The FoodTalk Show

SHEILA DILLON, LEGEND OF THE AIRWAVES

Our host Sue Nelson is beyond excited for this very special 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 tasty treats from Sheila’s native Lancashire, the pair get talking about Sheila’s remarkable life in food and the media. After starting out with a very public critique of her college’s unappealing dinners, Sheila’s career was driven by a passion for exploring the food industry and its impact on consumers.

She spent time in Finland and then the US where she helped break down more barriers in her pursuit of gender pay equality. Alongside some colleagues, Sheila brought a class action against her employers in publishing for equal pay – and won. 

Don’t miss this classic edition of The FoodTalk Show. 

ASMA KAHN AND DARJEELING EXPRESS

The FoodTalk Show is delighted to welcome Asma Khan into the studio to tell us her incredible story. 

The first and only British chef to feature in Netflix’s ‘Chefs Table’, Asma has earned huge plaudits in the cooking world thanks to her amazing Asian cooking skills. She's even been voted the no.1 Coolest Person in Food and Drink by Business Insider. If you’ve ever visited the hugely popular Darjeeling Express you’ll know what we mean.

There’s so much more to Asma than her cooking though  . . . see how her roots make this story even more unlikely.

DRY DRINKER JANUARY

After seeing in the New Year, Sue and Jane decide they should do a non-alcoholic beer tasting for all their listeners who are embarking on Dry January. As Jane is an accredited beer sommelier and author on numerous books on beer, who better to judge the non-alcoholic offerings against the real stuff. Sue is not as knowledgeable but knows what she likes. They have ordered 16 bottles and cans from Dry Drinker and give their very honest views on each. What gets the thumbs up and what should you avoid?!

PORN STAR MARTINI AND ALL THAT

Especially for New Year's Eve, we're discussing the world's most popular cocktails and what makes the top ten list. Sue is flabbergasted that her favourite Negroni doesn't make it but sangria does?! and Jane highly recommends the 'theatre' of cocktail making when your guests arrive. They're joined by Karl Wozney and Laura Taylor in a make-shift studio bar where they make their own version of an Espresso Martini. Cheers and a very Happy New Year to you all. 

MORE CHEESE PLEASE BLOOPER

WARNING STRONG LANGUAGE - Listen to Sue get her recording buttons in a twist

MORE CHEESE PLEASE

Sue visits the Cheesemakers of Canterbury to see how cheese is made and arrives at the studio with some lovely samples. Meanwhile Robin Betts, the International Cheese Award Winner, explains what makes the perfect cheeseboard and does a thorough tasting from soft to semi-hard cheese. Jane then explains what to drink with cheese - no, not red wine but cider! and Sue gives a top tip on how to keep your cheese in perfect condition in the fridge.   

MRS POTATO HEAD

The studio is full of potatoes today – different varieties, recipes and even a lemon drizzle cake made from the stuff. Sue admits to being a complete potato head and Jane eulogises at the sheer versatility of this humble tuber. As someone once said, “potatoes make chips, mash, dauphinoise, crisps and vodka. It’s like the other vegetables aren’t even trying”.

WISH YOU WERE BEER

Jane is in her element this week, talking about the topic closest to her heart . . . beer. She gives Sue a lesson in hops, brewing and tasting along with the experts from Cellar Head and Gadd’s. Want to know the difference between IPA, pale ale, lager and stout? What food pairings work well with beer and the difference between Kentish hops and the American kind? Listen in.

CHEWING THE FAT

Sue admits that she just adores pigs but has to balance that with her love of charcuterie. Luckily, we have Chloe Wilcock of Oink and Udder who explains how she raises happy pigs in a stress-free environment, to ensure they make the best dried meats, bacon and sausages. Needless to say, after that Jane and Sue go on a marathon charcuterie tasting session.

CHOCOLATE WITHOUT THE MILK

Vegan chocolate? Is it a thing? It certainly is. Sue and Jane are bowled over by two producers who’ve been making vegan products for decades, well before ‘plant-based’ went mainstream. Apparently, milk chocolate (and some dark chocolate) contains milk powder which means they’re unsuitable for vegans. Not these delicious bites though.

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE

The studio smells wonderful today – the lovely aroma of freshly ground and brewed coffee being prepared by two experts wafting around the microphones. We are joined by the founders of Garage Coffee and Cold Blow Coffee who share their knowledge and expertise on the subject.

ENGLISH SPARKLING WINE - A FAMILY AFFAIR

A packed studio today with 3 guests from Kent vineyards. It’s an all female line-up from Terlingham Vineyard, Gusbourne and Wayfarer Wines. Jane explains how you should open a bottle of fizz and what glass you should use for serving – flutes are out apparently. Meanwhile Sue is very unkind about French champagne.

 

A GLASS OF MILK A DAY . . .

Sue and Jane rediscover the joys of milk. Proper milk that's been pasteurised and not homogenised like the supermarket stuff. It’s a revelation taking them both back to their childhood when doorstep deliveries in glass bottles was the norm and you got to drink a small bottle of free milk a day at school.

I‘M A CIDER DRINKER

Talking cider with Julian Barnes and Jane Peyton. We’re back and we’re feeling good! The first all new FoodTalk Show kicks off with Sue Nelson as usual and her co-presenter Jane Peyton, one of the UK’s leading experts on beer and cider.

The story of Asma Kahn and Darjeeling Express

Have a listen again to our podcast from 2019 and marvel at how things have changed!!

Asma Khan, founder of Darjeeling Express, joins us to discuss her story and foodie trends of 2019.

Chocolate? Expiring Turkey trimmings? Cheese? Crisps? What’s filling up the bins outside your property as we head into a brand new year with bleary eyes and a sincere fear of going to work?

Don’t worry, we know that January is a horrible month and we want to make things a bit easier for you. Alas, we have the first FoodTalk podcast of 2019 here which is live and ready to be downloaded.

For this one, we are looking into our crystal ball and trying to gauge what foodie trends will sweep the nation in 2019. There are a few surprising shouts from Ollie Lloyd, our presenter with the crucial Great British Chefs stats, so make sure you note his comments and set an alarm for December to see if they come off.

It’s not that we didn’t value the views of our regular team of Sue, Ollie and Holly, but we did want some fresh perspective on it all too. So to help us we were delighted to welcome Asma Khan into the studio. As well as looking at predicted foodie trends, she told us her incredible story.

Due to feature in Netflix’s ‘Chefs Table’ soon, Asma is earning huge plaudits in the cooking world thanks to her amazing Asian cooking skills. If you’ve ever visited the hugely popular Darjeeling Express in Soho’s Kingly Court, you’ll know what we mean.

There’s so much more to Asma than her cooking though…click play on this episode to see how her roots make this story even more unlikely.

 

The low down on Saturday Kitchen

What does 2020 have in store for our two exciting guests? Well none of us would have ever guessed it would have panned out quite how it did! Listen again to our podcast from January this year when life was much simpler.

It’s a brand new year and we’d like to wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2020.

To kick off the year, Ollie and Sue have invited two brilliant guests who are both at exciting stages in their food careers.

Marianne Lumb is a chef who reached the final of BBC’s MasterChef in 2009, going on to open her own London restaurant and also be a finalist in 2018’s Great British Menu series. The Saturday Kitchen Live regular is now considering her next gastronomic adventure and another restaurant could be on the menu, so watch this space…

Once they’ve finished devouring Marianne’s delicious cake, Sue and Ollie welcome Oliver Familoe of Oli’s Nectarous. This company won the Young Producer category at last year’s Future Food Awards with a range of amazing vegan-friendly, plant-based, gluten-free desserts made with natural sugar.

Oliver’s mum was a patisserie chef with Coeliac disease, so the young business graduate spotted a niche in the market for gluten-free, vegan desserts that genuinely tasted amazing.

Finally, the group discuss their foodie trend predictions for 2020. Will they come true or just be pie in the sky?

Are these the UK's best cookbooks?

Listen again to our podcast from September 2019.

Food writing is the topic for this show – which book will be our flavour of the month?

Ollie is absent from the studio this week – off on one of his “hippy jaunts”, as Sue so delicately puts it – but the delightful Holly Shackleton is here and ready to talk all things food. As an added bonus, the pair are joined by an absolutely fabulous guest presenter and friend of the show, Kumud Gandhi.

Not only is Kumud the founder of The Cooking Academy, she’s also a published food author, which is pretty handy given our topic this week. Sue and Holly want to talk about the phenomenon that is food writing, in all its diverse forms.

Both Holly and Sue are, of course, published food writers but they want to hear from renowned foodie, Felicity Cloake, who is vice-president of the Guild of Food Writers. 

In the digital age, it’s never been easier for food bloggers to find an audience, but are they any good? And is it really that hard to write a cookbook?

Well, it turns out that writing your own recipe book is a true labour of love. Felicity should know, as she’s recently written a new book herself. Fortunately, Sue, Holly and Kumud don’t have to just look at the pictures, as Felicity has brought in some divine delicacies from the book for them to try.

Plus the team take a look at a selection of new food books that cover such fascinating regions as the Black Sea and Ethiopia.

Paul A. Young, the UK's very own Willy Wonka

Listen again to our podcast from June 2019.

This week Sue and Ollie have got guests from both ends of the flavour spectrum: sweet chocolate and savoury noodles. The one thing they have in common is that both producers love to experiment with exotic flavours.

Master chocolatier Paul A Young makes a very welcome return to the show and he’s brought more of his incredible treats for Sue and Ollie to try. Although he’s seriously famous and renowned in the foodie world now, Paul has not been tempted to abandon his artisan roots.

Inspired by the sights, smells and sounds of European patisseries, Paul’s unique and mouth-watering chocolates are still manufactured onsite at his three London shops but no oompa loompas in sight. Sue can’t wait to give her verdict on the buttered toasted hot cross bun flavour… 

Another familiar face returning to the studio is Damian Lee, the man behind Mr Lee’s Noodles. If you thought that noodles in a pot were just the preserve of students, think again. Mr Lee’s Noodles don’t contain the preservatives and ‘nasties’ like MSG and high salt and sugar levels that are found in many rival brands.

Damian talks about the challenges that his company has faced as a disruptor brand in the noodle space and how his noodles are now being served to the entire Australian Defence Force. He could even be about to attain the ultimate achievement of selling noodles to China!

Robin Moxon on fish and Adam Byatt of Celebrity MasterChef

We’re talking meat and fish with two of the best in the food industry. Listen again to our podcast of August last year. 

Robin Moxon of Moxon’s Fishmongers knows pretty much all there is to know about fish and the buying habits of the Great British public. Surprisingly, it seems that Brits are more adventurous with fishy flavours than Sue had realised – you’ll never guess the subject of Great British Chefs’ most popular Instagram post!

This kicks off a conversation about whether it’s difficult to cook fish at home and why people aren’t doing so much of it anymore.

If you like a bit of foodie TV, you’re bound to have seen our second guest at some point. Adam Byatt has appeared on the likes of Saturday Kitchen, Celebrity MasterChef and Great British Menu, but he’s not just a media man. His Clapham restaurant Trinity has one Michelin star and has won countless other awards, so he knows a thing or two about meat.

Sadly, the number of butchers in the UK has declined by 60% in the last 25 years. Yet it seems that in the meat world too, people are keen to break out of their comfort zones and try the weird and wonderful. Adam reveals his approach to getting the best out of food and even gives us some tips on the most underrated British produce – velvet crabs, anyone?

Calum Franklin and eating pies at the Holborn Dining Room

Listen again to our podcast of April 2019 to cheer us up in 2021.

Who ate all the pies? Not Sue, Holly or Ollie, because Calum forgot to bring any with him. The extraordinarily talented pie maestro, who is the Executive Chef at the Holborn Dining Room, breezed into the radio studios to talk all things pastry covered. The star of the short film The Geometry of Pie has opened the Pie Room at Holborn with a new menu dedicated to perfectly crafted pies. Sue just cannot contain her enthusiasm and reckons that steak and kidney pudding is probably the best dish in the whole world ever. Calum's 80,000 followers on instagram might well agree.

Pie could go with sprouts but we're not talking Brussels! Sprouts are seeds that germinate to become young plants after a few days and are extremely nutrient. They're great in salads, soups, pasta sauces, wraps and stir fries and are becoming increasingly popular. How do you use these type of sprouts?  Ratna reveals all.