The Gastronomer’s Gazette
The world is even more bizarre than you suspect it is. If you want to understand it, you have to look at the pillar of all life: food and drink. Without food and drink, we can’t live. Also, without food and drink, why would you want to? Let me tell you, if wine or cheddar ever runs out, I’m on the first rocket ship out of here. Do you feel the same way? Then this is the podcast for you.
Episodes
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
#0046—The Worst Movie Catering in History
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
The International Movie Database lists 411 food films. Oddly, Jaws, a 1975 film about a shark on a food binge, isn’t among them. In the film, the protagonist eats a very angry Robert Shaw. But is a very angry Robert Shaw the worst thing a fellow performer has eaten on screen? Find out in this episode...
Saturday Jan 27, 2024
#0045—Water Is an Animal
Saturday Jan 27, 2024
Saturday Jan 27, 2024
Greetings gastronaut,Have you ever looked at the sea and thought, "That's an awful lot of water"?Well, it's not as much as you thought. Turns out, the seas aren't H2O alone. Far, far from it.And water itself might not be what you think it is.Curious? Good, let’s begin.
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
#0044—The Christmas Ban on King Charles and Mince Pies
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
According to popular belief, Puritan Parliamentarians in the 17th century outlawed the eating of mince pies in England on Christmas Day. They also made it illegal to be King Charles of England on Christmas Day or on any other day. One of these laws still exists today…
Saturday Sep 23, 2023
#0043—Holy Spirit & Golden Syrup
Saturday Sep 23, 2023
Saturday Sep 23, 2023
Some people get terribly upset about the bees dying out. They think our crops won’t be pollinated and that honey production will cease, if the bees all die. Well, there is good news and bad news.
Curious? Listen to find out more.
Thursday Aug 10, 2023
#0042—Chicken Whims
Thursday Aug 10, 2023
Thursday Aug 10, 2023
If US meat chickens were to continue at their 1957-2005 rate of growth, then at some point in the early 29th century, the average US meat chicken will have grown to weigh more than Mount Everest.
What, if anything, is going on...?
Friday Jul 14, 2023
#0041-Disastrous Wine Spills
Friday Jul 14, 2023
Friday Jul 14, 2023
Some people say that any wine spill is a tragedy. They are exaggerating. Some wine is so bad, spilling it down the sink is the best thing for it.But what turns the spillage of good wine from a mishap into a disaster? I’ve spent many weeks perfecting a flowchart to answer this question.Curious? Good, let’s begin.
Thursday Jun 01, 2023
#0040—Papa’s Pizzeria
Thursday Jun 01, 2023
Thursday Jun 01, 2023
Let me tell me tell you about the worst restaurant in the world. One where the owner hates me.
Curious? Good. Let's begin.
Thursday May 18, 2023
#0039—Rubber-Nosed Swamp Donkey Cheese
Thursday May 18, 2023
Thursday May 18, 2023
Some cheese is so rare, it is almost unheard of.
Curious? Good. Let's begin...
Thursday May 11, 2023
#0038—Fish to Die for
Thursday May 11, 2023
Thursday May 11, 2023
Did you know sharks are dangerous?If you come across one where you live, don't interact with it. Even if it is dead. You'll regret it, if you do.Curious? Good. Let's begin.
Thursday May 04, 2023
#0037—The Pig War
Thursday May 04, 2023
Thursday May 04, 2023
In 1859, the USA and the UK almost went to war over a pig. Was it an especially attractive pig?
Find out more in this episode of The Gastronomer's Gazette.
You're probably thinking, “What’s with the cat and the dinosaur?”
I’ll explain.
You see, the world is even more bizarre than you suspect it is. If you want to see just how bizarre it is, you only have to look at the pillar of all life: food and drink. That is one messed up scene, let me tell you, and a terrific lens through which to examine the human race. After all, without food and drink, we can't live. Also, without food and drink, why would you want to? If wine and cheese ever run out, I'm on the first rocket ship out of here.
So what can and can’t you trust here on The Gastronomer and in the gazette? Well, while I sometimes embellished a handful of the supporting story elements ever so slightly for comedic effect, the facts about food and drink are, as best I can verify, true. Nevertheless, don't go staking your house on them in a bet or anything.
Also I will sometimes go off topic and bring you stories that have only a tenuous link to food and drink, namely: health, fitness, sustainable living and cats. Occasionally, I’ll go completely off script, if I find something that’s just too good to keep from you.
Finally, what’s with the cat and the dinosaur? To be honest, they’re completely random, but they also fit in their own odd way. Cats and dinosaurs are mentioned in the early audio episodes of Wine UnNotes, which became Spierkater’s Gallimaufry, which in turn evolved into The Gastronomer. I needed some quick episode artwork. They were never intended to have any significance beyond that. But they started to grow on me as a representation of… me. The cat is a symbol of my curiosity. The dinosaur is a symbol of, shall we say, my mature status in life? And both no nothing about wine, just like me.
Every Friday morning, there will be a new edition of The Gastronomer’s Gazette (podcast and email dispatch—don’t forget to subscribe. It’s free).
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