Nigel Barden

An expert in food and drink with over 30 years of experience, broadcaster Nigel Barden is well-known for his regular radio and TV appearances, including his popular Foodie Thursday slot on the award-winning Drivetime show on Radio 2 alongside Chris Evans and Simon Mayo. Barden is also a rugby commentator for BBC News 24TV and BBC London Radio, and is BBC Radio London’s longest standing contributor since 1990, regularly chatting about the London food and drink scene on the Robert Elms show. Barden is also a familiar face on television, appearing on shows including BBC Inside Out, and he hosts his own show on Amazon Prime, Nigel Barden’s Drivetime Dishes.

Barden grew up on a farm, giving him a first-hand insight into the farming community, and he now supports and promotes local, artisan food and drink producers from around the UK. He began his career as a wine merchant, giving him a valuable in-depth knowledge of the industry, before he attended drama school in the early 1990s and began to work on the radio.
Barden is now one of the food and drink industry’s busiest hosts, and is often in demand as a judge and host at events such as The Great Taste, the World Cheese Awards, the Farm Shop & Deli Awards, the Deliciously Yorkshire Awards and the National Fish & Chip Awards.
After 12 years as a regular on the BBC 2 Drivetime Foodie Thursday slot, Barden to left to join his former co-host, DJ Simon Mayo on a new Saturday morning cookery show on Scala Radio. Barden is also an active supporter of the charity Action Against Hunger.