Wolfing Down Food Science
Ever wonder about how your food makes it from the farm to your table? There is a lot of food science along the way. Not a culinary or nutrition podcast, Wolfing Down Food Science is all about the chemistry, microbiology and engineering of food. Questions or comments? Send us an email at wolfingdownfoodscience@ncsu.edu. To find out more about food science at NC State University check us out at https://cals.ncsu.edu/food-bioprocessing-and-nutrition-sciences/
Episodes
In an era dominated by AI and instant search engines, does fast, real-time memory recall still matter? In this episode of the WDFS Podcast, we step into the high-stakes world of Food Science College Bowl. The College Bowl competition started in 1985 as a way for students to demonstrate their food science knowledge. It covers all areas of food science knowledge, from chemistry to microbiology to engineeri...
What makes food taste truly delicious? In this episode of Wolfing Down Food Science, molecular biologist and author Nik Sharma explores the science behind flavor and cooking through his new book, Fundamentals of Flavor: 100 Recipes for the Science of Better Cooking. From understanding how ingredients interact to using scientific principles to improve everyday cooking, Nik shares how a deeper understanding of food sc...
Many of us love coffee, but it can be a nightmare to add as an ingredient to manufactured foods. Problems with settling particles, high levels of variability, shelf-life oxidation, and biomass waste are a few of the challenges that Comple Coffee is taking on. We talk to co-founder Carl Hollifield in this WDFS podcast episode and he helps us understand how Comple Coffee is breaking new ground. ...
Lee Cadesky, is a food scientist and engineer specializing in alternative proteins. Lee holds an M.S. in Food Engineering from Cornell University, where she also worked as a lecturer. As the co-founder of C-fu Foods and One Hop Kitchen, she has spent years developing insect-based ingredients and navigating the realities of the food tech startup world. She joins us today to discuss her career, the mechanics of altern...
Food waste. It's the world's dumbest problem. It's also the topic of our most popular podcast ever (see our 2022 interview with Dr. Lisa Johnson). California just passed a new law that dramatically simplifies the 50 potential types of expiration dates currently used on food packaging down to just two. What does Al Capone have to do with all of this? Well, we guess you'll just have to li...
Soccer, which is known to most to most of the world as football has captured the world's attention during this time of the "Cup That Shall Not Be Named".
My long-time friend, TR Masino (co-host of the Stairway to Eleven music podast) joined me in Mexico City to discuss US vs Mexican food culture, in the context of a "foodball" game. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Our GOOOOOOALLL!!! is to provide an over...
We are joined by a guest who is just as comfortable with a pipette as he is with a piping bag. Dr. Josh Smalley is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Leicester, specializing in the synthesis of peptidomimetic materials. But to millions of viewers worldwide, he is better known as the meticulous finalist from the 2023 series of The Great British Baking Show.
Josh has pioneered a unique niche in scie...
AI is here to stay. Will AI be the end of humanity or will it create a utopia? The AI Doc or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a documentary that looks at the positives, negative, and mixed effects AI may have on society in the near future.
Here is a link to the AI Doc movie trailer:
https://youtu.be/xkPbV3IRe4Y?si=fzvdMz_ZolZIfaZk
Serial entrepreneur, podcaster, and (now) grad student Adam Yee and I ...
Every five years, a massive set of rules, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), quietly changes the way 300 million people are "supposed" to eat. But who actually writes these rules? Is it pure science, or is it just the latest dietary trend?
In this episode, we sit down with April Fogelman to go behind the scenes of the federal nutrition recommendations that were recently updated. We’re digging into the ...
In this energizing episode, we chat with TEDx Speaker and Champion of Molecular Literacy, Dr. Colleen Kelley. Colleen is a science and chemistry teacher, a bilingual author, an Army veteran, and TEDx speaker. Her educational range is impressive. She has taught classes from K-12 through the university. Colleen has an amazing ability to communicate enthusiasm about science through public speaki...
This episode was recorded live at the BakingTECH 2026 meeting in Chicago with our guest, Heather Simpson.
Heather Simpson has built a diverse career in the food industry, leveraging her Food Science education from Purdue University. Her journey began at Mars Corp's DoveBar plant gaining experience in production. She then transitioned to the dairy industry, working with a hydrocolloid ingredient company to support McD...
In this episode we've "escaped" our ordinary format to talk with three amazing guests at once:
- Clint Stevenson, NC State Professor and Distance Ed Coordinator
- Dave Seddon, Co-Founder and Chief Safety Officer at FoodReady
- David Wilson, Chief Creative Officer at Intoxicated by Riddles and Co-Founder of the True/False Film Fest
The topic? Clint, Dave, and David's collaborative project using the concept...
To start out the new year, we're recapping PodFest 2026, which wrapped in mid January and looking ahead to BakingTECH 2026. Podcast was about every type of podcast and every aspect of podcasting you can think of, while BakingTECH is really focused in on the commercial baking industry. In this episode, we talk about some of the surprising and cool things about PodFest, including what Pecha Kucha is and tr...
It has been a great 2025 for WDFS. We spoke with wonderful, highly accomplished guests who provided a plethora of good advice about food science careers, about professionalism, and about life. We welcomed Stella as our podcast editor. We had our first Spanish/English bilingual podcast. We were pleasantly surprised to be invited to do a live podcast at the American Society of Baking annual con...
Dr. Arnie Sair is a third generation Ph.D. food scientist, a returning guest to WDFS, and Head of Global Quality & Food Safety at Bunge. Arnie returns to WDFS with a new endeavor: the Core Ready™ leadership program. Core Ready is focused on building the soft skills and leadership habits students need to thrive in the workforce from day one using the FORM TUF ABS™ approach. In this episode, Arni...
Join us as we sit down with Dr. Chris Daubert, who brings a wealth of experience from every corner of the Food Science world.
Currently serving as Vice Chancellor and Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri Columbia, Dr. Daubert shares his unique career path—from his roots in agricultural engineering and becoming a recognized expert in rheology (the study of...
April Hix Morrison is an alumna of our department and has, for the last 17 years, served as our professional Academic Advisor across all three of our Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Science majors. A big part of April’s job is helping students’ thrive at NC State. To aid in this, NC State University, and many others, have implemented Clifton Strengths assessments to help students discover ...
Dr. Katie McKee is an Associate Professor and Leadership Educator in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at NC State University. Her work focuses on transformative leadership and its application to solving complex challenges to enable communities to thrive. Her research and extension efforts, including the Agents for Change program, a center on developing leadership capacity among youth, college studen...
In our first English/Spanish bilingual episode we talk international science communication with agronomist Dr. Dr. Maria Luz "Malu" Zapiola. Malu is equally comfortable giving lectures in university classroom or (out standing) in the middle of a wheat field.
Note: We switch from English to Spanish at 20:20.
Dr. Maria Luz "Malu" Zapiola earned her Master's in Crop Science and Genetics, as well as her Doctorate in...
Dr. Fernanda Santos’ route to food science was not direct. But one thing is for sure, she has found a home in food science at NC State University. Dr. Santos teaches 13 classes at NC State, one of which is a project-based class for seniors in food science and bioprocessing. Through collaboration with faculty and industry, she is giving students real-world experience. We are excited to h...
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