Ate Ate Ate

Jean and Sam have been revived from the dead to discuss the much-anticipated Michelin Guide: the first ever in Aotearoa, New Zealand. 110 restaurants were included over two-star, one-star, Bib Gourmand and Select categories. Sam was on the ground (i.e. at the awards), while Jean was doing a pub quiz at Schapiro's (her team, Oat Milk Flat White, got fifth). They talk about their initial reactio...

It's the end of 2025, and Sam and Jean wrap a bow on the silly season by talking about the year we've had through food. What are the best bites we've had? The best food experiences? What do we think about the biggest food trends of the year (think: matcha, steakhouses, "ethnic" food in wine bars). And, a special end-of-year treat for you all: we talk to Janice Leung Hayes, a...

Sam and Jean sit down with Kate Underwood, who is the Communications/Kaitaki Lead at Eat New Zealand, the Restaurant Manager at plant-based restaurant Forest and the co-creator of new digital food journal Appetite for Words. In this episode we ask about Kate's food writing journey (which includes a nutritionist degree, a blog called Relish the Memory and more), her work at Eat New Zealand, and...

Sam and Jean are back! And they've been travelling! And eating! In this episode of Ate Ate Ate, we talk about top tips + tricks of how to approach eating on holiday, and our recent experiences overseas. It's quite silly silly silly, fair warning! Some highlights from the episode: Sam talks about one of the worst restaurant experiences he's ever had, we discuss the potency of the slur c...

We're stoked to welcome Jesse's Teahouse, one of the biggest tea educators + appreciators in the English-speaking world, onto the pod to talk gongfu tea culture, his journey into learning about tea, what he loves about tea, the differences between types of tea, and how you can get started into drinking tea as well. You should drink tea while listening to this podcast (we recommend white)....

Hello! We're baaaaaack! Sam and Jean take to the microphone once again for Season 2 of Ate Ate Ate, alongside returning guest Emily Contois (professor, author, food expert extraordinaire). In this episode, we talk about what the hell is going on in the food world in 2025, including the rise of Ozempic (including brozempic), protein in everything, how politics is affecting food culture, and mor...

We sign off for the year in our finale episode, where we talk about everything from the best things we ate, our highlights of 2024, and where the fuck is this podcast going in 2025? IN for 2025: - more interesting breakfasts - more tasty non-alcoholic drink options - a congee pop-up - making money from this podcast (you'll find out in this ep, it's really on our mind) - giving sam a television sho...

In this episode, we make a version of juk (Korean rice porridge) for Steven Park, who is a multidisciplinary artist behind the label 6x4. He has a lot to say about the ethical and environmental ramifications of the fashion industry, his relationship to being a maker, and how he forages for his textile practice - and his food. For a special one-off season, Sam Low and Jean Teng talk to four Artists...

In this episode, we make banana roti for brunelle dias, a painter from India who is drawn to colour, light, and illuminating the sacred in the every day. For a special one-off season, Sam Low and Jean Teng talk to four Artists Who Eat, making a dish in response to their work, discussing how food intersects with their practice, and having a general kõrero about their relationship to food. This epis...

In this episode, we make rou jia mo for Tony Guo, a painter that grew up in Northeast China and moved to Aotearoa when he was 12 (by himself!). For a special one-off season, Sam Low and Jean Teng talk to four Artists Who Eat, making a dish in response to their work, discussing how food intersects with their practice, and having a general kõrero about their relationship to food. This episode is mad...

For a special one-off season, Sam Low and Jean Teng talk to four Artists Who Eat, making a dish in response to their work, discussing how food intersects with their practice, and having a general kõrero about their relationship to food. In this episode, we make prawn sambal curry for Saraid de Silva, a Sri Lankan-Pākeha author of the novel Amma, who says she "came out of the womb asking what's for...

In which Jean and Sam talk about restaurant lists, Top 50, Metro Restaurant of the Year, and the Auckland restaurant scene in general. Congratulations to Forest, a small plant-based restaurant on Dominion Rd, for taking out Metro's Restaurant of the Year!! Whoo! In this episode, we go into some interesting inclusions and wins on the list (including: three Cantonese restaurants, yaya! And Sam's fav...

Sam and Jean talk to Nat Wolf, the winner of Masterchef Australia 2024. Nat was a fan favourite from day dot, having made a kangaroo larb on the first episode that a) perfectly showcased her identity as a Thai Australian and b) got her an immunity pin. We chat to Nat about her journey on the show, what she's been up to since then (shockingly, it involves food and restaurants), her thoughts aro...

In this episode, we talk to Julie Zhu, the director and creator of beautifully observed documentary series Takeout Kids. In season two, she invites us into the world of tamariki and rangatahi who grow up in their parents' shops, whether that's restaurants, dairies or even a nail salon, following them and their whānau as they go to school, work night markets, and have both funny and serious...

It's the check-in episode! Sam Low and Jean Teng have had quite busy lives recently - including visiting Tasmania together, prepping for a pop-up, buying apartments, executing brand deals (lol), and trying to pay rent + bills. -- This episode is just between us gals, chatting about how things have changed since we started the podcast, where we see the podcast going, where we HOPE to see the po...

Sam Low and Jean Teng discover the basic principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), thanks to Chinese Medicine food therapist and registered dietician, Zoey Xinyi Gong (also author of The Five Elements Cookbook). We talk about how people can start to incorporate it into their lives, the accessible ingredients, how it can be helpful, the push and pull between Western and Chinese medicine (e....

In this episode, we talk to Erin Clarkson (Cloudy Kitchen), a New Zealand-based baker whose fervent fanbase is made up of dedicated blog readers and Instagram followers, due to her easy-to-follow, delicious recipes. Erin tells us about how she got started in baking, how Cloudy Kitchen happened, her recipe for success, her approach to recipe development, what her most popular types of recipes are,...

Sam Low and Jean Teng talk to James Beard award-winning author John Birdsall (The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard) about the question: what is queer food? We talk about cooking as resistance, the broadness of the term "queer", queer spaces and community building, the history of queer food and stories, how queerness affects your cooking or perspective on food, whether or not...

Both Sam and Jean don't eat breakfast - they eat coffee. In this episode, Sam (former NZ Barista Champion, Latte Art Champion, coffee trainer and all-around expert) talks to Sarah Allen (the editor of USA-based Barista Magazine ) and his co-podcast host Jean (consumer of coffee) about the ins and outs of coffee and its culture. We talk about the raw material, how you can tell if coffee is good...

Sam and Jean talk to comedian David Correos ( Taskmaster NZ ) about their childhood faves and memories from youth, including all-you-can-eat buffets, Lone Star, Dennys, and food courts. We then pick David's mind about his relationship to food and what he actually eats. Afterwards, we went to Dennys! - Follow Ate Ate Ate on Instagram Follow Sam Low on Instagram Follow Jean Teng on Instagram - T...

Sam Low and Jean Teng don't know much about foraging. In this episode, they talk to Liv Sisson (author of Fungi of Aotearoa) about the fungi of Aotearoa, the beauty of foraging, and why framing foraging against the cost of living crisis is lazy, actually (i.e. it will not be able to replace your grocery shop, fyi!). We also go urban foraging with a friend of the show, Ezra, who runs a foraging...

Jean and Sam go to Malaysia! In this episode, our two food-obsessed hosts talk about the cultural cuisine of Kuala Lumpur and Penang, their favourite meals and dining experiences, what they loved and the joys of eating and travelling, from fine dining to hawker stalls. (This is an unsponsored episode btw, but we'd be totally down for travel sponsorship, dear airlines, media publications, or ov...

Sam and Jean talk about the influence of social media on the way we eat, consume, and think about food. Featuring guest Emily Contois (the author of Food Instagram: Identity, Influence and Negotiation; and Diners, Dudes and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide). They discuss TikTok and Instagram influencers, what makes a good influencer, how hard is it really, the conflict of authenticity and adver...

Sam Low and Jean Teng talk about how they got into food, their best and worst dining experiences, why they love food so much, and how they think about it. Basically, get to know your co-hosts a bit better before the season begins! They've been friends for years now, so is there still more to learn about each other? Follow Ate Ate Ate on Instagram Follow Sam on Instagram Follow Jean on Instagra...