Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by The Spinoff’s resident poutine authority (and politics editor) Justin Giovannetti for our second together-but-apart Zoom pod.

On this month’s Dietary Requirements, we’re still physically apart but together in spirit, buoyed by the level-two joy of being allowed out of the house to partake in our favourite activities: eating and drinking. Our guest is The Spinoff’s fresh-from-quarantine (OK, managed isolation) politics editor, Justin Giovannetti, who takes a break from throwing curly questions at authority figures to beam in from parliament.

Justin is not only a politics whiz but an expert on poutine, the culinary delight that ranks alongside maple syrup, Trivial Pursuit and, um, Justin Bieber as among Canada’s greatest contributions to the world. Justin (Giovannetti, not Bieber) is writing a book about the glorious Québecois concoction that comprises French fries, cheese curds and gravy, though his magnum opus has been put on hold thanks to a pesky global pandemic and a move to the other side of the world.

This episode also features a real-life account of what food is really like in quarantine (spoiler alert: many pancakes), plus we talk about what cooking in lockdown taught us, share highlights from our respective long-awaited returns to dining out – and are subjected to a terrifying LIVE ON-AIR earthquake.

To listen, use the player below or download this episode (right click and save). Make sure to subscribe via iTunes, or via your favourite podcast provider. And please share Dietary Requirements with your friends. Get in touch if you have any questions or requests: aliceneville@thespinoff.co.nz