Emiliano Amore: On Love for the Liminal Larder

In this episode, I speak with chef and writer Emiliano Amore, who writes Britalian on Substack, about migration, identity, adaptation, and what he beautifully calls “the liminal larder” that space between cultures where Branston pickle meets pecorino, cheddar finds its way into lasagna, and food becomes a language of belonging. Born in Rome and now based in England, his work emerges directly from this in-between space.We talk about Britalian identity, culinary stereotypes, emotional ingredients, recipes as memory, and the idea that adaptation is not compromise but a form of becoming. Throughout, we return to the idea that food carries emotional weight, that it holds memory, longing, and the quiet traces of where we have been and who we are becoming.I can’t tell you how much I loved this conversation with Emiliano. It is a rich, thoughtful exploration of home, appetite, and the stories we tell through what we eat.Read more on my Substack https://substack.com/@dralessandrapinoArtwork by @medusazzz Audio by @thedeliciouslegacy Music by @manu_pino_1111 Useful links/references⁠Emiliano's substack⁠ an online cookbook and writing project exploring Italian and British food culturesLou Taylor, artistRussell Norman, award-winning restaurateur associated with Polpo and Brutto, often linked to the idea of Britalian cooking stylesM. F. K. Fisher, American food writer exploring food, desire, memory, and identityPanikos Panayi, Spicing Up Britain, a study of migration and the transformation of British food cultureHannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747), an influential British cookbook including early references to pasta such as vermicelli and macaroniThe Grand Tour, eighteenth-century travel tradition through which British elites encountered Italian culture, art, and foodThe eighteenth-century “macaronis”, British dandies returning from the Grand Tour associated with cosmopolitan taste and Italian influencePier Paolo Pasolini, Italian writer and filmmaker associated with representations of marginal, subcultural ItalyAnna Magnani, Italian actress emblematic of a raw, authentic Italian cultural identityCesare Pavese, Italian writer exploring themes of place, identity, and modernityVivienne Westwood, British designer representing alternative and subcultural British identityNigel Slater, British food writer known for intimate, domestic, and reflective food writingFleabag, British television series exploring contemporary identity and emotional lifeSt John, London restaurant known for nose-to-tail cooking and the use of offal in British cuisine