The rise in popularity of culinary radio programs and food podcasts is further proof that food is by far one of France's favorite themes.

More than a cliché, it's a reality: the average Frenchman talks about food at all hours, even when he's already got his feet under the table. And with good reason: food touches on subjects that go beyond our plates. Health, the environment, ecology, pleasure, body image... these are just some of the diverse themes that can be addressed by the culinary programs we devour. So, in this period of confinement, we thought we'd share our best audio and gourmet experiences... Some will fuel your debates, others will make your mouth water or inspire you for your next attempts in the kitchen.

A round-up of the 17 listens to the food podcast format and gastronomic show:

1) " A poêle ", the food podcast that undresses chefs

Julie Gerbet, food journalist (Le Fooding, Elle à Table, Pariscope...), sets out in this series to lay the chefs bare. In episodes lasting almost an hour each, those behind the stove and not so much in the spotlight discuss their passion, their sources of inspiration, but also their difficulties, their doubts and their fears. Some of the most influential chefs of our time open up in intimate conversation with the journalist, allowing us to discover the woman or man behind the chef.

So you can listen to the two-starred Michel Sarran about Top Chef, for which he has been a jury member for several years, the midwifery competition he took before dedicating himself to cooking, and the pain that lies behind every creation. You can also listen to Julia Sedefdjianwho, at the age of 21, is the youngest Michelin-starred chef in France. Victor Lugger and Ciro Cristianotwo founders of the Big Mamma group, who, in a completely different vein, talk about their entrepreneurial saga, queues, margins and Margherita pizza. As you can see, with A Poêle, we wander like little mice from one culinary universe to another, from one intimacy to another, to discover colorful personalities, rich in their differences.

2) Les Nouveaux Toquésthe gourmet podcast that grills those who are shaking up our kitchens

Les Nouveaux Toqués, a podcast broadcast every other Wednesday, invites personalities from the culinary world. Entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, chefs, pastry chefs, bakers, critics and food enthusiasts share their adventures, recipes and secret addresses.

Nicolas Paciello, pastry chef at Fouquet's, Frenchs Bastards, a bakery of the moment, and Alexis Vaillant, founder of Alterfood, a laboratory for natural food innovation, took part in this inspiring foodcast.

3) Business of Bouffethe podcast that takes you behind the scenes of food industry players

Business of Bouffe, a strategy and development studio specializing in the Food and Lifestyle sector, accompanies its clients from conception to execution, meeting chefs, pastry chefs, food critics, executives and entrepreneurs from the "Food" ecosystem, or "Bouffe" as they prefer to call it. Their exchanges are shared in rich, interactive podcasts. Each week, their guests share market trends, new issues, figures and visions. They have already welcomed Emmanuel Rubin from Le Figaro, Ezéchiel Zerah from L'Express, chef Juan Arbelaez, pastry baker Benoît Castel, Nicolas Allary manager of Holybelly, Fanny Giansetto from Ecotable, Julia and Quentin founders of Frichti or our client Victor Mercier finalist 2018 of Top Chef and chef of FIEF (Fait Ici en Franc).

4) Chefs d'oeuvrethe podcast that takes a sharp look at the work of chefs and their relationship to creativity.

Available on all platforms every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month, Chefs d'oeuvre features an encounter with a chef or artisan from the culinary professions (cooks, pastry chefs, bartenders, maître de salle...), with the ambition of highlighting their personal and instinctive approaches via its podcast. Marion Chatel-Chaix talks to them about their approach to work and creativity. Chefs Alexandre Gauthier and Pierre Hermé, as well as bartender Rémy Savage, answered the host's questions.

If you'd like to get inside the heads of chefs for a moment, and understand their secrets and methods of creation, Chefs d'oeuvres is for you!

5) Plan culinaire, the food podcast that answers everyone's culinary questions

Why do we queue for two hours to eat a pizza? Why are we addicted to breakfast cereals? We're sure you've already asked yourself these questions. Well, Plan Culinaire, the new podcast from the Louie Media group, answers them brilliantly! Nora Bouazzouni and Mélissa Bounoua take a monthly look at our culinary habits and behaviors, to tell the story of our society, but also to decipher the current gastronomy sector.[caption id="attachment_10598" align="aligncenter" width="700"]

Image credits: Louie Media Culinary Plan[/caption]One question leads to another... The result: we question, we reflect, we enjoy and we leave enriched by these 20-minute episodes via this podcast!

6) Potato, tell this food podcast what you eat, it will tell you who you are

This superb podcast, imagined and produced by Alice Tuyet, highlights the importance of food in our society. Here, gastronomy is merely a pretext for talking about subjects as diverse as they are important: representation and our relationship with our bodies, activism, health, the environment... These are just some of the themes Alice tackles with her guests in her podcast.

And what guests! Patate brings out the personalities on the plates. Yannick Agnel, double Olympic gold medallist; Mounir Mahjoubi, Member of Parliament and former Secretary of State; Guy Carlier, columnist and writer; and Nina Métayer, Gault & Millau's 2017 Pastry Chef of the Year, all talk to Patate... These sunny personalities, with inspiring backgrounds, tell their stories through their food, their life adventures and their relationship with the world... and to food!

7) "Bouffonsthe friendly show from stomach to ear

Produced by Nouvelles Écoutes, the podcast production studio of journalists Lauren Bastide and Julien Neuville, Bouffons brings together food enthusiasts every Wednesday to discuss a topical issue. "Why Bouffons? It was the perfect balance between the subject and the tone we wanted. Talk about food, but don't take anything too seriously, and stay relaxed on the subject." explains the two founders.

Once a week, presenter Emily Laystary examines a new culinary topic in the company of two guests, both professionals and/or enthusiasts. Surfing on the idea that the second passion of the French, after eating, is talking about it, Bouffons presents its take on culinary issues in a convivial atmosphere.

8) Those who bind usthe audio delight that blends art and cuisine

Twice a month, Camille Brachet links gastronomy and culture in her podcast Ceux qui nous lient. The teacher-researcher invites listeners to consider how these two worlds affect each other, and what they say about our society.

The podcast features a wide range of personalities, from artists to professionals in the food and wine industry (chefs, producers, restaurateurs, committed personalities) whose actions and initiatives are part of the eco-responsible movement.

9) Coup de feu, the first food podcast designed by and for restaurateurs

While there's a lot of talk about cooking, gastronomy and good products on food podcasts, it's surprisingly rare to hear about the day-to-day trials and tribulations of restaurateurs. Ombeline Choupin - founder of Rainettes, the first frog-leg bar in Paris, and producer of this podcast - took this as her starting point. Faced with the difficulties of her job as a restaurateur, and following the closure of her establishment, Ombeline says she often felt alone. Coup de feu was conceived as a response to this loneliness, which she is far from alone in feeling. It was conceived as a moral support for these professionals who work in the dining room or in the kitchen: restaurateurs take the microphone and talk about their ups and downs, their joys, their successes and their failures.

Designed by and for restaurateurs, this podcast has the particularity of being adapted to their daily lives: aware of the limited time available to these professionals, the director proposes episodes lasting between 3 and 10 minutes only. A short but intense listen that we recommend!

10) On va déguster, François-Régis Gaudry's cult TV show

Here's the timeless gastronomic program par excellence: On va déguster, broadcast on France Inter. Season after season, François-Régis Gaudry and his columnists Elvira Masson and Dominique Hutin delight our ears and make us salivate. Every Sunday, at aperitif time, you know where to find us: in front of our radio, religiously listening to our weekly rendez-vous.[caption id="attachment_10596" align="aligncenter" width="700"]

Photo credits: France Inter, On va déguster[/caption]The team of gourmands are brilliant at sharing their passion for cooking. We are invited to listen to, rather than hear, the little everyday noises (simmering saucepans, champagne bubbles, swirling spoons...) at the heart of the culinary experience. With On va déguster, we experience a total culinary experience that can be appreciated as much through taste, envy, sight and the smells described to us as through hearing, which we enjoy live.

11) François-Régis Gaudry's address, France Inter's notebook of good ideas

François-Régis Gaudry doesn't stop there. This multi-hatted culinary journalist has more than one gastronomic discovery up his sleeve! So, to our great delight, he opens his address book to France Inter listeners every Sunday and advises them on the establishments not to be missed. Best egg mayonnaise, best ice cream in Paris, best soca niçoise (a typical local chickpea cake)... Here, François-Régis shares his best finds with gourmets: a miracle recipe for a cure for the shortage of ideas!

12) La Grosse Bouffe the sociology of gastronomy

In La Grosse Bouffe, a podcast dedicated to food and drink in all their forms, Thomas and Bertrand take a sociological look at the links between food and our daily lives. Every 21st of the month, the two hosts tackle interesting culinary topics and answer questions as varied as they are intriguing, such as "do aphrodisiac foods really exist?" and "what did we eat during the 14-18 war".

13) Les Carencés, the 1st podcast about the animal cause

The first vegan and antispeciesist foodcast, Les Carencés brings together a group of friends once a month to review current events on the vegan planet via a wide range of social topics. News, strategies, argumentation, in-depth analysis and sharing of ideas, Les Carencés aims to be informative and pragmatic.

This podcast presents a variety of environmental and societal issues and perspectives. In order to present a multitude of approaches and points of view, Les Carencés broadcasts, every other episode, mini-chronicles sent in by listeners.

14) Les bonnes choses, France Culture's gastronomic program about today's world

Every Sunday, from 12:00 to 12:30, Alimentation Générale - the platform for the cultures of taste - joins forces with France Culture to dissect the main social issues linked to food. Cooking is a major cultural fact, a sign of the times," explains Caroline Broué, the platform's program producer. Eating today is more than ever a global issue: emotional, intimate, social, cultural, anthropological, economic, ecological."

Each week, the program tackles a specific issue in the form of a special report, a zoom, and portraits. News, trends, debates... Nothing slips through the cracks of this gourmet intellectual net fed by historians, sociologists, journalists, food critics...

15) The mittonages of Jacky Durant, Libération's food critic, who reveals his best recipes.

Here, you'll find recipes and cooking tips. Every Saturday morning on France Culture, a new product is in the spotlight: from the most unusual to the one everyone has in their fridge, Jacky Durant, Libération's food critic, shares his most gourmet secrets to help us delight our taste buds and those of our guests.

16) La table des bons vivants, 1h30 of gourmet radio escapades on Europe 1

Laurent Mariotte surrounds himself with bon vivants for a show about everyday cooking. Chefs, artists and intellectuals come together for the duration of a show to share their passion for good food for no less than 1h30. Gourmet radio escapades take us to meet producers and market gardeners who share their favorite recipes. The secret of this program: simple ideas to reproduce yourself, practical advice and precise knowledge on subjects of interest to all listeners.

17) Culture Miam the show that unlocks the codes of gastronomy

Produced by the Mukashi Mukashi studio and hosted by Mia Assor, Culture Miam entertains listeners by revealing incongruous and accurate information about gastronomy. Mia Assor's promise? To help listeners discover "things you might not have known about what you're probably eating". This fifteen-minute podcast deciphers what everyone eats: from local specialties to innovative recipes from gourmet chefs.

In a nutshell,

The approaching summer and the period of confinement become propitious times to discover or rediscover these audio delights! Recipe ideas, culinary discoveries from the four corners of the globe or arguments for heated debates around a meal... These gastronomic programs and food podcasts are sure to enrich your life!