In which Jean and Sam talk about restaurant lists, Top 50, Metro Restaurant of the Year, and the Auckland restaurant scene in general. Congratulations to Forest, a small plant-based restaurant on Dominion Rd, for taking out Metro's Restaurant of the Year!! Whoo! In this episode, we go into some interesting inclusions and wins on the list (including: three Cantonese restaurants, yaya! And Sam's fave Mr Lobster winning runner up for Best Casual!), as well as talk about the importance (or...

Sam and Jean talk to Nat Wolf, the winner of Masterchef Australia 2024. Nat was a fan favourite from day dot, having made a kangaroo larb on the first episode that a) perfectly showcased her identity as a Thai Australian and b) got her an immunity pin. We chat to Nat about her journey on the show, what she's been up to since then (shockingly, it involves food and restaurants), her thoughts around food culture and the representation of Thai food in Western culture, and much more. Also,...

In this episode, we talk to Julie Zhu, the director and creator of beautifully observed documentary series Takeout Kids. In season two, she invites us into the world of tamariki and rangatahi who grow up in their parents' shops, whether that's restaurants, dairies or even a nail salon, following them and their whānau as they go to school, work night markets, and have both funny and serious conversations with family. Julie talks about the filming process, her approach to narrative...

It's the check-in episode! Sam Low and Jean Teng have had quite busy lives recently - including visiting Tasmania together, prepping for a pop-up, buying apartments, executing brand deals (lol), and trying to pay rent + bills. -- This episode is just between us gals, chatting about how things have changed since we started the podcast, where we see the podcast going, where we HOPE to see the podcast going, what's been going on in our lives, and our ever-shifting relationship to food and...

Sam Low and Jean Teng discover the basic principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), thanks to Chinese Medicine food therapist and registered dietician, Zoey Xinyi Gong (also author of The Five Elements Cookbook). We talk about how people can start to incorporate it into their lives, the accessible ingredients, how it can be helpful, the push and pull between Western and Chinese medicine (e.g. they can co-exist!), the appropriation of TCM in wellness culture, wellness culture in...

In this episode, we talk to Erin Clarkson (Cloudy Kitchen), a New Zealand-based baker whose fervent fanbase is made up of dedicated blog readers and Instagram followers, due to her easy-to-follow, delicious recipes. Erin tells us about how she got started in baking, how Cloudy Kitchen happened, her recipe for success, her approach to recipe development, what her most popular types of recipes are, how she manages it as a full-time job, and also how she deals with the haters. Thanks to Erin...

Sam Low and Jean Teng talk to James Beard award-winning author John Birdsall (The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard) about the question: what is queer food? We talk about cooking as resistance, the broadness of the term "queer", queer spaces and community building, the history of queer food and stories, how queerness affects your cooking or perspective on food, whether or not chefs and hospitality figures should be asked to talk about their queerness, and, also, about how the...

Both Sam and Jean don't eat breakfast - they eat coffee. In this episode, Sam (former NZ Barista Champion, Latte Art Champion, coffee trainer and all-around expert) talks to Sarah Allen (the editor of USA-based Barista Magazine) and his co-podcast host Jean (consumer of coffee) about the ins and outs of coffee and its culture. We talk about the raw material, how you can tell if coffee is good or not (objectively speaking), the rise of cafe culture, where coffee culture is going next (cool...

Sam and Jean talk to comedian David Correos (Taskmaster NZ) about their childhood faves and memories from youth, including all-you-can-eat buffets, Lone Star, Dennys, and food courts. We then pick David's mind about his relationship to food and what he actually eats. Afterwards, we went to Dennys! - Follow Ate Ate Ate on Instagram Follow Sam Low on Instagram Follow Jean Teng on Instagram - Thank you to our guest, David Correos. David is performing in a New Zealand International Comedy...

Sam Low and Jean Teng don't know much about foraging. In this episode, they talk to Liv Sisson (author of Fungi of Aotearoa) about the fungi of Aotearoa, the beauty of foraging, and why framing foraging against the cost of living crisis is lazy, actually (i.e. it will not be able to replace your grocery shop, fyi!). We also go urban foraging with a friend of the show, Ezra, who runs a foraging Instagram account showcasing his best finds @berrysnacker. Disclaimer: This episode is not a field...

Jean and Sam go to Malaysia! In this episode, our two food-obsessed hosts talk about the cultural cuisine of Kuala Lumpur and Penang, their favourite meals and dining experiences, what they loved and the joys of eating and travelling, from fine dining to hawker stalls. (This is an unsponsored episode btw, but we'd be totally down for travel sponsorship, dear airlines, media publications, or overseas tourism boards! Lol.) *Jean mistakenly attributed nasi kandar to Malay cuisine instead of...

Sam and Jean talk about the influence of social media on the way we eat, consume, and think about food. Featuring guest Emily Contois (the author of Food Instagram: Identity, Influence and Negotiation; and Diners, Dudes and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide). They discuss TikTok and Instagram influencers, what makes a good influencer, how hard is it really, the conflict of authenticity and advertising, how food culture on social media trickles down into restaurants and magazines,...

Sam Low and Jean Teng talk about how they got into food, their best and worst dining experiences, why they love food so much, and how they think about it. Basically, get to know your co-hosts a bit better before the season begins! They've been friends for years now, so is there still more to learn about each other? Follow Ate Ate Ate on Instagram Follow Sam on Instagram Follow Jean on Instagram -- Read Jean's stories on Metro here Buy Sam Low's cookbook, Modern Chinese