Comfortably Hungry

In Episode 4 I chat to food writer Di Murrell about her experiences with her husband Tam of living and working on canals in Britain and France. Canals were played an essential part in how food and fuel was transported around Britain but it is a way of life that has all but disappeared. Among their various roles Di and Tam were involved in transporting limes in the depths of winter to cordial manufacturer Roses on what was known as the ‘lime run’. Forget messing about on the river - working life on the canals was truly hard graft.
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Useful Links
You can find out more about Di and Tam’s canal adventures on the A Foodie Afloat website or on her more recent blog Written In My Kitchen.
Petits Propos Culinaires the journal which gave Di her first break in food writing is now published by Equinox (and edited by me!). Di has published several articles in the journal over the years.
The Sophie Coe Prize is the longest-running and most generous prize for writing in food history in the English language, given once a year for an essay or article of up to 10,000 words on any aspect of the history of food. Entries for this year’s award close on 24 April 2026.
You can discover more about Britain’s waterway history at a number of canal museums across the country such as London, Stoke Bruerne and Ellesmere Port or by visiting the Canal & River Trust
Suggested Reading
* Barges & Bread: Canals & Grain to Bread & Baking
* A Foodie Afloat
The following aren’t about working life on the rivers but are fun reads to get you in the mood:
* The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Graham (1908)
* Three Men and a Boat - Jerome K Jerome (1889)
* An Inland Voyage - Robert Louis Stevenson (1878)
Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or Bluesky @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.
A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast.
Comfortably Hungry is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe

In Episode 3 I discuss what borsch means to Ukrainians with activist, chef and author Olia Hercules who recently published her family memoir Strong Roots. We chat about how water has shaped Ukraine and why it is so important for this proud nation to reclaim their national dish.
If you enjoyed the podcast you can become a paid subscriber to the Comfortably Hungry Substack (which means you’ll receive additional content) or show your appreciation by leaving a small, one off tip here.
Useful Links
You can find out more about Olia and her events on her website and follow her on Instagram and Bluesky.
Olia’s books include:
* Strong Roots (2025)
* Home Food: Recipes to Comfort and Connect (2022)
* Summer Kitchens (2020)
* Kaukasis (2017)
* Mamouska (2015)
Chef Louis P de Gouy, quoted at the start of this episode, trained under August Escoffier and had a sterling career working in luxury hotels before becoming the in-house chef for Gourmet magazine. In his Soup Book was published posthumously in 1949, two years after his death.
Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or Bluesky @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.
A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast.
Comfortably Hungry is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe

If you’re a fan of Jane Austen you’ll be familiar with the concept of ‘taking the waters’. In fact the title of today’s episode comes from a letter Jane wrote to her sister Cassandra who was staying in the spa town of Cheltenham in September 1816. People have been visiting places renowned for their mineral rich waters for centuries. These special wells, streams and pools were believed to cure all manner of ailments either by drinking or bathing in the water.
In the first part of today’s episode I’m joined by multidisciplinary artist Gaylene Gould and local historian and guide Emanuela Aru Kay to tell me more about the Mary Woolaston, a Black woman who managed a healing well in seventeenth century London. Then Chris Jones of the Tunbridge Wells Civic society chats to me about the rise and fall of the Kentish spa town Tunbridge Wells.
If you enjoyed the podcast you can become a paid subscriber to the Comfortably Hungry Substack (which means you’ll receive additional content such as recipes or extra audio) or show your appreciation by leaving a small, one off tip here.
Useful Links
Find out more about Gaylene Gould on her website or follow here on Instagram. You can also find an essay on Black Mary in Thirst. Black Mary also features in the exhibition of the same name at the Wellcome Collection.
Follow Emanuela Aru Kay on Instagram and more about the tours she runs through History from Below (which includes a tour uncovering hidden waters). You can also read Emanuela’s essay on ‘Reviving London’s Hidden Healing Legacy: The Black Mary Project And The Story Of Black Mary’s Well’ which includes images of where Black Mary’s Well was located (spoiler alert – the area has been densely built up over the years so the well and the stream that feeds it are no longer visible.)
For a more tranquil idea of a healing well visit the Calthorpe Community Gardens (find out more via their website or Instagram) where you can view Marcia Bennett-Male’s statue of Mary. Find out more about Marcia who is the UK’s only black female sculptor on her website and Instagram.
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opens in May 2026
The Tunbridge Wells Civic Society produces are number of books on the history of the area including The Pantiles: A Brief History by Philip Whitbourn & Chris Jones.
The Chaleybeate Spring in The Pantiles
Suggested Reading
For a list of nineteenth century spas and their purported benefits take a look at B. Bradshaw’s dictionary of mineral waters, climatic health resorts [&c.] ... of the world (1882)
Cures and Curses: Ritual and Cult at Holy Wells by Janet Bord (available to download as a free pdf)
Holy Wells in Britain: A Guide by Janet Bord (available to download as a free pdf)
You can find out more about St Winefride’s Holy Well here or in this short YouTube video.
The Journeys of Ceilia Fiennes (1947) available via Internet Archive.
A Medical topography of Tunbridge Wells by Dr Robert Powell (1846)
The History and Description of the Parish of Clerkenwell by Thomas Cromwell (1828)
Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or Bluesky @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.
A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast.
Comfortably Hungry is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back! In Episode 1 of this new season I’m joined by Cass Gardiner, an Anishinaabe Algonquin filmmaker, curator, and writer from Kebaowek First Nation to discuss manoomin, or wild rice, and its importance to First Nation people in North America. We talk about its spiritual and economic significance and how this aspect of the Anishinaabe way of life is under threat from environmental pollution, displacement and climate change.
As well as a new season of Comfortably Hungry, there’s also Serve It Forth festive event to look forward to called A Christmas Feast of the Uncanny (think of it as a spookier version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol without the schmaltz!)
If you enjoyed the podcast you can become a paid subscriber to the Comfortably Hungry Substack (which means you’ll receive additional content) or show your appreciation by leaving a small, one off tip here.
Useful Links
Cass Gardiner’s website and on Instagram.
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University’s new exhibition: Botany of Nations opens on March 28, 2026 and runs until February 14, 2027. It aims to inspire civic dialogue and reshape the historic Corps of Discovery (1804 – 1806) tale of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark with Indigenous perspectives against the backdrop of the United States’ 250th anniversary. Cass’s film of the same name will form part of the exhibition. Cass will also be acting as Guest Editor for the autumn ‘26 edition of Petits Propos Culinaires which will explore similar perspectives.
Winona LaDuke’s TEDx talk Seeds of Our Ancestors, Seeds of Life
Winona LaDuke: Return to Rice Lake: Anishinaabe celebration welcomes runners honoring — and protecting — the sacred manoomin
Photo essay on wild rice harvest via Canada’s History
Owamni Restaraunt in Minneapolis, Minnesota restaurant where the entire menu is pre-colonial foods only. Sean Sherman’s first cookbook, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, was published in 2017 and his latest cookbook Turtle Island is out now.
Chef Crystal Wahpepah restaurant, Wapepah’s Kitchen is in Oakland, California. Crystal released a new cookbook this year, A Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Dishes from an Indigenous Food Warrior.
Chef Pyet DeSpain, who is a caterer and also has a cookbook that is coming out soon, Rooted In Fire
Suggested Reading
To be a Water Protector - Winona LaDuke (2020)
Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or Bluesky @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com. You can also listen to the podcast and see short cookery videos on the new Comfortably Hungry YouTube channel.
A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast.
Comfortably Hungry is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe

Following on from my discussions with Diane Purkiss, Sheila Cavanagh and Will Tosh on the less obvious meanings behind the food in Shakespeare’s plays I thought it would be fun to find out more about the early modern foods that are less well-known today or have entirely disappeared.
In this episode I chat to Victoria González Gordón of Gonzalez Byass about Sir John Falstaff’s favourite tipple, sack. Wave the flag for the revival of the humble medlar with Jane Steward of Eastgate Larder and try to get to the bottom of what sort of cheese came from Banbury and why it has disappeared.
Useful Links
My latest book Much Ado About Cooking: Delicious Shakespearean Feasts for Every Occasion is out now from all good bookshops.
You can find more about Ned Palmer at The Cheese Tasting Co. Ned has written three books including A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles. You can also find him on Instagram and Substack.
You can find out more about Jane Steward and medlars on the Eastgate Larder website or in her book Medlars: Growing and Cooking. Jane is also on Instagram.
For further details on the history of Gonzalez Byass visit their website. Victoria mentioned Sherry: The Noble Wine by Manuel Gonzalez-Gordon. This appears to be out of print now but you can pick up second hand copies via Abe Books or similar. The best place to follow Gonzalez Byass is via the Tio Pepe Wines Instagram.
Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or Bluesky @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.
A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast.
Comfortably Hungry is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe