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 article

To see Neil’s Country Life articles, please visit the website’s Media page

The Jane Grigson Trust

Books mentioned in today’s episode:

English Food by Jane Grigson

Jane Grigson’s Fruit Book

Good Things in England by Florence White

The Taste of Britain by Laura Mason & Catherine Brown

The Scots Kitchen by F. Marion McNeill

Previous blog posts pertinent to today’s episode:

Read Neil Cooks Grigson here

Upcoming 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 Housekeeper

A Dark History of Sugar

Knead to Know: a History of Baking

The Philosophy of Puddings is available to preorder

Don’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 neil@britishfoodhistory.com, 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/britishfoodhistory