The FoodTalk Show

Prepare for an education about the secret life of snails…by listening again to our podcast of December last year. This week’s show is a very special edition because we’re meeting not one, not two, but three categories winners at the Future Food Awards. Dorset Snails took the Farm to Fork crown when the judges were wowed by the incredible taste and texture of their produce. The company’s entire far...

Listen again to our podcast from February. Food history and writing are both under the spotlight this week, as two culinary wordsmiths share their very different outlets for gourmet expression.  Sam Bilton is a freelance food historian, writer and cook who also runs a supper club, Repast, where she showcases her modern interpretations of historical food. If you fancy a blast from the past, you nee...

Non-alcoholic drinks innovation means you can enjoy the party without the hangover. Listen again to our podcast of December last year.  It’s just two weeks to go until Christmas and Sue, Ollie and Holly are getting into the festive spirit. There’s talk of turkey versus chicken, the best Christmas breakfast and – most controversially – how early is too early to break out the alcohol? Well, with the...

Re-listen to our podcast of 20 March 2020 - just before COVID-19 struck.  This show begins with some fond reminiscing as Sue recalls the best meals she’s ever had at London’s Moro restaurant. Luckily, among today’s guests is Sam Clark, who founded Moro with his wife in 1997 to celebrate the food of the southern Mediterranean. Both Sue and Ollie are huge fans, so they’re delighted to welcome a true...

Listen to the repeat of our podcast from January 2020. What is the greatest food TV programme ever? It’s a family affair in the studio today, as the team are joined by Ollie’s sister, Antonia – who just happens to be a BAFTA award-winning producer who has worked on many of the UK’s top food and drink programmes. She gives us some behind the scenes glimpses of life in foodie television, such as Mas...

Renowned food journalist Sheila Dillon joins Sue for a very special show. Listen again to the interview from 19 December 2019. Our host Sue Nelson is beyond excited for this very special, festive edition of The FoodTalk Show. She’s joined by legendary food journalist, Sheila Dillon, who has been presenting BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme for over 20 years. Once they’ve finished sampling some tast...

The team go gonzo for the Garden of England in this very special episode. We're playing this podcast again from September last year in support of all Kent food and drink businesses hit by COVID-19. Sue’s adopted home of Kent is the focus of this week’s show, with two great guests who share her passion for the south east county. First up is Amanda Cottrell who, alongside many other prestigious titl...

Today we’re talking about gin… and nothing but. Listen again to our podcast of October last year.  There’s a serious challenge in store for Sue and Ollie this week, as the FoodTalk studio becomes a full-blown gin palace. Will they stay sober until the end of the show? The dynamic duo is made of pretty stern stuff so, fingers crossed! Not one, but two gin experts have paid FoodTalk a visit, bringin...

Listen again to our podcast from June last year. It’s Hari’s last week as guest presenter on the show, so she’s making the most of the goodies our guests are offering up. Black pudding and milkshake make a bit of an odd combination… But hey, why not? The first mention of black pudding can be found way back in Homer’s Odyssey. The family business of our first guest, Colette Twomey, doesn’t go back...

Listen again to our podcast from August last year. Neal’s Yard Dairy has been a Covent Garden fixture and cheese champion for four decades, so it’s very exciting for Sue, Ollie and Holly to welcome Jason Hinds to the studio. He quite naturally knows a thing or two about cheese. The consuming public’s love affair with British farmhouse cheeses has been flourishing for some years now, so the team ar...

Listen again to our podcast from July last year. Ollie is wearing a noticeably flowery shirt to the studio this week, which may draw some amused comments from Sue but is also remarkably apt. One of this week’s brilliant guests is the gloriously named Peverel Manners, from Belvoir Fruit Farms. Their refreshing fruit cordials and presses are supermarket staples today, but it all started in 1984 with...

Listen again to our podcast from March this year. The lost arts of home cooking and proper use of salt Sue has finally returned from her exotic adventures in South Africa, with lots of stories to tell. You’ll need to tune in, if only to hear about the bath on the train… Our first guest, Rosalind Rathouse, hails from South Africa originally but her mission is not an exotic one. As the founder of Co...

Listen again to our podcast from November last year. Ultra convenience and almost zero food waste – the food solution that has supermarkets on the run. After presenting The FoodTalk Show together for about a year, it’s finally occurred to Sue and Ollie that they don’t know much about Holly’s day job. As the editor of respected industry magazine Speciality Food, we know she’s a bit of a food expert...

Listen again to our podcast of March last year. Ollie, Holly and Sue admit that today's taste combinations are not exactly well planned, but they decide to push on ahead anyhow. Watercress and iced coffee are today's topics. While we now have a great coffee culture in the UK, we're still way behind the Scandinavians who are easily the biggest consumers of coffee in the world. It must be all that c...

As food and drink lovers, we couldn’t let Valentine’s Day pass without helping you create some lovely cocktails for a special evening. Whether it’s your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, dog or cat – this episode of the FoodTalk Show is best enjoyed over a candlelit dinner with that special person or thing in your life. We're incredibly lucky to welcome Paul McFadyen to our studio. Paul is a m...

Jane Peyton teaches us about the School of Booze and Mardi Roberts raises a glass to Ridgeview Wine Estate. Listen again to our podcast from January 2019. How are those resolutions going? Whether it’s eating healthier, exercising more, saving money, or committing to giving to charity – statistically its estimated that 80% of resolutions fail by the time you turn your calendar over to February. So,...

Two companies that are striving to tackle the single-use plastics problem. Coffee capsule machines are big business these days and everyone seems to have one (except Sue). But they are, in the opinion of Lex Thornley from Blue Goose Coffee, the next environmental disaster just waiting to be acknowledged. Blue Goose coffee capsules are compostable, while still being compatible with many of the popu...

Great chocolate and delicious coffee that are gentle on the environment. Coffee is a big deal in Ollie’s world, so Guy Wilmot from Bird & Wild Coffee is under pressure to impress. Luckily, he’s up to the challenge – Bird & Wild is the UK’s only bird-friendly and shade-gown coffee. Although coffee naturally grows in the shade, it’s commonly grown in the sun by commercial producers in order to incre...

We’re hot to trot with this exotic episode. There’s a spicy atmosphere in the studio this week and for once, it’s got nothing to do with Ollie’s shirts. Arun Kapil from Green Saffron has brought in an array of fabulous spices, which the company provides in a variety of different blends. They aim to create blends that bring out the best in each element on a plate and treat spice as a flavour ingred...

Amazing sourdough and gin fuelled by romance – what more could you want? Ollie has temporarily moved house and he’s now living above an amazing bakery. But there’s no time for Sue and Holly to feel jealous, because there’s some delicious bread right here in the studio. Lovingly Artisan Bakery has a mission to return bread to the centre of the table. Baker Aidan Monks makes incredible double fermen...

We hear about the state of the drinks industry and the new ideas bubbling up. Sue starts this week’s show with a pop quiz – can our hosts and guests guess at the bestselling spirit brands? Or the most popular lagers, tonic waters and soft drinks? There may be a few surprises in there… One of today’s guests has some insider knowledge about this topic. Richard Chamberlain from Drink Warehouse has so...

Tracking down the best dishes in town and shaking up FMCG. Where can you get the best cheese toastie around? Or the most delicious doughnut? Or the most sensational sushi? Well, it’s time to share your recommendations because a new app is taking the guess work out of making your next gourmet discovery. Originally inspired by a hunt for raspberry sorbet, Eaten compiles user reviews of dishes, rathe...

Plant-fuelled passions surge with this week’s trio of innovative products. This week’s show gets underway with a discussion about alcoholic drinks, including a truly heroic cocktail recommendation from Ollie. It’s not the most apt start though, as this episode focuses on healthy alternatives that don’t involve alcohol. Rosh Amarasekara from Humble Warrior is here to tell us about her range of plan...

Charcuterie is on the menu today, along with some visionary chocolate. So, how are your New Year’s resolutions going? If you’ve fallen off the sugar wagon already, don’t worry – our first guest will make you feel good about giving in to gourmet chocolate. Edinburgh-based Coco Chocolatier not only allow its visionary chocolatiers free rein to explore amazing flavours, they also work with artists to...

How will AI transform the way you shop and eat in 2020? Holly has finally given up her globetrotting in order to re-join Sue and Ollie in the studio. Once they’ve checked in on how their New Year’s resolutions are going, they take a look at tomorrow’s world by investigating the hot foodie topic of artificial intelligence (AI). From self-service supermarket checkouts to the algorithms that push onl...