Podcasts serve up hot takes on food world
Shows brimming with fresh recipes, culinary culture, heated debates
Plenty of podcast listeners catch up on their favorite shows while doing household chores like making dinner. But if you’re looking for something that will enhance the cooking experience as much as the aural one, consider these six shows, which offer a mix of innovative recipes from worldclass chefs, documentary journalism about culinary culture and hot takes on the food world’s contentious debates.
‘A Hot Dog Is a Sandwich’
On its surface, food seems like a safe, low-stakes topic of conversation. Yet just like on matters of religion and politics, discussions of food can become surprisingly contentious — to demonstrate this, just ask your dinner guests to consider whether a hot dog is a sandwich. In this delightful series, Josh Scherer and chef Nicole Enayati (who are writers with the popular YouTube cooking channel Mythical Kitchen) dig into the big questions: crunchy versus smooth peanut butter, whether ketchup belongs on hamburgers and of course the hot dog-sandwich quandary — which Scherer and Enayati tackled in a five-part series in 2022 with the help of philosophers, lawyers and food historians. The variety of subjects is vast; some episodes explore what makes the best version of a particular dish, such as a burrito or a french fry, while others play like a food-based personality test (“What Your Chipotle Order Says About You”). And some dissect food trends such as bone broth, cold brew coffee and air fryers to judge whether the hype is warranted.
Starter episode: “What’s the Best Type of French Fry?”
‘The Food Chain’
As you’d expect from a BBC World Service production, this series has a nuanced, global perspective on the production and consumption of food. Presented by Ruth Alexander, “The Food Chain” often examines cultural differences through culinary topics. One insightful episode focused on how various countries’ lunch break practices are emblematic of their broader work cultures. The intersection of food and professional life is a recurring theme; episodes shine a spotlight on the eating habits of various professionals (such as doctors, opera singers and astronauts) or explore how to cook in extreme locations (like a nuclear submarine or an Antarctic research station). Other episodes investigate such trends as immersive dining and the rising popularity of private chefs, always offering a reliably engrossing blend of detailed reporting and firstperson audio storytelling.
Starter episode: “What’s in a National Dish?”
‘The One Recipe’
Pretty much everybody, no matter their level of culinary confidence, has a go-to, no-fail recipe, whether it’s a dinner party crowd-pleaser or a loweffort staple. Although the guests featured in this American Public Media series are all food professionals, part of the fun is just how varied their recipes are in terms of complexity and category. Some are meticulously crafted takes on comforting staples, such as Paola Velez’s chocolate chip cookies or J. Kenji López-Alt’s perfect hard-boiled eggs, while others are gourmand creations, such as Yotam Ottolenghi’s brown sugar meringue roulade with burnt honey apples. On the episodes that run under 20 minutes, guests share back stories on their dishes with Jesse Sparks, a senior editor at Eater, and give tips for listeners who want to add it to their recipe arsenals.
Starter episode: “Jon Kung’s Recipe for Spaghetti and Lion’s Head Meatballs”
‘Lecker’
Recorded primarily in home kitchens, this convivial podcast has an intimate feel that sets it apart from most interview shows. Lucy Dearlove, a radio producer, hosts conversations with chefs, cookbook authors and other foodies, incorporating the sounds of their cookery — paper bags rustling, ingredients being chopped, oil sizzling in a hot pan — to create an immersive experience. In addition to food and our rituals surrounding it, Dearlove turns a lens on the physical spaces where we cook, exploring the design of modern kitchens while incorporating history, architecture and personal narratives. “Lecker” is a comforting, lovingly made treat that leaves you feeling warm inside, the way you feel after a really good meal cooked by a friend.
Starter episode: “Moving House, Moving Kitchen”
‘Dinner SOS’
This fun and inspiring podcast from Bon Appétit promises to “answer desperate home chefs’ cries for help.” Each episode begins with a listener question about a culinary crisis, such as how to cater a dinner party when all of your guests have different dietary restrictions, or how to overcome a fear of cooking a specific ingredient (say, chicken). Other topics are more recipefocused — how to make a brownie that’s not too sweet or a glutenfree pizza that tastes like the real thing. Chris Morocco, the Bon Appétit food director, enlists a rotating panel of food writers and experts to suggest solutions to the problems, which listeners practice and report back on.
Starter episode: “Fancy, on a Budget”
‘Recipe Club’
You know you’re in good hands with this series from The Ringer, as it’s hosted by David Chang, the founder of Momofuku, and Chris Ying, a veteran food writer. Each episode focuses on a single ingredient, which is typically a whole food, such as cauliflower or halibut, but it can also be a branded item like King’s Hawaiian rolls. Chang and Ying agree on one recipe to make with this ingredient and are joined by a guest chef in a faceoff to make the best version of that dish. To add a little chaos, the chefs are also randomly assigned a constraint — make the dish using only a microwave or use only shelf-stable ingredients. Listening to these pros cook with one arm tied behind their backs is reliably hilarious and educational — you’ll learn about substitutions, recipe hacks and how to make the best of whatever kitchen situation you find yourself in.
Starter episode: “Sweet Potatoes”