Discover the unexpected, peculiar and funny origins to some of the best loved brands on the planet. From Nachos to Coke, Digestives to Mustard, explore the stories behind the foods we all love.
Take a trip back in time to explore the weirdest dishes ever served, as Jay and James are joined by Food Historian Marc Meltonville to delve into the strangest techniques, ingredients and ideas ever presented for dinner.
Jay and James are joined by one of the world's most successful food bloggers this week, to explore some of the most extraordinary food experiences the world has to offer with Chef Dennis. From camel milk to Gooseneck Barnacles and ice cream floats, it's a globe trotting trip across the food world. Plus they explore how you become a food blogger and the future of food teaching in schools.
Join the guys as they take a trip deep into your spice rack, to discover the blood soaked history of our most popular spices. From invasions to modern day organised crime it's an amazing, often unexpected story. Plus they delve into the new 'rare' spices, that are now worth as much as gold.
This week the guys are introducing another hugely influential chef into their Hall of Fame, this time Adolphe Dugléré, pupil of Careme, a man who has both a fascinating life story and a big impact on how we cook today. Master of the kitchen he is most renowned for the incredible Dinner of the Three Emperors, a truly remarkable piece of cooking. So don you tallest chef's hat and join a trip back to the 19th century France.
Join Jay and James as they delve into healing foods on the podcast. Exploring both the good and bad of dining cures. Firstly they chat about James' recent dining experience flying first class, before opening the history books to explore hang over cures from both ancient Rome and ancient Egypt. Before then holding a quiz to see if James can guess the top 10 healthiest foods on the planet.
Join Jay and Marc live from a very noisy pub, as they delve into the fascinating history of the mainstay of British life that is the magnificent PUB! From its murky beginnings in people's living rooms to the open plan 'gastro' world we see today, it's a unexpected journey that says as much about the Brits as it does about the pub itself. So grab your pint glass, pull up a stool and come pub time travel
In celebration of the jubilee the guys delve behind the scenes of Buckingham Palace to discover the guilty food pleasures of the royal family. Plus they delve inside the menu of the world's most expensive restaurant, coming in at a whopping £2500 PER PERSON. They also delve inside the mysteries of Manchester Tart and their school dinner memories.
Take a trip inside the life of Escoffier, arguably the most influential chef ever, as the guys induct him into their 'chef hall of fame' and reveal his incredible life story, full of glamour, innovation and controversy, that sounds like a Hollywood movie.
Get ready to binge, as Jay and James discover what are the very worst foods that we can eat, entering the remarkable realm of 'ultra processed foods' and counting down the top eight most sinful - what's on the list may very well surprise you! So loosen your belts and get ready for a walk on the wrong side of food.
Jay and James are joined by the delightful owner of Myrtle restaurant and Irish cooking Queen, Chef Anna Haugh, for an insightful chat into everything from the perfect ingredients in an Irish stew to spotting rancid butter in Michelin Starred restaurants and finding joy in cooking wherever you grow up. Dive in for a wonderful trip to the cooking delights of the emerald isle.
This week the guys take a trip to New York to put forward their first suggested entrant for their new 'Chef Hall of Fame'. Stepping back to the glory days of the city to explore one of the most glamorous restaurants in the world and its charismatic head chef Charles Ranhofer. From inventing new dishes to hosting the famous and powerful of the time, he's a fascinating character with a big story in an amazing town.
This week the guys are again joined by Marc Meltonville as they take a trip inside some of the most remarkable food experiences they've be lucky enough to have. From the depths of the rainforest to the middle of the ocean, the top of mountains to inside royal palaces, this is a trip into the amazing breadth and wonder that food can bring.
Sit up straight on the podcast this week, as the guys are getting a lesson in historical table manners from expert Marc Meltonville. Learning how to eat 'properly' at the table of Henry the 8th. From the origins of 'keeping elbows off the table' to the importance of not farting the 'wrong way', this is how to fit in when hanging out at the royal palace. So grab your napkin and best serving knife and take a seat for a lesson in manners, Tudor style.
Delve inside the world of food magazine magic on the pod this week, as the guys are joined by one of Britain's most respected and talented food magazine editors, to explore how she transforms food from the plate to the pages of a magazine. From the tricks used on photographing the food to how they select the stories that grab your attention, how they spot trends to the best way to deal with complaints. Plus Jay and James are presented with another terrible food TV idea.
This week Jay and James chart the rise and fall of the celebrity chef, from the very first to possibly the last, in a bid to answer the question, is the time of the celeb chef over? Along the way they will discover the selling power of the big cookery names over the years, how some of the best have fallen away and what the next wave of celeb cooks might look like. They also celebrate their 100th episode by looking into James' new gig on local radio and ahead to future shows. So grab your autogra...
The guys welcome in historian Marc Meltonville to delve inside the oldest cookbook in the English language, exploring the recipes and ideas from 1390, including medieval salads that will surprise you and a meat dish that will shock you. Plus they invite in Darwin and Galileo to try and win a spot at their dream dinner party.
Jay and James are joined by the delightful 'First Couple' of wine, Master of Wine Susie and Peter, to discuss everything from the amazing explosion in English wine producers to the nostalgic Blue Nun and Babycham brands. Plus they'll be exploring what it takes to start your own vineyard (clue you'll need some cash!) and how you become a master of wine. So grab your glass for a journey to the centre of wine.
This week the guys are joined by the fabulous Chef Fernando Stovell, Mexican cooking genius and host of Master Chef Mexico, to explore all the hidden secrets of Mexican food. From using ants, worms and crickets to using lava cooking implements and top tips on chilli selection, it is a delicious delve into a rich and delightful cuisine. Plus Fernando will be revealing what it's like to cook for the Queen and other heads of state and celebrates and James will be taking us on an exclusive trip insi...
Grab your baseball hats, we're heading to America! Jay and James are joined by Frank Clark, Master of Historic Food at Colonial Williamsburg, the incredible living history town that's more like WestWorld than a museum, to explore the beginnings of American food. From the hidden influence of Africa to the impact of British gentlemen and grumpy French chefs, it's an unexpected journey back to a time we know so little about. Plus they'll be exploring new discoveries about Panda's eating habits and ...
Welcome to WW2, as the guys sit down with Winston Churchill (and the rest of Britain) during the dark days of the 1940s, and delve into what rationing tasted like, with resident historian Marc Meltonville. From fake Crab Sandwiches to Mock Duck, cases of Champagne to incredible increases in flatulence, this is an eye opening trip into how our ancestors ate as the bombs fell. Grab a tin hat for a journey to the centre of rationing.
Join Jay and James this week as they discuss the past and future of food television. From Fanny, to Jamie, Ramsey to Masterchef, they pull back the curtain to reveal how food TV shows are first put on screen and analyse the legacy of the biggest shows from the past 80 years. Then they look into their crystal balls to try and figure out what the future of food television might look like and if there even is one! So grab your remote and settle back for a journey into food television.
Joining Jay and James this week is Mr Truffle, one of Britain's leading truffle experts and the perfect person to explain the dodgy, delightful and delicious business of truffles. From spending 60k on a single white truffle to trading thousands on them in nighttime car park deals, where to find them in the forest to the right time to hunt them , it's an amazing trip inside this hidden world. Plus two famous ladies join the Dream Dinner Party, one with the most amazing table you'll ever encounter...
This week the guys step onto the front line of the restaurant world, to discover the scale of the crisis facing the industry today, with Chef Cyrus Todiwala. One of the most respected, successful and experienced chefs in Britain, Cyrus reveals the issues facing the food industry and how, as the owner of the Cafe Spice Namaste group, he is adapting his business to survive. Plus they take a trip back to Cyrus' food origins in India and delve into some of his award winning food work, including the ...
Join the guys to see in the new year with a large glass of gin, as they welcome back food historian Marc Meltonville to delve into the remarkable story of this infamous drink. From coded recipe books to deadly ingredients, the most ridiculous law breaking, drinks service you've ever heard of to how the drink almost brought down the British Empire, it's an amazing delve into the colourful origin of gin. Plus they'll be exploring the best hangover cures and discovering where on earth you can get t...
Join Jay and James for a festive peek behind the curtain of food television. With thousands of hours of food TV creation between them they spill the beans on how some of our favourite shows are made and what goes wrong when doing it. Plus more guests apply for the dream dinner party including Elvis and Pavarotti.
The guys are joined by two Michelin Starred chef Andrew Wong this week, to discover how he has built his award winning Dim Sum restaurant, the best way to make a Chinese chef swear at you, the story behind his Salted Duck Custard Bun and how he became inspired to push the boundaries of Chinese cooking in Britain. Plus the mystery of Oomite is solved.
Grab your toga is week as the guys take a trip back for a dinner with Julius Caesar, as they are joined by food historian Marc Meltonville to discover how people ate two thousand years ago. From fast food stalls on the edge of Pompey to the dining table of the Emperor himself, this is a surprising trip into just how good Roman food was and what we'd want to eat today...plus an appearance from a very phallic god! Also they invite some more guests to their dream dinner party.
On this episode the guys are again joined by food historian extraordinaire Marc Meltonville to discover the fascinating origins of our Christmas dinner traditions and pull up a plate alongside Queen Victoria. From why we eat turkey to the plum porridge origins of our Xmas pud, the lost tradition of booze fuelled carol singing to how Scrooge really was very inconsiderate with his gifts, come take a festive trip back in time, to see you Christmas dinner in a brand new way.
The guys are joined by the amazing chef and food explorer Valentine Warner this week, to explore his new Kitchen On The Edge of the World food venture in the arctic circle, delve into his passion for foraging and discover some of his secrets of his nature inspired spirit making. Plus they'll be looking into the dining habits of notorious dictators as they try to select some guests for their dream dinner party and you can pit your wits against James' devilish food quiz, as he makes things saucy.
