50 Tastes Of Gray

Matthew Gray - 50TastesOfGray
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Food

Aloha! I’m Matthew Gray, your host of the `50 Tastes Of Gray’ podcast. Aloha from Hawaii! 🌺 I’m a lifelong chef, radio guy, and your host of 50 Tastes of Gray, a smart long‑form conversation served with warmth, wit, and a dash of mischief. 🎙️🍽️ Each episode is a generous helping of stories, laughter, and unexpected insight as I sit down with fascinating guests from across the worlds of food, art, music, and life itself. We talk flavor, sure—but also what feeds the soul: curiosity, creativity, and connection. It’s funny, revealing, and refreshingly human—the kind of conversation that lingers long after the last bite. Pull up a chair. Life’s too delicious not to dig in. 🍰

  1. 6h ago

    The Pastry Chef Who HATES Cheesecake

    ​Pastry chef Melanie Underwood hates cheesecake — and wrote the book on it anyway. A warm, funny, no-filter conversation about teaching cooking, trusting yourself in the kitchen, and why food has no barrier it cannot cross. After 25 years at the Institute of Culinary Education, plus pastry posts at the Four Seasons and the Plaza in New York, Melanie now teaches from her home kitchen. She runs Nourish and Gather, teaches mindfulness and sound baths, and built Tart AF — always fabulous, always flaky — around the permission she gives students to trust themselves. In this 27-minute cut: why "I know" is the worst thing a cooking student can say, the husband who suggested 32 students with knives, the month she showed up at a hotel every day until they gave her an apprenticeship, the mentor who told her to apply for the Four Seasons job — and watched Melanie get it — plus Junior's vs. Cheesecake Factory, a four-ingredient quark cheesecake, the Tart AF origin story, warm vanilla pudding, the potluck war over store-bought food, borrowed spoons, and the most impossible person she ever cooked for. If you've ever stood in your kitchen wondering what to cook, or felt judged for how you cook, this one's for you. Chapters: 00:00 An Egg Any Way She Can Get One 00:14 'I Know!' (No, You Don't) — Blame S****y Influencers 01:08 32 Strangers With Knives? Absolutely the Hell Not 01:48 Screw Your Gadgets — A Microplane and a Knife Will Do 02:17 Mama's Band-Aid Knife & the Onion-Gravy Rebellion 02:59 Bette, Claire & the Student Who Got Baked (Not the Good Kind) 03:52 Pre-Law Dropout Pestered a Hotel Daily Until They Caved 05:10 The Boys Said She Wouldn't Get It — She Got the Four Seasons Job 05:48 Escape From Cold Prep: Born to Bake, Baby 06:24 No Barrier Food Can't Cross — Dumplings Prove We're All Cousins 07:47 I Hate Cheesecake — So Obviously I Wrote the Book 09:02 Four Ingredients, No Crust, Zero Apologies: The Quark Cheesecake 10:41 Enter Tart AF (Yes, THAT AF) 11:39 Kellogg Would Crush You — and a Teen Called It Cringe 13:01 The Bear: Real Kitchens, Real Meltdowns, Real Humans 14:05 Pudding Is a Sweater You Can Eat 14:37 Dr. Jekyll & Ms. Tart: Sweet by Day, Spicy by Night 16:02 She Dropped the F-Bomb, a Lady Gasped — Then She Doubled Down 17:27 Flat? That's Just Code for Needs More Acid 18:13 Saffron Cheesecake & 'Don't Bring Store-Bought or Don't Come' 20:29 Wanted for Spoon Theft: Stories in Spoons 21:13 Turn the Tables: The Most Impossible Producer She Ever Fed 21:51 Teenagers Are Bankrolling DoorDash — $400 a Week, Salty & Broke 23:05 Cooking at Home Is Cheaper — Close Your Eyes & Trust Your Fridge 24:42 She Married a Chef and Had No Idea — Plot Twist! 25:34 Follow Her, Then Book a Flight to Hawaii: Aloha! FOLLOW MELANIE UNDERWOOD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nourishandgather.co Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/NourishandGatherco/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieunderwood/ Substack: https://substack.com/@tartaf FOLLOW MATTHEW GRAY 50 Tastes Of Gray: Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/50tastesofgray Facebook: https://facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii Substack: https://50TastesOfGray.substack.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@50TastesOfGray Subscribe, and tell us in the comments: what's the one thing you were told you "can't" put in a dish? #PastryChef #Baking #50TastesOfGray #MelanieUnderwood #ChefInterview

    The Pastry Chef Who HATES Cheesecake

  2. Oct 21

    ​​​Same Men. Better Chairs. | Morocco Then & Now with Siham Lahmine

    Same men, better chairs. Matthew Gray compares the Morocco he remembers from the 1970s with the Morocco Siham Lahmine lives in today, in Fez. Siham Lahmine was born in Fez, lives there now, and runs Morocco Travel Organizer, which describes itself as Morocco's first woman-owned culinary and luxury heritage tour company. But this episode isn't about her resume. It's about food as inheritance. WHAT WE TALK ABOUT Matthew remembers Morocco in the 70s: men squatting on the road, women doing all the visible work, little boys swarming to be his guide. Siham tells him what Fez is today. Sitting, not squatting. A community that is a radar. A 1,200-year-old Medina where you feel it if you don't belong. She's careful not to generalize: she's talking about the men you see on the street, not every man. And we talk food the way Siham's mom would want us to. Not just tagine and couscous. - Bissara: fava bean soup thickened in a clay tagine with cumin and olive oil - Pastilla from Fez: shredded chicken, fried ground almonds, caramelized onions, honey, and FIFTEEN eggs, topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon - Tanjia: meat and spices buried in hot ashes for three hours. You know it's done when you shake it and the bone stops sloshing - Medfuna ("the buried"): a nomadic pizza from the Sahara - Berber vs. Amazigh: why Siham avoids the word Berber, and what the original people of Morocco call themselves FAVORITE MOMENT: Siham's grandmother called couscous "the royal ball." She'd squeeze the grain with vegetables and meat, roll it in her hand, and feed it directly to her grandchildren. Eating with your hands brings bliss, baraka. That's inheritance. And Siham's mom? Her kitchen is her kingdom. She says yes, yes, yes, then pushes you out without realizing it. Aunties, daughter, and a son who cooks for himself in Germany, all kicked out. Matthew wants to steal the technique. IF YOU'RE GOING TO MOROCCO: Siham says visit the Marrakech souk by 6 pm, when the carts are coming in and the movement starts. And try timija tea in the High Atlas Mountains, a woolly plant that looks like mint and grows by the rivers. Spiky and sweet. Salam means peace. Bislama means goodbye. FOLLOW SIHAM LAHMINE https://MoroccoTravelOrganizer.com/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089627667747 https://www.instagram.com/moroccotravelorganizer/ FOLLOW MATTHEW GRAY 50 Tastes Of Gray: Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly. 50TastesOfGray@gmail.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/50tastesofgray Facebook: https://facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii Substack: https://50TastesOfGray.substack.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@50TastesOfGray About Matthew: Grand Diplôme Le Cordon Bleu Paris, cooked on the road for The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, private chef for Robin Williams, Dan Aykroyd and Paramount studio heads. Chef since the '80s, Hawaii since the '90s. "I don't care about monetizing. I care about engagement, respect, and making friends. I go for the funny bone, not the jugular." #Morocco #MoroccanFood #50TastesOfGray

    ​​​Same Men. Better Chairs. | Morocco Then & Now with Siham Lahmine

  3. Oct 7

    Rice, Spice, and Missing Home — Harvard Scientist

    Why does a Harvard Medical School scientist miss home the most when he's hungry? Dr. Saravanan Thangarajan left Chennai for Boston with a Harvard tag and a suitcase full of spice he couldn't find near Harvard. We talk teeth, temples, Tamil, and what he's eaten today. This one is rice, spice, and a lot of heart. WHAT WE COVER ON THE CUTTING BOARD: 00:00 Why a Harvard scientist was tired of smart-people podcasts 00:42 I butcher his name. He fixes it. (Saravanan 101) 02:15 Chennai → Boston: He left everything for the Harvard tag 04:10 Why dentistry? "My sister made it look cool… until I got in" 06:30 WHAT HAVE YOU EATEN TODAY? Rice, spice, and missing home 08:20 No Indians near Harvard Med, so he found the temple 09:30 Caste is your last name — Gen Z says "we care about vibe" 11:00 "Is mother alive? Is child alive? We never ask are you OK" - maternal mental health 12:30 Pandemic phone calls for oxygen beds → art → NYC billboard 13:30 How to say goodbye: Vanakkam to Aloha Guest: Dr. Saravanan Thangarajan - Dentist, Artist, Harvard Medical School Researcher Host: Matthew — 50 Tastes Of Gray with Matthew #Harvard #harvardmedicalschool #tamil #chennai #boston #dentist #maternalmentalhealth #indianfood #vanakkam #aloha #50TastesOfGray #WhatHaveYouEatenToday #immigrantstory #temple

    Rice, Spice, and Missing Home — Harvard Scientist

  4. Sep 27

    Why My Corner Office Felt Hollow

    Sara Causey joins host Matthew Gray of 50 Tastes Of Gray for an unscripted conversation about authenticity, creativity, art, and building a life that feels genuinely hers. A biographer, author, and artist, Causey explains why she rejected the conventional path to success, how she lets creative projects evolve, and why meaningful work often requires stepping beyond what feels safe. In this episode: Causey defines “eccentricity of purpose” as living authentically instead of conforming to expectations. She distinguishes between eccentricity as a marketing brand and eccentricity as a lived reality, including the willingness to be misunderstood. Causey recounts reaching a corner office at age 39 and realizing that the promised corporate-ladder victory felt hollow. She discusses regret, reinvention, and the importance of choosing differently with the time that remains. Her fascination with Richard Burton led to imaginative ideas centered on cinematic grandeur, spectacle, and artistic collaboration. Causey explains how she lets each writing project determine its own form, genre, audience, and voice. She argues that creative growth is not about hustle culture, but about challenging yourself and occasionally feeling scared by your own work. Her book Simply DAG: The Private Man in a Public and Dangerous Office uses an intimate first-person perspective to place readers inside Dag’s negotiations, bomb threats, and moments of danger. She shares how reader feedback confirmed that the book created a powerful sense of personal connection with Dag. The conversation closes with Swedish food, cloudberries, pickled herring, and the value of unscripted conversations. 0:00 What "eccentric on purpose" actually means — and why faking it will kill you 0:52 Real eccentric vs. brand eccentric — lipstick, beret, and the biographer they can't accept 1:55 The corner office at 39 that felt like a pyrrhic victory 2:52 Regret is a trap — don't die with your music still inside you 4:28 Modern cinema is digital vomit — and why Richard Burton still ruins me 5:50 My rebellion against sameness — bring back the robes, the gold, the spectacle 7:21 I let the Muse tell me — stop holding your art in a death grip 8:56 If you feel safe in your art, you're doing it wrong 10:03 Simply DAG scared me — challenging the gatekeepers 10:56 The Simply DAG elevator pitch — you're not reading history, you're IN it 13:25 Screw the scripted interview — real conversation keeps your brain alive Sara Causey Contact Info: Website: https://saracausey.com Books: https://saracausey.com/my-books Podcast: The Causey Consulting Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-causey/ "Decoding the Unicorn" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSCS5PZT Follow Matthew Gray:   50 Tastes Of Gray — Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly. 50TastesOfGray@gmail.com Instagram: @50tastesofgray Facebook: facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii Substack: 50TastesOfGray.substack.com YouTube: @50TastesOfGray #introvert #careerchange #highlysensitiveperson

    Why My Corner Office Felt Hollow

  5. Sep 19

    When Numbness Is About Caring Too Much | with Maria Cassano

    What if numbness isn't apathy — but overload? In this episode of 50 Tastes of Gray, I sit down with writer and journalist Maria Cassano (The Good Girl Recovery Guide, upcoming memoir Numb, Party of One - Feb 2027) for an honest conversation about depersonalization, derealization, and the cost of being the "good girl." Maria shares what it was like to feel gone for years, why people-pleasing and hyper-empathy can tip the nervous system into shutdown, and how everyday rituals — coffee, boundaries, and yes, magic shell — became tools for coming back. We get into: The real lived experience of depersonalization vs. the clinical definition Good Girl Recovery: unlearning performative care Boundaries as a nervous system practice, not just a concept Finding safety and pleasure in small sensory rituals Reclaiming "I'm Good Now" without pretending you were never hurt Maria's writing: The Good Girl Recovery Guide on Substack — https://mariacassano.substack.com/ If you’ve ever felt numb, checked out, or “too much” and “not enough” at the same time — this one is for you.

    When Numbness Is About Caring Too Much | with Maria Cassano

  6. Sep 11

    ​The Food Writer Who Lived Everywhere & Ate Everything — Jenny Linford

    Jenny Linford grew up across Ghana, Trinidad, Singapore, Italy, and London, experiences that shaped her lifelong fascination with flavor, markets, and regional food traditions. In this episode, Jenny explains the difference between British supper, dinner, and pudding; shares her family’s Queen of Puddings recipe; and tells the story of Nigella Lawson DM’ing her to say she was a fan. We explore her self‑taught path into food writing, her global childhood, the immigrant food shops that taught her how to cook, and how she researched London’s food scene before the internet. Jenny talks about Singapore hawker centers, regional Italian food, the rise of British cuisine, the decline of fishmongers, and why markets matter more than ever. She also discusses cookbook production, writing for Kew Gardens and the British Museum, artisan cider and cheese, AI’s impact on food publishing, and her cheese podcast A Slice of Cheese. This conversation is warm, generous, nostalgic, and full of food stories that last.   Follow Jenny Linford: https://JennyLinford.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/jlinford   Follow Matthew Gray:   🎙️ 50 Tastes Of Gray — Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly. 📩50TastesOfGray@gmail.com 📸 Instagram: @50tastesofgray 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii ✍️ Substack: 50TastesOfGray.substack.com ▶️ YouTube: @50TastesOfGray   #foodwriter #britishfood #globalflavors #homecooking #foodstories

  7. Aug 29

    He Paid $50 to Mail Sourdough to Canada

    A delightfully unhinged conversation about sourdough, butter wars, cat cuddles, Pittsburgh fries, and the chaos of being human. He paid fifty bucks to mail sourdough to Canada — and somehow that wasn’t even the strangest part of the conversation. This episode is pure, delightful silliness. It’s food, life, marketing, cats, Pittsburgh fries‑on‑everything culture, Dan Aykroyd, poop, and the kind of unexpected stories that only happen when two people stop trying to be serious and just hang out. We talk about homemade sourdough, the cold‑butter debate, gluten‑free cornflake chicken, and why Will’s smoothie is measured like a NASA experiment. We wander into Pittsburgh comfort food, childhood memories, outdoor adventures, and the existential question of whether cornflakes should be allowed to “sing.” But the episode also gets surprisingly useful: Will breaks down why marketing is storytelling, why sales is not marketing, and why home buyers respond to emotion more than specs. We get into real estate humor, home‑buying psychology, and why “new vs. used” is more of a feeling than a feature list. Along the way, we hit: Gluten sensitivity and the hidden places gluten lurks Cats with human names and the art of cat‑armpit cuddling Why adults should go outside and act like kids The smell of rain (petrichor) and why it makes people feel alive Celebrity chefs, BLTs, avocado toast, and Pittsburgh fries‑on‑everything culture Chainsaws, yard work, and the joy of doing something physical Neurotic New York Jew humor, childhood nostalgia, and cultural identity Travel stories, music memories, and the food that reveals who you are If you like food, weird stories, sharp conversation, and a little observational nonsense, this episode is your jam. #Sourdough #FoodPodcast #Marketing #Storytelling #podcastinterview #50TastesOfGray

  8. Aug 22

    Let's Do This Together

    Katie and Chris Bowick sit down with me on 50 Tastes Of Gray to talk openly about addiction and the ways it shaped their lives. This conversation is not a recovery seminar. It is not a redemption arc. It is two people telling the truth as they remember it, even when those memories do not match. We explore how addiction rearranged their timelines, how humor survived the hardest years, and how storytelling becomes a way to hold conflicting truths at the same time. The episode moves between laughter, tension, and reflection. It stays human. It stays honest. It stays in the gray. Follow Chris & Katie: Coloring Outside the Lines: A Love Story in the Gray of Addiction, Recovery, and Redemption​ Available https://shorturl.at/uxhcj 📘 Facebook:  @LoveThroughTheGray  📸 Instagram:  @LoveThroughTheGray  TikTok: @lovethroughthegray ▶️ YouTube: @LoveThroughTheGray Follow Matthew Gray: 🎙️ 50 Tastes Of Gray — Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly. 📸 Instagram: @50tastesofgray 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii ✍️ Substack: 50TastesOfGray.substack.com ▶️ YouTube: @50TastesOfGray   #SoberLiving #AddictionRecovery #MarriedCouples #RecoveryJourney #50TastesOfGray

    Let's Do This Together
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About

Aloha! I’m Matthew Gray, your host of the `50 Tastes Of Gray’ podcast. Aloha from Hawaii! 🌺 I’m a lifelong chef, radio guy, and your host of 50 Tastes of Gray, a smart long‑form conversation served with warmth, wit, and a dash of mischief. 🎙️🍽️ Each episode is a generous helping of stories, laughter, and unexpected insight as I sit down with fascinating guests from across the worlds of food, art, music, and life itself. We talk flavor, sure—but also what feeds the soul: curiosity, creativity, and connection. It’s funny, revealing, and refreshingly human—the kind of conversation that lingers long after the last bite. Pull up a chair. Life’s too delicious not to dig in. 🍰

Information

  • Creator
    Matthew Gray - 50TastesOfGray
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved - Don’t do bad stuff.
  • Show Website
    50 Tastes Of Gray