An "Overnight Success" Years in the Making With Alison Roman

The Dave Chang Show

The Ringer

Society & Culture, Arts, Food

4.8 • 8.6K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2025

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dave sits down with Alison Roman, whom he has known since the early days of Milk Bar, as her new cookbook, 'Something From Nothing,' comes out soon. They reminisce on the old days before they talk about how Alison made a path for herself and worked hard for a long time before becoming an "overnight success." The duo also discusses creating a personal style, how difficult it can be to mature in the public eye, and the process of actually making a cookbook. Dave closes with an Ask Dave about Momofuku ramen. Get your copy of Alison's new book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/608062/something-from-nothing-a-cookbook-by-alison-roman/ Alison's previous book Dining In: https://amzn.to/4ohywo8 Learn more about Milk Bar: https://milkbarstore.com/ Learn more about Major Food Group: https://www.majorfood.com/ Learn more about Quince: https://www.quincerestaurant.com/ Watch our episode with Christina Tosi of Milk Bar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsKKidj7f7E Learn more about Rich Table: https://www.richtablesf.com/ Learn more about Pies 'n' Thighs: https://piesnthighs.com/ Learn more about Domino magazine: https://www.domino.com/ Check out the French Laundry Cookbook: https://amzn.to/3W4kQAW Read the Michel Bras Cookbook: https://www.kitchenartsandletters.com/products/essential-cuisine-english-edition-from-france-c?srsltid=AfmBOoqKKlD7ZxhErIOyQLp_YgoO9BDOvmwhR72lwQgKb5ehU1-hblQd Check out the website domain Alison wishes that she had: alisonroman.com Momofuku book: https://amzn.to/3VYhcIE Watch our episode with Brooks Headley of Superiority Burger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekz3XJ2LVLs&list=PL7SmJHepo13dGH9Eqp4gIssMjeLBLqB2E&index=2 Learn more about Benton's: https://shop.bentonscountryham.com/ Send in your Ask Dave questions to bit.ly/AskDaveForm or [email protected]. Subscribe to the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedavechangshow. Subscribe to Recipe Club on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@recipeclubofficial. Submit your favorite food moments in your favorite movies to majorfoodporn.com. Join our community Discord on majordomo.com. Host: Dave Chang Guest: Alison Roman Majordomo Media Producer: David Meyer Spotify Producer: Felipe Guilhermino Engineer: Belle Roman Editor: Stefano Sanchez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Stay tuned today because we have the great Alison Roman, author of four cookbooks.
0:06.2	She has a new one coming out called Something from Nothing.
0:10.2	She has a rabid following, but, you know, I think the past few podcasts, we've had creators
0:17.6	and people that have taken a little bit of a more independent path in the
0:21.9	food world. And if you're not in food, I think you can take a lot of insight from Allison.
0:30.2	But she sort of talks about the blueprint, about how she became one of the most influential
0:36.1	figures in food.
0:39.9	I've known her a very long time.
0:42.0	So stay tuned for that and we'll do an ask Dave.
0:44.7	And yeah, it's a good interview.
0:50.3	Welcome to the Dave Chang Show, part of the Ringer podcast network,
0:51.4	presented by Major Double Media.
0:53.2	Thank you, Yola Tango, as always.
0:54.9	We're in New York.
1:01.8	This is, I don't even know what's going on anymore. It's strange to be here in the city.
1:09.9	I think when we get back to L.A. I'll have some more, more thoughts, but it's good to see some friends, good to grab dinner. And it's been a lot of
1:13.0	reflection being in this city. And it's weird not living in New York. And it's also just a sign
1:19.2	I think of getting older about not trying to be the version of me 20 years ago. And yeah,
1:25.6	it's it's it's very, very strange to to be in a city that I spent,
1:32.1	you know, over 20 years in. But that being said, Alison Roman is going to join us in a little
1:40.2	bit. She is somebody that I don't know if gets enough credit for changing how people
1:47.5	think about food in a non-professional level. But when you see a influencer or social media
	...

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