Kae Lani Palmisano is an Emmy Award-Winning television host, food writer and editor, researcher, podcaster and multimedia producer exploring the journey that food takes to get to the plate. Her television work has aired on WHYY, PBS Food, and FOX and she has been published in Food & Wine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, USA TODAY and more. As an “edutainer” her work focuses on having fun with food while educating audiences about where it comes from and its historical and cultural impact.
As the host of WHYY’s Check, Please! Philly, Kae Lani showcases Philadelphia’s favorite restaurants through the eyes of locals. From Bucks County to Delaware and the Main Line to South Jersey, Check, Please! Philly celebrates fine dining establishments alongside hidden neighborhood gems. As one of the region’s top food programs, the show earned Kae Lani the 2020 Mid-Atlantic Emmy for Talent: Program Host/Moderator, as well as two other Mid-Atlantic Emmy nominations in its first year on the air.
In addition to hosting Check, Please! Philly, Kae Lani is the writer and host of Delishtory, a digital series on PBS Food that explores the fascinating histories and quirky stories behind the foods we know and love.
When Kae Lani is not hosting television shows, she’s producing and hosting Power Dining, a podcast that examines the power food has on our society, culture, and personal lives.
While some travelers follow their hearts, Kae Lani has spent over a decade following her gut, researching food across four continents. Her travels have taken her from exploring the Spice Route through Israel and Europe to foraging with the Māori in New Zealand.
As a food writer and editor, she has whisked readers away to sip cocktails spiked with tarantula venom in Mexico City, indulge in Germany’s 1,000-year-old winemaking tradition, and explore the rural New Zealand countryside where movie director James Cameron has a farm. Her writing has also inspired home chefs to bring new flavors into their cooking – like making bread with heritage grains, fermenting produce, and baking with ruby chocolate, a chocolate with a natural pink color.
Born and raised in the Philadelphia region and having lived on both sides of the Delaware River, Kae Lani immerses herself in everything from the energetic city life to the rural farmlands of the Garden State. Her favorite part about living in the Delaware Valley is the bounty of fresh, local produce that changes with the season. Come summertime, you can find Kae Lani in her South Jersey kitchen, baking with blueberries, cooking with squash and canning tomatoes handpicked from her home garden.