
Tom Harte
Host - A Harte Appetite; Former Host - Caffé ConcertoTom Harte is a retired faculty member from Southeast Missouri State University where he was an award-winning teacher, a nationally recognized debate coach, and chair of the department of Speech Communication and Theatre.
A founder of “My Daddy’s Cheesecake,” a bakery/café in Cape Girardeau, a food columnist for The Southeast Missourian, and a cookbook author, he combined his passion for food with his passion for classical music as former host of the daily program, The Caffe Concerto.
An inveterate traveler, as well as a connoisseur of food and classical music, Tom has been to the five major continents and sailed the seven seas in search of great music and great cuisine, delicacies which he enjoys most when consumed simultaneously.
Tom is host of A Harte Appetite.
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You don't have to be from Africa to appreciate couscous. The late Craig Claiborne, for example, called it one of the dozen greatest dishes in the world.
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The mustard plant is fully deserving of accolades. For centuries its been used as a food, flavoring and folk remedy. In fact it was so important as a medicinal herb to the ancient Greeks that they credited their god of medicine for its creation.
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Rose Levy Beranbaum, in her book, “The Pie and Pastry Bible,” a volume which I’ve read religiously, says, “There are two kinds of people: cake people and pie people.”
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Even before Cracker Jack became inextricably linked to baseball, it hit a home run with the public when it was introduced at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago by Frederick “Fritz” Rueckheim and his brother Louis.
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The Instant Pot is fundamentally a pressure cooker, a device invented way back in 1679 by the French physicist Denis Papin.
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The pomegranate, that beautiful fruit with the jewel-like red seeds, has recently exploded on the culinary scene. Which is appropo for a fruit which inspired the name a hand-tossed explosive, known as the grenade.
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In Scotland, their oatmeal, or porridge, is a hallowed dish, celebrated every year at the World Porridge Making Championship in the village of Carrbridge.
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The French think they're superior to us when it comes to clothing, wine, and food -- not to mention romance! And, admittedly, they do have a way with each; and perhaps nowhere is French sophistication more evident -- at least in the culinary world -- when it comes to pancakes.
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Pretzels, some historians contend, may be the oldest snack food known to humankind.
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Contrary to popular belief, corned beef and cabbage is not the national dish of Ireland. You won’t find it on menus there except in places where there is a lot of tourist traffic. Some food historians even go so far as to question whether the dish is actually Irish at all.