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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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:...

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...

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...

Today the tables are turned, and Neil is the guest on his own podcast and is interviewed about his new book Before Mrs Beeton, Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper, about c18th cook and Manchester legend Elizabeth Raffald, published on 28 February. In the interviewer’s chair is previous guest and friend of the show Alessandra Pino. Alessandra is co-author of A Gothic Cookbook which is an illustrated cookbook inspired by classic and contemporary Gothic texts. She is also...

In this episode, Neil talks to chef and food writer Rachel Green about the traditional foods of Lincolnshire. Rachel is a chef, author, TV presenter, demonstrator, food campaigner and passionate ambassador of British produce, especially that from Lincolnshire. She comes from 14 generations of Lincolnshire farmers. spoke to Rachel in her home in the beautiful Lincolnshire countryside about Lincolnshire chine, Grimsby haddock, the importance of pigs, haslet, Lincolnshire poacher cheese, plum...

In this episode, Neil talks to food historian Lindsay Middleton about invalid cookery – an important part of cookery books of the 18th to early 20th centuries. Lindsay has produced an excellent online resource called Dishes for the Sick Room, and has trawled through the collection of cookery books at Glasgow Caledonia University that date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Cook books at this time didn’t really contain medicines but general foods to give to the sick people at home under your...

In this special episode Neil’s guest is esteemed food historian Ivan Day. Ivan is a social historian of food culture and a professional chef and confectioner. He has contributed to dozens of tv and radio programmes over the years, and he is also the author of a number of books and many papers on the history of food and has curated many major exhibitions on food history in the UK, US and Europe. This special episode compliments Neil’s upcoming book, a biography the 18th cookery writer...

Happy New Year! In the first episode of 2023 Neil talks to historian Charlie Taverner about London’s street food sellers. Charlie’s book ‘Street Food: Hawkers and the History of London’ is published by Oxford University Press on the 12th of January 2023, and it looks at every aspect of sellers’ lives from the latter 16th to the early 20th century. They talked about how one approaches collecting data from so long a period; what was meant by the terms hawker, costermonger and fishwife; heir...

Today Neil talks with Paula McIntyre about Hogmanay and her BBC TV show, the excellent Hamely Kitchen. Paula is an Ulster-Scots chef who lives on the north coast of Northern Ireland and she specialises in combining those two cuisines, reviving traditional recipes and shouting about good producers. Paula has a Hamely Kitchen Hogmanay special out on 30th December, 7.30pm on BBC1 Northern Ireland. Paula and Neil talked about Hogmanay traditions, like first footings and gifting...

Neil kicks off the season with a Christmas special, talking Christmas feasting – and cooking – with scholar and author Dr Annie Gray. Annie is author of books such as the excellent The Greedy Queen: Eating with Victoria and Victory in the Kitchen: The Life of Churchill’s Cook. Her new book At Christmas We Feast: Festive Food Through the Ages, published by Profile Books, is out now in paperback, and she kindly came on the podcast to tell me about it. We talked about many things including...

Welcome to the first postbag edition of ‘The British Food History Podcast’. On this episode: memories of Glyn Hughes; listeners letters; Yorkshire puddings; and new book news. Links to things mentioned on this episode: ‘The Foods of England’ website: http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/ Glyn Hughes’s book ‘The Surprising History of Fish and Chips’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471631656 Contain the Samaritans 116 123 or go to www.samaritans.org Mind website: www.mind.uk Smack Barm Pea Wet...

Today’s guest is food writer and Yorkshire Pudding expert Elaine Lemm to discuss the good old Yorkshire Pudding. They discussed many things including: the origins of the Yorkshire pudding, what links it to Yorkshire anyway, excellent cooking tips, including the importance of the vessel it is cooked in as well as the fat used; YP haters; and toad-in-the-hole.   ‘The Great Book of Yorkshire Pudding’ is published by Great Northern Books:...

Today Neil talks to journalist and author Sejal Sukhadwala about her new book The Philosophy of Curry. Her book charts the history of the curry, how it has changed over time, why it could be viewed as a British construct, and why some people reject the word completely. Some of the things we talked about were: why the idea of the curry is for some a controversial one; the way Indian food changed with colonialism (and what it was like before then); when and how curries and curry houses came to...

Neil talks to food writer, journal editor and now author of The British Cook Book, Ben Mervis, published by Phaidon on 22 September in the UK and 8 October the rest of the world. It’s quite possibly the most comprehensive book on British cooking ever published, so Neil just had to get him on. They talk about just how one goes about writing a book with 550 recipes in it, and on what grounds should a recipe be included or excluded: delicacies such as sweet goose blood tart, and guga being...

On the show today is author, food historian and returning guest Sam Bilton to talk about British Saffron – both growing it and eating it – Sam has a brand new book about to come out called Fool’s Gold A History of British Saffron, published by Prospect Books on 8th September 2022. We talk about when, where and why saffron was grown in the country, how common it used to be in the British diet, it’s liberal use in the Forme of Cury, using saffron in your own cooking, Saffron as a dye and food...

Neil’s guest today is Glyn Hughes, the man behind one of the most important to anyone interested in the history of food and traditional English dishes both common and forgotten. We talked about how and why Glyn started up the project, why British food has gained its bad reputation, some examples of bad English foods, tripe and tripe restaurants, the bizarre and obscure chicken dish Hindle Wakes, the origins of beef Wellington, fake tea, haggis, Chorley cakes and Bakewell pudding. All of...

Neil’s guest today is historian and friend of the show Emma Kay. Today we talk about Emma’s new book A History of Herbalism: Cook, Cure & Conjure which was published in June 2022. We talk about the importance of herbs in medicine, magic and food, and how these things were interconnected, the four humours, Anglo-Saxon medical texts, the double standards surrounding men and women who practised magic and medicine, two female pioneers of botany and herbalism, and narcotic garden...

Welcome to episode one of the new fourth season of The British Food History Podcast. Kicking us off is Neil’s guest Felicity Cloake. Neil & Felicity talk all things breakfast and Felicity’s new book Red Sauce, Brown Sauce, a celebration of the breakfast in all four home nations of the UK. We talk about how breakfast might be the only thing uniting all 4 countries that make up the UK, the complexities of planning a nation-wide breakfast tour, injuries, why it’s okay to like both red...

If you want to buy a signed copy 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). Listen to Neil interview Emma about the dark history of chocolate: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0f3bd395-57ee-4436-a0cc-993aa3a0f8c4 Emma’s book A Dark History of Chocolate was published by Pen & Sword History in 2021:...

Neil is a guest on his own podcast talking about the dark history of sugar. He’s interviewed by friend of the show, and previous guest, author and food historian Emma Kay. In part 1 of this 2 part interview, we talk about the evolutionary reasons about why we love sugar so much, sugar’s origins and subsequent spread by the Muslim Empire and then the Crusading knights, ending up finally in the New World. We focus on the English in the 17th century: how they got in on the sugar trade, their...