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Cooking the Books with Gilly Smith
Sheila Dillon and Alex Renton: The Food Programme: 13 Foods That Shape Our World
This week, is all about The Food Programme, the Radio 4’s mighty series which has been examining our food, its culture and its politics for 43 years, and its first BBC book by Alex Renton taking us through 13 Foods that Shape our World.
Sheila Dillon, presenter of The Food Programme for much of that time has written the foreword. Gilly first met her back in 2017 for the delicious. podcast when the Food Programme was under threat from Radio 4. A mass outpouring of love for the show, new presenters, and now, a book, are just some of the results of that enforced rethink.
Before Gilly chats to Alex about his four food moments from the book, Sheila reveals her own existential pondering, and a surprising fragility considering her role as doyenne of food in Britain.
And if you've been following Gilly's adventures in cookery @cookingthebookswithgillysmith, you can join in. To get 10% off the Essentials online course, go to leithsonline.com/courses/essential-cooking
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32:29||Season 24, Ep. 9This week, Gilly is with Irina Janakievska, a North Macedonian born former lawyer turned chef who trained at Leiths and worked in the Ottolenghi test kitchen before becoming a runner up for the prestigious Jane Grigson Trust award for her debut cookbook, The Balkan Kitchen. It’s massive book reaching deep into the history, peoples and geo-politics of the Balkans, but also into her own family story and her exploration of her own identity through recipes from all Balkan kitchens. Most of all, it’s a love letter to Balkan cuisine – one of the most under-explored gastronomies in the world, and overshadowed by conflict.Head to Gilly’s Substack to hear Irina read the poem that inspired the book cover, and for her recipe for Slatko, one of her four food moments.8. Claire Dinhut: The Condiment Book
25:46||Season 24, Ep. 8This week, Gilly is with Claire Dinhut aka Condiment Claire. Claire is a culinary history cook and the author of The Condiment Book. A dual national of the US and France, she splits her time between LA and her family home, a mill in the French countryside where the rituals, traditions and flavours of both have inspired her till-side treasure, The Condiment Book which is bound to fly off the shelves this Christmas. Check out Gilly’s Substack for Extra Bites of Claire who’s taken us to that mill house in France to make her crème de marrons.7. Alice Robinson: Field, Fork, Fashion
40:11||Season 24, Ep. 7This week, you may be surprised to find a fashion designer on the show. But Alice Robinson is not what you might imagine. She’s only just left the Royal College of Art, but her work has already been featured in the V&A ‘s Food: Bigger than the Plate exhibition. Her first book Field, Fork, Fashion has had her on Radio’s 4’s Start the Week to discuss our connection with the countryside - with James Rebanks among the other guests. She is an extraordinary advocate of our connection with the land and prods us to think in a whole new way about the provenance of leather. Gilly finds out what the Fork in the title means to her story. Check out Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Alice and Bullock 374 – and Sheep 11458 - and click here for more about British Pasture Leather.6. Jon Watts: Speedy Weeknight Meals
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34:17||Season 24, Ep. 4This week, Gilly's with the man who’s on a mission to put flavour in the heart of a revolution in the food system. Franco Fubini is the CEO and founder of sustainable food distributor, Natoora. He’s also one of the judges of The Food Planet prize for innovation in food, and now, the author of In Search of the Perfect Peach.His philosophy is simple but its impact could be massive - He believes that our everyday food choices can and should make our diet healthier, tastier with a massive impact on the farmers, the soil and the entire food chain. Head over to Gilly's Substack for Extra Bites of Franco.3. Allegra McEvedy: Chefs Wanted
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