Forget the lavish banquets and endless rum of Hollywood's depiction of pirates... In part 1 of this 2 part series, Andy, Dom, and Miles uncover the often disgusting, sometimes desperate, and surprisingly democratic world of pirate food and drink.

From weevil-infested ship biscuits and suspiciously slimy water, to Dom's beheading of his mum's favourite ornament. Expect grim facts, questionable recipes, and a few laughs along the way.

If you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to subscribe in your favourite app, leave us a rating, and feel free to share it with your mates.

Follow our socials at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/WhatTheFoodPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ or if you fancy treating us to a one-off cuppa: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.buymeacoffee.com/whatthefood⁠⁠⁠

Theme music licensed by Epidemic Sound.

It's the explosive finale of our series Wartime Tables & Tyrants' Tummies! In part 3, we brace ourselves for Benito Mussolini's infamous raw garlic salads, his surprising war on pasta, and his own rebellious stomach. Then, we journey to Imperial Japan for Hideki Tojo's extreme austerity and iron discipline that defined his wartime plate. Don't miss the final course of WW2's most bizarre eating habits!

If you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to subscribe in your favourite app, leave us a rating, and feel free to share it with your mates.

Follow our socials at: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/WhatTheFoodPodcast⁠⁠⁠ or if you fancy treating us to a one-off cuppa: ⁠⁠⁠www.buymeacoffee.com/whatthefood⁠⁠

Theme music licensed by Epidemic Sound.

Ready for another helping of history's most horrifying hors d'oeuvres? In part 2, we brave Joseph Stalin's "Sinister Suppers", marathon vodka-drenched banquets where fear was the main course. Then, it's off to Franklin D. Roosevelt's White House for some truly crap snacks, proving that even the leader of the free world couldn't escape a culinary crisis. From lethal libations to legendarily bad lunches, part 2 in the series has all the juicy WW2 dietary details!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe in your favourite app, leave us a rating, and feel free to share it with your mates.

Follow our socials at: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/WhatTheFoodPodcast⁠⁠ or if you fancy treating us to a one-off cuppa: ⁠⁠www.buymeacoffee.com/whatthefood⁠

Theme music licensed by Epidemic Sound.

Welcome to Wartime Tables & Tyrants' Tummies, the series that lifts the lid on what WW2's bigwigs were really eating! In part 1, it's Churchill vs. Hitler: one fuelled by champagne, cigars, and colossal dinners; the other by... well, rabbit food, raging paranoia, and rumours of epic wind. We're serving up history with a side of shocking (and hilarious) dietary details. Join the boys and tuck in!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe in your favourite app, leave us a rating, and feel free to share it with your mates.

Follow our socials at: ⁠https://linktr.ee/WhatTheFoodPodcast⁠ or if you fancy treating us to a one-off cuppa: ⁠www.buymeacoffee.com/whatthefood⁠

Theme music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada. Available for use under the CC BY 4.0 license (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Part 2 is here! In this week’s episode of What the Food?, we tuck back into history’s most deranged cult diets... We're talking Aum Shinrikyo and the Mormons!

Join us as we rank the worst of the worst in a roundtable food fight no one asked for, and uncover why the road to salvation is often paved with beige, boiled suffering.

Trigger warning: This episode contains dark themes including starvation, coercion, and mass death, but we’ll hold your hand through it with our usual dose of British humour and sarcasm.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe in your favourite app, leave us a rating, and share it with your mates.

Follow our socials at: https://linktr.ee/WhatTheFoodPodcast or if you fancy treating us to a one-off cuppa: www.buymeacoffee.com/whatthefood

Theme music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada. Available for use under the CC BY 4.0 license (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Ever fancied a spiritual journey that involves applesauce, powdered milk, and starvation so severe you hallucinate a raisin? In this week’s episode of What The Food, we tuck into history’s most deranged cult diets, from the jungle gruel of Jonestown, to Heaven’s Gate’s death-by-pudding, to the one-grain-a-day enlightenment plan of Aum Shinrikyo.

How do cults use food to control people? Why are so many of them obsessed with purification? And can you really find God on a 500-calorie salad? Join us as we rank the worst of the worst in a roundtable food fight no one asked for, and uncover why the road to salvation is often paved with beige, boiled suffering.

Trigger warning: This episode contains dark themes including starvation, coercion, and mass death, but we’ll hold your hand through it with our usual dose of British humour and sarcasm.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe in your favourite app, leave us a rating, and share it with your mates.

Follow our socials at: https://linktr.ee/WhatTheFoodPodcast or if you fancy treating us to a one-off cuppa: www.buymeacoffee.com/whatthefood

Theme music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada. Available for use under the CC BY 4.0 license (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Once upon a time, New York was built on oysters, literally. From the Lenape shell heaps to 19th-century oyster saloons (and the dodgy brothels hiding behind them), oysters were everywhere. They fed the rich, the poor, and even fuelled a secret stop on the Underground Railroad.

In this episode, we dive into the briny, bizarre history of New York’s oyster craze. How the city went mad for molluscs, ate its way through entire reefs, and is now trying to bring them back to clean its filthy harbour.

With massive oyster-eating contests, mollusc mafias, and an oyster so big it was compared to "swallowing a baby", this is a story you don’t want to miss.

Come for the seafood. Stay for the scandal.

This is our 50th episode! Thank you for being here! Next stop 100.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe in your favourite app, leave us a rating, and share it with your mates.

Follow our socials at: https://linktr.ee/WhatTheFoodPodcast or if you fancy treating us to a one-off cuppa: www.buymeacoffee.com/whatthefood

Theme music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada. Available for use under the CC BY 4.0 license (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

*We encountered a couple of audio issues while recording this episode. Before you stamp on your headphones or throw your phone or PC out the window, any glitchy sounds you hear are in our recording! Apologies!*

Peking Duck isn’t just food, it’s a legend. From its humble origins as a street snack in 13th-century China to becoming an imperial delicacy and a diplomatic power move, this crispy, caramelised masterpiece has had quite the journey.

In this episode of What the Food?, we uncover how Peking Duck migrated from the waterways of Hangzhou to the imperial courts of Beijing, how roasting techniques evolved to perfection, and how this dish ended up impressing emperors, presidents, and food lovers worldwide. Plus, we’ll dive into the modern twists, from London’s crispy duck to Michelin-starred reinventions.

So grab a pancake, roll it up, and join us for a deep dive into the rich, delicious history of Peking Duck.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe in your favourite app, leave us a rating, and share it with your mates.

Follow our socials at: https://linktr.ee/WhatTheFoodPodcast or if you fancy treating us to a one-off cuppa: www.buymeacoffee.com/whatthefood

Theme music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada. Available for use under the CC BY 4.0 license (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)