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Eating History Podcast

Every bite has a backstory.
Eating History shares the untold stories and introduces you to the people behind the food we eat. Michelin-starred chef and Top Chef runner-up Adrienne Cheatham and her husband, historian Stephen Bailey, trace one dish from its origins each season, uncovering every person, place or thing that has shaped it along the way. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
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The Art of Molecular Gastronomy

with Chef Marcus Anderson

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Adrienne Cheatham

Adrienne Cheatham is a New York-based chef, author, and television personality known for her bold, culture-driven approach to food. A veteran of Le Bernardin and Red Rooster Harlem, she was the runner-up on Top Chef Season 15 and later returned as a guest judge.

Her debut cookbook, Sunday Best, was nominated for a James Beard Award. A regular Food Network judge, Adrienne has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and USA Today, using every platform to explore the connection between food, identity, and community.

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Stephen Bailey

Stephen Bailey is a historian, entrepreneur, and corporate director. He graduated summa cum laude in History from Emory University, taught history at Yale University, and earned his law degree from Yale Law School.
Stephen is the co-founder and Chairman of ExecOnline, a pioneer in online executive education that has helped develop hundreds of thousands of leaders through partnerships with the world’s leading business schools. He also serves as Chair of the Truman Center for National Policy and sits on the boards of Match Group and Ibotta, two publicly traded companies.
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Featured Episodes

Dive into our most popular conversations about the foods that have changed the world.

Season 2 Reveal: The World's Hardest to Define Food

After tracking the evolution of pizza across the globe, Adrienne and Stephen return to tackle an entirely new culinary mystery: What exactly is a sandwich?

  • Sept. 23, 2026
Season 2 Ep 1: Who Really Invented the Sandwich?

We tackle one of the most famous origin stories in the culinary world: Did the Fourth Earl of Sandwich invent his namesake meal to keep his hands clean during a gambling bender? 

  • Sept. 29, 2026
Pizza Bites: The Day Pizza Became American

After a season devoted to the evolution of the slice, we tackle the biggest question: When did pizza stop being an Italian import and become an American staple? 

  • Sept. 15, 2026
Jamila Robinson on Leading Bon Appétit, Picking 50 Best, and the Case Against Anonymous Critics
Jamila Robinson talks food media, anonymous critics, and 50 Best.
  • Dec. 15, 2025
Private Chef Life (Part 1): How Adrienne Went from Le Bernardin to Kitchen Burnout to Racing Helicopters in the South of France
Adrienne reveals what private chef life is really like.
  • Sept. 22, 2025
Kristen Kish Dishes It All: Top Chef Memories, Kitchen Confessions & Foie Gras Fails
Kristen Kish shares Top Chef memories and kitchen confessions.
  • June 24, 2025
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What Our Listeners Are Saying

Gina
Spotify Podcasts
Thank you for this podcast!!! This was such a fun history lesson about pizza. Excited to see what you cover in the 2nd season. 
Merlemade
Apple Podcasts
This is a culinary and mind palate delight! You are both fantastic, smart, funny and the research and writing is superb! Looking forward to the next season.
GraceNote17
Spotify Podcasts
This is a fantastic podcast that perfectly blends history, culture, and food, especially for us "foodie fans."
Have you enjoyed Eating History? We’d love to hear from you!
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Before plates were common, medieval Europeans ate off slices of stale bread. We still do something similar with injera, open-faced sandwiches, and bread bowls. What's your favorite thing to eat out of or off of bread?
Before Plates, There Was Bread
Legend has it John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, didn’t want to leave the gambling table, so he asked for his food between two pieces of bread. People had been wrapping food in bread for thousands of years. So why is his name the one that stuck? New episode of Eating History is out now. Watch on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts!
Did This Man Really Invent the Sandwich?
Packing a lunch used to mean one thing: a sandwich tucked into your lunchbox made complete with a Capri Sun. What was your go-to sandwich growing up? Eating History Season 2 is here. New episodes every Wednesday!
The Sandwich That Came in Every Lunchbox
Welcome to the official kickoff of Eating History Season 2! This week, Adrienne and Stephen tackle one of the most famous origin stories in the culinary world: Did John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, really invent his namesake meal to keep his hands clean during an all-night gambling bender? Join the hosts as they explore how an ancient, practical way of eating evolved into a distinct cultural category, and why one 18th-century English aristocrat still gets all the credit. In this episode, we explore: 🥪The legendary myth of the gambling Earl and why the story has survived for over 250 years 🥪A 14,500-year-old archaeological discovery in Jordan that proves bread predates agriculture itself 🥪How ancient cultures around the world utilized bread as a plate, spoon, and wrapper 🥪Why the ancient "Hillel sandwich" and the Asian bao were brilliant culinary solutions, but not intentional "sandwiches" 🥪The "iPhone Analogy": How John Montagu didn't invent the meal, but helped create the cultural category that sparked endless culinary innovation So, did the Earl of Sandwich really invent the sandwich? The answer depends on what we mean by “invent.” #EatingHistory #FoodHistory #Sandwich #History #EarlOfSandwich
Season 2 (Episode 1): Who Really Invented the Sandwich?
Calling something a sandwich sounds easy until you try to define one. Eating History is back for Season 2! New episodes every Wednesday on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
Why Sandwiches Are So Hard to Define
If it has bread, a filling, and you eat it with your hands, what makes a hot dog different from a sandwich? Eating History is back for Season 2! Adrienne and Stephen dig into why the hot dog feels so different, even when it checks all the boxes. New episodes every Wednesday on Eating History
Why a Hot Dog Isn’t a Sandwich
Defining a sandwich is harder than it sounds. 🥪 To kick off Season 2, Adrienne asked Stephen to rate four foods based on their sandwichness with a score from 1 to 10. How would you rate them? New episodes every Wednesday on Eating History!
Why Is Defining a Sandwich so Hard?
What exactly is a sandwich? 🥪 Welcome to Season 2 of Eating History! After tracking the evolution of pizza across the globe, Adrienne and Stephen are tackling an entirely new culinary mystery: What makes a sandwich a sandwich? People were putting food inside bread long before anyone called it a “sandwich.” But somewhere along the way, the sandwich became more than a combination of ingredients—it became a cultural category with rules we all seem to understand, even if we can’t agree on what they are. So where do hamburgers, hot dogs, burritos, po’ boys—and even ice cream sandwiches—fit? In this episode: 🥪 The Sandwich Meter: We rate different foods by their “sandwichness” 🥪 The Definition Dilemma: Why rules like “two pieces of bread” fall apart surprisingly quickly 🥪 The Sandwich Shop Test: What you’d expect to find in a sandwich shop reveals more than any dictionary definition 🥪 The Hot Dog Divide: Why the history of the American packed lunch may help explain why a hot dog just feels different 🥪 Season 2 Sneak Peek: Next week, we investigate the man whose name started it all: Did the Earl of Sandwich actually invent the sandwich? Timestamps: 0:00–The Sandwich Meter 3:38–The Cultural Meaning of Sandwiches 5:46–A Hot Dog v a Sandwich 7:56–The Earl of Sandwich So—what is a sandwich? And where would you draw the line? Tell us in the comments. New episodes of Eating History every Wednesday. #EatingHistory #Sandwiches #FoodHistory
Season 2 Reveal: The World’s Hardest to Define Food!!
The New York Times was explaining what pizza was to its readers in 1947. Just six years later, they were calling it a threat to the hot dog and hamburger. It’s our last Pizza Bite before Season 2 premieres Sept. 23. Subscribe to Eating History so you don’t miss the topic reveal!
The Moment Pizza Took Over America
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