This week's guest on Chef's Story is Anita Lo, chef and owner of Annisa restaurant in NYC and author of "Cooking Without Borders". Citing multicultural influences, Anita explains how she fell in love with food growing up in Michigan and traveling the world with her self proclaimed "food tourist" family. From France to Iran, Anita took cues from all of her travels and experiences before opening Annisa, in New York's Greenwich Village. Find out what it took to open Annisa and how Anita has found continued success through her cooking, media appearances and writing. What was it like working with David Bouley? How did 9/11 affect the success of Annisa? How did the Food Network affect Anita's career? Tune in to Chef's Story and hear the whole story! This program was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. Learn more about "A Second Helping Fundraiser" that Anita is involved with here.

"I've always called cooking a lifestyle choice of the obsessive compulsive."

"I was taught French cuisine - I had to learn Asian cuisine."

"David Bouley taught me about ingredients. He was farm to table before anybody else was."

"I'm a nocturnal person which fits well with having a restaurant that's only open for dinner."

--chef Anita Lo on Chef's Story

With all of the focus on ethnic and regional cooking in the modern food movement, why is Russian cuisine so often neglected in the foodie canon? This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio sits down with Darra Goldstein, Professor of Russian at Williams College. Darra is also the founder and former Editor in Chief of Gastronomica, and the author of two books- A Taste of Russia and Georgian Feast. Tune into this episode to learn about the staples of Russian cooking. Why did Russian peasants crave sour foods? Learn how Peter the Great Westernized Russian cuisine for the upper classes. Tune in to hear Linda and Darra discuss some traditional Russian beverages such as vodka, kvass, and kefir. Listen in to learn about traditional Russian aversions to ocean fish and bears! This program has been brought to you by Bi-Rite Market.

"The new Russia is so fascinating... The capital cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg- you would hardly be able to recognize them if you lived there when it was the Soviet Union. There are many foreign chefs working there." [7:00]

"One thing that distinguishes Russian cuisine is the stove's falling temperature." [22:50]

-- Darra Goldstein on A Taste of the Past

This week is all about Asian food traditions for new year celebrations, both lunar and Gregorian.