Turning Drinking Traditions Upside Down - A non-alcoholic podcast with Henry Chevallier Guild and REAL Kombucha

05/07/21 • 58 min

This month's REAL Podcast is with Henry Chevallier Guild, chatting about how a natural-born cider maker, an 8th generation heir to the Aspall estate, former chairman of the National Association of Cider Makers, now makes non-alcoholic drinks. Nonsuch Shrubs, to be precise.
It's a story that takes in a huge amount of history, truckloads of apples (and a quick sidestep into the history of the apple), plenty of tradition with a side order of local ritual. Ideal, then, for the merry month of May, when the country springs to life and drinks are quaffed aplenty.
Starting with a brief history of cider making, we move swiftly into the world of shrubs and kombuchas and question how the growing non-alcoholic drinks scene might take hold of some of these artisanal traditions and adapt them for modern times.

Previous Episode

Talking flavour journeys with the Belazu Ingredient Company

As we continue our journey at REAL Kombucha, we love meeting and working with people that really seem to be on the same wavelength. Take this week’s guests, for example. The folks at the Belazu Ingredient Company specialise in foodie items that can turn a good dish into something truly exceptional. They talk regularly about living life in full flavour, and about how life is too short for bland food. Living life in full flavour is something we can all aspire, so for this episode, we were delighted to invite their product specialist, Bob Curbishley, and their innovation chef, Henry Russell, to chat about what living a flavourful really means.

Over the next hour or so, we’ll be discussing how travel inspires culinary creativity, and how a little bit of that creativity can also fire the imagination and get the mind traveling, even when you’re stuck at home. We’ll also discuss the origins of Belazu, way back in Borough Market when they were known as The Fresh Olive Company, and how inspiring flavours and high quality have been at the heart of what they do from day one. Bob talks about how he became an olive oil sommelier, and also explains why it’s worth spending a bit extra on a good balsamic, while Henry tells us a bit about what an innovation chef does, answering the time-honoured question: what can I do with a jar of pesto that doesn’t involve pasta?

Along the way, we take in all kinds of food history and even find time for a kombucha tasting, asking Henry how he goes about pairing our fermented drinks with his ingredients. It’s worth noting, too, that the delicious new range of nuts he talks about at the end of the episode is now on the shelves in Waitrose, not too far from our own REAL Kombucha bottles, so you can put both into your shopping basket next time you’re shopping and try the pairing for yourself.

In short, this is a fast and friendly ramble through all things flavourful, on which you’re more than welcome to eavesdrop. Strap on your ear goggles, fire up your imaginations... things are about to get very tasty indeed.

Next Episode

Why Do I Like What I Like? A Foodie Podcast with Flavour Expert, Rachel Edwards-Stuart

Why do we like the food, drinks and flavours that we like? How much does colour, sound and even upbringing have on your enjoyment of a meal? And is Willy Wonka’s everlasting gobstopper scientifically possible? This month’s episode of The REAL Podcast answers all of these questions and many more, as we chat with food scientist and flavour expert, Dr Rachel Edwards-Stuart.

Her contributions and insights at the cutting edge of gastronomy have been extraordinary, having studied and worked with Hervé This and Heston himself, not to mention developing a huge range of gluten free products for one of the UK’s biggest supermarkets. These days she teaches science to chefs and runs a selection of unique and bespoke events that take in the science of flavour and gastronomy.

Over the course of the hour-long podcast, Rachel discusses her journey into the world of food science, some of the amazing studies in flavour perception that many of us many not know about, the emergence of the non-alcoholic drinks movement and how these new drinks can be paired with delicious dishes.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens once you place something tasty on your tongue, this is the podcast for you. Pour yourself a glass of REAL and put in your earbuds as we explore the fascinating world of flavour with Rachel Edwards-Stuart.