There is no denying it - I have a podcast problem!
I listen to a broad range of podcasts from Australian music shows to American public radio, but a decent number of podcasts regularly appearing in my feed are food based. Here's the lowdown on my downloads:
Table Manners
If you enjoy the banter of a family dinner table with an eclectic range of celebrity guests thrown into the mix then Table Manners might be for you. Singer Jessie Ware and her mother, Lenny (arguably the star of the show), invite well known guests to their place for a slap up dinner and a good chat. Never have I felt so much that I have missed out of Friday night dinners and leopard print.
The Food Podcast
Lindsay Cameron Wilson's long-form love letter to food is a beautiful thing. Each episode is an extremely well curated story using food as a launch pad for considered verbal essays. She is engaging and soothing in equal measure. The Food Podcast is a superb way to unwind.
Off Menu
If genie waiters, dream restaurants and comedians are your thing then Off Menu is essential listening. Ed Gamble and James Acaster ask each guest for their favourite ever Starter, Main, Drink, Side-dish and Desert (not in that order!) leading to a rambling and very funny chat about all thing food, and many things completely unrelated to food. Their website also has a list of all the restaurants mentioned in the show, so a great "little black book" if you're visiting a destination that a guest has name-checked.
The Food Programme
As an absolute flagship show, the Food Programme is the BBC's food journalism mainstay. Covering pertinent topics as well as more trivial deep-dives on specific foodstuffs (the jam episode springs to mind) the Food Programme team educate and enlighten in a brilliant way.
The annual food and farming awards featured on the programme is a roll-call of excellent food based projects and up-and-coming chefs, shop keepers and innovators on the food scene.
The Kitchen Cabinet
Another offering from the BBC is the Kitchen Cabinet, their roving panel show hosted by the brilliant Jay Raynor, food critic extraordinaire. You'll learn interesting tit-bits about all sorts of ingredients and cooking methods as well as exploring the pleasures of eating in the bath.
Racist Sandwich
This brilliant podcast comes from America and was originally based out of Portland, Oregon. This explores the contribution and cost of working in the food industry for people of colour in America. The Racist Sandwich team use the food industry as an anchor for difficult conversations about race and gender while giving a useful perspective on a number of topics from food styling to employee rights.
Oddrop Drinks Podcast
A drinks based podcast with each episode doubling down on a specific drink, from kombucha to port, and whiskey to tea, there's something here for everyone. It is unclear if this will be returning, but I hope more episodes are on the horizon.
We Made a Beer
If you're a fan of Oddrop, then We Made a Beer is also for you. This follows the same team, Lucy and Louise, as they attempt to make all sorts of different beers at UBREW in London under the careful and supportive guidance of Tash Vine. Each episode follows the brewing of a different style of beer, and it goes to show that there might not be such a thing as a simple larger.
Violet Sessions
Claire Ptak of the Violet Bakery (of Harry and Meghan wedding cake fame) hosts a podcast covering a huge range of subjects with a wonderfully mixed range of guests.
Not so much a food podcast in every sense, but food writers and chefs often feature in Claire's conversations.
Out to Lunch
Another offering from food writer Jay Raynor. As he notes in the introduction: great conversations often happen over a meal and a glass of wine. Jay is a brilliant interviewer and the roll call of restaurants will give you lots of suggestions of places to visit and chefs to check out.
The format has been switched up during lockdown to become In For Lunch, where Jay orders a veritable banquet for his guest which is delivered to their house at the same time as Jay's lunch is sent to him from a similar restaurant near him.
Hoovering
Comedian Jessica Fostekew hosts an often rambling chat focussed on the joys of eating rather than evangelising about food and cookery. Jess has the best set ups for asking people for their dream meal.
Happy listening!
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