Top Chef recaps, baking advice, food histories, and more. These are 11 of the food podcasts we can’t stop listening to.
Food podcasts scratch a very specific itch for me because it’s borderline impossible for me to cook without listening to a podcast. Music or TV shows overwhelm my senses, while silence (and the prospect of being alone with my own thoughts) is simply too terrifying an endeavor for most nights after work. With food podcasts, I can enjoy a conversation, whet my appetite, and if I’ve timed things perfectly, sit down to eat right when the episode ends.
And I’m clearly not alone—there’s no shortage of delicious food podcast options, and our staff is among their most devoted listeners. From the cooking show recaps we follow religiously to the baking advice that perfect our pastries, Bon Appétit editors depend on podcasts to stay informed, become better cooks, and become better eaters.
So whether you’re looking to learn more about food or just fill the time between mise and plating—and you’re out of episodes of our podcast, Dinner SOS—these are just a few of the food podcasts our staff can’t get enough of.
I have my work-from-home routine down to a science. As I make my morning quest to inbox zero and prep breakfast, I turn on the latest episode of The TASTE Podcast with hosts Matt Rodbard (editor of TASTE) and Aliza Abarbanel (former BA staffer and contributor). TASTE gives me three weekly episodes interviewing the who’s who of the food world—chefs like Chintan Pandya, cookbook authors like Hetty McKinnon, founders of brands like Omsom, and journalists like Anne Helen Petersen. Whether or not I’m familiar with the interviewee before tuning in, I leave with a whole lot more knowledge about the person and their work. It’s one of the few podcasts where I listen to every episode and where I always reach the end. Some of my favorite recent episodes? Chats with food historian Alex Prud’homme, cookbook writer Katie Parla, and food venture capitalist (yes, a real thing) Elly Truesdell. —Kate Kassin, editorial operations associate
If you’re like me and constantly seeking the kind of stimulation you found in your liberal arts college lectures, this is the podcast for you. The Food Chain looks at the business, science, and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to get it on your plate. Because it’s a BBC podcast, its topics are framed through a global lens, which is a welcome change to most of the US-focused shows I listen to. Its episodes usually focus on the economics behind food-related phenomena around the world, like its Eggonomics episode that dives into the skyrocketing price of your favorite breakfast. What I like about its guest interviews is that they’re usually regular people talking about their day-to-day jobs, not necessarily people primed to be in the spotlight. It makes the interviews feel more approachable and like you’re getting a real glimpse into someone’s life in a different part of the world. Episodes I recommend starting with are “The Flavourists” and “Shop Like the Queen.” —Isa Zapata, staff photographer
Amid an often-overwhelming sea of media, the Be My Guest with Ina Garten podcast provides a peaceful sanctuary for food people and non-food people alike. In each episode, Ina welcomes a celebrity guest into her astonishingly charming Hamptons home, typically with a cocktail in hand (as seen in the related television series). They proceed to cook a meal together while catching up in Ina’s kitchen. There is something refreshingly authentic about the casual conversation about formative food experiences and family traditions that flows as Ina and her guests work together to cook their meal. The sounds of pots and pans clattering along with Ina’s pleasant voice strikes a nostalgic chord, evoking fond memories of holidays spent cooking with seldom-seen loved ones. It’s my weekly reminder that the best conversations always happen in the kitchen. —Jillian Matt, programming operations manager
Pack Your Knives is a Top Chef recap podcast hosted by two NBA writers who treat the storied culinary reality show like sports. How much do the hosts know about food? A medium amount—more than you’d might expect for two people whose entire lives revolve around basketball, but definitely less than your average food podcast host. Do they consider this a hurdle to how seriously they take their weekly breakdowns? Absolutely not. I love it. Every season kicks off with a formal draft (featuring the same jingle that precedes Adam Silver’s announcements at the actual NBA draft) of contestants and implements past-season analytics and a detailed scoring system that I only sort of understand. They talk about cheftestants “regressing to the mean,” discuss who is a “locker room guy,” and use the phrase “league average.” Like, about biscuits. It’s perfect. I usually only listen to podcasts with at least three jokes per minute, but this is my one exception: a data-driven, smart-guys-talking situation about one of the best food competition shows on TV. —Kendra Vaculin, associate food editor
My favorite food podcasts are less about cooking and more about eating. More specifically, they dig into the culture surrounding food, diets, and what it means to live well and be healthy. In this category, podcasting duo Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes’ show Maintenance Phase is my absolute favorite. In each episode, the hosts dissect a sticky issue, common myth, or harmful trope in our culture’s conversation around wellness—all with incredible chemistry, a great sense of humor, and essential lessons in media literacy sprinkled throughout. Episodes have covered the crooked history of the food pyramid, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ problematic guidelines around childhood obesity, Americans’ weird obsession with what French people eat, and much more. It’s been an incredible tool for questioning my own beliefs about health and unlearning the problematic lessons from a childhood steeped in America’s fatphobic diet culture—something we could all stand to think about more. —Alma Avalle, digital production associate
There are many things that bring me joy: clear skies, Shilpa Uskokovic’s brown butter frosting, and The One Recipe. The last one, a podcast hosted by Eater senior editor Jesse Sparks, is my go-to source for entertainment whenever I’m commuting, going out for a walk, or knitting. Each episode features a guest from the food world—Bakers Against Racism cofounder Paola Velez, cookbook author Nik Sharma, cocktails expert John deBary—and is devoted to that one recipe they keep in their back pocket. In other words: The more you listen, the more you build up an arsenal of recipes for any occasion. (Linguine with clams! Roast chicken with fish sauce butter! Crispy glazed tofu! You name it!) But what I love most about this podcast is how Sparks pulls the personal stories behind each recipe from his guests. The conversations feel less like a podcast and more like a sweet, funny chat you’d overhear on the subway or in a café—you’re just lucky to be there. —Esra Erol, senior social media manager
I have honestly never wanted to be friends with podcasters more than with Cynthia and Nicola from Gastropod. The entire podcast looks at food through a scientific-and-history-focused lens, and you can tell how genuinely passionate they are about deep-diving into each topic (most of which are ingredient specific, my fave). As a once-upon-a-time bio major, I love the ecological-and-climate-focused discussions on this podcast. The hosts spend a lot of time recording remotely through their fieldwork on farms around the world, and it feels like a 45-minute field trip in my day. If you want to get started on an episode, I recommend “Trouble in Paradise: Coconut War Waters and Coconut Oil Controversies,” and “Black Gold: The Future of Food… We Throw Away.” —Isa Zapata, staff photographer
Cherry Bombe’s new baking podcast, She’s My Cherry Pie, brings out my inner pastry nerd. Each episode, the delightfully upbeat host Jessie Sheehan (author of Snackable Bakes) interviews a different pastry chef, cookbook author, or baker, diving into their signature bake. I’ve learned Claire Saffitz’s formula for fruit pie, Joanne Chang’s recipe for sticky bun goo, and why Natasha Pickowitz bakes all her cakes in sheet pans. As a fellow pastry nerd, I love that Jessie asks the deep cuts: What kind of rolling pin do you use, tapered or handled? Do you bake pies in aluminum or glass tins? What brand of flour do you like best? Whether you’re a beginner baker or a pastry fanatic, listen to this podcast to understand all the factors that engineer a perfect bake. —Zoe Denenberg, associate editor, cooking & SEO
It isn’t that I don’t like a bantercast or a true crime podcast. It’s just that sometimes I think, With all that is possible in the sonic universe, how did we decide that every podcast was going to sound kind of the same? Richard Parks III says nuts to that. Richard’s Famous Food Podcast is a deeply weird, aurally aggressive “gastro comedy podcast” that I would say has more in common with 1980’s video art—like something from Alive From Off Center or The Max Headroom Show—than it does with any of the other food podcasts on this list. It’s manic, it’s absurdist, it’s sonic collage, it’s the reason I pronounce pickle “peek-lay.” Have you seen the crowded, chaotic Premiere Pro timeline for Everything Everywhere All at Once? I have to imagine Parks’s ProTools timelines are just as bananas. —MacKenzie Chung Fegan, senior commerce editor
Spilled Milk is less of a food podcast and more of a comedy podcast that just so happens to be about food. It’s hosted by writers-slash-comedians Molly Wizenberg and Matthew Amster-Burton, and each episode revolves around a particular dish, ingredient, or food-adjacent topic—think everything from “Tahini” or “7-Eleven Hot Foods” to “Underappreciated Cookbooks.” I love the little tidbits of highly niche info I learn each time I listen (I’m known to spontaneously start explaining why the alcoholic seltzer boom was a result of tax policy—I know, I’m the life of the party), but I also love the way listening to Spilled Milk feels like listening in on a conversation between two best friends. I’ve been following for so many years that I kind of feel like I’m just one of the gang. —Alaina Chou, commerce producer.