“Cooking is a way of listening to the radio,” musician once wrote in his . Podcasts, of course, are another way to soundtrack your meal-making (or road trips, office commutes and reluctant gym visits). In the last year, there’s been an explosion of new food shows. Just weeks ago, launched , billed as the “first-ever multi-sensory podcast”. While chef isn’t making, say, lolly-flavoured smoke come out of your headphones, he does convey personal details (like how he’s fluent in “food French”: “I can go into a bank and ask for some caramelised onions”) and brain-twisting facts (a dish will seem significantly saltier if you change its name: crab ice-cream, for instance, delivers a stronger sodium hit than when it’s called frozen crab bisque, apparently).
With in the last year alone (which is insane, considering it took 12 years for the platform to gain 400,000 podcasts from the day it ), there’s been a corresponding spike in appetite-related shows.
Comedian/actor keeps refilling his glass as host of (key learning from the show: which drop goes best with waffles), co-owner Robbie Bell covers Melbourne’s food scene with incredibly laidback conversations on , Alicia Kennedy’s asks industry insiders about whether or not they consume animals (and why), while gets deep on Yes, there truly is something for everyone.
Niche shows are great for specific tastes – but for something that might also appeal to everyone in the car (or kitchen) this summer, try these new-ish podcasts.
Proof
launched last month, with a about how celery-crazy people were back in the Victorian era: celery tonics were said to cure nerves and “sluggish” livers, while having a special table vase for the vegetable was an upper-class power move. Also bizarre: the now-dowdy green was more of a luxury item than caviar back then.
But is that as strange as ’s ability to produce gross-out flavours, such as a convincing jelly bean called ? The lolly is part of : where appealing flavours (such as Birthday Cake and Buttered Popcorn) are mixed in a packet with deliberately awful creations, such as Rotten Eggs and Skunk Spray.
’s quest to find out how these lollies can resemble smelly footwear so accurately includes the revelation that the company places dirty socks in Ziploc bags and allows the smell to “ferment” for product inspiration. What’s crazier, though, is learning that the technology used to analyse life on Mars is involved in such flavour development.
Simple Pleasures with Yotam Ottolenghi
The premise might seem like awkward product placement: the chef as he (conveniently) cooks them recipes from his new . Except Ottolenghi is so likeable. Who doesn’t want to hear him chat with guests such as and his attorney wife , over , Welsh bread and lemon cake? (Miranda’s story about his dad saving a 1954 bottle of port for a momentous occasion – only for his mum to mistakenly use it as cooking sherry three years later – has the most amazing coda.)
Another great guest is musician : they’re both former journalists who worked for Jewish newspapers, so maybe that’s why they’re such good hosts.
Ware has her own food podcast, , which she runs with her mother. The episode where they interview London mayor as he breaks his Ramadan fast is wonderful and at times comical – the pet cat sabotages their plans by attacking the very dates they're planning to serve the mayor.
Eat My Globe
This is deep food-nerd territory. If you want to know how many nutcrackers were on the Titanic before it sank, is your man. (The answer is: 300.)
shows how fish and chips has , delves into and reveals how sushi went from a slow-food Japanese delicacy to a found everywhere.
The Dave Chang Podcast
Of the many people the has talked to (from to ex-Noma chef Dan Giusti), his most memorable interview is his NSFW chat with . The fact he was wearing a $38,000 coat when he first met Chang speaks to how polarising he can be. When asked the Korean-American artist to take him to an eatery that meant a lot to him, Choe famously opted for .
Lee Tran Lam is the host of . She’s currently subscribed to 446 shows.
