Lecker

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S4 Ep6: A Bigger Table (Kitchens #6) Sep 20, 2021

Show notes

How can the practice of eating together secure a sustainable future for our kitchens?
In the final episode of the series, Joanne MacInnes and Betul Piyade from the community centre West London Welcome describe what it's like for refugees and asylum seekers to live indefinitely in hotel rooms without kitchens. And academic and "food crisis responder" Marsha Smith explains why social eating is so important for us as a society, and explains how it's the key to future proofing our eating habits.
Lecker is written and produced by Lucy Dearlove
Thanks to my contributors on this episode Betul Piyade and Joanne MacInnes at West London Welcome, and Marsha Smith.
West London Welcome is an amazing place. This interview was recorded a few months ago, before the crisis in Afghanistan, and the centre is now working to support newly arrived Afghan refugees, as well as their existing members. You can donate to support their work via LocalGiving here.
The transcript of the episode is here.
Buy the Kitchens print zine featuring original essays and illustrations!
Original music was composed for the series by Jeremy Warmsley, with additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

Research and production assistance from Nadia Mehdi.
Editorial feedback by Rory Dearlove
Cover collage by Stephanie Hartman

If you’ve enjoyed what you heard on this episode, or generally on Lecker, please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening, and telling a friend about it!
The next thing on the Lecker schedule is a three part series about food and folklore on the Isle of Man, which is being generously funded by Culture Vannin! I’m making that with the brilliant Manx audio producer Katie Callin and it’ll be out before the end of the year. If you liked the episode Bonnag then you’ll love this!
Find Lecker on twitter and instagram.

S4 Ep5: The Hearth of the Home (Kitchens #5) Sep 13, 2021

Show notes

Does it matter what fuels our fire in the kitchen? Javon Bennett explains how his family adapted their cooking when they moved from Jamaica to England, and Carwyn Graves explores open fire cooking and other Welsh kitchen traditions.
A full transcript is available on the Lecker website.
Lecker is written and produced by Lucy Dearlove

Thanks to the contributors on this episode, Javon Bennett and Carwyn Graves.
And also thanks to Naomi Oppenheim who put me in touch with Javon via the British Library Caribbean Foodways project and also to my friend and previous Lecker guest Sian Stacey for telling me about Carwyn’s work.
Buy the Kitchens print zine featuring original essays and illustrations!
Original music was composed for the series by Jeremy Warmsley, with additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

Research and production assistance from Nadia Mehdi.
Extractor fan recording by Victoria Ferran

Cover collage by Stephanie Hartman

If you’ve enjoyed what you heard on this episode, or generally on Lecker, please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening, and telling a friend about it!
A big thank you go out to my new Patreon patrons: Anna, Naomi, Sonya, Gloria, Sian, Harriet, Jane, Kirsten, Sian and Hannah! And if you’ve really enjoyed listening to this episode, or are a big fan of the podcast in general already, please consider becoming a patron of the podcast at patreon.com/leckerpodcast

S4 Ep4: Flat Pack (Kitchens #4) Sep 06, 2021

Show notes

Prefabs – built to help counter the post war housing shortage - were actually some of the earliest examples of fitted kitchens in the UK, and came with built in fridges at time when this technology was unaffordable to most people. Jennie Thomas reflects on growing up in a post war prefab in Hackney, and Alice Wilson, whose academic work examines tiny houses, reflects on the movement as a reaction to the housing situation in contemporary Britain.
Lecker is written and produced by Lucy Dearlove.

Thanks to the contributors on this episode, Jennie Thomas and Alice Wilson. Find out more about the OpHouse project.

A full transcript is available on the Lecker website.
Buy the Kitchens print zine featuring original essays and illustrations!
Original music was composed for the series by Jeremy Warmsley, with additional music also by Jeremy, and by Blue Dot Sessions

Research and production assistance from Nadia Mehdi.
Additional guest research by Sarah Woolley.
Cover collage by Stephanie Hartman
If you’ve enjoyed what you heard on this episode, or generally on Lecker, please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening, and telling a friend about it!
And if you’ve really enjoyed listening to this episode, or are a big fan of the podcast in general already, please consider becoming a patron of the podcast at patreon.com/leckerpodcast

S4 Ep3: The Unsociable Kitchen (Kitchens #3) Aug 30, 2021

Show notes

Why are so many of our kitchens so unsociable? Lucy meets Johnny Grey, a kitchen designer who’s been fighting for decades to make kitchens a place for leisure not work, and Katie Pennick, a disability campaigner whose work has changed the face of London transport – but who still can’t cook in her own kitchen. Plus Sean Warmington-Wan reflects on the unsociable kitchen in his shared London house.
Lecker is written and produced by Lucy Dearlove.

Thanks to the contributors on this episode: Sean Warmington-Wan, Katie Pennick and Johnny Grey.
You can find a full transcript for this episode on the Lecker website.
Buy the Kitchens print zine featuring original essays and illustrations!
Original music was composed for the series by Jeremy Warmsley, with additional music also by Jeremy, and by Blue Dot Sessions

Research and production assistance from Nadia Mehdi.
Cover collage by Stephanie Hartman
If you’ve enjoyed what you heard on this episode, or generally on Lecker, please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening, and telling a friend about it!
And if you’ve really enjoyed listening to this episode, or are a big fan of the podcast in general already, please consider becoming a patron of the podcast at patreon.com/leckerpodcast

S4 Ep2: Meal Machine (Kitchens #2) Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

Kitchens are inextricably linked with the woman of the house. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that the fitted kitchen was literally designed as a workspace to fit around a woman’s body. But what does this mean for women - and men - now? How are traditional gender roles built up and broken down by the kitchen itself? Michael Etheridge reflects on the distribution of domestic labour in his own home, and food writer Gemma Croffie talks about the narrow definition of accepted womanhood when it comes to domestic work.
A full transcript for this episode is available on the Lecker website.
The title Meal Machine comes from the companion guide to the 2011 MoMA exhibition Counter Space: Design + The Modern Kitchen: “Meal machine, experimental laboratory, status symbol, domestic prison, or the creative and spiritual heart of the home?”
Lecker is written and produced by Lucy Dearlove.
Thanks to my contributors on this episode: Michael Etheridge and Gemma Croffie.
You can read Gemma’s piece Kitchens on the Path, which inspired this episode, in the print zine released alongside this audio series. Buy a copy now at leckerpodcast.com/kitchens.
Original music was composed for the series by Jeremy Warmsley, with additional music also by Jeremy, and by Blue Dot Sessions.
Research and production assistance from Nadia Mehdi.
Cover collage by Stephanie Hartman.
If you’ve enjoyed what you heard, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and tell a friend!
And if you enjoy listening to Lecker in general, and have enjoyed this series so far, please consider becoming a patron of the podcast at patreon.com/leckerpodcast

S4 Ep1: Trophy Cabinets (Kitchens #1) Aug 16, 2021

Show notes

Aspirational kitchens are an integral part of our food media, but where did they come from? And what does it mean for those who can never attain a beautiful, cookbook-worthy kitchen? Design historian Professor Deborah Sugg Ryan explores what came before the fitted kitchen, and how the room itself has shape-shifted drastically over the 20th century. And food writer and author Ruby Tandoh considers the aspirational kitchen in food writing.
Episode 1 of Kitchens, a podcast series by Lecker about the most important room in the home.
You can find a full transcript for this episode on the Lecker website.
Lecker is written and produced by Lucy Dearlove.
Thanks to the contributors on this episode, Professor Deborah Sugg Ryan and Ruby Tandoh.
There’s also a print zine featuring original essays and illustrations about kitchens released alongside this audio series. Buy a copy now at leckerpodcast.com
Original theme music was composed for the series by Jeremy Warmsley, with additional music also by Jeremy, and by Blue Dot Sessions
Research and production assistance from Nadia Mehdi.
Additional guest research by Sarah Woolley.
Cover collage by Stephanie Hartman
If you’ve enjoyed what you heard on this episode, or generally on Lecker, please consider rating and reviewing the podcast on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening, and telling a friend about it!
And if you’ve really enjoyed listening to this episode, or are a big fan of the podcast in general already, please consider becoming a patron of the podcast at patreon.com/leckerpodcast

S4: Introducing...Kitchens (TRAILER) Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

Wall-mounted cabinets, continuous work surfaces, oven, hob, sink, fridge. Maybe a table, often not. Could this be describing your kitchen? The fitted kitchen is ubiquitous in British homes. But we all have different lives, tastes, needs; we cook different foods. How did we all end up with the same kitchen?
Rooted in the memories and personal stories embedded in people's kitchens, Kitchens is a six part podcast series combining the history of design and food to understand the current context of how and where we cook. Lucy Dearlove meets contemporary academicians such as design historian Professor Deborah Sugg Ryan and legendary kitchen designer Johnny Grey, along with contributors like disability campaigner Katie Pennick and food writer Ruby Tandoh to explore the past, present and potential future of the British kitchen.
The series starts 16th August.
Original theme music was composed for the series by Jeremy Warmsley.
The collage for the series cover art was designed by Stephanie Hartman.

S3 Ep10: Tiny Feasts Dec 23, 2020

Show notes

Many people have celebrated special occasions differently this year, finding ways to recreate communal food traditions for themselves. Our feasts may have shrunk, but we're still joined together through the kitchen and through the plate.
In this episode, hear four stories of personal food rituals reimagined and recreated in 2020: Jane's bread sauce, Emma and Ingrid's Venezuelan ham bread, Adi's Bacalhau com natas and Pratyusha's pongal.
Music
Quiet Sill by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Solemn Application by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
The Big Ten by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
A Catalog of Seasons by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Gusty Hollow by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Mogul by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Silent Flock by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

S3 Ep9: Anne Willan's Cookbooks Aug 24, 2020

Show notes

Anne Willan has more than 60 years experience as a teacher, author, and culinary historian, and over 30 books to her name. Speaking to me around the release of her new book, Women In The Kitchen: Twelve Essential Cookbook Writers Who Defined The Way We Eat from 1661 to Today (Simon & Schuster), she shared some stories from her amazing life in food.
I would be really grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to fill out the Lecker Listener Survey!

S3 Ep8: The Many Kitchens of Rachel Khoo Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

TV chef and cookbook author Rachel Khoo talks about privilege, being mixed race in the UK food industry and her new show Simple Pleasures.
You can buy the Simple Pleasures eBook for £5 here, with all proceeds going to the Film and TV Charity UK.

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