicole's early career, doing stand-up and acting, it was very different from her role on Nailed It, which is a kid-friendly show. Like, my kids and I, we love to watch it together. But in Nicole's other work, she's long been known for being raunchy and honest.

• 5:45Speaker 01

  I take my burger, I'm walking to leave JFK, and I was like, oh, I gotta pee. So, I go to the bathroom, I start peeing. Let's get real, I'm taking a shit.

• 5:57Speaker 01

  Planes are tight, can't shit on a plane. So, I'm taking a shit, and I smell my burger, and I'm like, oh, it smells so good.

• 6:04Speaker 01

  So, I start eating the burger while I'm taking a shit.

• 6:10Dan Pashman?

  On the MTV show Girl Code, Nicole got her first bikini wax on camera.

• 6:15Speaker 02

  I'm gonna do your butt.

• 6:17Speaker 01

  Oh, no.

• 6:18Speaker 02

  You have to put a little powder before.

• 6:20Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, get the powder in there. Oh, ow, my butt!

• 6:24Dan Pashman?

  When she was with the sketch comedy group Upright Citizens Brigade, she did this classic sketch where she goes for an acting audition, and the casting director keeps telling her to act blacker. Ooh, child, I got them clams. I got everything on that list you gave me. Blacker. Clams make the party, ha ha! Spike Lee. Ooh, the clams, ooh, yeah! Nicole joined me from LA. When we first started talking, I told her that I especially loved her show, Loosely Exactly Nicole. It ran for two seasons a few years back, first on MTV, then on Facebook. It's a comedy based on her life. There's this one episode called Dead Mom Chicken Day. Nicole's mom passed away when Nicole was in high school. That is true, that really happened.

• 7:07Dan Pashman?

  But it also factors into the episode's storyline, where Nicole tries to go out for fried chicken, and her go-to spot's closed.

• 7:13Speaker 01

  No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, this can't be right. Oh, God, look, um, my mom died when I was 16, and I come here every year on her birthday because their chicken tastes just like hers. And it's closed, and now I don't know where to go.

• 7:31Dan Pashman?

  Do you actually commemorate your mom's birthday in some way?

• 7:35Speaker 01

  Um, I haven't done it in a while. I used to make a fun, fatty cake with rainbow chip icing for my mom's birthday, like, just to make her a birthday cake. And they were like, is that your mom's favorite cake? And I was like, no, it's my favorite cake, because I'm the one who's gonna eat it. A dead lady can't eat. So, I, yeah, I used to do that. And then I used to make a dead mom Mother's Day cake. And then, I don't know, I like moved out to LA, and I kinda, no, no, I did it when I was in LA. I don't know when I stopped doing it, maybe like two years ago?

• 8:11Dan Pashman?

  Did doing that on your mom's birthday or on Mother's Day make you feel better?

• 8:15Speaker 01

  No, of course not. My mom's dead. Cake's not gonna make you feel better.

• 8:21Speaker 01

  Uh-oh, did I?

• 8:24Speaker 01

  I was like, I broke you!

• 8:28Dan Pashman?

  But in that episode of Dead Mom Chicken Day, you said that you were going to this specific chicken restaurant because they were the restaurant that made chicken most like your mom's.

• 8:39Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 8:40Dan Pashman?

  Do you have a place like that in real life?

• 8:42Speaker 01

  No, nobody makes food like my mom. It's, uh, it's kinda hard, like, not even, nobody in my family even makes food the way she did. She was this like loud woman who just like, if she met you for the first time, would like give you the biggest hug, and she made you feel like she knew you your whole life. And I think she just made food with love. The only time I make good macaroni and cheese is if I'm like excited to make it. And I can make very good mac and cheese, but if I'm like, ugh, I gotta make this mac and cheese, it won't be good. And I think it's because I'm not making it with love.

• 9:16Dan Pashman?

  Do you have specific memories of cooking with your mom?

• 9:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, we would make pancakes together until we like could do it ourselves, and then she'd be like, you do it. But, um, I learned that I love a deep-fried pancake. You put a little too much oil in the pan, tilt the pan, submerge the pancake in there, and you fucking deep fry that bitch, and it's so fucking good.

• 9:40Speaker 01

  What else? We would make, my mom, oh, I can't find the recipe anywhere that seems close to it, but my mom would make these cream cheese sugar cookies. And they were so fucking good. Oh, I loved them. And we would, um, like roll them into shapes and shit. And then they would expand in the oven and you wouldn't know what you made. But we always tee hee heed and chuckled about it.

• 10:09Dan Pashman?

  What's the dish that's missing from your family, your big family table? Because your mom isn't there.

• 10:15Speaker 01

  Um, I don't know. It's like everything's missing because my mom, like, I don't know any other family who used to do like a big old Easter dinner, but she loved having a big Easter dinner where she would make everything and then serve it to everybody. Like she would just be in the kitchen all day and that's just like a nice memory.

• 10:34Dan Pashman?

  What do you do on Easter now?

• 10:35Speaker 01

  Nothing. My aunt did once try to send me an Easter dinner through the mail.

• 10:42Dan Pashman?

  Just like in an envelope?

• 10:43Speaker 01

  No, in a box. It was, I was like living in New York and I hadn't been to Chicago to visit my family in a while because I was pretty fucking poor. And she was like, I'm gonna do something nice for you. I'm gonna send you a little something for Easter. And I was like, okay, cool. So I get this like pink slip in the mail and I was like, oh, I'll get it tomorrow. And then the weekend happened and then it was like Monday and I was like, oh, I think I gotta go get it. So I go to the post office on like 125th and I give them the slip and this lady behind the counter, she was like, oh my gosh, she's here. She's here. Brenda, she's here. And I was like, oh my God, why is she and Brenda so excited? And then they were like, it's her.

• 11:26Speaker 01

  And then like other people came out of the back and I didn't know what was happening. And then they're like, here's your box. And it was dripping wet.

• 11:35Dan Pashman?

  Oh, no.

• 11:36Speaker 01

  And it stunk. And I was like, oh my God, what is in here? And they all watched me open it and my aunt had sent me some cooked things, some raw things, like there was just a raw bag of bacon. Then there was like cornbread mix and then I think slices of ham in a Ziploc bag, macaroni and cheese in a Ziploc bag. And it had been sitting on a truck because she didn't overnight it. And then it sat at the post office for days. And then my aunt had called me and I finally called her back and she was like, did you get your dinner? And I was like, I did. She's like, did you eat it? And I didn't have the heart to tell her, no, no, Auntie, it is rotten.

• 12:21Speaker 01

  Uh, but it was very fun. I don't think I've ever had someone, except for teens, laugh at me as hard as those two women laughed at me.

• 12:32Dan Pashman?

  Nicole's aunt sent her that care package because she thought Nicole needed a taste of home on Easter, especially since Nicole's mom isn't around anymore. But the gesture didn't exactly pan out. Fortunately, some of the other foods Nicole grew up with are easier to replicate.

• 12:46Speaker 01

  My mom used to make these ravioli things, not from scratch, just out of a bag. And they were really good and I can't remember what brand it is, but I know they're from Costco. Have you ever been to Costco?

• 12:57Dan Pashman?

  Oh yeah, sure, sure. Although it has less, uh, I get less joy from it since, I mean, I married my wife, Janie, which overall has been a net positive in my life. But as part of the deal, I, I agreed to stop cooking pork in our house because she grew up kosher. And one of my favorite things to get at Costco used to be the pork chops. So now it's lost a bit of its luster for me.

• 13:19Speaker 01

  Wait, why is pork not, is it because pigs are dirty? They like roll around in the dirt?

• 13:25Dan Pashman?

  Yeah, I think that that's, I mean, the scholars probably disagree, but basically, uh, yes, the, you know, pork and shellfish cannot ever be kosher.

• 13:35Speaker 01

  What about shrimp? Shrimp doesn't really have, like, it's not shellfish.

• 13:38Dan Pashman?

  It technically is. If you, if you buy it before it's been shelled, then it's shellfish.

• 13:43Speaker 01

  Oh, wait, shrimps come in a shell?

• 13:45Dan Pashman?

  Yes, yes, their whole body is encased in a shell.

• 13:48Speaker 01

  Whoa, no way.

• 13:50Dan Pashman?

  It's not a hard shell like a clam or an oyster. Google a picture right now of a, of a whole shrimp.

• 13:57Speaker 01

  Okay, whole ass shrimp.

• 13:59Dan Pashman?

  It's got little tiny, little tiny black eyes. You can eat the head.

• 14:03Speaker 01

  Wait, shrimps have eyes? Never seen a shrimp like that. Wait, images? Hmm. Ah, these are wild. That's what a shrimp looks like? Ew, I don't know if I can eat shrimp anymore. Who thought to get into that? Who caught these nasty little nuggets and was like, there must be meat inside?

• 14:43Dan Pashman?

  Yep, that's a shrimp, Nicole. And you see how it's got a shell on the outside?

• 14:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, I guess it is a shell.

• 14:48Dan Pashman?

  Not kosher.

• 14:49Speaker 01

  Not kosher. Lobster, that's definitely a shellfish.

• 14:53Dan Pashman?

  That's right, yeah. Have you seen a whole lobster before?

• 14:56Speaker 01

  Uh, duh, I've seen the Little Mermaid. Come on now.

• 15:00Dan Pashman?

  Sorry, yes, yes.

• 15:01Speaker 01

  Wait, is Sebastian a lobster or a crab?

• 15:03Dan Pashman?

  I'm pretty sure a lobster, but now we, now we need to check that too.

• 15:06Speaker 01

  Okay, I gotta Google that. Okay, Sebastian? Oh, so yeah, Sebastian's a fucking crab.

• 15:13Dan Pashman?

  If that's a crab, you know, then Disney people need to reevaluate because that looks like a lobster to me. Those claws.

• 15:18Speaker 01

  It does look like a lobster.

• 15:20Dan Pashman?

  Crabs are like wide and squat and they move sideways.

• 15:24Speaker 01

  He does move sideways.

• 15:25Dan Pashman?

  Does he?

• 15:26Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 15:26Dan Pashman?

  Well, that's a dead giveaway. He's a crab. Wikipedia is right.

• 15:29Speaker 01

  I'm glad we got to the root of that.

• 15:31Dan Pashman?

  We've made a lot of progress here, Nicole.

• 15:35Speaker 01

  The Little Mermaid is a flawless movie because I think at the heart of it is, the story is a young woman who wants to look like everybody else. And then a fat C, which said having a voice is more important than looking like everybody else. And then that wise, fat woman dies. And then this little redheaded person goes to where the people are with legs and then marries a man that she has literally never spoken to. I think it's got a great message for little girls everywhere.

• 16:17Speaker 03

  The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake. You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake. Just look at the world around you, right here on the ocean floor. Such wonderful things around you. What more is you looking for? Under the sea, under the sea.

• 16:43Dan Pashman?

  Coming up, Nicole and I talk all about Nailed It. Part of the magic of the show is the chemistry she has with her co-host, the famous French chocolatier, Jacques Torres.

• 16:52Speaker 01

  I remember like the first time I said something dirty, he was like, Nicole. He's like, why you say that? I was like, I don't know, I'm a freak. And he was like, you're not a freak, you're dirty.

• 17:03Dan Pashman?

  So what not safe for work chocolate sculptures does Nicole love to make for Jacques? We'll find out. Plus, she explains why she never eats sandwiches at home. Stick around.

• 17:33Dan Pashman?

  And now a delicious word from our sponsors.

• 17:43Dan Pashman?

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• 18:28Dan Pashman?

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• 19:11Dan Pashman?

  Boar's Head, committed to craft since 1905. 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 it 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,

• 19:55Dan Pashman?

  thoughtfully crafted, and made 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 this Porkful. It's the best way to support the show.

• 20:23Dan Pashman?

  Welcome back to another Sporkful Reheat. I'm Dan Pashman. Hey, check out my Instagram when you get a chance. I share what I'm up to, what I'm eating, all of my hot takes that don't always make the cut here on the Sporkful, although I don't know why anybody would want to cut out my rants about the best way to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But the point is that that stuff is on my Instagram, and we have a lot of fun there. Also, sometimes I'm like debating, what should we do for this episode? And I'll put up a poll. So it gives you a chance to actually have input into the show. So you can do it right now while you're listening. Follow me on Instagram, @thesporful. Again, that's @thesporful. Thanks.

• 20:58Dan Pashman?

  Now, back to comedian Nicole Byer. Nailed It is really an anti-cooking competition show. The competitors basically don't know what they're doing. Part of the joy of watching the show is seeing how badly they screw up. But it's not mean spirited. It feels more like the contestants are all in on the joke, as Nicole, Jacque Torres, and a guest do the judging.

• 21:17Speaker 01

  All right, let's taste it.

• 21:20Speaker 04

  Oh, my God, this is pretty dry.

• 21:24Speaker 04

  No, really?

• 21:25Speaker 01

  I'm so sorry. I was gonna be nice. Oh, that's awful.

• 21:29Speaker 04

  How much salt do you put in that?

• 21:31Speaker 01

  You put only salt in that.

• 21:33Dan Pashman?

  Really?

• 21:33Speaker 04

  You put salt instead of sugar.

• 21:36Speaker 05

  Sugar. Okay, three.

• 21:39Speaker 04

  Perfect. My friend, after doing that to us, you have to eat it.

• 21:44Dan Pashman?

  This show, Nailed It, has like really struck a chord with people. I'm curious, why do you think, I mean, aside from clearly the fact that you are great in it and Jacque is great, but I feel like there's something about it that's bigger than that, that is connecting with people. What do you think that might be?

• 22:02Speaker 01

  Well, I mean, at its core, it is me. I'm perfect and wonderful. I think it's like, it's a show about people failing, but you still get to win. And I think with social media, the way people present their lives now on like Facebook and Instagram or whatever, everything is perfect and everything is wonderful. And people don't really show, unless they're like, I'm depressed and I'm sad. Like, they're not really showcasing like the ups and downs of life. Do you know what I mean? Like, nobody's, you know, photographing a okay-looking burger, you know?

• 22:37Dan Pashman?

  Right.

• 22:37Speaker 01

  It's all like this decadent meal that I had or whatever. And I think Nailed It is just like normal people doing normal things. And you're like, oh, I literally see myself because I'm doing normal things and I'm trying to bake, you know, with my boyfriend or my kids or whatever.

• 22:53Dan Pashman?

  And I feel like there's something almost sort of oppressive about most food media that it creates this completely impossible standard.

• 23:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, everyone's fucking perfect. You know, you got this, I love chopped junior, and there's always like a kid on there who's like, I'm just trying to make my dad proud. You're like, oh, no, you're never going to. And, you know, I feel like it's like an unattainable thing when people are doing like, you know, reductions and like chopped, they have to do stuff with shit that I've never heard of. You're like, what is a boysenberry?

• 23:32Dan Pashman?

  When people on Nailed It are really, when they're going especially off the rails, do you ever feel bad for them?

• 23:39Speaker 01

  No, it's very funny. And one of them will get money for being bad at what they're doing.

• 23:44Speaker 04

  This cake is good, but a little bit dry. No buttercream. Unfortunately, you forget, need to be beautiful, but you need to be eaten.

• 23:52Speaker 05

  I think you baked the cake perfectly. I think it tastes great, but it would be a lot better if you had added the buttercream in it.

• 23:59Speaker 01

  Kelly, I liked your cake. It made me happy. It was chocolatey. I liked it.

• 24:04Speaker 04

  Thank you. You know, it's all about learning. I do that for almost 40 years. I still learn things.

• 24:10Speaker 01

  Forty? I thought you were 35.

• 24:13Speaker 04

  I love you even more.

• 24:14Speaker 01

  How are you learning in utero? Jacque, you magical.

• 24:19Dan Pashman?

  And I gather that you and Jacque Torres have really hit it off.

• 24:21Speaker 01

  I love him. He's great. He's one of the sweetest men I've, I've ever met. He like made me donuts one day. He invited me to his house. He pounded me with a bottle of wine. We teed and giggled.

• 24:34Dan Pashman?

  And I, and I understand that you have sculpted quite a lot of chocolate dicks for Jacque.

• 24:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, he keeps them in his desk.

• 24:43Speaker 01

  Little dick graveyard. Jacque loves nasty jokes. I say a lot of nasty shit when we're filming, and he loves it. I remember like the first time I said something dirty, he was like, Nicole. There is one episode, I can't remember which one it is, but this woman, Snake, maybe? I think it might be the Snake one. I don't know. This woman was making something that looked just like a dick, and then they left it in. Jacque goes, Nicole, what do you think that looks like? And I was like, you don't want me to say it.

• 25:12Dan Pashman?

  But I read an interview with Jacque, who of course is a world-renowned baker and chocolate maker.

• 25:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, I had no idea.

• 25:19Dan Pashman?

  He complimented your chocolate dicks. He said anatomically, she's very good. She makes them very exact. Nicole, what's the secret to making an anatomically correct chocolate dick?

• 25:32Speaker 01

  Having a photographic memory, having a bunch of dick imprints in your brain and nothing else. So you can just roll them out.

• 25:42Dan Pashman?

  All right. Well, I guess that that does seem like a logical, it's just experience is what you're saying, like anything else in life.

• 25:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 25:47Dan Pashman?

  You gotta put in your 10,000 hours.

• 25:49Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 25:51Dan Pashman?

  Coming up, Nicole and I talk about navigating the heavily male improv scene when she was starting out in comedy. That's after the break. Stick around.

• 25:59Speaker 06

  And now, a delicious word from our sponsors.

• 26:06Speaker 06

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• 27:41Dan Pashman?

  Welcome back. Let's return now to my conversation with comedian Nicole Byer.

• 27:46Dan Pashman?

  Speaking of, of dick jokes.

• 27:48Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:49Dan Pashman?

  One of the things I was curious to chat with you about is, you know, I feel like there's a commonality between comedy spaces and restaurant kitchens.

• 27:58Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:58Dan Pashman?

  Very sort of male testosterone-driven, abusive places to be for women.

• 28:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:06Dan Pashman?

  So I was reading this article in the New York Times, and it was telling this story about this chef, Tracy Desjardins, who now is a big-time chef. She's got a lot of restaurants. But early in her career, she was one of the very few women in a high-end kitchen in France, which you can imagine, not an easy place to be for a woman. And a bunch of live frogs were brought into the kitchen, and a couple of male chefs were killing the frogs in an especially gross and inhumane way that I'm not going to recount. But they called her over and told her to do it too. And she could tell, you know, this, basically, this was a test. And so she picked up a frog, and instead of killing it the way they were killing it, she just slammed it down on the table and killed it in what she thought was the

• 28:50Dan Pashman?

  most humane way possible. And the writer of this article in the Times, Kim Severson, she's a longtime food writer, and she said, you know, I first heard that story years ago. And when I first heard it, I just thought it was kind of like a good example of a woman's ingenuity in a tough situation in the workplace. But now, she sees it as an instance of workplace bullying and harassment.

• 29:12Dan Pashman?

  Have you ever had to do the comedy equivalent of banging a frog against a table?

• 29:18Speaker 01

  No. I came up doing improv at UCB and I started 10 years ago. Oh, I'm getting old. And I think I just like quickly established that I was a dominant person. And if some dude was gonna like, call me a bitch or whatever in a scene, I will look at him, pause, like let the audience take in that this man just called me a bitch, and then hit him back with something funnier and better and smarter. So I guess that's, that's what it like, I guess maybe that's the comedy equivalent in, in improv is like

• 30:01Speaker 01

  just being funnier, better, smarter than men. But like anytime a man has like tried to force me into like a sexual thing in a scene, I'm not gonna just do it to do it, but like I will make it funnier than anything he's ever done.

• 30:16Dan Pashman?

  But I do wonder, like, is, is being super explicit about sex in your comedy, sort of like its own kind of defense mechanism?

• 30:26Speaker 01

  No. I've always been a pretty sexual person. I have a lot of testosterone. And I've always been like sexually explicit. And I think it was because growing up, it was, um, people were like, oh my God, I can't believe you just said that. So like, maybe it started off as like shock value, but like now it's just so ingrained in me that I say a lot of things and never really think twice about it. Like so another day was like, your podcast is pretty explicit. And I was like, is it? I really don't think it is. But then again, I don't think anything I do is explicit. I think I'm just me. I don't know. I used to love peanut butter and bologna sandwiches, but the kids in class would make fun of me.

• 31:07Speaker 01

  And I can only think of three times in my life where I conceded to bullies. And one was, oh, maybe two times. One was a bologna and peanut butter sandwich, and one was gymnastics. I quit gymnastics over this girl being a cunt. Um, but then I was like, well, I guess I can't eat peanut butter and bologna sandwiches anymore. I gotta eat them with something else. So then I discovered I like peanut butter on potato bread. So then I was like, but I also really like tomatoes. Why don't I throw tomato in there? And then I eat peanut butter and tomato sandwiches. And I, I knew it was weird in my heart of hearts. So I wouldn't eat them at school, but I would eat them at this lady's house. Her name was Miss Arletha. She had a pool. And she would like babysit me when my mom was working. And

• 31:52Speaker 01

  she would make them for me. And she didn't judge me because she was an old lady and she was, she already didn't give a fuck. And I learned a lot from her.

• 31:59Dan Pashman?

  What else did you learn from her?

• 32:01Speaker 01

  Not to give a fuck. Because sometimes I'd like, wear my bathing suit and I'd be like, oh, I feel, I look fat in it. And she's like, you're a little girl. You look like a little girl. I was like, okay.

• 32:13Dan Pashman?

  And do you ever eat peanut butter and tomato sandwiches today in the comfort of your own home in secrecy?

• 32:17Speaker 01

  No. I think, I think eating sandwiches at home is like weird.

• 32:25Dan Pashman?

  Wait, what?

• 32:25Speaker 01

  I, I've never been like, ooh, I think it's so weird to just like make a sandwich. I don't know why. I don't.

• 32:32Dan Pashman?

  What, what do you eat at home?

• 32:34Speaker 01

  Not sandwiches. I don't.

• 32:37Dan Pashman?

  Do you know where you can trace this opinion to?

• 32:39Speaker 01

  The old like, get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich. So maybe my brain took it as, I will never make a sandwich in my kitchen. And I'll never eat a sandwich. I'll never serve a sandwich to a man. Maybe that's where it came from.

• 32:52Dan Pashman?

  If I send you a sandwich in the mail, will you eat it?

• 32:55Speaker 01

  No. No, I'm not gonna eat a sandwich sent to me through the mail. No. Because someone the other night said to me, something that blew, like broke my brain in the moment. She was like, all letters are sent from the past into the future. And it broke me because it's true.

• 33:14Dan Pashman?

  Right.

• 33:14Speaker 01

  You write a letter and then you send it to the future because it's gonna take a while to get to that person. So yeah, I don't want your past sandwich.

• 33:35Dan Pashman?

  That's the one and only Nicole Byer. Her show is Nailed It on Netflix. She's also the host of two great podcasts, Why Won't You Date Me? And Best Friends, the latter of which she hosts with fellow comic Zashir Zameda. This show was originally produced by Anne Sanney, Aviva DeKornfeld, and me, Rob McGinley Myers was our editor. The show was mixed by Dan DeZula. Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.

• 33:57Speaker 04

  And I'm Steve Dahlien in Carver, Minnesota, reminding you to eat more, eat better, and eat more better.

• 34:14Dan Pashman?

  This reheat was produced by

• 34:16Speaker 01

  Gianna Palmer.

• 34:17Dan Pashman?

  The team that produces The Sporkful today includes me, along with managing producer

• 34:21Speaker 01

  Emma Morgenstern.

• 34:22Dan Pashman?

  And senior producer Andres O'Hara. Our engineer is

• 34:24Speaker 05

  Jared O'Connell.

• 34:25Dan Pashman?

  Music help from Black Label Music. The Sporkful is a production of Sirius XM Podcasts. Our executive producer is Camille Stanley. And hey, if you want to hear new episodes of The Sporkful ad free, subscribe to Sirius XM Podcasts Plus on Apple Podcasts, or visit siriusxm.com/podcastplus to listen with Spotify or another app of your choice. Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.

• 34:52Speaker 01

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• 35:08Speaker 06

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