In this episode of the Fermenters Guild podcast, host Robin speaks with chef and fermentation specialist Mara Jane King about her incredible travels through southwestern China to document ancient, often overlooked food practices for her documentary, The People's Republic of Fermentation. Accompanied by her mother and renowned expert Sandor Katz, Mara ventured deep into Yunnan and Sichuan to learn from local artisans.

Beyond her travels, Mara sheds light on the historical biases shaping modern culinary science. She offers a surprising critique of the global obsession with koji, explaining how its dominance stems from Japanese culinary imperialism that has historically overshadowed the wild mold-based traditions of neighboring Asian cultures. The conversation also tackles the coded racism embedded in Western food safety regulations, specifically highlighting the UK’s culturally biased fixation on Bacillus cereus and reheated rice. Ultimately, Mara and host Robin expose how prejudice and arbitrary value judgments dictate which cuisines are elevated, policed, or ignored in the modern culinary world.

Mara & Sandor's documentary film, People's Republic of Fermentation, is available to watch on Youtube for free. You can follow Mara on Instagram

Hosted by Robin Sherriff.

Original music & editing by David Craigie.

Robin is joined this week by Kenji Morimoto , author of Ferment and Instagram content creator extraordinaire behind KenjCooks, to discuss fermentation's connection to cultural preservation and spirituality.

Kenji, a fourth-generation Japanese American, explains how his book focuses on demystifying fermentation basics and how to utilise ferments in everyday cooking. The conversation dives into how the act of fermentation became a lens for Kenji to reconnect with his Buddhist spirituality. He finds the process of being present, intentional, and eventually "believing in the process" when making ferments like miso to be incredibly grounding and meditative.

Kenji also shares his family history, detailing how food can act as a form of cultural maintenance for immigrant populations, often preserving traditions in time. He recounts the trauma of Japanese American internment during WWII and how his grandfather creatively transmuted familiar Japanese flavours post-war by using Quaker oats to make nukazuke.

Kenji's book, Ferment, is out now and available at all good bookshops. You can follow Kenji on Instagram and find out more on his website.

Hosted by Robin Sherriff.

Original music & editing by David Craigie.

In this episode, Robin spoke to Sean Roy Parker from Fermental Health, who describes himself as a visual artist, writer and landworker, who uses fermentation as a tool and medium. Roy told us about a recent exhibition, Man of Kent, where he fermented out-of-date beer into vinegar in an old pub cellar to explore how expired ideas around toxic masculinity and alcoholism can be transformed into something new.

Roy explains his creative philosophy as a "living practice" and an embrace of "radical amateurism". This involves resisting the pressure to become a "hyper-professional" and instead allowing himself to be a learner and a questioner. He delved into how fermentation works on non-human timescales, and functions as a tool for anti-capitalism and "chaotic degrowth," using abundances and "waste" to create delicious food that rejects the uniformity of commercial products and supermarket. He also discussed his upcoming project in Lithuania, 'Citizen Sandwich', where he will use foraging and bin diving to create food for a festival, channelling fermentation as a communal, decolonising act.

You can follow Roy on his Substack and Instagram, and buy a uniquely-bound copy of his debut collection of poetry, Stewarding.

Hosted by Robin Sherriff.

Original music & editing by David Craigie.