Food, Foreigners and Shakespeare
An Interview with Food Historian Sam Bilton
The Delicious Legacy · Thomas Ntinas
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Show Notes
Hello! New episode for all my hungry archaeogastronomers!
In Act 2, Scene 2 of the Merry Wives of Windsor Frank Ford says:
‘I will rather trust a Fleming with my butter, Parson Hugh the Welshman with my cheese, an Irishman with my aqua-vitae bottle, or a thief to walk my ambling gelding, than my wife with herself.’
Why do certain nationalities have close associations with certain foods? And what does this tell us about early modern English attitudes to foreigners? Was this something common across all strata of society?
One of the ways to explore these attitudes is to look at how foreigners are represented in plays particularly when it comes to food. I spoke to food historian and fellow podcaster Sam Bilton about this. Sam has recently released a cookbook called Much Ado About Cooking which looks at the food references in Shakespeare’s play.
Buy Sam's book here:
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/17049/9781035427680
On this episode then the above questions and a lot more regarding kitchen technology and implements of the time, measurements and terminology in the 16th Century, best recipes and dishes are answered. So join us onto another adventure through food and history!
Enjoy!
The Delicious Legacy
Recommendations of the week:
The UK Will Soon Be Home To The Largest Oyster Reef In Europe – As Four Million Oysters Are Being Dropped Into The North Sea As Part Of A Restoration Project To Help Restore Marine Ecosystems And Clean Water:
The importance of being malted: making malt and malt sugars from cereals in the Palaeolithic.
https://merryn.dineley.com/2025/12/the-importance-of-being-malted-making.html?m=1
The Meaning of Borsch:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ne63nGnDvTYgT2OFiayzf?si=c0b1449fe848458b
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Thom & The Delicious Legacy
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