On today’s THE FOOD SEEN, Lior Lev Sercarz, the worldly spice blender behind La Boite a Epice, tells his story through the travel and tastes which helped him form his poignant palate. Like a modern day Pierre Poivre, a trailblazer of the modern spice trade, Lior aims to elevate the now omnipresent black pepper to new heights. You can even try Lior’s ode to Pierre in his 8 pepper blend. This episode is sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

This week on Hot Grease, our hostess Nicole Taylor sits down with food critic and writer Charles Campion, and Don Sloan from Oxford Gastronomica. Tune in to hear Nicole's weekly food headlines. Charles, and Don talk about Oxford Gastronomica's influence on food culture in Britain, and the upcoming Oxford Literary Festival writing contest. Author and cooking instructor Susan O'Brien joins Nicole via the phone lines to discuss chia seeds and her Hot Five vegan suggestions for Easter or Passover meals. This episode was brought to you by Fairway Market.

"Until Oxford Gastronomica, no one took food and drink very seriously in Britain. There was little in the way of good courses. I firmly believe the more that you can stir up a bit of interest and give it a little cred, the better it is." -- Charles Campion on Hot Grease

"Chia dates back to the early Aztec days, and for many years was considered to be like money- like gold." -- Susan O'Brien on Hot Grease

Nicole Taylor explores Indian cuisine with chef Peter Beck of Benares on this week's episode of Hot Grease! Nicole starts off the show talking about foodie April Fool's jokes, as well as her recent recipe featured on Design*Sponge. Later, Nicole and Peter talk about different regions in India, and how the cuisines are affected by geography. How does religion also influence Indian food? Hear how Peter uses spices in his cooking to differentiate it from 'fast food' Indian. Peter has cooked all over the world; hear about some of his experiences teaching Indian cooking in London. Listen in to hear some of the dishes from Benares that Nicole loved, and hear Peter explain some of the cooking techniques used to make them! Thanks to our sponsor, Whole Foods, and thanks to The California Honeydrops for today's music!

"In many Indian restaurants, people don't focus on the seafood, and that surprises me a lot because seafood is eaten very commonly in India." [22:55]

-- Peter Beck on Hot Grease