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The Delicious Legacy
Ancient Cuisines Around the World
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19. Sesame, Halva and Tahini: A Rich Complicated History
41:29||Season 8, Ep. 19Hello!New episode is out and it's all about, the history of sesame seeds, their use in ancient cuisines, especially Greek, their symbolism and spread across the ancient world...And what is halva anyway?! Hint: Tahini & honey...So today we are travelling to the source of sesame seeds in India, then to Ancient Mesopotamia, and Egypt, and we are examining ancient Greek desserts, and from there we are going all the way to China too!We are also looking at the role that trade between Arabia-India-China played to the spread of goods in the ancient world.Enjoy!The Delicious Legacy
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Recipe of the week on a Sunday: Two Traditional Onion Recipes
13:32|Hello! Welcome to the recipe of the week on a Sunday by The Delicious Legacy!Two Greek recipes with onion as the star ingredient one way or another!Enjoy!Thom
My Grandmother's slow cooked pork & pickled cabbage
16:34|This is a recipe and a short story that I wrote about six years ago, which you'll find out listening as to what it is and why, I hope you will enjoy it!Love,The Delicious Legacy
18. Macaroni and Cheese: Origins, Myths and History, from Ancient Rome to Renaissance
58:25||Season 8, Ep. 18Hello!Brand new episode is out!I’m talking with food historian Karima Moyer Nocchi. Earlier this year she published a brand new fascinating book titled THE EPIC HISTORY OF MACARONI AND CHEESE: FROM ANCIENT ROME TO MODERN AMERICA by Columbia University Press, which I devoured from start to finish. I was made aware late last year and I could not wait for its publication. So the honour talking with her and the excitement is even bigger than normally guys and girls!Before we go to the interview with my excellent and erudite guest, let me make an exciting announcement …!The online Serve it Forth Food History Festival will be returning on Saturday 17th of October 2026. Curated by the guild of food writers members and podcasters, historians, writers and all around hyper talented humans, Sam Bilton, Neil Buttery, Alessandra Pino alongside with me, Thom Ntinas. The festival will explore many different aspects of historical food featuring fascinating discussions and historical cookery demos. Details on the full line up will be coming soon but you can view the summary of the day’s “menu” on our website. https://serveitforthfest.wixsite.com/info/bill-of-fareLet me just tell you that for our amuse bouche introduction course we have none other than the amazing food historian Eleanor Barnett! I’ll be exploring the diet and lifestyle of ancient olympians and gladiators in the Greek and Roman world with historian Alexandra Sills.Tickets are available on eventbrite and I’ll put a link below:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/serve-it-forth-food-history-festival-2026-tickets-1992224789976?aff=ebdsoporgprofile My recommendations for the week:Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon – classical tragedy as a Celtic caperhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/06/glorious-exploits-by-ferdia-lennon-review-classical-tragedy-as-a-celtic-caperAmerican farmers slid solar panels over 62,000 acres of farmland, and the biggest payoff had almost nothing to do with electricity.https://energiesmedia.com/solar-panels-farmland-crops-agrivoltaics/The English Olive Co, the original english olive oil:https://www.englisholive.co.uk/. You can get Karima's book here:https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-epic-history-of-macaroni-and-cheese/9780231215312/More about Karima:https://www.theeternaltable.com/. Love,Thom & The Delicious Legacy
17. Acquired Tastes: An Interview With James Chatto Part Two
39:13||Season 8, Ep. 17Hello!Here's part two of my delightful conversation with James Chatto where we delve into the main characters of his fabulous book!Enjoy!Thom
16. Acquired Tastes an Interview with James Chatto Part One
39:57||Season 8, Ep. 16James Chatto. Actor, puppet maker, author, food writer and journalist. A truly multi-talented, one would say even a renaissance man! He is my honoured guest on The Delicious Legacy today, to tell us all about his latest book “Acquired Tastes” a food history book, which explores the extraordinary journeys of specific recipes as they moved from one culture to another—carried and transmitted by eight remarkable individuals...Hello! Welcome back to another episode of the Delicious Legacy!You can get James' book here:https://utppublishing.com/doi/book/10.3138/9781487566609Enjoy!LoveThom
15. Odyssey: Food, Feasting and the meaning of 'Xenia'
46:18||Season 8, Ep. 15Hello!Welcome back to another archaeogastronomical adventure!I couldn't help myself but having Odyssey as my inspiration for this week's episode!As you probably have heard Christopher Nolan has his epic film Odyssey in official release this Friday 17th of July 2026 so I thought what better way to dive into the ancient Homeric epic poem than exploring their foods, cooking, dishes and the meaning of xenia, hospitality, kindness to strangers and welcoming others into ones house?We will also dive into the real Bronze Age Greece and the archaeological discoveries there. What do these tell about feasting, communal eating and the food of the people in the Helladic world, three thousand years ago?Enjoy!The recommendations for this week are:Did Roman Britain Ever End?Nicholas J. Higham writes about the long death of Roman Britainhttps://www.unseenhistories.com/did-roman-britain-ever-end-nicholas-j-higham/Alexandra Sills:https://www.waterstones.com/book/gladiators-in-the-greek-world/alexandra-sills//9781036130480Welsh Smokery and shop:https://welshsmokery.co.uk/about-us/our-story/Love and wineThom & The Delicious Legacy