Whole Foods Releases Its Own Podcast ‘Beyond the Board’

The landscape of food podcasts has become vast, and there is an option out there for almost every area of interest.

Love baking? Tune into chef Gemma Stafford’s series “Knead to Know.” Food science and history buffs should try “Gastropod,” where co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley do deep dives into topics like the history of beer and whether or not we should be scared of canola oil. My personal favorite is the Food & Wine podcast “Tinfoil Swans,” where host Kat Kinsman interviews renowned chefs and other major players in the food world.

Joining the ranks of podcasts to enjoy during morning commutes, while doing laundry, or while going for a run is something that grocery shoppers across the country will appreciate: a new series from supermarket chain Whole Foods.

Releasing its first episode on Thursday, May 1, “Beyond the Board” from Whole Foods will provide listeners with insight into every aspect of how food moves from producers to brands, grocery store shelves, and ultimately our tables. Each episode will feature a leader from the Whole Foods team in conversation with an influential guest, ranging from the founders of some of your favorite food brands to policymakers who impact the way we eat.

First on the docket for this new grocery-centric series is someone who not only founded their own food brand but is also a household name: Brooklyn Peltz Beckham.

You may know Brooklyn as the son of soccer star David Beckham and musician-meets-fashion-designer Victoria Beckham, but the 25-year-old became an entrepreneur last fall when he launched his own hot sauce brand, Cloud23.

Packaged in beautifully designed, ridged glass bottles adorned with ethereal drawings on the front, Cloud23 hot sauces are exclusively sold at Whole Foods stores, making it no surprise that the two have partnered together again.

In addition to featuring a different guest each episode, Beyond the Board will have a rotating cast of hosts, all of whom hold leadership roles at Whole Foods. In the first episode, Brooklyn sits down with CEO Jason Buechel to discuss how he developed the idea for his own hot sauce.

Brooklyn tells Buechel that it was his wife, Nicola Peltz Beckham, who first suggested he try to develop a condiment, explaining, “Me and my wife were having a bottle of wine in our kitchen really late at night, and my wife was like, you love hot sauce, you love design. Why don't you make a hot sauce?”

Cloud23 currently offers two hot sauces: Hot Habanero and Sweet Jalapeño. However, the founder hints at more products to come during his conversation with the Whole Foods CEO.

Outside of spicy sauces, the oldest Beckham child is also an avid home cook. He tells Buechel, “My go-to dish is spaghetti Bolognese. It's something that I used to cook with my dad, and I kind of took his recipe and I changed it… Just making it is just, it's such a fun process. Because it takes me like five, six hours to make and it's so fun.” (Of course the tweak he made to his dad’s recipe is adding a touch of hot sauce.)

If you’ve kept up with social media and celebrity news over the past few years, you might even recall that Beckham’s Bolognese once went viral when he posted a picture of the sauce simmering with a wine cork in it. As chefs eventually pointed out, adding a cork is actually an old-school cooking trick for yielding more tender meat.

The eldest Beckham even shares some of his other tips for how to make his famous Bolognese — like the correct amount of wine to pour in — but you’ll have to tune in to hear all the details. Beyond the Board will debut two new episodes each month, with the second release coming on May 15. Episode two will give you a sneak peek into the freezer aisle, as it features Caulipower, a brand crafting cauliflower crust pizzas. 

If you’re a major Whole Foods fan, this might be the ticket to learning more about your favorite items for sale at the grocery chain — and we’ll keep our fingers crossed that they dedicate an episode to the Berry Chantilly Cake and all its spinoffs. You can listen to episode one of Beyond the Board starting today through an exclusive link provided to Food & Wine, here.