Feed Your Ears: These 4 Must-Listen Podcasts!

Sep 22, 2024

5 min read

Podcasts never interested me much until the day I had a minor eyelid surgery and was instructed to stay away from screens for a week. This led me to dive headfirst into the world of audio shows, where I stumbled upon my beloved podcasts that I now tune in to regularly. I think that I was quite late to the game because most people got into these during COVID, and I definitely missed that train. Being a food and cinema enthusiast, it was inevitable that I started with that genre, and now I can't go a week without one. In a world where marketing for new movies involving food has stormed the internet, food podcasts are a standout for me. I do, however, like an occasional watch of Snack Wars by Lad Bible, Hot Wings by First We Feast and Sean Evans, and of course, Chicken Shop Date with Amelia Dimoldenberg. It depends on my mood.

I really enjoy getting to know actors and famous people better by hearing about their favorite foods, where they like to eat, and their childhood memories around the kitchen table. It's great to hear fun facts about the shows or movies they've worked on in a more laid-back setting while chatting or munching on food. I have listed a few podcasts below; they each have their own unique styles, so give them a listen and tell me what you think. If you have any podcast suggestions, feel free to share them in the comments section!

1. Table Manners

My all-time favorite food podcast has to be Table Manners hosted by Jessie Ware and her mother Lennie Ware. Most of their episodes involve Lennie cooking delicious food for famous guests at their London home. I particularly enjoyed their guest Andy Serkis, who is a wonderful actor (Gollum being one of his brilliant roles that I love him in as a big LOTR fan - who's with me?). He talks about his Iraqi-influenced upbringing while being fed a smoked fish tart with tarragon, parsley, and sage. He speaks passionately about growing up eating Middle Eastern food such as Kibbeh, lemon chicken, and tabbouleh.

A recent episode that I enjoyed was with the lovely Kate Winslet. We find out about her new movie "Lee" while she shares yummy plant-based recipes and ideas (One very tasty-sounding scrambled tofu using an interesting yet strange addition of a black salt called Kala Namak, which has a sulfuric smell not dissimilar to eggs). She shares a story about using cooking as a grounding and mindful exercise as well as providing great facts about the famous war photographer Lee Miller, whom she plays, who also had a passion for food!

2. Ruthie's Table

Ruth Rogers not only owns but is also a chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant The River Cafe in London. It serves Italian food, and she often speaks with her guests about her love for Italy and the use of fresh ingredients to create her tasty menu. Each guest starts by reading the recipe of a dish that they love and helps prepare it in the kitchen before sitting down to talk. Keira Knightley and her spouse make an appearance in a single episode, showcasing their charm as they discuss how they first met, his dislike of condiments, and his journey from enjoying cheese toasts to becoming a food enthusiast.

Olivia Colman is another great guest. Besides being a brilliant actress, she also loves to eat and shared some great stories about what they ate on the movie "The Lost Daughter," which was set on the beautiful Island of Spetses in Greece. I have been fortunate enough to travel to Greece and loved the food there - the fresh Greek salads topped with a huge chunk of feta cheese, the fresh crispy baked phyllo-wrapped feta with honey drizzled on it, and of course, the generous garlic tzatziki with fried courgette.

Ruth also chats with Stanley Tucci, who picks the Cacio e Pepe with Langoustines because it has very few ingredients yet is so delicious. It uses plenty of Pecorino Romano, which is a hard, salty Italian cheese that originated in Lazio and is now mostly produced in Sardinia. Both Stanley's parents are from Calabria in Southern Italy, and he therefore gets a lot of his inspiration and passion for cooking from them.

3. Off Menu

Off Menu was the first podcast that I discovered related to food. The premise of the show is that each guest shares their favorite starter, main course, side dish, dessert, and drink at the 'dream restaurant'. This in itself is such a genius idea that when I first listened to it, I was annoyed that I hadn't thought to do it first myself! The concept is so simple yet so clever and is now a common question I ask my friends and family to tell me their version of this 3-course menu. (I will be adding my own ideal 3-course meal in another blog post so stay posted!!) The hosts are comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster and make me belly laugh at times with their jokes and talks with their guests.

I specifically enjoyed hearing Ed Sheeran talk about his tradition of buying a bottle of wine for the table when celebrating something and then taking it home to add to his collection after writing a note on the bottle of the details of the event. He also talks of hiring out an entire Pizza Hut to celebrate his birthday one year (Great idea and also very down to earth). While he is a musician, he also has cameos in movies including Bridget Jones's Diary and in the Game Of Thrones series.

4. Dish

Broadcaster Nick Grimshaw and Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett host the fun podcast Dish. They make a great duo and bounce off each other well. Nick is very funny, and I have been a fan of his radio show for some time. Angela cooks delicious-sounding food while sharing fun facts and cooking tips, such as the phrase "Ad Occhio," which means "by eye" and is how many Italians cook - measuring by eye, which is a more natural way to cook. The show is sponsored by Waitrose, a great UK supermarket that publishes a monthly magazine.

Florence Pugh appears in a special Christmas Guest episode where they serve a variety of foods, including roast potatoes with confit garlic, Brussels sprouts with hazelnut pangrattato (which I learned from this podcast was crispy toasted breadcrumbs - delish), and orange & honey-glazed carrots (sign me up, right!?). The dessert was Angela's Tiramisu, which, if you haven't already taken from my blog, is my favorite dessert and also Pugh's.

Kaya Scodelario's episode is fascinating given her interesting heritage of Brazilian Portuguese and Italian descent, so she shares great foodie favorites while speaking about her role in The Gentlemen (Guy Ritchie's TV show which I really loved watching).

She describes growing up eating both Milanesa (pan-fried breaded veal cutlet) which was brought to Brazil by Italian immigrants and also rice and black bean stew or Amazonian fried fish.

Nish Kumar is a British comedian and TV show host who is served handmade Gnocchi with spicy chili red pepper pesto (The key to making it light is to use less flour). Nish talks fondly about his Grandmother's very heavily spiced Keralan fish curry with lots of coconut milk that no one else in the family has managed to perfect yet (Also done, Ad Occhio). Sounds absolutely delicious.