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The Delicious Legacy
A Culinary Invasion: Roman British Food
* * * Reminder: The first ever FOOD HISTORY FESTIVAL is happening on the 18th of October and it's all online! Get your tickets here:
It's going to be a fantastic day with many excellent food historian guests, and of course my fellow Serve It Forth members, food historians, Dr Neil Buttery, Dr Alessandra Pino and Sam Bilton!
Join us for a day of historical dishes, cocktails and recipes! * * *
Famously, Diodorus Siculus the Greek geographer said for Britain:
"It is the home of men who are complete savages and lead a miserable existence because of the cold; and therefore, in my opinion, the northern limit of our inhabited world is to be placed there"
But nevertheless the Romans went and conquered it and made it part of the Roman Empire for nearly four hundred years.
The stereotypes even then two thousand years abound:
"Those near the coast in Kent may be more civilised, but in the interior they do not cultivate the land but share their wives with family members, live on milk and meat, and wear the skins of animals."
Horace wrote.
Diodorus continues: "The numerous population of natives, he says, live in thatched cottages, store their grain in subterranean caches and bake bread from it. They are "of simple manners" (ēthesin haplous) and are content with plain fare..."
But beyond this, there was a thriving Celtic and British Roman culture that existed. The local foods and customs and rich pasture for animals helped the invading Romans create a rich culinary legacy, based on many imported foods from across the empire and introduced numerous plants and animals to Britain that since became native to the land, from humble leek to plums to rabbits and pheasants.
So on this episode together with fellow chef and podcaster Lewis Bassett (The Full English) we sat down to chat and explore the legacy of Rome in the British Isles, through food, culinary pathways and how this intertwines with class and politics to our modern age!
Join us and let's find out what did the Roman-British table and pantry had to offer!
Music by Pavlos Kapralos.
Enjoy!
Love,
The Delicious Legacy
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