Coconut scones with courgette & lime marmalade ‘cos there’s always time for tea!

It's a month & a day until the Serve it Forth Food History Festival, sponsored by @nethertonfoundry.bsky.social & @steenbergs.bsky.social It's online & tickets are £16. I'm starting the day off talking with the fantastic Tom Parker Bowles! More info here: serveitforthfest.wixsite.com/info

In case you've missed it, I have a new episode, about the Serve It Forth Food history fest. Four food historians! @mrssbilton.bsky.social @alessandrapino.bsky.social and @neilbuttery.bsky.social joined me to chat about food disasters, myths & our origin stories! open.spotify.com/episode/7mpz...

Get your early bird tickets using the link below! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1490885802...

We’re revealing the ‘courses’ for the @serveitforthfest.bsky.social in reverse order. Here’s what I have planned. @alessandrapino.bsky.social @neilbuttery.bsky.social @deliciouslegacy.bsky.social

🎉 Something delicious is coming… I’m @alessandrapino.bsky.social & proud to host the first Serve It Forth: A Food History Festival on 18 Oct 2025 wt @neilbuttery.bsky.social @mrssbilton.bsky.social & @deliciouslegacy.bsky.social 🍽️ Tickets in bio 🎟️@serveitforthfest.bsky.social #ServeItForth 👻📚🥖

@serveitforthfest.bsky.social is a new online food history festival happening on Saturday 18 October 2025. Early bird tickets are now on sale with 25% off. Be there or be square! #serveitforthfest #foodhistory @deliciouslegacy.bsky.social @neilbuttery.bsky.social @alessandrapino.bsky.social

Join me, @mrssbilton.bsky.social @alessandrapino.bsky.social @neilbuttery.bsky.social for a day food history festivities! 18th of October, online!

Excited to be part of the team organising the first @serveitforthfest.bsky.social taking place on 18 October 2025. Take a look at the website for further details! serveitforthfest.wixsite.com/info

Serve It Forth is a new festival devoted to food & drink history curated by @alessandrapino.bsky.social @mrssbilton.bsky.social , @neilbuttery.bsky.social @deliciouslegacy.bsky.social

So looking forward to this. We've got some great things organised for it. Announcements soon. Give our account a follow to keep up with news.

Gooseberry Buckle Cake (courtesy of Sam Goldsmith & @goodfoodeveryday.bsky.social I did seriously consider making a fool but decided to go with this cake instead. The tangy gooseberries are sandwiched between vanilla scented sponge & an oaty crumble topping - genius!

🌿 B is for Bay Leaves is live! @mrssbilton.bsky.social joins @neilbuttery.bsky.social & @alessandrapino.bsky.social on @aisforapplepod.bsky.social to unpack the misunderstood magic of bay. From stews to sweet puddings, you’ll never look at it the same way again. Got a clever use? Tell us! 🍮✨

The final episode of Season B of @aisforapplepod.bsky.social has dropped! It's the now traditional Listener's Choice episode. @mrssbilton.bsky.social , @alessandrapino.bsky.social and I will be back soon! Did your choice get a mention? open.spotify.com/episode/2V7G...

If you want to know more about Saffron in Britain. Here's an episode of The British Food History Podcast on the subject with guest @mrssbilton.bsky.social who has written a book about it, called Fool's Gold: a History of British Saffron. open.spotify.com/episode/4YNE...

Congrats @mrssbilton.bsky.social your book looks great and makes so much literary sense

In honour of this month’s bonus podcast episode I decided to make a Tomato Soup Cake from Lee Miller: A Life With Food, Friends and Recipes. Link in bio.

Fried rice ‘thing’ with roasted cauliflower. No idea what to call it but it was bloomin’ lovely.

Very excited to reveal the cover of my next book in collaboration with The Globe published by welbeck in October 2025. It features recipes inspired by the food mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays & was a pleasure to research & write. #shakespeare

So this happened last night!!!! (Still pinching myself)

Have you caught up with the latest @aisforapplepod.bsky.social episode? B is for Blue & it was a tricky one! @neilbuttery.bsky.social talked with Joe Schneider of Stichelton Dairy @alessandrapino.bsky.social looked at blue corn @mrssbilton.bsky.social focused on borage Available on all apps🎧

It only went and won the award last night! What an honour!!!!

Great potluck lunch at the Leeds Food Symposium (in York) yesterday. This is just the dessert table (gingerbread galore) Fantastic line up of speakers too for the Food in Literature theme.

A new episiode of @aisforapplepod.bsky.social has landed. The theme was a tricky one: "BLUE". I talked with Joe Schneider of Stichelton Dairy; @alessandrapino.bsky.social looked at blue corn; & @mrssbilton.bsky.social focussed on borage. Available on all apps. open.spotify.com/episode/1ifa...

Chocolate & prune cake Rich & decadent - perfect for Easter Sunday. #chocolatecake

This is excellent news! Comfortably Hungry has been shortlisted in the audio category for the @fortnumandmason.bsky.social food & drink awards! A huge thank you to Thom at @deliciouslegacy.bsky.social for mixing the episodes & of course to Dr Peggy Brunache for being such a superb guest.

It is generally thought that at least 400 distinct varieties of potato are grown in the Andes, in the "Altiplano" with height averages about 3,750 meters! (~12K feet!) The Incas, and others before them,cut terraces into the hillsides, progressively steeper, from the valleys up the slopes!

This was great fun but I also learnt heaps from you both.

I so enjoyed recording this episode with Caroline Crampton & @orlandomurrin.bsky.social

Borodinsky Bread It’s been years since I attempted a rye sourdough but pleased with the result. I love the flavour of rye and it combines beautifully with coriander seeds, barley malt extract & molasses (I used carob molasses) in this loaf.

Happy spring equinox! Cracking breakfast @craftystmartins & a brief mooch around Leicester this morning in the beautiful spring sunshine. #leicester #spring #equinox

An extra bonus episode of @aisforapplepod has just appeared on the feed where @alessandrapino.bsky.social , @mrssbilton.bsky.social and I discuss the roles and perks of being one of the upper servants in a large house. Available on all podcast platforms including: open.spotify.com/episode/0505...

Henry Buttes recommends eating figs with oranges and pomegranates or pickling them in vinegar. These figs were roasted briefly in vinegar & honey then served on a salad with Serrano ham & roasted almonds and dressed with a Seville orange vinaigrette (no pomegranates to hand).

Boiled salad anyone? Doesn’t sound too appetising but they were a thing in the early modern period. The addition of eggs was highly recommended. (And for the record both the roasted onion & asparagus salads were good)

Mussels ‘seethed’ with onion, parsley & a splash of sack (sherry). Sometimes the simple things are best. #muchadoaboutcooking

After learning about the death of David Lynch I felt compelled to channel my inner Dale Cooper & make a cherry pie. It’s a wonderful accompaniment to a damn fine cup of coffee. (Yes, I was a huge fan of Twin Peaks)

To make a tart that is courage (😉) to a man or a woman. I feel that this sweet potato & quince tart from Thomas Dawson should be announced with a lascivious wink. Spanish Potatoes & quinces were deemed to have aphrodisiac qualities in the sixteenth century.

Does this bag contain my food heaven or my food hell? Find out in the latest episode of the podcast when I chat to Brontë Aurell about liquorice. Link in bio.

That’s a wrap for the first course of season 3 of the Comfortably Hungry podcast. Episodes 1-7 are available now on your favourite podcast platform. Thank you to all my lovely listeners, subscribers and guests. Merry Christmas everyone!

Btw, I don't know if you're listening to @mrssbilton.bsky.social 's podcast Comfortably Hungry Season 3, which theme is 'Dark' It has being an exceptional series so far! open.spotify.com/episode/1pdE...

Christmassy thing #20 I popped up on the @deliciouslegacy.bsky.social Christmas special all about favourite historical/traditional Christmas foods along with @tudorfoodrecipe.bsky.social @mrssbilton.bsky.social and @alessandrapino.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/7ux5...

A Pepperpot from ‘Meg Dods’ cookbook c. 1826 This is a good demonstration of how dishes originally created by the enslaved made their way into middle class cookbooks (albeit an anglicised interpretation). You can find the recipe & podcast on the Comfortably Hungry substack (link in bio).

We got together for another foody chat, this time the theme was seasonal. 🌲🤶🥘🧆🥟🥧 Thank you @deliciouslegacy.bsky.social

One of the reasons I love podcasting is the fact I get to talk to so many interesting people and this episode is no exception! This time I’m chatting to Dr Peggy Brunache about how the enslaved people of the Caribbean used food as a form of resistance. Link in bio.

Nero's silver found in Worcestershire: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Entries for the @thegfw are open! I’m thinking about entering the #comfortablyhungrypodcast but which episode should I choose? You can pick any episode that has been ‘published’ in 2024. A full list is available on Substack! Please let me know!

Blue cheese & date scones ‘cos it’s that sort of day.

Should you have any left over Christmas pudding I can thoroughly recommend these Christmas pudding truffles. You can defund the recipe over on instagram.

It's Stir Up Sunday! The day the plum pud is made ready for Christmas. I popped up on @mrssbilton.bsky.social 's Comfortably Hungry to talk about this wonderful British foodstuff. open.spotify.com/episode/3bMW...

The recipe for gingerbread s’mores is available now on the Substack. The biscuit dough is also great for making all manner of gingerbread shapes. Link in bio. #gingerbread