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The Curious Bartender Podcast

The Curious Bartender Podcast

By: Tristan Stephenson
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Conversations on food and drink through history, science, culture and geography with bestselling author and bar person Tristan StephensonTristan Stephenson Art Cooking Food & Wine
Episodes
  • #57 Gabe Cook - How Cider is Made, Appreciating Cider, Cider History, Growing Apples, Cider Producers, English Cider, American Cider
    Dec 22 2025

    Gabe Cook (aka Ciderologist) is a cider expert and educator based in the UK. On the episode (recorded at Haywood Cider Farm in Cornwall) we take a deep dive into the culture, history and appreciation of cider, tasting our way through half a dozen English and American ciders. See links below for those producers and products.

    Find Gabe here - https://www.theciderologist.com/

    Tasty Stuff -https://www.haywoodfarmcider.co.uk/https://www.wildingcider.co.ukhttps://www.baumanscider.comhttps://www.greggs-pit.co.ukhttps://oliversciderandperry.co.uk/https://chancecider.com/

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    2 hrs and 1 min
  • #56 Simon Difford - Diffordsguide.com, CLASS Mag, 28 Years of Publishing, Influential Bars & Bartenders, London, Sauce Guides, Jiggers, Daiquiris
    Dec 15 2025

    Simon is a writer, publisher and business entrepreneur. He is the founder of Diffordsguide.com, Class Magazine and Difford's Guide to Cocktails book Series which is now in its 18th Edition.


    To support the show please rate and subscribe - thanks!

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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • #55 Dr. Johnny Drain - Hacking Flavour, Microbes, Food Systems, Gut Health, Chocolate without Cocoa, Future of Food
    Dec 8 2025

    Dr. Johnny Drain is a materials scientist turned fermentation obsessive, flavour innovator, and co-founder of the cocoa-free chocolate company pushing the industry to rethink everything it thought it knew about cacao.

    Johnny’s one of those rare thinkers who can sit comfortably in the worlds of cutting-edge science and high-end hospitality. He’s worked with some of the most boundary-pushing restaurants and bars on the planet, helping them unlock new flavours, reduce waste, and harness the incredible power of microbes. His new book, Adventures in Fermentation, is part manifesto, part manual, part love-letter to the invisible life that shapes what we eat and drink.

    In this episode, we get into the evolution of chocolate, the future of fermentation, how microbes actually make flavour, why pasteurisation isn’t the enemy, what gut science is really telling us, and what a “sound-tuned” ferment might taste like. It’s a conversation about flavour, sustainability, identity, and the weird, wonderful magic of transformation.

    Settle in — this is a fascinating deep dive with one of the most interesting flavour thinkers working today.


    Where to find Johnny:
    Website: drjohnnydrain.com


    Book: Adventures in Fermentation (available now in print + audiobook)

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    1 hr and 43 mins
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