The culinary world of today is a boundless one — full of talking heads, reality programs, online (wine) courses, and more. Starting from celebrity chefs all the way to dramatic winner-take-all cooking shows, the entertainment value is high, and there are countless rabbit holes you can get lost in. This makes food and cooking podcasts all the more attractive. You can choose your theme ahead of time, whether it’s Asian American industry leaders or simply cooking from home. Tuning into a new episode of your favorite podcast is a great way to get rid of some of the noise and really focus on a particular topic or style of cooking. And you may even become a better — or at least more informed — cook in hindsight.
There’s a new food podcast roughly every day, so we’ve gone ahead and done the combing for you. Here are the best food podcasts to listen to right now.
Point of Origin
Launched by the ever-passionate Stephen Satterfield of Whetstone Media, Point of Origin is arguably the best food podcast right now. If nothing else, it’s the most important. As the name suggests, the series dives eloquently into the genesis stories of all kinds of foods, revealing the amazing terroir aspect attached to many different ingredients. It’s also completely evolved, tackling tough topics like racism and inequity in food with outstanding and entertaining context.
Counterjam
If you’re into food and music, Counterjam couples the two very creatively. In the end, you realize they are deeply connected, vital siblings within our culture. All kinds of great interviewees stroll into the studio, from record producer Dan the Automator to chef Roy Choi. Like Marc Maron, host Peter J. Kim is stellar at starting and sustaining interesting conversations, with plenty of laughs and food revelations along the way. It feels organic, like a good back-and-forth at your favorite watering hole about topics like fermented Korean foods or where A Tribe Called Quest liked to dine.
Gravy
Produced by the Southern Foodways Alliance, this podcast focuses on the American South and its many culinary customs. It does so in thought-provoking ways, touching on the history and specifics of this rich gastronomical region. Gravy also tracks some very interesting movements, like Southern chefs migrating to the Bay Area, Puerto Rican pasteles finding a new home in central Florida, and the journey of the black-eyed pea.
Home Cooking
A product of the quarantine era, Home Cooking is hosted by Samin Nosrat and Hrishikesh Hirway. The podcast offers some hope and support amid the pandemic, teaching listeners how to cook inventively at home and bring some of that restaurant quality to their own table. The duo dissects topics like holiday meals, umami (in wine), hiking snacks, sardines, and much more. The hosts are upbeat, and you can’t help but feel a little optimistic after each episode.
With Warm Welcome
The food podcast realm is gifted a vital voice in With Warm Welcome. Hosts Ben Hon, Arnold Byun, and Esther Cho offer a platform for the oft-unheralded (and sometimes plainly ignored) Asian Americans in food, from restauranteurs to tastemakers. They cross-examine identity and how it relates to the culinary landscape, with added insights from great guests like chef Corey Chow and Jenny Dorsey. In many ways, WWW tells the tales of marginalized people with a keen interest in food following the American dream.
Copper & Heat
Copper & Heat podcast focuses on the restaurant side of the food business. It’s a great resource for those who work in the culinary arts, but the wisdom and interviews are broad-reaching enough to appeal to the masses. No matter what your occupation is, you’re likely to get some major takeaways from this James Beard Award-winning podcast to apply to your own professional realm and general lifestyle. To the show’s credit, there’s much more talk about equity in the industry and getting the restaurant world to a better, more inclusive place.
Recipe Club
Led by restauranteur and modern food celebrity David Chang and Chris Ying, Recipe Club is essentially a podcast continuation of the late great publication Lucky Peach. It’s chock-full of great cooking ideas and recipes to create them, dabbling in everything from dips and flatbread to Martinis and spaghetti. For those looking for last-minute food prep ideas, the show offers many tasty solutions along with some entertaining banter on the side.
Kevin’s BBQ Joints
Barbecue is a massive part of planet food and deserves at least one podcast on the list. This interview series examines the faces behind the craft as well as the rich corresponding history. You’ll exit each episode wanting to fine-tune your favorite sauce recipe or try smoking something you never thought to before. You’ll also want to plan your next road trip according to the many small towns and eateries name-dropped in this hunger-inducing podcast.
Good Beer Hunting
Beer may be the main theme of this enjoyable podcast, but it’s about so much more. The depth of topics and context mirrors the scale of the craft brewing industry, now a towering figure in the food landscape. A well-oiled machine, Good Beer Hunting combines intriguing interviews with forays into the nature of harvesting hops, non-alcoholic beer, privilege, cider, and much more.
