The British Food History Podcast

It’s time for the now traditional end-of-season postbag episode of The British Food History Podcast, where I (attempt to) answer your questions, read out your comments and mull over your queries. Several photos and illustrations are mentioned in this episode: to see them, visit the accompanying blog post on British Food: A History: www.britishfoodhistory.comI’ll be disappearing for a couple of months, unless of course, you are a monthly subscriber, where there will be a bonus episode coming up for you to listen to via the website: Keeping Food Traditions Alive with Tom Parker Bowles, which was recorded live at the Serve it Forth Food History Festival on 18 October.Remember: Fruit Pig are sponsoring the 9th season of the podcast. Visit their website www.fruitpig.co.uk to learn more about them, their journey, to find your local stockist and access their online shop.If you can, support the podcast and blogs by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, including bonus blog posts and recipes, access to the easter eggs and the secret podcast, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.The accompanying blog post with imagesThings mentioned in today’s episodeBook your place at the Serve it Forth Spooky Christmas Special on 11th of DecemberBBC article World black pudding championship throwers take aimLinny’s Kitchen Facebook pageThe Ginger PigBillingsgate MarketBBC article about the Denby Dale pie playThe seaside town of MorecombeBooks discussed or mentioned in today’s episodeBilton, S. Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron. (Prospect Books, 2022).Thomas, J. & Schultz, C. How to Mix Drinks, Or, The Bon-Vivant’s Companion. (Dick & Fitzgerald, 1862).Bilton, S. Much Ado About Cooking: Delicious Shakespearean Feasts for Every Occasion. (Headline, 2025)Buttery, N. Knead to Know: A History of Baking. (Icon Books, 2024).Previous pertinent podcast episodesBlack & White Pudding with Matthew Cockin & Grant Harper

My guest on The British Food History Podcast today food historian and friend of the show Sam Bilton, podcaster and author of Much Ado About Cooking Delicious Shakespearean Feasts for Every Occasion, published by Headline and commissioned by Shakespeare’s Globe. It was, of course, a great opportunity to talk about the food of Shakespearean England as well as the food and drink references in Shakespeare’s plays, and what they meant to those watching the plays at the time they were first performed.We talked about lots of cookery manuscripts, the importance of keeping historical recipes relevant, capons, Early Modern bread and greedy Falstaff’s sack, amongst many other things.Those listening to the secret podcast can hear about horrible, sweet spinach tarts, Early Modern cakes, possets and more!Much Ado About Cooking by Sam BiltonSam’s websiteFollow Sam on BlueSky, Insta and Threads @mrssbiltonComfortably HungryAis for Apple: An Encyclopaedia of Food & DrinkRemember: Fruit Pig are sponsoring the 9th season of the podcast. Visit their website www.fruitpig.co.uk to learn more about them, their journey, to find your local stockist and access their online shop.If you can, support the podcast and blogs by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, including bonus blog posts and recipes, access to the easter eggs and the secret podcast, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.Things mentioned in today’s episodeThe Globe TheatreWho is Falstaff?Books discussed or mentioned and further readingFirst Catch Your Gingerbread by Sam BiltonKnead to Know: A History of Baking by Neil ButteryA Dark History of Sugar by Neil ButteryEnglish Bread & Yeast Cookery by Elizabeth DavidThe Good Housewife’s Jewel by Thomas Dawson

My guest today is food historian Carwyn Graves, a specialist in the foodways and traditions of Wales, and we are talking about Welsh Sheep and Cattle – and their products. Carwyn has written a wonderful book called Welsh Food Stories, published in 2022 by Calon, which explores more than two thousand years of history to discover the rich but forgotten heritage of Welsh foods – from oysters to cider, salted butter to salt-marsh lamb. Despite centuries of industry, ancient traditions have survived in pockets across the country among farmers, bakers, fisherfolk, brewers and growers who are taking Welsh food back to its roots, and trailblazing truly sustainable foods as they do so. We talk about the importance of sheep and cattle in Wales’s physical and cultural landscape, salt marsh lamb, cawl, colostrum puddings, the Welsh and their love of roasted cheese and sheep fancying Cistercian monks – amongst many other things.Those listening to the secret podcast can hear 15 minutes of extra material including flummery, mutton, laverbread sauce, the traditional skills in the collective cultural memory of the Welsh, the etymology of rarebit/rabbit plus more!Welsh Food Stories by Carwyn GravesCarwyn’s websiteFollow Carwyn on Instagram @carwyngravesRemember: Fruit Pig are sponsoring the 9th season of the podcast, and Grant and Matthew are very kindly giving listeners to the podcast a unique special offer 10% off your order until the end of October 2025 – use the offer code Foodhis in the checkout at their online shop, www.fruitpig.co.uk.If you can, support the podcast and blogs by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, including bonus blog posts and recipes, access to the easter eggs and the secret podcast, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.Things mentioned in today’s episodeThe Art of Cookery Made Plain & Easy by Hannah GlasseThe First Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge Made by Andrew BoordeWikipedia page of Welsh sheep breedsRare Breeds Survival Trust page on Welsh cattle breedsPrevious pertinent blog postsColostrum (Beestings) with pudding recipeWelsh Rarebit (and Locket’s Savoury)#98...

My guest on The British Food History Podcast today is historian Mark Truesdale, scholar of the fifteenth-century King and Commoner tradition and its early modern afterlife and author of The King and Commoner Tradition: Carnivalesque Politics in Medieval and Early Modern Literature, published by Routledge. We talk about medieval carnival, the plot of a king and commoner tale, spying foresters, rude monks, the love of eating tiny birds, who the audience might be, and the ridiculousness of baking a venison pasty in Sherwood Forest – amongst many other things.Those listening to the secret podcast can hear about Henry VIII’s love of Robin Hood tales, cowardly herons, and Mark tells me who the king in these tales may (or may not) be referring to.Remember: Fruit Pig are sponsoring the 9th season of the podcast, and Grant and Matthew are very kindly giving listeners to the podcast a unique special offer 10% off your order until the end of October 2025 – use the offer code Foodhis in the checkout at their online shop, www.fruitpig.co.uk.If you can, support the podcast and blogs by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, including bonus blog posts and recipes, access to the easter eggs and the secret podcast, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.Things mentioned in today’s episodeThe King and Commoner Tradition: Carnivalesque Politics in Medieval and Early Modern Literature by Mark TruesdaleMark’s article The Medieval Robin Hood: Folk Carnivals and Ballads on Folklore ThursdayMy blog post about King Alfred burning the cakesThe Great Household in Late Medieval England by C.M. WoolgarRobin Hood and Other Outlaw TalesSentimental and Humorous RomancesTen BourdesServe it Forth website - You can still receive 25% off the ticket price using the code SERVE25 at the checkout!Serve it Forth Eventbrite pagePrevious pertinent podcast episodes

In today’s episode, I speak with Peter Brears, a world-leading food historian. He was director of both York and Leeds City Museums, and is a consultant to the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic Royal Palaces.He is the winner of the André Simon award for his book, Cooking and Dining in Medieval England, published in 2012, which is a must-have, as are his other books in the series that focus on upper-class cooking and dining in the Tudor and Early Stuart periods, and most recently in the Victorian country house.He is also a founding member of the Leeds Symposium of Food History and Traditions, which will have its 40th next year (2026)Our conversation was recorded in person at his home in Leeds.We talk about the roles of the housekeeper and butler first in the Victorian period, but then trace their histories back right to the Middle Ages in the case of the butler. Also covered: orchestrating big meals, the drinks prepared by the butler, the mysteries of the stillroom, and the pressures of preparing a baked Alaska – amongst many other things.Those listening to the secret podcast can hear about French and Russian service, when housekeepers are definitely not subservient, the dos and don’ts of displaying porcelain and the contents of the housekeeper’s cupboard. Remember: Fruit Pig are sponsoring the 9th season of the podcast, and Grant and Matthew are very kindly giving listeners to the podcast a unique special offer 10% off your order until the end of October 2025 – use the offer code Foodhis in the checkout at their online shop, www.fruitpig.co.uk.If you can, support the podcast and blogs by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, including bonus blog posts and recipes, access to the easter eggs and the secret podcast, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.Things mentioned in today’s episodeCooking & Dining in Medieval England by Peter Brears (2012)Cooking & Dining in Tudor & Early Stuart England by Peter Brears (2015)Cooking & Dining in the Victorian Country House by Peter Brears (2023)Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Rafflad, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper by Neil Buttery (2023)Everyday Life in Seventeenth Century Calderdale by Peter Brears (2025)Peter’s PPC article ‘What the housekeeper kept in her drawers’ (2015) PPC 103, 61-74