In this episode of the Food Matters Live podcast, we are turning down the lights, turning up the music, and getting out the finest cutlery as we talk about the food of love.

And specifically, the idea of aphrodisiacs – those foods which, it is claimed, have a love-inducing power on us, which are stimulating, potent, and get the blood flowing.

In modern times, oysters or chocolate are claimed to do the job. Further back, foie gras and caviar. Through history, stranger things still.  

The question is: Do food aphrodisiacs actually work? And if so, are they always sexy or is it about context?

We are going to dig into the history to find out and on the way we will see how the food industry has tapped into these sensual foods and drinks.

Martha Hopkins, Author

Martha Hopkins is an author, book packager, and agent who has worked on scores of titles, most of them cookbooks.

Her most favourite was her first: InterCourses: an aphrodisiac cookbook, which she produced with her best friend and business partner, Randall Lockridge.

The book has sold more than 325,000 copies in the US and Canada, with foreign rights to the UK, Australia, and Germany.

Their firm, Terrace Partners, provides book development and corporate marketing and design, working leading publishers and clients such as Clarkson Potter, Disney, and Patrón Liquor. Martha lives in Austin, TX, with her husband, John.

Dr Ursula Janssen, Culinary Historian

Dr Ursula Janssen is an archaeologist, culinary historian and book author.

After spending several years living and working in various countries in Africa and the Middle East, she now lives with her husband and daughter on their small farm “Trullo Cicerone“ in Puglia.