Category Archives: Podcast

Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

Neil’s books

Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, 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 me at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or leave a comment below.

Cooking & Dining in Medieval England by Peter Brears (2012)

Filed under Books, Britain, food, General, history, Podcast, Uncategorized

Tagged as Early Modern Period, Elizabethan era, history, Podcast, podcasts, Sam Bilton, Shakespeare, The British Food History Podcast, The Stuarts, Tudor

05/10/2025 · 7:53 am

Housekeepers & Butlers with Peter Brears

In today’s episode of The British Food History Podcast, 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.

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.

The podcast is available on all podcast apps and YouTube. You can also stream it via this Spotify embed:

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.

This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.

Things mentioned in today’s episode

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

Serve it Forth website – You can still receive 25% off the ticket price using the code SERVE25 at the checkout!

Roast Saddle of Lamb on the Neil Cooks Grigson blog

Previous pertinent podcast episodes

18th Century Dining with Ivan Day

Elizabeth Raffald with Neil Buttery & Alessandra Pino

Neil’s other blog and YouTube channel

Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

Neil’s books

You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

YouTube video of the episode with images of the porcelain discussed

Filed under Britain, Eighteenth Century, history, Podcast, Uncategorized

Tagged as butlers, history, housekeepers, Peter Brears, Podcast, podcasts, servants, The British Food History Podcast, The Georgians, Victorian Era

25/09/2025 · 7:33 am

Worcester Porcelain with Paul Crane

In this episode of the podcast, I talk with ceramics expert Paul Crane FSA about the early years of Worcester porcelain. Paul is a consultant at the Brian Haughton Gallery, St James’s, London, and a specialist in Ceramics from the Medieval and Renaissance periods through to the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. He presently sits as a Trustee of the Museum of Royal Worcester and is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, an independent historian and researcher and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars.

Our conversation was recorded in person at the Museum of Royal Worcester. If you want to see the pieces we discuss, check out this post where I’ve added images of the majority of the items discussed or go to the YouTube channel where I’ve lined up the images with our discussion. Paul and I really do our best to describe the pieces, but of course, it’s best if you can see them for yourself.

The images used are a mixture of my own and those taken from the Museum of Royal Worcester archives. Thank you to the museum for the permission to use them.

The podcast is available on all podcast apps, just search for “The British Food History Podcast”, or stream on this Spotify via this embed:

Alternatively, watch this episode on YouTube to see the images below matched up with the sound.

We talk about Dr Wall and how he got the Worcester manufactory up and running, the importance of seeing porcelain by candlelight, asparagus servers, the first piece of porcelain you see when you walk into the museum, the Royal Lily service and how Worcester porcelain attained the Royal warrant, amongst any other things.

Those listening to the secret podcast can hear more about the early blue and white pieces, including a rare bleeding bowl, the first commemorative coronation porcelain mug and the stunning Nelson tea service, plus much more.

Some examples of the early blue and white porcelain.

The first piece of porcelain you see when you enter the museum: the beautiful Wigornia cream boat; the ‘Wigornia’ mark; the first image of the Worcester porcelain manufactory from *The Gentleman’s Magazine*.

The ‘smoky primitives’ that Paul mentions that attempt to emulate the feel of silverware sparkling in the candlelight.

Two of the more frivolous items: the asparagus server and grape cart.

The ‘Dr Wall’s Dinner’ display at the museum with the excellent food made by Kelly Samantha Bowes at the Fake Food Workshop – notice the asparagus server in use!

The dessert course case at the museum and that ice pail containing the painted inner bowl that so excited Ivan Day!

Two of the pieces from Paul’s own curated case that focuses upon the work of James Giles, plus two illustrations from the book that inspired most of the Giles art called *The Natural History of Uncommon Birds*

The Duke of Gloucester tureens and service and the Royal Lily set that got Worcester Porcelain its Royal Warrant.

Some of the pieces discussed in the secret podcast version of the discussion: a bleeding bowl (1754), the Wall Mug (1754) and the Nelson Tea Service (1802)

Remember: Fruit Pig are sponsoring the 9^th 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.

This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.

Things mentioned in today’s episode

Museum of Royal Worcester website

Paul’s YouTube talk called ‘Nature, Porcelain and the Enlightenment’

Paul’s YouTube talk called ‘Early Worcester from Dr Wall to James Giles’

My museum talk about Worcester porcelain and 19th-century dining

The Natural History of Uncommon Birds by George Edwards

A video about the first project Neil took part in with the Museum of Royal Worcester

Serve it Forth website – You can still receive 25% off the ticket price using the code SERVE25 at the checkout!

18th Century Dining with Ivan Day

Previous pertinent podcast episodes

Neil’s other blog and YouTube channel

Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

Neil’s books

Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, 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 me at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or leave a comment below.

Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland

Filed under Britain, Eighteenth Century, food, General, history, Podcast, The Royals, Uncategorized

Tagged as ceramics, dining, history, Museum of Royal Worcester, Paul Crane, Podcast, podcasts, porcelain, Royal Worcester, The British Food History Podcast, Worcester porcelain

17/09/2025 · 8:32 am

Ireland, Ale & the Colonising British with Christina Wade

In this episode, I speak with Christina Wade, a beer historian specialising in the UK and Ireland, with a particular focus on women. She has written an excellent book, Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland, which was published by Nine Bean Rows earlier this year (2025).

We talk about ale and beer in Ireland, and how colonisation by the English, and then the British, affected beer production and consumption. Topics include: ale in early medieval Ireland, the man who inspired the title of her book, ale consumption during the Irish Rebellion and the Potato Famine, and the use of human skulls in medicinal ales, amongst many other things.

The British Food History Podcast is available on all podcast apps, but you can also hear it on YouTube or stream it via this embed:

Those listening to the secret podcast can hear about the links between alewives and witchcraft, whiskey and beer consumption, tea kettle brews and more!

Christina’s social media handle on Instagram and Bluesky is @braciatrix.

Christina’s website

Christina’s Substack

The Devil’s in the Draught Lines: 1000 Years of Women in Britain’s Beer History

The Beer Ladies Podcast

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.

This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.

Things mentioned in today’s episode

Serve it Forth website – You can still receive 25% off the ticket price using the code SERVE25 at the checkout!

Neil’s blog post about cock ale/beer

Barnaby Rich’s book The Irish hubbub or, the English hue and crie. 1617

Neil’s blog post about junket for £3 subscribers

Listen to Neil on Around the Table

Previous pertinent podcast episodes

Making Medieval Ale at Home with Alison Kay

Recreating 16th Century Beer with Susan Flavin and Marc Meltonville

Neil’s other blog and YouTube channel

Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

Neil’s books:

Mark’s previous book Plenti and Grase (2009) is published by Prospect Books

Filed under Books, Brewing, Britain, General, history, Podcast, Uncategorized

Tagged as ale, beer, books, brewing, Christina Wade, fermentation, history, Ireland, Podcast, podcasts, porter, The British Food History Podcast

31/08/2025 · 9:09 am

Derbyshire Oatcakes with Mark Dawson

My guest today is Mark Dawson, food historian, specialising in the food of the Tudor period, but also food of Derbyshire. We met up at Mark’s home in Derbyshire to talk all things Derbyshire oatcakes.

Mark and I talk about the oatcakes of Britain, doshens and sprittles, the usefulness of probate inventories, oatcakes as penance, and oatcake goblins – amongst many other things.

It’s available on all podcast platforms and YouTube. If you’re not a podcast/YouTube sort of person, listen here:

Those listening to the secret podcast can hear about other Derbyshire foods made from oats; a discussion about why oatcake is better than porridge; and I grill Mark on one very important matter: just what is the difference between a Derbyshire and a Staffordshire oatcake.

Follow Mark on Instagram @drdobba

Mark’s book Lumpy Tums: Derbyshire’s Food & Drink will be published by Amberley in April 2026

Mark Dawson’s Food History Pages

Mark’s SpeakerNet profile

L to R: sprittle, slice and oatcake toaster (Derby Museum); an oatcake stone (Joan Clough); my attempt at a sourdough Staffordshire (shock-horror!) oatcake

Remember: Fruit Pig are sponsoring the 9^th 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.

This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.

Things mentioned in today’s episode

Serve it Forth website

Find out more about Joan Thirsk

General View of the Agriculture and Minerals of Derbyshire by John Farey (1811)

Mark’s research on oatcakes can be found in Farmers, Consumers, Innovators: The World of Joan Thirsk (2016)

Neil’s other blog and YouTube channel

Breaking Bread: How Baking Shaped Our World is published by Aurum

Filed under baking, Britain, cooking, General, history, Podcast

Tagged as baking, Derbyshire, food, griddlecakes, history, Mark Dawson, oatcakes, oats, pancakes, Podcast, podcasts, regional cookery, Teatime, The British Food History Podcast

10/08/2025 · 8:06 am

Bread & Bakers with David Wright

My guest today is third generation baker, writer and teacher David Wright author of the excellent book Breaking Bread: How Baking Shaped our World published by Aurum.

We talk about the social benefits of bread making, milling grain into flour, the anatomy of a grain, roller mills, the Chorleywood process and why gluten can be compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.

Those listening to the secret podcast: you get a little over 15 minutes of bonus material that includes additives that don’t have be named on ingredients lists, flatbreads, the National Loaf, the value of bread and more!

Available on all podcast platforms. If you’re not a podcast person, you can stream the episode via the Spotify embed, below:

Follow David on Instagram @thebreaducator

David’s website

Filed under baking, Books, Britain, General, history, Podcast

Tagged as bakers, baking, bread, food, history, Podcast, The British Food History Podcast

04/02/2025 · 2:21 pm

Season B of ‘A is for Apple’ has begun!

Hello everyone, hope your February isn’t looking too gloomy. Here’s something to cheer you up: news that season B of A is for Apple: An Encyclopaedia of Food & Drink has kicked off.

For those not in the know A is for Apple is a podcast hosted by Sam Bilton, Alessandra Pino and me. Each season we take a letter and focus on it; last time we did A, so now we are doing B. We all present a very short piece about our chosen topic and then discuss it. There’s usually a theme to the episode, but Sam (who was the head host in episode 1) was kind and gave us a free choice. I chose berries, Sam chose the Banting diet, and Alessandra bananas. It’s available to listen to on all podcast apps, just search for “A is for Apple” and hit subscribe. If you’re not a podcasty person, here’s a Spotify inbed for you:

For my piece I interviewed Rachel Webster, Curator of Plants at Manchester Museum, and quickly following episode 1 was the uncut interview talking about berries, flowers and fruits – and comes with some gob-smacking facts! Listen here:

You can also follow the podcast on Substack for free: click this link to check it out. There are bonus recipes and other bits and bobs to be found there.

Next episode Alessandra is in the driving seat and she gave us a theme: Places. What places beginning with B would you choose!?

Filed under cooking, food, General, history, Podcast, Uncategorized

Tagged as A is for Apple, Alessandra Pino, drinks, food, history, Podcast, podcasts, Sam Bilton

01/10/2024 · 9:59 am

The eighth season of The British Food History Podcast has begun!

We’re kicking off the new season with a 3-part special about Jane Grigson and her ground-breaking book English Food – the book that taught me how to cook, write and appreciate England’s diverse and delicious food legacy. You can read allabout that on the other – and original – blog Neil Cooks Grigson.

In the first episode, I speak to Grigson appreciators (and previous guests) Sam Bilton, Ivan Day and Annie Gray, and – new to the pod – publishing legend Jill Norman about the influence of the book, and where she sits in the study and promotion of English food history and traditions.

We talk about the unique way Jane’s book was published, Jane’s approach to research and writing, her attention to detail, her friendship with Elizabeth David, favourite recipes, her frustrations regarding low-quality shepherd’s pie and much more.

If you are not a podcast person, you can listen to the episode here:

If you are a £3 monthly subscriber, you can also hear the full interviews with Sam, Ivan, Annie and Jill – so much had be cut out to keep the episode to reasonable length.

If you like the blogs and podcast I produce and would to start a £3 monthly subscription, or would like to treat me to virtual coffee or pint: follow this link for more information. Thank you.

Next episode I’ll be talking with Jane’s daughter, Sophie – all very surreal.

There will also be episodes on the history of baking, Alexis Soyer, medieval ale, crisps and more!

If you’ve never listened to the podcast before (there are over 60 episodes now) you can find it on your favourite podcast app simply by searching “The British Food History Podcast”. Don’t forget to follow the podcast so that you don’t miss an episode.

Filed under Britain, cooking, food, General, history, Podcast

Tagged as food, history, podcasts, The British Food History Podcast

05/08/2024 · 1:05 pm

Some very belated podcast news…

I spent the first half of 2024 working on two food history books (news of those coming very soon) which meant the poor old blog barely got a look in: with all of that research and writing I was doing all day everyday, I couldn’t bring myself to do even more. I did want to carry on producing material though, so I kept The British Food History Podcast going, and I’m very glad I did, first because it was a chance to talk to actual people, but also because in this most recent eighth season, I produced some of the best episodes so far.

However, one thing I didn’t do is tell you about it! So, if you don’t subscribe to the podcast on your favourite app, or aren’t a £3 monthly subscriber, you might have missed it. My sincere apologies if you have, I have left Spotify links to the first three episodes of season 7 below: 18th Century Female Cookery Writers with The Delicious Legacy Podcast, Christmas Special 2023: Mince Pies (they’re not just for Christmas, by the way) and Apples & Orchards with Joanna Crosby:

Other topics included chocolate, spices, medieval table manners, the Scottish salt industry and food waste.

The British Food History Podcast will return in 4 weeks’ time.

This is only half of my podcast news though because I started a second with fellow food historians Sam Bilton and Alessandra Pino. It’s called A is for Apple: An Encyclopaedia of Food & Drink. The premise is a simple one: each season we take a letter, and we present and discuss a topic each. There is usually a theme e.g. fruit, vegetables aromatics. There has also been a listener’s choice episode. Topics have included apples (obvs.), adulteration, alewives, asparagus, avocados and Agas.

Listen to the pilot episode here:

Season A has finished and season B will start in the autumn.

You can find both podcasts on all podcast apps, so please make sure you follow them – that way you won’t miss an episode.

Over and out. xxx

Filed under Britain, food, history, Podcast, Uncategorized

Tagged as A is for Apple, Podcast, podcasts, The British Food History Podcast

01/01/2024 · 10:48 am

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I’m only a little worse for wear after a night out in the bustling metropolis that is Levenshulme, South Manchester. Going out didn’t mean I negated on cooking up my annual New Year’s Eve pudding though: this year it was plum pudding (it is still Christmas remember!) which did a great job of lining my stomach. The recipe was of course the one I picked up last year, courtesy of Sam Bilton’s Great Aunt Eliza.

Well what a year it has been with regard to my writing: I wrote a few articles for Country Life (you can read them on my Media page), and my second book Before Mrs Beeton – a biography of food innovator and entrepreneur Elizabeth Raffald – came out in March and it seems to have gone down well. The big news was my previous book, A Dark History of Sugar, won the Best First Book Award at the Guild of Food Writer’s Awards 2023; little old me! Completely unexpected, but very pleased as I’m sure you can imagine.

The blog has continued to do well, receiving more views in 2023 than in any other year, and the podcast has gone from strength to strength; according to Spotify, my listenership has increased by 125%.

I wouldn’t have been able to do all of this without you all reading and commenting, listening and downloading. It is you who spurn me on to keep on making more content, so thank you all very, very much.

A special shout out too to everyone who supported the blogs and podcast financially by treating me to a virtual coffee or pint, or by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber. It’s becoming increasingly more expensive just to have podcasts and blogs these days, so I really appreciate it.

Some of the foods I cooked up for the blogs this year (L to R: Lincolnshire chine, wigs, Elizabeth Raffald’s flummery, malt loaf, roast venison and 18th century mince pies)

There has been a variety of posts on the blog this year. There were some classic recipes including a step-by-step guide to making steamed sponge puddings, English butter sauce, malt loaf, sago pudding (needs reappraisal in my humble opinion), barley water and roast venison. Of course, there were some unusual recipes gleaned from Britain’s gastronomic past: those delicious teatime treats called Wigs, Elizabeth Raffald’s flummery table decorations, dock pudding, sweet lamb pie, Edward Kidder’s curiously shaped mince pies and, er, porpoise.

The other blog, Neil Cooks Grigson, has very much slowed down as I inch toward the completion of the project, and I only managed to cook one recipe for it. It was a good one though: #446 Lincolnshire Chine. It was the last recipe in the Cured Meat section of the book, so I wrote a little review of it. Many recipes from this section made it into both my personal and professional repertoires.

Just a handful of my podcast guests of 2024 (L to R: Charlie Taverner, Louise Middleton, Brigitte Webster, Kevin Geddes, Marc Meltonville and Jane Steward)

There were some great podcast episodes published too: 19 in all, the most I have made in a single year, taking the number of episodes up to 49! The most popular episode was 18th Century Dining with Ivan Day. Other favourites included London’s Street Food Sellers with Charlie Taverner, Invalid Cookery with Lindsay Middleton, Tavern Cookery with Marc Meltonville and Tudor Cooking and Cuisine with Brigitte Webster. I also collaborated with Sam Bilton of the Comfortably Hungry podcast about tripe. Season 7 kicked off in December with an episode about mince pies and another collaboration this time with Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast about 18th-century women cookery book writers.

18th Century Dining with Ivan Day was the most popular episode of the podcast in 2023.

So, that’s the look back, and now it is time to look forward to the new year and to what it will bring. New podcast episodes are being lined up and the next episode will be out on 5 January (all things being well). I have two book deadlines this year, so I shall tell you about those as and when I can, and I will – of course – be continuing to write posts for the blogs (though January and February may be a little sparse – those deadlines are looming!)

I hope you have a great rest of Christmas. Remember it doesn’t finish until the 5th of January, so keep eating, drinking and making merry up to then, and beyond.

Thanks again for all of your support,

Neil x