Culinary Media Network™

In 2005, Chef Mark Tafoya decided to give a little thing called “podcasting” a try. His encyclopedic brain and wanderlust compelled him to explore micro-regional cuisines from around the world, and his background as a Broadway actor made it a natural fit to start creating shows about his interests.

In 2006, he and Jennifer decided they could really do something with that idea, and in a creative burst, curated and launched the Culinary Podcast Network™ — the world’s first food podcast channel — in 36 hours. Chef Mark reached out to all the podcasters whose shows he loved, they put it all together, and launched to press coverage around the country.

Jennifer’s show Food Philosophy launched soon after, as they were approached by PodShow (founded by “Podfather” Adam Curry) to become part of their all-star lineup with some of the first digital media sponsors like GoDaddy, Barilla and Hamilton Beach. Soon their shows were featured on Sirius satellite radio.

The early lineup included All You Can Eat, Eat Feed, Simply Ming, Gastrologica, the CHIC Podcast, and several others. Soon after, they launched into video, and added shows like the award-nominated CMN Travels series and Cocktail Hour.

Suddenly they found themselves being invited on trips around the globe to cover chefs, purveyors, food customs and culture. They were often the only podcasters among crews of journalists, doing almost-live shows from the road with their “Quick Bites” videos, and by the time they were done, interviewed every major chef around the globe. (See the full timeline.)

And though they aren’t creating any new food podcasts these days (yet?), Chef Mark is still making videos over on YouTube. Jennifer is considering a new podcast to complement her global entrepreneurship work, and chuckles every time she hears someone say “You should really do a podcast!”

THE SHOW LINEUP