An Interview with the Host of Mystery Recipe, Our New Podcast for Kids

America’s Test Kitchen Kids is getting into the podcast game. And if you know a kid who loves food, this is the biggest news since avocado toast.

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starting on Feb 24th, America's Test Kitchen Kids Editor in Chief Molly Birnbaum will be joined by a rotating group of kids and other surprising characters to guide listeners through short-form, engaging episodes as part of our new podcast, Mystery Recipe. Each week is dedicated to a specific ingredient, and they all lead up to a grand finale: a mystery recipe cook-along on April 22nd.

Want to learn more about this silly, snackable, educational podcast in advance of its premiere? Check out this interview with Molly to hear what each week has in store, and then listen to the trailer, which is now available everywhere you get your podcasts.

What do you hope listeners will learn from the Mystery Recipe podcast?

First, that listening to podcasts is a super fun way for families to spend time together. Also, listeners will learn a bunch of fun facts about different kitchen ingredients that they’re already using every day. (These fun facts come via everything from trivia games to interviews with the actual ingredients themselves out in the wild!) There are things to learn about history, science, and, of course, food!

What can we expect from each week’s episodes?

There are three episodes launching every week—and each week concentrates on a different kitchen ingredient. At the end of the season, we’ll use each of the ingredients to cook a mystery recipe together. (I think it will be very fun to kids to guess what the final recipe will be all season long!) 

Every recipe involves fun fictional characters, and real-life kids' voices. On Mondays we first have kids guess the week’s theme by listening to some mystery sounds, and then join our kid reporter Adelina to interview the ingredient itself out in the wild—plus hear from a bunch of young chefs about how they use the ingredient at home! On Wednesdays I play a game of “Tricky Trivia” with my assistant, Mitsy (who is also an oven mitt), and then hear from our producer, Chad, as he interviews a grown up with a cool job involving our ingredient. And Fridays are all about science. We answer a pressing food question from a young chef by doing a science experiment in our Recipe Lab, before ending the week with a random but always fun “wild card” segment.

Do you have to listen to every episode for the last episode’s cook-along on April 22nd to make sense?

Definitely not! Listening to each episode in order will definitely help build the suspense of finding out what the grand finale mystery recipe is, but it’s not necessary. Every episode is fun to listen to on its own!

Tell us about who else will be joining you on the podcast.

There are so many fun folks joining me on the podcast. Mitsy is my assistant over on Mystery Recipe—she’s fun and funny (and slightly weird). She also happens to be an oven mitt (and is super into cooking safety!). There’s also our Official Ingredient Guesser, Zoe, who is 11 years old and has been a kid recipe tester for America’s Test Kitchen Kids since we first launched! Adelina is our “kid reporter,” going out to find our fictional ingredients for interviews every week. And Chad, our producer and friend, interviews a grown up with a fascinating job involving our ingredient every week, too!

How did you manage to make a podcast that kids and adults will both enjoy?

We wanted to make a podcast that kids would enjoy (so, fun and goofy and filled with kid-relevant information), but also one that we would want to listen to on our own. We let ourselves get a little weird every so often, and, man, are there a lot of puns. I think it’s the perfect podcast for families to listen to together.

How does the podcast tie in with America's Test Kitchen Kids' mission?

The podcast stays true to our mission: Creating a new generation of empowered cooks, engaged eaters, and curious experimenters. We’re teaching kids how to cook, how to be curious about food, and about where ingredients come from, all mixed with some acting and jokes and fun!

If you had to describe Mystery Recipe Podcast in three words, what would they be?

Informative, goofy, curious.

Remember to listen to the Mystery Recipe trailer, now available on your favorite podcast-listening platform. And if you're looking for more information on cooking with kids, check out these articles from the team at America's Test Kitchen Kids:

• A Comprehensive List of the Very Best Cooking Items for Kids
• 5 After-School Snacks That Kids Can Prepare Themselves
• The Best Gifts for Kids Who Love to Cook