The British Food History Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The School Meals Service with Heather Ellis Aug 20, 2023

Show notes

S06E09 The School

Meals Service with Heather Ellis: shownotes

Neil’s guest today is Heather Ellis from Sheffield University. Helen is a historian of Education and she, along with academics from the University of Wolverhampton and UCL, have just embarked on an ambitious project looking at people’s experiences and memories of their school dinners in all four UK Home Nations. School dinners have been supplied by the School Meals Service – i.e. by the Government – since 1908.

They talked about the project, the origins of the School Meals Service in the first decade of the 20th century, the foods served up over the next 100 years or so including pink sponge and custard, liver with the tubes attached and the now infamous turkey twizzlers, Maggie Thatcher – milk snatcher, the fall in the quality of school dinners, as well as Jamie Oliver’s campaign to get them sorted out, and many other things. The School Meals Project wants your food memories if you have had experience with school meals in the UK, however old you may be and whatever the interaction may be.

School Meals Project website: https://www.theschoolmealsproject.co.uk/

Find Heather on Twitter @HeatherLWEllis

Find The School Meals Project on Twitter: @ESRCSchoolMeals

Jamie Oliver’s school meals campaign clip: https://youtu.be/DG66rKiNkw4

When published, Neil’s blog post with a recipe for sago pudding, will be found at www.britishfoodhistory.com

Other past blog post recipes for school dinner-style foods:

Rice pudding: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2015/01/14/rice-pudding/

How to make a steamed sponge pudding: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2023/01/13/how-to-make-a-steamed-sponge-pudding-a-step-by-step-guide/

Jam roly-poly: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2011/11/26/jam-roly-poly/

Proper custard: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2012/03/02/proper-custard/

Eton Mess: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2011/08/11/eton-mess/

Other bits:

The Elizabeth Raffald Manchester Central Library event at 6pm on 13 September: https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper/

Neil will be speaking at the Ludlow Food Festival on Sunday 10 September at 2.30pm, talking all things Elizabeth Raffald: https://www.ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/

He is also talking at Chelsea History Festival on Friday 29 September 2023, at 6pm about the history of sugar: https://chelseahistoryfestival.com/events/dark-history-sugar/

Neil’s blogs:

‘British Food: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ http://neilcooksgrigson.com

Order Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper at your favourite bookshop, or from the publisher Pen & Sword History: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Before-Mrs-Beeton-Hardback/p/22437

Neil’s other book A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as well as from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

Don’t forget there will be a postbag episode at the end of the season, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or find me on twitter @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery my DMs are open. You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Early Television Cookbooks & Tie-ins with Kevin Geddes Aug 06, 2023

Show notes

Neil talks to returning guest Kevin Geddes. He told us all about the wonderful, fabulous Fanny Cradock, but today he is talking to me about Television Cookery Shows and their cookbook tie-ins. Kevin wrote a very interesting paper on the early history and origins of TV Cookbooks, and Neil found it so interesting, and he thought you would find it interesting too.

We talked about the early cooking programmes on the BBC before the war, and afterwards; the post-war TV cooks the theatrical Philip Harben and the steady pair of hands Marguerite Patten and how they published their own books whilst working for the BBC; the BBC’s worry about selling commercial products whilst being a public service broadcaster; and the one who really got it all going Mrs Fanny Cradock.

Kevin’s Food and Foodways paper: https://napier-repository.worktribe.com/output/3133885/accompanying-the-series-early-british-television-cookbooks-1946-1976

Find Kevin on twitter, Instagram and Threads @keepcalmandfannyon

Kevin’s blog: https://keepcalmandfannyon.blogspot.com/

Clip of Philip Harben demonstrating boiling techniques: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj-tapF1kgU

Clip of Marguerite Patten inducing a show from the 1950s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgG9oMq4l2U

Clip of Fanny Cradock demonstrating fish cookery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EQJ8GnDsiw

Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D95rMYL1T2A

Gary Rhodes and Rhodes Around Britain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=fvJym_0sQ8I

Check out Kevin’s books on his Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/19684992.Kevin_Geddes

Previous podcast episodes pertinent to this episode

Fanny Cradock with Kevin Geddes: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2U50gtyEgV4hcTvMFP2ElG?si=a7cad3d39eab4e13

Other bits:

The Elizabeth Raffald Manchester Central Library event at 6pm on 13 September: https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper/

Neil will be speaking at the Ludlow Food Festival on Sunday 10 September at 2.30pm, talking all things Elizabeth Raffald: https://www.ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/

He is also talking at Chelsea History Festival on Friday 29 September 2023, at 6pm about the history of sugar: https://chelseahistoryfestival.com/events/dark-history-sugar/

Neil’s blogs:

‘British Food: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ http://neilcooksgrigson.com

A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as well as from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

Don’t forget there will be postbag episodes, so if you have any questions or queries

about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the

history of British food please email Neil at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or

find me on twitter @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery my

DMs are open. You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook

discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

18th Century Tavern Cooking with Marc Meltonville (& Richard Briggs) Jul 29, 2023

Show notes

Esteemed food historian Marc Meltonville returns to the podcast to talk about taverns, 18th century dining and the cook and author Richard Briggs, the focus of his new book The Tavern Cook: Eighteenth Century Dining Through the Recipes of Richard Briggs which has recently been published by Prospect Books.

We talked about how he found out about Richard Briggs and his book; the similarities and differences between life and cooking then and now; who may have influenced Briggs’ writing; his death; broiling and other older English words the Brits no longer use but North Americans do; authenticity; and much more.

Marc’s website: www.meltonville.uk

Find Marc on Instagram @marcmeltonville

Buy The Tavern Cook: Eighteenth Century Dining Through the Recipes of Richard Briggs from the publisher: https://prospectbooks.co.uk/products-page/current-titles/the-tavern-cook/

There is 1 Easter egg associated with this episode, to access them start a monthly £3 subscription. Subscribers get access to all of the Easter eggs, premium blog content and Neil’s monthly newsletter. Visit https://britishfoodhistory.com/support-the-blog-podcast/ for more details. On that page, you could also donate a one-off ‘virtual coffee’ or ‘virtual pint’. All money received goes into making more content.

Previous podcast episodes pertinent to this episode

Recreating 16th Century Beer with Susan Flavin & Marc Meltonville https://open.spotify.com/episode/6wtjaqTVyqjacVkyvvO3FP?si=b3c29819ed7b453a

Elizabeth Raffald with Alessandra Pino & Neil Buttery https://open.spotify.com/episode/0oPYbFhNAfIHOfj6KL9RWC?si=cfdfadbbf32a4d24

18th Century Dining with Ivan Day https://open.spotify.com/episode/22BHsKHncyk2i6UXEzcIY2?si=92c16fc7a2904e45

Other bits:

Neil’s new blog post about malt loaf, with recipe for subscribers: http://britishfoodhistory.com/2023/07/28/to-make-malt-loaf/

The Elizabeth Raffald Manchester Central Library event at 6pm on 13 September: https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper/

Neil will be speaking at the Ludlow Food Festival on Sunday 10 September at 2.30pm, talking all things Elizabeth Raffald: https://www.ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/

He is also talking at Chelsea History Festival on Friday 29 September 2023, at 6pm about the history of sugar: https://chelseahistoryfestival.com/

Neil’s Elizabeth Raffald tour of Manchester on Twitter: https://twitter.com/neilbuttery/status/1634872473396342784

Neil’s blogs:

‘British Food: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ http://neilcooksgrigson.com

Buy Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper at your favourite bookshop, or from the publisher Pen & Sword History: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Before-Mrs-Beeton-Hardback/p/22437

Neil’s other book A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as well as from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

Don’t forget there will be postbag episodes, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or find me on twitter @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery my DMs are open. You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Tudor Cooking & Cuisine with Brigitte Webster Jul 23, 2023

Show notes

Today Neil talks with Brigitte Webster about her new book Eating with the Tudors which has just been published by Pen & Sword History.

We talked about how she came to live in her Tudor house; how the food changed going in and coming out of the Tudor period; food and the four humours and how ideas about those also changed; favourite cookbooks; fritters; sops; mince pies; cheese; and many other things.

Follow Brigitte on Twitter @tudorfoodrecipe;

Instagram @tudor_experience; Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064747654339

Buy Eating with the Tudors, published by Pen & Sword History: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Eating-with-the-Tudors-Hardback/p/23659

Transcript of The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin on the Foods of England website: http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/book1594huswife.htm#:~:text=London%201594-,The%20good%20Huswifes%20Handmaide%20for%20the%20Kitchin.,the%20same%20to%20the%20Table.

There are 2 Easter eggs associated with this episode, to access them start a monthly £3 subscription.

Subscribers get access to all of the Easter eggs, premium blog content and Neil’s monthly newsletter. Visit https://britishfoodhistory.com/support-the-blog-podcast/ for more details. On that page, you could also donate a one-off ‘virtual coffee’ or ‘virtual pint’. All money received goes into making more content.

Previous podcast episodes pertinent to this episode

Cheddar& the Cheese Industry with Peter J. Atkins: https://open.spotify.com/episode/19pckHxXKXfQlFf8xINGgW?si=88a8649064494657

The History of Lent: https://open.spotify.com/episode/05EKPFVQaXmVf54tbh1xIC?si=e8dccb1b959c4014

Other bits:

The Elizabeth Raffald Manchester Central Library event at 6pm on 13 September: https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper/

Neil will be speaking at the Ludlow Food Festival on Sunday 10 September at 2.30pm, talking all things Elizabeth Raffald: https://www.ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/

He is also talking at Chelsea History Festival on Friday 29 September 2023, at 6pm about the history of sugar: https://chelseahistoryfestival.com/

Neil’s Elizabeth Raffald tour of Manchester on Twitter: https://twitter.com/neilbuttery/status/1634872473396342784

Neil’s blogs: ‘British Food: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ http://neilcooksgrigson.com

A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as well as from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Tinned Food with Lindsay Middleton Jul 15, 2023

Show notes

Today Neil talks to food historian and returning guest Lindsay Middleton about the history of tinned food –something one doesn’t really think about, tinned food being just so every day.

We talked about what led her to take on the topic, its origins, how people had to be convinced by such an alien concept, the big sell to the navy, and to well-to-do housewives, the big tined food scandal, and the inherent snobbishness around using tinned foods, and many other things.

Follow Lindsay on Instagram and Threads @lindsaymiddleton_ and on Twitter @lindsmiddleton.

Read Lindsay’s paper about tinned foods: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1220&context=dgs

Listen to Lindsay’s appearance on the BBC Radio 4 programme Free Thinking talking about tinned foods: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jcr0

There are 2 Easter eggs associated with this episode, to access them start a monthly £3 subscription.

Other bits:

Lindsay’s previous appearance on the podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6S2YCcfFMqipsOrZ48wVAp?si=12e95b1ce4454bca

The Elizabeth Raffald Manchester Central Library event at 6pm on 13 September: https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper/

Neil will be speaking at the Ludlow Food Festival on Sunday 10 September at 2.30pm, talking all things Elizabeth Raffald: https://www.ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/

He is also talking at Chelsea History Festival on Friday 29 September 2023, at 6pm about the history of sugar: https://chelseahistoryfestival.com/

Neil’s very long Twitter thread of cocktails: https://twitter.com/neilbuttery/status/1678814821406392320?s=20

Neil’s blogs:

‘British Food: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ http://neilcooksgrigson.com

Neil’s other book A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as well as from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Medlars with Jane Steward Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

In this week’s episode, Neil talks to medlar expert Jane Steward. Jane has done sterling work in the area of medlar awareness, and now the medlar is not the forgotten fruit it once was. She has a medlar orchard and associated business Eastgate Larder selling a whole range of medlar products, and is the author of Medlars: Growing & Cooking, published by Prospect Books.

We discuss how Jane discovered the fruit and made a business out of it, the domesticated varieties and wild fruits, growing medlar trees, the importance of medlars in the past, medlars in the kitchen, the subtleties of making medlar jelly and much more.

Follow Jane on Instagram and Twitter @eastgatelarder

The Eastgate Larder website: www.eastgatelarder.co.uk

Jane’s book Medlars: Cooking & Eating: https://prospectbooks.co.uk/products-page/new-and-forthcoming-titles/medlars-growing-cooking/

There are 3 Easter eggs associated with this episode, to access them start a monthly £3 subscription.

Read Neil’s work on the medlar:

Forgotten Foods #7: Openarses (also available as part of the mini-season on the Easter Eggs page of the website) https://britishfoodhistory.com/2017/11/12/forgotten-foods-7-openarses/

How to Make Medlar Jelly: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2017/11/17/how-to-make-medlar-or-quince-or-crab-apple-jelly/

Medlar Tart: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2018/11/19/medlar-tart/

That Shakespeare Life ‘Medlars’ episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2w7xGGBye93jvO39IuntTO?si=395c4f240f7d4f5d

Other bits:

Neil’s blogs:

‘British Food: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ http://neilcooksgrigson.com

Neil’s other book A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as well as from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

You can now find me at Mastodon too: @neilbuttery@mastodon.gastrokon.com.

Join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Recreating 16th Century Beer with Susan Flavin & Marc Meltonville Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

Today Neil talks to Susan Flavin and Marc Meltonville about recreating as close as possible beer from the accounts of Dublin Castle right at the end of the 16th century. This investigation is part of a much larger project called Food Cult, which is, according to their website “a five-year project funded by the European Research Council. This project brings together history, archaeology, science and information technology to explore the diet and foodways of diverse communities in early modern Ireland. It will serve as a model for future comparative and interdisciplinary work in the field of historical food studies.”

In today’s episode we talk about the Food Cult project, the aims of the beer project, misconceptions about beer and beer drinking in the past, when beer becomes porridge, how to source 16th century ingredients and – of course – what the beer tasted like!

Follow Susan Flavin on Twitter @flavin_susan

Follow Marc on Instagram @marcmeltonville

Marc Meltonville’s website: www.meltonville.uk/

The FOOD CULT website: https://foodcult.eu/

Their journal article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical-journal/article/understanding-early-modern-beer-an-interdisciplinary-casestudy/76C118F73B8D35FED9E5B69CB3E966FB

There are 4 Easter eggs associated with this episode, to access them start a monthly £3 subscription.

Other bits:

Neil’s new blog post ‘Forgotten Foods #10: Porpoise’: http://britishfoodhistory.com/2023/06/25/forgotten-foods-10-porpoise/

Neil’s blogs:

‘BritishFood: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ http://neilcooksgrigson.com

Neil’s other book A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as wellas from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

Don’t forget there will be postbag episodes, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or find me on twitter @neilbuttery, or Instagram dr_neil_buttery my DMs are open. You can now find me at Mastodon too: @neilbuttery@mastodon.gastrokon.com.

Join the new British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Cake Baxters in Early Modern Scotland with Aaron Allen Jun 18, 2023

Show notes

We kick off the new season with a fascinating chat with Aaron Allen at Edinburgh University about cake baxters in Early Modern Scotland – usually women – who were unfree, and how they fit into society at this time. Making and selling of baked goods were highly controlled, and – quelle surprise – it was not in their favour. We also discuss the ways oatcakes and wheaten bread were baked, beehive oven tech, horse bread and many other things.

Find Aaron on Twitter at Mary’sChapelProject: @Mchapelproject

A list of Aaron’s research: https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/aaron-allen

‘Baking on the Margins: Pastry Women and Cake Baxters in the Early Modern Bread Market’, in History Scotland (May/June 2023), 20-5, available at: https://www.historyscotland.com/store/back-issues/history-scotland/history-scotland-vol23issue3-mayjun23-issue-131/

Building Early Modern Edinburgh: A Social History of Craftwork and Incorporation: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-building-early-modern-edinburgh-hb.html

Things from the web mentioned in this episode:

Neil’s recipe for seed cake: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2021/05/23/to-make-a-seed-cake/

Neil’s recipe for peasebread: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2017/04/09/forgotten-foods-6-pease-bread/

Hodmedod’s website: https://hodmedods.co.uk/

Video of Josh Townshend making a clay oven: https://youtu.be/i0foHjPVbP4

Other bits:

Neil’s Raffald talk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9SyiYvHq-Q

Neil’s media page where you can see his Country Life article, as well as links to the podcasts he’s guested on, radio spots or TV shows: http://britishfoodhistory.com/media/

Don’t forget to catch up on Neil’s blog posts published over the last few months.

British Food: a History: http://britishfoodhistory.com

Neil Cooks Grigson: http://neilcooksgrigson.com

Neil’s other book A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as well as from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

You can now find me at Mastodon too: @neilbuttery@mastodon.gastrokon.com.

Join the new British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

If you like my blog posts and podcast episodes, please consider a monthly subscription or buying me a virtual coffee or a pint? Go to https://britishfoodhistory.com/support-the-blog-podcast/ for more details.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Tripe Special: Sam Bilton & Neil Buttery Talk Tripe May 05, 2023

Show notes

In a special bonus of the podcast, Sam Bilton and Neil Buttery have combined forces to make a whole episode about all things tripe. We discuss our experiences, and why it is viewed rather differently in different countries and it’s indelible association with poverty. Sam interviews chef and food writer Rachel Roddy for some tripe inspiration, and Neil visits Chadwick’s stall at Bury Market to interview one of the few remaining tripe sellers in the country. He also takes some home to cook up.

Things mentioned in today’s episode:

Rachel Roddy’s blog, Rachel Eats: https://racheleats.wordpress.com/

An article by Rachel on tripe alternatives, from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/nov/09/rachel-roddy-recipe-for-eggs-in-tomato-sauce

Chadwick’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chadwicksbbp/

Neil eats andouillette: https://twitter.com/neilbuttery/status/1560893580788506624?s=20

Sam links:

Twitter: @sjfbilton; Insta: @mrssbilton ; website: https://www.sambilton.com/

Sam’s podcast, Comfortably Hungry: https://open.spotify.com/show/3iSZMea3TBwMx1tZ1c9rN7?si=a57a4e98a0414b3a

Neil’s Elizabeth Raffald talk at Station South in Levenshulme Manchester 14 May 7pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper-tickets-604909158577

The Culinary Worlds of 18th-Century Women in Britain, USA and Türkiye event at The British Library 25 May at 5pm: https://www.bl.uk/events/the-culinary-worlds-of-18th-century-women-in-britain-usa-and-turkiye

Neil’s appearance on Tony Robinson’s Cunningcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1KIk11FeFs0bVqiiT3XIkL?si=936fa20808b34b58

Neil’s appearance on the Bread and Thread podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3EouGD3HqeMLkMpgVx8am8?si=191cfe91c9654dd5

Neil’s new book Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper at you favourite bookshop, or from the publisher Pen & Sword History: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Before-Mrs-Beeton-Hardback/p/22437

Neil’s book A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as well as from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

If you want to buy a signed copy of either book directly from Neil for £18 + postage (£2.85 if within the UK, the going rate if outside!). Contact him via email or social media if you fancy it (see below).

Don’t forget there will be another postbag episode at the end of the season. If you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or find me on twitter @neilbuttery, or Instagram dr_neil_buttery my DMs are open. You can now find me at Mastodon too: @neilbuttery@mastodon.gastrokon.com.

Join the new British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Special Postbag Edition #2 Mar 05, 2023

Show notes

Neil’s polishing off season 5 with a postbag edition of news, readers’ questions, comments and queries, special events and other miscellany.

Previous Episodes discussed in this episode:

Invalid Cookery with Lindsay Middleton

Traditional Food of Lincolnshire with Rachel Green

Christmas Feasting with Annie Gray

Hogmanay and Hamely Kitchen with Paula McIntyre

Eel special: 1. Elvers with 'Elver' Dave

Eel special: 2. Silver Eels with John Wyatt Greenlee

Eel special: 3. The Plight of the Eel with Andrew Kerr

18th Century Dining with Ivan Day

Christmas Special 2021: Christmas Pudding

The British Cook Book with Ben Mervis

Yorkshire Pudding with Elaine Lemm

Upcoming Events:

Celebrations. 37th Leeds Symposium of Food History & Traditions 20 May 2023: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/celebrations-37th-leeds-symposium-of-food-history-traditions-tickets-554704063787?fbclid=IwAR3f6l4dlB23S0_0TYNvQhXTVpyDIqpAc3eb4FmatS2kFvkW5csaqb-8dpg

The Wilder Wedmore Eel Release Project crowdfunder and festival: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-wilder-wedmore-eel-release-project---june-23

Things from the web mentioned in this episode:

Food Matters Live podcast, featuring Neil talking about food innovations: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5y5RWFFDQfQx8vXIHogKQQ?si=36b94a2985e14084

Chambers’ Book of Days: https://www.thebookofdays.com/

Clarissa Dickson-Wright’s BBC TV programme about pigs & Lincolnshire chine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0X37TOqjGA

Raised Pies post on Neil Cooks Grigson: https://neilcooksgrigson.com/2011/03/17/282-raised-pies/

BBC News article on the eel spawning mystery: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63259738

Cornish Pasty post on British Food: a History: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2019/09/13/cornish-pasties/

Early Scots recipe manuscripts: https://digital.nls.uk/recipes/introduction.html

Early Welsh recipe manuscript: https://www.library.wales/discover-learn/digital-exhibitions/manuscripts/early-modern-period/merryell-williamss-book-of-recipes#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-1322%2C-1%2C6102%2C4894

Christopher Monk's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MonksModernMedievalCuisine

Dr Cheung’s breakfast nonsense: https://propermanchester.com/trending/the-full-english-breakfast-isnt-actually-english-academic-claims/

Food as Status before the Norman Conquest Substack by Tristan Alphey: https://seaxeducation.substack.com/p/what-did-rich-pre-conquest-thegns?fbclid=IwAR0LLK9E2_wZazc4bPGwEuau0BgGGKVSQYeE3nycRpQgRA4wETI4KOagMJo

Books mentioned in this episode:

Preorder Neil’s new book Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper at you favourite bookshop, or from the publisher Pen & Sword History: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Before-Mrs-Beeton-Hardback/p/22437

Neil’s other book A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as well as from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

Ivan Day’s book on ovens and kitchen tech, Over a Red-hot Stove: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21092035-over-a-red-hot-stove?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=WldZJtGQVE&rank=1

The Domestic Revolution by Ruth Goodman: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/45992751

Fodder and Drinkan by Emma Kay: https://prospectbooks.co.uk/products-page/new-and-forthcoming-titles/fodder-drincan-anglo-saxon-culinary-history/

Leeds Symposium on Food History and Traditions: Pigs (& other topics) https://www.leedsfoodsymposium.org.uk/Publications.html

Social media accounts mentioned in this episode:

Paul Couchman (aka the Regency Cook): Twitter @TheRegencyCook; Insta: @theregencycook

Mary Gibson and her campaign for a National Food Society: Insta: @thecookeryclub25

You can now find me at Mastodon too: @neilbuttery@mastodon.gastrokon.com.

Join the new British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

Mentioned in this episode:

Fruit Pig are currently sponsoring The British Food History Podcast

Visit fruitpig.co.uk for more details of their products and journey, and to access their shop. Grant and Matthew are very kindly giving listeners to the BFHP a unique special offer: 10% off your order until the end of October 2025 – use the offer code Foodhis in the checkout. Time to fill your boots.

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