50 Years of 'English Food' by Jane Grigson with Sam Bilton, Annie Gray, Ivan Day & Jill Norman

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 – and there are four excellent guests in today’s slightly longer-than-usual episode: Sam Bilton, Ivan Day, Annie Gray and Jill Norman It is because of Jane and her book that I am doing what I’m doing today – she taught me how to cook, told me about England’s fine and rich food culture and how to reconnect with it.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, and her frustrations regarding low-quality shepherd’s pie.Find out more about Sam Bilton and her work here.Find out more about Ivan Day and his work here.Find out more about Annie Gray and her work here.Find out more about Jill Norman and her work here.Support the podcast and blogs by becoming, if you can, a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.Things mentioned in today’s episode:Neil’s recent appearances on The Delicious Legacy, The Full English and Gastropod Neil’s recent Daily Express articleTo see Neil’s Country Life articles, please visit the website’s Media pageThe Jane Grigson TrustBooks mentioned in today’s episode:English Food by Jane Grigson Jane Grigson’s Fruit BookGood Things in England by Florence WhiteThe Taste of Britain by Laura Mason & Catherine BrownThe Scots Kitchen by F. Marion McNeillPrevious blog posts pertinent to today’s episode:Read Neil Cooks Grigson hereUpcoming events: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 HousekeeperA Dark History of Sugar Knead to Know: a History of BakingThe Philosophy of Puddings is available to preorderDon’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 Neil at [email protected], or on twitter and BlueSky @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. His DMs are open.You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistoryMentioned in this episode:The British Food History podcast is currently sponored by Netherton FoundrySeason 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. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp