Lunchbox Envy
From the makers of QI and No Such Thing As A Fish: Gastronomically-minded QI researchers Jack Chambers and Manu Henriot join chef and food writer Rosie MacKean to unpack the world of food and drink, one lunchbox at a time. Can you unboil an egg? Why would you milk a spider? How much Dairy Milk would it take to kill you? Dig in now to get answers to the questions you never knew you had.
Episodes
72: ✈️ The Great Sandwich War Of 1958
Who needs a gyroscopic kitchen? How do you save $500,000 by slicing limes? What actually is the deal with airline food?
71: 🌋 The World's Most Expensive Pistachios Come From A Volcano
Why did pistachios used to be bright red? Where in the world do pistachio trees need police protection? How could a pistachio help you survive a car crash?
70: 🔐 Why The Recipe For [REDACTED] Is Locked In A Vault
Why doesn't Coca Cola have to list their secret ingredients on their packaging? How do you break out of prison with peanut butter? What happened to the mythical Roman spice silphium?
69: 💦 Could You Cook With Human Oil?
Why should you beware of Chinese gutter oil? Which oil is the healthiest to fry with? Does snake oil actually work?
68: 🫛 Ozempic For Medieval Peasants
Why are frozen peas better than fresh peas? How do you use a pea as an alarm clock? Whose constipation can be cured with a single pea?
67: 🍬 Why They Set Fire To Your Sugar
When is it a good idea to set fire to your sugar cane field? Why would you sprinkle sugar over a bee? Do you prefer your sugar in cubes or loaves?
66: 🐔 Why Chickens Need Spectacles
Why would you put spectacles on a chicken? What's the secret to a perfect roast chicken? Do chickens find you beautiful?Another bite of the drumstick with cook and writer Ed Smith.
65: 🌱 Screaming For Asparagus Ice Cream
Why shouldn't you snap your asparagus in half? Who was known as The Giant Asparagus? How can you make a knife out of asparagus?
64: 🐑 Why Are Doner Kebabs Cone Shaped?
What's the difference between dagging and redding? Why are doner kebab spits cone-shaped? What makes mint go so well with roast lamb?
63: 🥭 India's Magical Million Mango Tree
Who was the Indiana Jones of mangoes? What's the best way to mail a mango? Do you know the Mango Man?
62: 🍴 Buckingham Palace's Upside-Down Forks
Why are the forks in Buckingham Palace placed face down? Are spoons making us uglier? How do you flirt with a butter knife?
61: 💃🏻 Victorian Girl Dinners
What does a Victorian girl dinner look like? Why is the plough to blame for gender inequality? What's gay about quiche?
60: 🎨 The $6.2 Million Banana
Why did the Romans decorate their dining rooms with leftovers? How do you sell a banana for $6.2 million? Where can you eat dirt for fun?
59: 🥥 Performing Brain Surgery With A Coconut
Why would you inject coconut water directly into your bloodstream? How can a coconut help in brain surgery? What do octopuses use coconut shells for?
58: 🥣 The Best Place To Smear Yoghurt On A Hot Day
Whose testicles grow when you feed them yoghurt? Which animal would give you the highest protein yoghurt?
57: ☠️ The Deadliest Dishes Of History
Which food do you need a licence to prepare? When are you at risk of Margarita burn? Why should you never accept marzipan from the Pope?
56: 🫙 How To Hypnotise Your Pâté
What does Catherine of Braganza have to do with marmalade? How do you hypnotise pâté? If Marmite...what about Pa?
55: 🥕 Who Sabotaged Hitler's Carrots?
How do you cure a floppy carrot? Why would you feed carrots to a chicken? Who sabotaged Hitler's carrots?
54: 🐂 Bathing In Beef Broth
What are the benefits of a beef broth bath? How do you turn a cow into a tennis racket? Would you chow down on some chewy arse-tongue?
53: 🍊 The Medieval King Who Gave Us Jaffa Cakes
What can you do with a boiled orange? Which medieval king do we have to thank for Jaffa Cakes? Why does orange juice taste so bad after brushing your teeth?
52: 🍆 Why Is The Green M&M So Sexy?
Where did the Ancient Greeks stick their loaves? What's so sexy sbout sitting on a cake? Why is the green M&M so sexy?Happy Valentine's Week from Lunchbox Envy 😘
51: 🍟 Waiter, There's A Thumb In My Chile!
Which chain feeds 5% of the UK every day? Why would you send a spy into a pizza factory? What would you do if you found a thumb in your chilli?
50: 🚀 Where To Get A Good Drink In Space
What's the best way to smuggle vodka onto a space station? How do you make rocket Huel? Why do astronauts love shrimp cocktail so much?
49: 🫀 The Scottish Delicacy Banned In America
Would you try Lancashire calamari? What did Mrs Beeton cure with tripe? Where could you get arrested for cooking a haggis?
48: 🫘 The Scientists Measuring Bean Fartiness
Who built a car out of beans? Can you put out a fire with beans? How do you measure the fartiness of a bean?
47: 🥗 How To Sleep Yourself Skinny
How many calories are there in a gram of uranium? What is the Sleeping Beauty diet? What do you have in common with a doughnut?
46: 🍻 Who's Up For Peekaboo Meatball?
Why would you order a brick sandwich? What does a Peekaboo Meatball taste like? What was the mysterious Third Condiment?
Bonus: 🥂 The Best (And Worst) Festive Tipples
One more for the road? Merry Christmas!
45: 🎄 The Fish In The Bath On Christmas Eve
What is a live fish doing in your bath on Christmas Eve? Who tried to cook their turkey via electrocution? Where can you find roast reindeer on the menu?Merry Christmas from Lunchbox Envy!
44: 🎛️ Oven Baking Your Laptop
Why would you oven bake a laptop? Which day of the week can your oven switch itself on? Who cooked himself in a bread oven just to see what would happen?
43: 🍸 too dRUnk to thinkof a title f0r thsi one sorry
What do you get when you mix vodka with gunpowder? When will a doctor give you vodka? Who got paid in vodka?
42: 🎓 Jamie Oliver Is Screaming At Our Home-Twizzled Turkeys
How do you Twizzle a Turkey? Where did Ancient Spartan kids get their packed lunch from? Who used to give their schoolchildren wine?
41: 🦃 CALL NOW: The Emergency Turkey Hotline
How do you make a Frogeye Salad? When was eel on the Thanksgiving menu? Who can you call when your turkey won't defrost?
40: 🍯 Are You Being Swindled With Fake Honey?
Why does your honey have bubbles in it? How do you eat ant honey? What does purple honey taste like?
39: 🥓 The Man Who Tricked America Into Eating Breakfast
What's the point of a bacon window? Who's using a bacon dating app? How do you make bananacon?
38: 🌾 The Cereal Toy That Could Hack Phones
How do you make a Diamond Shreddie? Which cereal accidentally invented computer hacking? Why are some cereals magnetic?
37: 🎃 What's Really In A Pumpkin Spice Latte
What is a Pumpkin Spice Latte really made of? How do you you sail a pumpkin? Who was Stingy Jack?Happy Halloween!
36: 🍄🟫 Was Jesus A Mushroom?
Why would you want a mushroom to eat you? Which country has specially-trained mushroom chemists? Was Jesus actually a mushroom?
35: ❄️ The Man Who Nearly Destroyed Earth...Twice
Who was the original King of Cool? Where are the world's dirtiest fridges? How are you using your fridge wrong?
34: 🍪 You're Eating Biscuits The Wrong Way Up
Did a digestive break up The Beatles? Are you chomping on your Hobnobs upside down? What biscuits were on offer in the Titanic lifeboats?
33: 🐟 The Herring That Nearly Started WW3
How did herring nearly start World War 3? When did fish have fingers? Is there such a thing as a fish? (Yes, and it's delicious).
32: 🍎 We Ate Newton's Gravity Apple
How can a movie be spoiled by an apple? When do apples break the sound barrier? Why are some apples better for cooking with?
31: 🫖 Lethal Tea-Making Contraptions
What is that scum on the top of your tea? Why were the first automatic tea-making contraptions so dangerous? Are you a MIFFY or a TIFFY?
30: ♨️ The Insane Truth Behind Microwave Clocks
How did squirrels help invent the microwave? Why don't ants mind microwaves? What's the big problem with microwave clocks?Dedicated to Nigella <3
29: 🍺 Why Ancient Egyptians Drank Beer Through Straws
Why shouldn't you tilt your glass when you pour a pint? Which city has an underground beer pipeline? Why did the Ancient Egyptians drink their beer through straws?
28: 🧂 The Saltiest Place On Earth
What’s the saltiest place on Earth? How can salt win a war? And why does some salt taste like egg?!
27: 🧀 The Bank Vault Full Of Parmesan Cheese
How do they put the holes in swiss cheese? Who eats the world's hardest cheese? Why would you put Parmesan in a bank?
26: 🌸 The 12-Year-Old Boy Who Gave The World Vanilla
Which 12-year-old boy do we have to thank for all the vanilla we have today? What links vanilla to a beaver's anus? What hack lets you use your vanilla pods more than once?
25: 🧈 How Butter Caused The Catholic Reformation
How did butter cause the Catholic Reformation? Where does extra-yellow butter come from? Who wants a buttershag?
24: 🥪 What's The Ultimate Supermarket Meal Deal?
Why would you eat a cotton wool sandwich? What is an earth sandwich made of? Who once ate a $275 sandwich containing over 8000 calories?
23: 🥐 The Secret Curvy Croissant Code
What on earth is a Piecaken? Why are some croissants curvy and some straight? Which pastry was invented by a literal idiot? With special guest Edd Kimber.
22: 🍓 The World's Most Delicious Anal Secretion
What does the opposite of a strawberry taste like? Who liked to bathe in strawberry juice? What have strawberries got to do with a beaver's anal glands?
Bonus: 🎾 Europe's Largest Annual Catering Event
Happy Wimbledon everyone! Who's got room for an extra-creamy second helping this week?
21: 🍫 Why Does American Chocolate Taste Like S***?
When is Dairy Milk not chocolate? Whose chocolate taste like vomit? Where can you use KitKats as postcards?
20: 🥑 Sainsbury's and M&S's Avocado Feud
Why would you tattoo an avocado? Which bird has to vomit up the avocado stone before it can fly? How did avocados spark a row between Sainsbury's and M&S?
19: 🍕 Does Pizza Really Count As One Of Your 5-A-Day?
Who paid their rent in pizza? Where would you need a 3D-printed pizza? How do you make pizza with beer?
18: 🫒 Beware The Italian Olive Mafia
What did we use olives for before we ate them? What is the SPF of olive oil? Why should Americans be suspicious of Italian olive oil?
17: 🥔 A Potato-Only Diet: Surviving Or Thriving?
How do you milk a potato? Can you survive on a potato-only diet? Why do potatoes make daughters-in-law cry?
16: 🍷 Does More Expensive Wine Actually Taste Better?
Does alcohol actually burn off when you cook with wine? Does more expensive wine actually taste better? How do you take communion in outer space?
15: 🧅 The Day Onions Broke Wall Street
Which is the wrong direction to cut onions in? How did Viking doctors use onions to save lives on the operating table? Why do capuchin monkeys go wild over onions?
14: 🍋 Your Lemons Might Not Be Vegan
Why might your lemon not be vegan? How does a lemon affect your empathy? Who used lemons as a contraceptive?
13: 🍚 Your Rice Might Have Been Farmed By Ducks
Why do risotto spoons have holes in them? Why do rice farmers like ducks swimming in their fields? Why are we all so scared of reheating rice?
12: 🥜 The World's Most Average Jar Of Peanut Butter
How can you make peanuts dance? Which insect tastes great with peanut butter? Why is the most expensive jar of peanut butter the most average?
11: ☕ The Drink That Fuelled The Enlightement
Why should you put salt in your coffee? How does caffeine actually keep us awake? And do we really have coffee to thank for The Enlightenment?
10: 🥚 Egg Maths Ain't Mathing
What is the deal with egg maths? What can you smuggle inside an egg? And what are green eggs actually eaten with?
Bonus: 🐣 Happy Easter!
A little extra morsel all about chocolate eggs. Happy Easter!
9: 🍦Georgian Bread-Flavoured Ice Cream Is Surprisingly Delicious
Why has space ice cream never been to space? What was the World War II substitute for ice cream? How did the Georgians make ice cream out of bread?
8: 🍅 How Napoleon Invented Tinned Tomatoes
Why do tomatoes taste so much nicer on holiday? How is Napoleon responsible for tinned tomatoes? When do tomatoes scream?
7: 🧂 The University Paying Its Rent In Pepper
Which peppercorn is good for popping at festivals? Who still pays rent in peppercorns? How do you make a pepper martini?
6: 🍝 When Colgate Made Lasagna
What went wrong with Beeton’s inedible macaroni? Why did Colgate once sell lasagna? Where does Bologna keep its mysterious Golden Tagliatella?
5: 🌭 Our Nuclear Submarines Depend On Sausages
What makes sausages sausage-shaped? How can you win a duel armed only with a sausage? What is the worrying sausagey weakness in the UK’s nuclear deterrent?
4: 🍗 Who Invented The Modern Chicken?
WARNING - BROILERS AHEAD: How many chickens do you eat each year? What's the best way to shuck a chicken oyster? Who invented the frozen chicken?
3: 🥛 How Do You Milk A Flying Cow?
Why is it so hard to milk a moose? How have we all been duped by Big Milk?
2: 🍌 The Banana That Went To Alton Towers
Why do we have Alton Towers to thank for the British banana? What's the least appealing peeling technique? What's the most threatening thing you can do with a banana and a biro?
1: 🧄 Why Won't Ninjas Eat Garlic?
How could garlic breath help win a war? Can you taste garlic with your feet? Does anyone actually follow the recipe-recommended amount of garlic?
✨ Introducing Lunchbox Envy!
Join QI's most gastronomically-minded Elves, Manu and Jack along with chef and food writer Rosie MacKean as they unpack the world of food and drink, one lunchbox at a time.
Recommended
Coffee Break Japanese
World Questions
The Physics Teaching Podcast
Preach The Word - David Legge
The Profitable Baker Podcast
The Non-Billable Podcast
CEO Stories: Conversations with Greater Birmingham business leaders
InsideAIR
Sami Hamdi
The Lancet Voice
English L'Abri
Ajahn Amaro Podcast by Amaravati
