Cooking 'English Food' with Nicola Aldren, Simone Blagg & Anthea Craig

The book English Food by Jane Grigson was published 50 years ago this year. It’s a book that has completely changed my life and I wanted to celebrate it with a three-part special. This is part three.

I am going back to my roots here talking with three good friends of mine Nicola Aldren, Simone Blagg and Anthea Craig, all of whom were there at the inception of my idea to cook every recipe in English Food.

We talk about memorable recipes, the large amounts of offal that were consumed, sous cheffing, pudding clubs and portion sizes, the horrorshow that was the stewed eel recipe, and many other things.

I also give you my top 10 recipes to try (& a few to avoid)

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Neil’s new book The Philosophy of Puddings is out now and published by the British Library.

Books and other things mentioned in today’s episode:

English Food by Jane Grigson

Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery by Jane Grigson

Previous episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

50 Years of English Food by Jane Grigson

Jane Grigson with Sophie Grigson

18th Century Tavern Cooking with Marc Meltonville

Previous blog posts pertinent to today’s episode:

Read Neil Cooks Grigson here

Upcoming events:

Monsters & their Meals Hallowe’en event

Find out about upcoming events on the website here.

Neil’s blogs:

‘British Food: a History’

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

Neil’s books:

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

A Dark History of Sugar

Knead to Know: a History of Baking

The Philosophy of Puddings

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 [email protected], or on twitter and BlueSky @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

Mentioned in this episode:

The British Food History podcast is currently sponored by Netherton Foundry

Season 10 of The British Food History Podcast is sponsored by Netherton Foundry, producers of top-quality, British-made cookery equipment. Nestled in rural South Shropshire, Netherton Foundry is a family-run business, headed by husband and wife team Neil and Sue Currie, which takes inspiration from the local iron masters of the 18th and 19th centuries to craft traditional cookware from iron, oak and copper using non-toxic materials. Their cookware is built to last, whether it be their famous prospector pans (of which I am a proud owner), crumpet rings or their impressive range of outdoor cookware. Netherton Foundry ships to several countries outside of the UK, including the USA and Canada. Visit netherton-foundry.co.uk to find out more about their wonderful products – approved not just by me but by folk such as Tom Parker-Bowles, Diana Henry and Nigella Lawson.

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