Our New York Table
A documentary podcast exploring food, identity, and community through the people who gather around New York City's tables.
Rather than treating food as the destination, Our New York Table uses it as a way into conversations about culture, memory, belonging, and community. Through documentary storytelling and intimate interviews, each episode explores how New Yorkers' relationships with food reflect larger stories about who they are and how they connect with others.
My Role
As Creator, Host, and Executive Producer, I lead every stage of the production process, including:
Editorial strategy and long-term content planning
Story development and guest booking
Research, reporting, and interview production
Scriptwriting and narrative editing
Audio recording, editing, and sound design
Audience development and social strategy
Community partnerships and live event production
Impact
Grew audience by 180% between Seasons 1 and 2
Reached listeners in 45 countries
Produced two documentary podcast seasons from concept through distribution
Extended the project beyond the podcast through community events, cooking classes, and live storytelling experiences
Featured Episodes
Shandra Woworuntu: Healing Through Food
Indonesian chef and anti-human trafficking advocate Shandra Woworuntu introduces us to the vibrant flavors of Indonesian cuisine. As she shares dishes from her childhood, she reflects on the overseas job that led to her trafficking and the resilience that would eventually help her rebuild her life.
Em Bistro: Love, Noodles, and the Ingredients that Matter
A bowl of hủ tiếu brought Patrick Lin and Ly Nguyen together—and became the foundation for both their life and restaurant.
Through the flavors of Vietnamese cuisine, they share a love story about family, tradition, and building a new home together in Brooklyn.
Fares “Freddy” Zedeia: Food as Identity
After leaving Palestine as a teenager, Fares "Freddy" Zedeia built more than one of New York City's most beloved falafel stands—he built a place where Palestinian food, culture, and identity could endure. Over a platter of falafel, shawarma, and kebab, Freddy reflects on why the food we cook becomes part of who we are.
Ayo Balogun: Food, Memory, and Finding His Way
As a child in Nigeria, Ayo Balogun was drawn to the stories shared in the kitchen as much as the food itself. Today, through Dept of Culture, he shares those memories around a communal table, inviting others to experience Nigerian food through the story of his own life and the traditions that continue to inspire his cooking.