The FoodTalk Show

AJ is still in the hot spot while Susie is on holiday, and Charlotte Pike joins the presenting team again this week as they meet Sophie Grigson. Charlotte knows Sophie already, but AJ is really excited to meet her. They learn about her life since permanently relocating to Puglia in Italy. She shares her experiences living on the heel of Italy’s boot and the joy of enjoying fresh local produce. Wil...

AJ is still in the hot spot while Susie is on holiday, and Charlotte Pike joins the presenting team again this week as they explore fermented foods and what they really do to your body. This week, our guest is Zakinah Nori from Zambur Ferments, and Nathan her brewing business partner. Listen as Charlotte shares her knowledge on a variety of different fermentation techniques and gives insights on h...

Listen as AJ takes over the reins for a few weeks while Susie is away on holiday, and she’s joined by professional chef and cookbook author, Charlotte Pike. This week is all about honey and preserves. Charlotte and AJ are joined by Chris Barnes a beekeeper from London, who runs a honey cooperative called Black Bee Honey, making honey by the season. And Jeff Higgins from The Wooden Spoon Company, w...

AJ and Susie are tasting and discussing coffee this week. They are being guided by expert Ashley Palmer-Watts. Ashley is a bit of a (Michelin) star chef, world renowned in fact, but he is also a self-confessed coffee addict. He decided to set up an artisan coffee company in 2019 and is bringing his wondrous blends and flavours to revolutionise the way we think and talk about coffee. They are all j...

Ready meals are something Susie just doesn’t buy. She still thinks they’re like the 1970s ‘tv dinner’ offerings, but AJ, as a very busy mother, has different views. They have invited Milly Bagot the co-founder of ByRuby and Bronzie Kee from Little Lunch Box to explain how everything has changed since then. Bronzie produces well-balanced meals for children that leaves them feeling good and Milly is...

AJ and Susie are moving recording studios during February, so they're going to repeat 4 of their favourite programmes of last year. Back live as usual on 27 February . . .  Jane Peyton reckons rum isn't taken as seriously as it should be and is mostly associated with cocktails. But in a tasting session led by Jake Sedge of Anno Distillers, AJ and Susie also start to eulogise about this underrated...

AJ and Susie are moving recording studios during February, so they're going to repeat 4 of their favourite programmes of last year. Back live as usual on 27 February . . .  This week Susie and AJ are joined by drink's expert, Jane Peyton, to taste a selection of still waters. We currently drink 2.5 million litres of bottled water a year in the UK, but is it worth it? The trouble is, while Jane and...

AJ and Susie are moving recording studios during February, so they're going to repeat 4 of their favourite programmes of last year. Back live as usual on 27 February . . .  Susie and AJ are somewhat shocked by the contents of the programme this week and you might find it unsettling too. Ben Greensmith of Tony's Chocolonely uncovers the dreadful world of child slave labour in the chocolate industry...

AJ and Susie are moving recording studios during February, so they're going to repeat 4 of their favourite programmes of last year. Back live as usual on 27 February . . .  Jane and Susie welcome two tea experts for our programme this week. Nick Gandon of Reginald Ames and Nigel Abbott of Bergamia. Both have a huge amount of experience in importing and blending tea. What size teabag is best? How l...

AJ and Christabel Cairns know more about The Great Taste Awards than probably anyone else on the planet. For 2022 there were 14,000 food and drink products to be judged but what was chosen as the best of the best of the best from all those marvellous entries? A cider? Jam? Cured meat? Cheese? Pastry or cake? We will not be divulging the clear winner here - you'll need to listen in as Susie, AJ and...

The World Cheese Awards are organised by the Guild of Fine Food and were first held in 1988. It was originally established to shine a light on artisan cheesemakers and to raise their profile, as well as rewarding quality in cheese making.  It is by far the world’s largest cheese-only event and the 34th competition was held at the ICC Wales in Newport this year. There were a record-breaking 4,434 e...

AJ and Susie are joined again by Christabel Cairns of The Guild of Fine Food, the organisation that runs the Great Taste Awards. This week the team want to concentrate on innovation in food and drink. What is driving innovation and how can entering the Awards help producers break boundaries? Jacob Thundil of Soyze brings along his own award-winning sauces to see if our taste experts are impressed,...

Christabel Cairns organises the Great Taste Awards and is heavily involved in the World Cheese Awards. How do you manage the pure logistics of judging 14,000 products each year and how do you get three stars? Christabel joins Susie and AJ as a guest presenter for the next four weeks and brings a whole host of Great Taste Award winning products to assess. First, off she talks about Try January - wh...

Susie has always loved vermouth and has been banging on for six years about how underrated it is. She has never understood why the art of mixing botanicals has been so associated with gin making. Sigh! Obviously AJ hasn't a clue what she's talking about but starts to warm to the theme. They are joined by artisan vermouth makers Guy Abrahams and Gnina Balchin who talk them through the process. 

One of our most beautiful islands, the Isle of Wight, has lots to offer. The weather, sailing, beaches, wonderful walks and great food and drink. The local delicacies of home grown garlic and crab and chips are world beating. However Susie and AJ are keen on the local tipples which are infused with locally foraged herbs and plants. They speak to Xavier Baker of Mermaid gin and Ruth Green of Tipsy...

Susie and AJ discuss the merits of drinks in a can. They've now got used to craft beer wrapped in aluminium but think that wine in a can may be a step too far, but what about cocktails? Susie reckons that as you can get a negroni in a 100ml can now, she might put that in her toiletry bag at the airport instead of her shampoo and toothpaste as its much more useful. That aside there are many more ad...

Susie meets Marie Prebble from Kent who holds the world record for sheep shearing. Along with Kristina Boulden of Romney Marsh Wools she explains why British lamb is best in the summer and why we should all being eating the much maligned mutton. 

Susie and AJ agree that every freezer in the UK must have a bag of frozen peas for that odd time where you have a swollen joint or twisted ankle. They can't however agree about buying frozen jacket potatoes. Susie thinks it's a great idea but AJ isn't so sure. Luckily Matt Whelan of Field Fare, the high quality frozen food people, is on hand to adjudicate and explain some simple rules for freezing...

This week is all about umami flavours or savouriness which is one of the five basic tastes alongside bitter, sour, sweet and salty. Foods that have a strong umami flavour include meats, shellfish, anchovies, soy sauce, marmite and strong cheese. AJ and Susie talk to Adam Sopher who makes popcorn with interesting umami flavour combinations including Irish stout and cheese on toast. What?! Harry Tur...

AJ and Susie are honoured to have Renée Elliott and Sam Wigan as their guests on today's programme. The food, drink, agri and hospitality sector have taken a real hit in the last two years. Almost everyone's health has been affected by covid one way or another. How do we keep our entrepreneurial heads above water and remain healthy and true to ourselves? Renée explains how her experience of settin...

Fruits contain large amounts of nutrients including fibre, vitamins, minerals and various antioxidants. They taste wonderful and we probably don't know enough about them. Luckily for AJ and Susie, Sarah Calcutt is on hand of the National Fruit Show to tell us all about British top fruit and soft fruit AND she has brought loads of delicious samples. They are also joined by Laurie Fermor of Freddie'...

AJ doesn't think she can do any tastings today. As a student she had a bad time on tequila once and she's never touched it since, even the smell makes her wince. Can Jane Peyton the drinks expert, Susie, a self-confessed margarita fan and our friends from Vivir and Mijenta change her mind?

What is a shrub? Have the FoodTalk team gone gardening? No, Henry Chevallier Guild of NonSuch Shrubs joins AJ, Susie and Jane Peyton to explain all about this most ancient of drinks. Naturally they're vinegar-based but if you're from the Aspall dynasty that's been making vinegar and cider since 1728, that's not really a problem. We also taste the divine vinegars made by Francine Lee of Bumblee's i...

AJ and Susie are joined by Jane Peyton the drinks expert this week to talk about Japanese sake wine made from rice. They all admit they know next to nothing about it, but Jane does explain about koji, the fungus that breaks down the rice starch into fermentable glucose. It influences the aroma and flavour apparently. They go in for a good old tasting of different sakes but realise they need to kno...

Ultra convenience and almost zero food waste, is this the food solution that has supermarkets on the run? Ollie Lloyd and Susie talk to Timo Boldt from Gousto. He started his company ten years ago and has been offering an alternative to the supermarket ever since then. Customers can choose from a huge selection of online recipes, then the ingredients (in the correct amount) appear on their doorste...