The best podcasts for people learning to cook

With those new year's resolutions lingering in the distance, and a mountain of recipe books yet to be opened, it can be challenging and oftentimes costly to try and learn to cook as a beginner. Finding that much-needed inspiration isn’t always easy and the tools you need to take that next step on your culinary journey sometimes seem inaccessible.

These free podcasts are fantastic ways for new cooks to find their feet and enter this seemingly daunting world for the first time. Even veterans of the game will discover tricks, tips and techniques that will help them elevate their meals. 

Mark Bittman, author of the beloved How To Cook Everything (which is another great way for new cooks to learn the ropes), has continued to share his knowledge with the exceptional podcast, Food With Mark Bittman. Bittman’s approach works on both the micro and macro scale. Food focuses on themes such as family life, cooking easy meals in a busy schedule, making the most of seasonal ingredients and cooking on a budget.

But Bittman also turns his attention to bigger issues, such as sustainability, climate change and the economic impact of the food industry. So for those who want basic training from an expert and for those who want to tackle some of the larger questions facing our eating habits, this podcast really runs the gambit with a variety of great guests sharing their stories.

Food fanatic Roger Anderson hosts The Kitchen Counter podcast, a show specifically designed to help new cooks on their way to greatness. While important topics such as healthy eating, the cost of good food and cooking meals suitable for the whole family are covered on the podcast, the great strength of The Kitchen Counter is in its recipes.

This is home cooking done right, with both Anderson and guests talking listeners through a variety of global dishes, from their origins to their variations and most importantly, how to make them. The interviews conducted on the pod always provide room for guests to share those golden nuggets of information that can help in transferring the skills of world class chefs to amateur kitchen connoisseurs.

What to eat and how to make it are two crucial and common angles to approach the food industry from, especially for new cooks. However, The Splendid Table, currently hosted by food critic Francis Lam, asks the vital question: why?

Why do we cook? Why do we eat what we eat? Lam’s conversations might touch upon great recipes and killer cooking tips, but they also focus on the impact food has on our lives and the personal connections it allows us to build. New cooks looking to get caught up in this culinary world will find the podcast insightful, motivational and utterly relatable.   

BBC Good Food is a great resource for anyone attempting to expand their kitchen skills and the brand has an array of compelling podcasts to explore including one hosted by TV chef, Tom Kerridge. It’s always comforting to have a familiar voice delivering the information you need and Kerridge is an absolute expert in lending a helping hand to those starting out.

The episodes cover a sturdy set of bases, including spices, food trends, following recipes, crucial kitchen equipment and even barbecuing. This is a one-stop shop for all the essentials and Kerridge and guests offer up insights that simply aren’t available anywhere else. Plus, as a limited series, there’s not a never-ending run of episodes to keep up with.  

Sometimes, new cooks just don’t know where to start when it comes to deciding on a meal. Some recipe books are too complicated. Some podcasts are too focused on "cheffy" trends. The Off Menu podcast, hosted by comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster, is both hilarious and hugely inspirational for any home cooks looking for new ideas.

Each episode features a special guest who runs through their dream meal, with hearty favourites and posh grub covered across the spectrum of hypothetical menus. It may seem like an unlikely source to mine ideas from, but the way the food is so often described leaves listeners wanting to immediately try it themselves.

The recipe is at the heart of everything the Recipe Club podcast dedicates itself to. Hosted by chef David Chang, each episode presents new themes, recipes and members of the club, to debate and analyse these critical cooking instructions. Listeners will hear how the presenters have cooked the meal themselves and can learn alongside Chang how a good recipe can be made even better.

This is a podcast about experimentation, innovation and learning the skills needed to tackle any recipe, no matter how complex. Accessible for first-time cooks and qualified chefs, it’s the simplicity of the tips that are dished out, that make them so impactful.