The Best 7 Quarantine Escape Podcasts About Food

I love to cook.

Well, not really. “I love to cook” is something I loved to put on an online dating profile in the days when such boasts mattered.

But I do love cooking shows. You know, podcasts about food. And, during the interminable months of lockdown, I did develop a begrudging respect for cooking.

There are only so many chicken nuggets a grown man can eat. At least before his family steps in to remind him that the hospital system is taxed. And he should be flattening the curve.

So my queue has been stocked with more home cooking shows than would be usual. If I’m being honest, I didn’t know cooking podcasts existed. When I think of cooking, “hearing” isn’t one of the senses I associate with it. In fact, it was the only sense that didn’t fit.

Wait… Cooking Audio?

But cooking shows are more than just enjoying a meal. The food we eat is a window into who we are. The royal we. We are what we eat right? That’s the cliché? I don’t care how many times my doctor tells me that, it’s still cliché.

But in a time of profound disconnection, “we” doesn’t only refer to the “royal we.” Food is how we connect to one another. A shared meal. A shared culture. A shared experience. All of that was ripped from us.

As the year ground along, these pods began to fill some of the cultural appreciation gap. That chasm left by an inability to travel, to see friends, to experience… anything outside your four walls.

Audio. Sound. Hearing. That’s a sense I never associated with food, or with cooking before. And it allowed all of us to claw back a bit of what we were missing.

Our favorite home cooking shows gave us comfort, and necessitated sharing with friends. Here are some of my favorite “not just for quarantine” podcasts about food. Throw them on your smart speaker whilst slaving over a hot toaster.

Read more: 10 Food Podcasts To Sink Your Teeth Into

Gastropod – Taking a Deep Dive

We tend to stuff quite a bit into our maw without really knowing anything about what we are shoveling in. Organic is good… right? On Gastropod, hosts Cynthia and Nicola take a deep dive into the food we don’t give a second thought to.

A blend of interviews, science, archeology, and anthropology, Gastropod is the perfect way to learn as you burn… dinner.

Start Here: The Magic Cube

When the pandemic first started and food was flying off the shelves was the first time in my life I bought bouillon cubes. They were cheap and plentiful at the local shop in a way broth wasn’t. The history of this little meal saving cube is magical.

Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Spilled Milk – Podcasts About Food and Laughter

Food anchors this weekly pod from hosts Molly and Matthew. The premise is they are going to cook something scrumptious and devour it completely by the end of the show. And, being comedians, they’re going to riff wildly on a number of other subjects tangentially related to food.

Start Here: Cinnamon Toast

How could something as simple and delicious as cinnamon toast go wrong? Well, if you keep your butter in the fridge, you’re looking at a solid 90 minutes from desire for toast to broiled toast. It’s the minutiae of what goes awry that makes this show so relatable and enjoyable.

Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Toasted Sister Podcast – The Ingenious Indigenous Food Pod

I got into the idea of Native American food around Thanksgiving last year during lockdown. I realized that I didn’t really know anything about the food that was the way of life for the indigenous people in North America. What they ate before European colonizers came over with all manner of boiled dishes. That’s when I found Andi Murphy’s podcast wherein she explores the foods integral to indigenous cultures.

Start Here: The Thanksgiving Episode

Start where I did. How could you not begin your education about Native food without touching on the big lie? Andi talks to three Wampanoag chefs about their ventures and efforts to educate about the history of Thanksgiving.

Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Queer The Table – Food as Community

Host Nico Wisler’s podcast is all about building a stronger queer community through food. Every culture and subculture has its own distinct food traditions. When explored, those traditions give greater insight into the lives of that community. The ways which the LGBTQ community has enriched the larger culinary landscape is utterly fascinating. It is Nico’s journey to illuminate those contributions.

As we circled the wagons during quarantine, it was too easy to lose sight of entire communities. All in the name of emergency. This simple podcast about food helps mitigate that loss in around 40 minutes.

Read more: 10 Podcasts for the Queer Community and Their Allies

Start Here: Rest + Resilience With Ianne Fields Stewart

Ianne founded The Okra Project. It’s devoted to hiring chefs who identify as black and trans to cook a meal in the homes of other people that identify with that community. They bring people together with immaculately cooked food shared at a kitchen table. That’s a level of intimacy last year was lacking.

Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Item 13 – Food Culture From the Cradle of Humanity

There’s a little Ethiopian restaurant that serves street food I can’t wait to get back to once everything is fully open. Item 13, and host Yorm Ackuaku, opened my eyes to a food and a food culture I didn’t know anything about. Other than it was delicious. Every two weeks she tackles a new subject within the African food community. The pod covers cuisines, restaurants, and general education about food that doesn’t get enough exposure. If you’re looking for a new podcast about food, give this one a listen.

Start Here: Exploring African Coffees with Amani Kiflemariam

Most coffee drank by Americans comes from South America. But Africa has a rich tradition in the coffee belt that we aren’t often exposed to. Eritrea and Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. In this episode, Yorm discusses that tradition with Amani Kiflemariam and her brand, Amatte Coffee.

Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

The Nightcap – Late Night Kitchen Chicanery

Each episode features Simon Alexander and Paul Foster enjoying an 8-course taster menu with a guest chef followed by a nightcap. This podcast felt like having dinner with people again… at a restaurant. The bonus is you’re getting a behind the scenes pass to world-class fare in a highly competitive industry. It’s entertaining and enthralling. The act of listening to this podcast improved the flavor of my Prego spaghetti sauce by at least a star.

It tapered off during COVID-19, but should be back for a full season 3.

Start Here: Daniel Clifford

There’s enough inside baseball (cricket I guess?) between the hosts and guest chef Daniel Clifford to make this an enjoyable episode from the word go.

Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Local Mouthful – The People’s Podcast About Food

I’ve picked up three meal ideas from this show. True story. That’s the beauty of this podcast, hosted by home cooks Joy Manning and Marisa McClellan, is that it’s completely accessible. I might not be able to pick up any useful tips from a three Michelin star chef, but I can glean something from the brilliant home cooks they interview. At just 30 minutes a week this is a perfect pod to throw on while getting ready for your own meal prep.

Start Here: White Bean Soup, Seitan, and Home Cooking Changes

Episode 347 is one of the shows recorded during quarantine. The format’s a bit different from the normal show. But the discussion topic seemed relevant. What COVID inspired home cooking changes are going to outlast the pandemic itself?

Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Conclusion

We grew tired of canned goods. The year just kept pouring it on. We lost human connection. Human connection that sharing a meal provides. And podcasts, as they so often are, were there to fill the void.

You don’t immediately think of hearing when you think of food. Taste, touch, smell, and sight top that list. But podcasts about food brought us together when making real connections was difficult.

Thanks to the creators of these specific podcasts. There are hundreds more podcasts about food out there and this is not an exhaustive list. What culinary audio delights got you through quarantine?

Let us know on Twitter (@discover_pods, @jamesjgriffin) or in the comments.