I’ve always believed that food is a sensory experience beyond just taste. You not only feed your body, but your soul as well. And with the hype of NPR’s Serial podcast wearing off, I couldn’t help but wonder if there were other auditory musings—pertaining to food, of course—to entertain myself with while I fold laundry and do other mindless tasks. And it turns out there are indeed a myriad of culinary podcasts out there, one for every single kind of foodie. If they are not your obsession already, they will be.
Here’s why you should skip the next pick on your Netflix watch list and tune in to a food podcast instead—and which ones you should listen to first.
1. You’ll learn something new.
GIF courtesy of reddit.com
Please excuse the cheesiness, but just because you graduate college doesn’t mean learning has to end. Keep your foodie soul informed and amused with new recipe ideas, restaurant recommendations, and interviews from exceptional food-lovers from around the world. If nothing else, pick up a random fact or two to toss casually into your next small talk conversation.
2. You can pass time quickly.
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I don’t know about you, but when boredom strikes I go straight for my fridge if I’m at home, or straight to social media when I’m waiting for a train (if the subway wifi is working). Podcasts offer an effective, enjoyable way to simultaneously consume info and kill time.
Most podcasts run at least a half hour long, so before you know it you’ve squashed your boredom and it’s time to get going wherever you’re going. Plus, giving your eyes a rest from screen time is SO essential these days.
#SpoonTip: Bake (and eat) this easy cookie brittle while listening at home.
3. You’ll get new cooking ideas.
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Podcasts are bursting with suggestions for stepping up your culinary game—like exploring some of the best food Thailand has to offer or ways to take your homemade hamburger to the next level. Mario Batali recently inspired me to make veggie meatballs with eggplant, which is hard sell for a meat lover like myself.
My Picks
Burnt Toast from Food52
Photo courtesy of @food52 on Twitter
A more quirky and in-the-kitchen approach to food, served up twice a month by Food52 editor Kenzi Wilbur.
Foodcast from Bon Appétit
Photo courtesy of @yourman_kyle on Instagram
The weekly podcast features interviews with celebrity chefs like Ina Garten, Mario Batali, and Giada DiLaurentiis (to name a few), restaurateurs, and anyone who’s someone doing the best of their niche in the food world.
Grub Street from New York Magazine
Photo courtesy of Grub Street on Facebook
Grub Street is a bit more of a hard-hitting source hosted by restaurant critic Adam Platt, a good one for keeping up with food issues and trends in New York.
Prince Street from Dean and Deluca
Photo courtesy of Dean and Deluca on Facebook
This is a totally new, cerebral podcast brought to you by Soho’s finest food emporium, Dean and Deluca. It’s hosted by chefs, actors, writers, and anyone who has an opinion about the connection between food and people. Told in chapters, it runs just under an hour.