Choose your titles as you would your spices. Maybe you want to add some drama or heat or something short and sweet, or a dash of something you haven’t tried. Friends and family love hanging out in the kitchen, so why not throw an impromptu listening party with a one-size-fits-all podcast, book, or performance? Recently, I just got nosy and asked people I work with what their favorite listens are while they’re stirring the pots.
“I get really hungry when I listen to Stanley Tucci talking about food in his memoir. You definitely need to be cooking while listening to this book. He’s a great, witty, charming storyteller,” advises Victoria from customer service. A music lover, she likes cooking with Words & Music.
Japanese chicken curry, pasta Bolognese, and red curry with silken tofu are just a few of the dishes Lizzie from marketing has prepared while listening to biographies and self-help books (“I can immerse myself in their worlds while still having my eyes on the burners”). She credits listening to The Imposter Cure by Dr. Jessamy Hibberd as life-changing for her as a woman and first-generation college student.
“You will laugh and cry and wonder if it’s the onions or Tabitha Brown’s truth hitting your soul as you cook,” says Phara, who’s big on listening and cooking. She also bakes her own bread and if a story hits a rough spot, the dough will definitely get a good kneading/beating.
It’s no surprise that many prefer eating to cooking. Take Billy. He is very clear on his love of cooking, or lack of: “I don’t love it so I’ll listen to true crime because it makes it less boring.” Chasing Ghislaine and Call Me God proved to have been great saviors.
Sinya’s first listen was How Chefs Holiday. "That’s where I found my favorite chef Carla Hall’s recipe for her poundcake. I’ve used this title for other recipes too. And I like listening to short fiction. I find the stories entertaining and the timing just right.”
“Cooking is essential in my big family. I don’t cook for the joy of it,” laughs Keresa. “We have food allergies, picky eaters—two of my kids don’t like spaghetti but they love ziti and lasagna.” (Maybe they could use a little Stanley Tucci?) While cooking, she prefers podcasts because in one or two episodes she can have dinner on the table. "Holding Court is my favorite because I like learning about the law with an urban touch,” she says. Keresa stays away from fiction and nonfiction while cooking: “One book was so good, I almost burned down the house.”
Before you go into the kitchen to burn, baby, burn, have your listens ready. Cheers!
Speaking of Food
"Tell me about your mama's kitchen.” That’s the simple request that begins each episode of this Audible Original podcast from acclaimed journalist Michele Norris (NPR’s All Things Considered, The Washington Post) and Higher Ground, Barack and Michelle Obama's media company. Every week, hear guests like Mrs. Obama, Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, Matthew Broderick, D-Nice, José Andrés, and more explore the complexities of family life and how their earliest culinary experiences helped shape their personal and professional lives. Each guest brings a recipe for a favorite dish from their youth so you can taste a bit of their story.
Brad Johnson puts his warm, present, and welcoming hospitality skills to use as the host of Corner Table Talk, covering topics in food, drink, and culture. He certainly knows his way around the restaurant business thanks to his father, who opened the renowned hotspot The Cellar in New York City in the 1970s. He also knows his way around interviews with his deeply thought out questions. There's something about him that makes guests open up and want to tell him everything. Following the conversation, he unpacks his interview with international speaker, writer, and diplomat Attallah Shabazz (eldest daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz). It's the best seat in the house.
Whether you’re a super fan of Food Network or a super foodie, you’re going to want to hear this! Each week on Food Network Obsessed, host Jaymee Sire sits down with our favorite Food Network stars, chefs, and hosts dishing on all things delicious in the food world and pulling back the curtain for a behind-the-scenes taste of the network’s hottest shows. From taste-making trends to fiery foodie feuds, nothing’s off the menu.
Black Girls Eating doesn't just share recipes and tasty plates. Hosts Candace Boyd and Tanorria Askew sit down with Black professionals in the food industry, from chefs and chocolatiers to food-justice advocates, to talk about how Black culture and dynamic Black women continue to influence food. If you want cooking advice, the hosts and their guests offer plenty of that too, with episodes focused on everything from making great tea to selecting wine to choosing seasonings.
In the new podcast Seat at the Table, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson and California cuisine icon Jonathan Waxman sit down with the restaurateurs behind some of the nation’s most celebrated culinary institutions, from the sophisticated to the unsung to the truly legendary. Featuring industry giants like Wolfgang Puck and Nancy Silverton, this listen goes beyond the menu to explore the history and cultural impact of the spots synonymous with good eats.
The venerated "home-cooked meal" has taken on a whole new significance since the start of the pandemic. Chef Samin Nosrat and her friend Hrishikesh Hirway, host of the podcast Song Exploder, are here to provide a little extra variety to your social-distancing menu. On the Home Cooking podcast, they'll teach how to make everything from frittatas to no-bake cookies, even when facing shortages of crucial ingredients. And they are often joined by guest cooks and answer questions from listeners on topics from sautéing to raisins.
Some like it hot! It Burns, hosted by Marc Fennell, drags you headfirst into an international competition to produce the world’s hottest pepper. This James Beard Award-winning podcast tackles the contentious, scandal-filled race to produce a pepper worthy of a Guinness World Record entry, while the ever-inquisitive Fennell explores the world of “chilli-heads”—a subculture of folks who can’t get enough of the hot stuff. With a deadly blend of fierce competition and fascinating cultural exploration, this pod is sure to leave your ears steaming.
For those with an appetite for food history beyond Europe, The Real Food Podcast is sure to satisfy. Host Vikram Doctor deftly blends cultural history, mythology, and practical skill in relation to the culinary arts. One of India’s most seasoned food writers, Doctor infuses each episode with his extensive knowledge, adventurous palate, and a perspective distinctive from most Western chefs. Recent topics covered include the origins of papad, a mealtime staple typically paired with dal and rice, and the story of Thums Up, one of India's most popular brands of soda.
Foodie Memoirs
By the time he was 27 years old, Kwame Onwuachi had opened—and closed—one of the most talked-about restaurants in America. In this inspiring memoir about the intersection of race, fame, and food, he shares the remarkable story of his culinary coming of age.
In this delightful sequel to her bestseller Tender at the Bone, the beloved food writer Ruth Reichl returns with more tales of love, life, humor, and marvelous meals. When listeners left Ruth at the end of Tender at the Bone, she was in Berkeley, California, working as a chef at the Swallow restaurant. Comfort Me with Apples picks up in 1978; Ruth is still living in a commune with her husband, Doug, but she’s decided to put down her chef’s toque and embark on a career as a restaurant critic. She is soon visiting restaurants all over the world in search of a meal to write home about. Reichl also shares the intimacies of her personal life—the joys and the heartbreaks behind the reviews—in a style so honest and warm that listeners will feel they are enjoying a cozy dinner table conversation with a friend.
"My entire life I have been less fat and more fat, but never not fat." According to family lore, when Rabia Chaudry’s family returned to Pakistan for their first visit since moving to the United States, two-year-old Rabia was more than just a pudgy toddler. Fatty Fatty Boom Boom is a searingly honest portrait of a woman grappling with a body that gets the job done but that refuses to meet the expectations of others. This memoir offers listeners a relatable and powerful voice on the controversial topic of body image, one that dispenses with the politics and gets to what every woman who has ever struggled with weight will relate to.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Anthony Bourdain’s tragic death in 2018 was an incredibly painful loss. For years, we had invited him into our living rooms, our kitchens, and our hearts, and his endlessly good-natured spirit was without peer. The chef and television personality brought his renowned warmth and genuine passion for food to his game-changing memoir, sharing the moments that led to his culinary awakening, from his dishwashing gig at a fish shop to his star turns as a chef at high-profile eateries. Bourdain’s cutting, insightful writing style is perfectly complemented by his performance—which is just as kindly, engaging, and spot-on hilarious as you’d expect. The result is an earnest love letter to the communities that form around dinner tables and restaurant kitchens across the world.
Padma Lakshmi, a model, author, and activist who’s best known as a host and judge on the adored Top Chef, has dedicated much of her career to unearthing the fascinating cultural backgrounds of culinary phenomena. Lakshmi shares why food is so central to her identity—and how food, and the ways in which we share it, is integral to creating a sense of home. This sense of belonging meant the world to Lakshmi as a child, as her family never spent a great deal of time in one place. Instead, she found a constant in her family kitchen and the meals she tasted and served along the way. Lakshmi describes food so dynamically that you can practically taste each word. And as this listen is author-narrated, you’ll have the pleasure of hearing Lakshmi’s thoughts on legacy, family, and food in her own voice.
James Beard Award-winning chef Gabrielle Hamilton is among the industry’s biggest rule breakers. Not one for pretension, Hamilton is virtually synonymous with grit: She never attended culinary school, instead learning on the frontlines of thankless catering gigs and throwing her all into her legendary New York restaurant, Prune. Hamilton is a masterful scribe, writing with a sense of visceral flair and bold, rich detail. Her wry, unflinchingly honest memoir is not only a feast for the senses, but a look into her unconventional path from food-obsessed child to critically acclaimed restaurateur and author. Her recollections of the food that defined her youth, the kitchens she called home over the years, and the endless labor that went into opening Prune were meant to be experienced in audio, as the medium only further highlights the exquisite story Hamilton unfolds.
When doctors told Danielle Walker that food didn’t cause her autoimmune disease and couldn’t help control it, she set out to prove them wrong. Diagnosed with an extreme form of ulcerative colitis at 22, Walker was terrified she’d never be able to eat all the wonderful foods she loved growing up or host warm, welcoming gatherings with family and friends. When the medicine she was prescribed became almost as debilitating as the disease itself, she turned her kitchen into a laboratory and created gut-healthy versions of the foods she thought she’d never be able to enjoy again. She has become a beacon of hope for millions around the world suffering from autoimmune diseases, food allergies, and chronic ailments. Food saved her, and it can save you too.
David Chang has certainly been busy since he first opened Momofuku Noodle Bar in 2004. Chang’s style is one that’s inquisitive, innovative, and exciting, and he’s often been regarded as a “bad boy” of the culinary sphere, an outspoken chef who’s always up for rebellion. In his author-narrated memoir, Eat a Peach, Chang shares each pitfall and success he has faced in his career, from the unexpected juggernaut that is Momofuku to his struggles with aimlessness and mental illness to his insights on the restaurant world. It’s a genuine and vulnerable ride that unearths the highs and lows of industry renown. Trust me—if you’re a self-described “foodie,” this is definitely a listen you don’t want to miss.
Short and Not Always Sweet
From the bestselling author of Only Daughter comes a twisty cat-and-mouse novella about a young woman who meets up with her ex seeking revenge, only to realize over the course of the evening that she may be the one in danger.
“The Heron” is the nickname a big-city accountant has attached to himself in his new home near San Diego, where he’s using the alias to avoid a hit man who may be after him. It seems a former client believes that the Heron has skipped town with several million dollars not his own. Don Winslow’s ensuing, entertaining yarn is by turns twisty, dark, and comical as we observe the delicate dance between the pursuer and the pursued.
Emery Thompson hates Calvin Chamberlain. From the way he acts like he’s better than everyone to the way he moves through the world thinking his podcast is the cream of the crop, every little thing about the man gets to him. Even that dashing, oh-so-confident smile. Calvin Chamberlain hates admitting defeat. He's losing sponsors for his historical crime podcast while obnoxious pop culture podcasts like Emery’s keep gaining. It’s a cruel twist of fate when a late fan’s request for a collaboration with Emery lands in his lap. Calvin reluctantly agrees. Their chemistry crackles through their microphones, and soon, their numbers begin to skyrocket. Can these two make a killing off what they once thought was a death sentence—and more importantly, will Calvin and Emery give into the heat of passion?
A classic Stephen King short story from the bestselling collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, Alden McCausland and his mother are what they call “accident rich”; thanks to an unexpected life-insurance policy payout and a winning Big Maine Millions scratcher, they are able to spend their summers down by Lake Abenaki, idly drinking their days away in a three-room cabin with an old dock and a lick of a beach. This listen becomes literally explosive.
In this gripping thriller, a woman named Lauren Hudson is mourning the death of her fiancee. She decides to go to her brother's wedding and put on a brave face. He's co-founded a glamping startup in a national park. But soon after Lauren's arrival, she begins to have unsettling feelings about her brother's bride-to-be, Sadie. She wonders if it's her own grief getting in the way or if there is something sinister about Sadie. Time will tell, but there's not much left.
PLEASE NOTE: This audio contains strong language, distressing situations, and descriptions of violence that some listeners may find upsetting. Discretion is advised.
Andre Monroe is ready to move on from heartbreak, and the first step is bringing home his rescue pup. But one thing he definitely hadn’t daydreamed about was Zeus accidentally being promised to someone else—or that he might go home empty-handed and brokenhearted all over again. Janelle Johnson is not giving up her claim to Zeus. After the year she’d had, she needed this dog. But when she sees the disappointment of the big, burly handsome man who’s clearly just as in love with the dog as she is, she proposes a deal to Andre—for one month they’ll co-parent the dog. Sharing a dog with a complete stranger isn’t quite the walk in the (dog) park they imagined, but as they work together to give Zeus a loving future, their four-legged friend might not be the only one who’s found a happily ever after.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind comes an evocative short story about love, self-perception, and a family in transition. Alice Comstock has always been a dutiful wife and an attentive mother, a perfectionist presiding over a flawless home. She’s reliably been her family’s center, the caretaker and problem-solver, until an illness requires her children to assume responsibility for their mother. For Adam, Alice’s youngest, a return home to California sparks a memory of his younger self. Alternating between the present and flashbacks to Adam’s college years, There Are Flowers in Ohio explores how the paths not taken shape all of our lives.
Paul was reading a newspaper. Catherine was reading a novel. So begins Room on the Sea, André Aciman's scorching and elegiac love story about a middle-aged man and woman who meet in the bullpen of jury selection and spend a sultry summer’s week trespassing ever further into each other's hearts. What begins as a flirtation quickly evolves into something deeper, something Paul and Catherine must carry on in secret—and with the understanding that anything more than a casual crush is out of the question. But as the week draws to a close, the end of their rendezvous comes into focus, and Paul and Catherine are forced to decide whether to act on their feelings. By turns scintillating and philosophical, Room on the Sea is a compulsively listenable story of love, fate, and last chances.
