Your fill of food podcasts

Savannah Coombe recommends the podcasts to cure your lockdown boredom

As we settle into TB2, but lockdown continues, it’s likely we are all going to have a lot more time on our hands. Why not spend some of it sinking your teeth into some meaty podcasts? This list offers a taster of some really moreish shows. From famous faces like Jessie Ware and Jay Rayner to smaller fish like ‘If Music Be the Food of Love’, there are plenty of delicious treats here sure to satisfy your podcast cravings. All of them dish out some unbeet-able content (that one was a stretch).

If Music Be the Food of Love

Perfect for lovers of both food and music, two University of Bristol students, Izzy and India, started this project as a radio series which then evolved into a podcast. They take Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night quote literally and compare famous albums to food. They identify dishes and drinks they believe ‘signify the flavours and the sound’ of the songs on the album. It also includes history on both the musician, album and the food.

Epigram / Izzy Moulding

Albums they’ve explored so far include Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach (my favourite episode), Leonard Cohen’s I’m Your Man and Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together. You’ll definitely learn something new, and get to listen to some great new music at the same time!

Table Manners with Jessie Ware

Singer Jessie Ware and her mother, Lennie, host this podcast that doubles as a foodie safe haven and celebrity tellall. The concept of the show originally centred around the Jewish Shabbat Dinner on a Friday. Celebrity guests would be invited to join the pair for Shabbat Dinner – featuring a traditional meal cooked by Lennie – to speak about all things food-related.

With lockdown restrictions, most of the episodes now take place over Zoom. This has meant that they’ve been able to interview celebrities all over the world, including John Legend and Dolly Parton. There’s a huge host of local talent too though, like Dawn French, Munroe Bergdorf and Jamie Oliver.

Out to Lunch with Jay Rayner

Famous journalist and food critic Jay Rayner started this podcast in 2019 and, like Table Manners, it is also based around celebrity interviews. Jay Rayner picks a restaurant he thinks will appeal to his guest and the podcast is recorded over their meal, with all the amusing anecdotes that come with specials being read out and food arriving.

With COVID-19, Rayner has also had to switch up his model and now he orders a takeaway to the celebrity’s house while interviewing them over Zoom. His guests have included Mel C, Jamie Dornan and George Ezra.

The Off Menu Podcast

Prepare yourself for a wild ride with this one. Similar to Out to Lunch with Jay Rayner, comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster take a celebrity out to eat, except the restaurant and menu are all imaginary. The guest has to choose a starter, main, side, dessert and drink from ‘off the menu’. Things get super weird as the meal is governed by a series of unpredictable rules. For example, the pair will choose a ‘secret ingredient’ before each meeting. If the guest mentions that ingredient in one of their orders then… well, allegedly the person gets ‘kicked out’ of the restaurant, but so far they have never followed through. Acaster and Gamble are hilarious and it’s the perfect podcast if you need a good laugh.