Historical Cookery with Jay Reifel

Today I am talking with chef Jay Reifel who specialises in cooking historical food. He has co-written a beautiful book with collaborator Victoria Flexner called The History of the World in 10 Dinners.We talk about the influence of other cultures on British cuisine as well as the influence British cuisine has had on other cuisines, sweet and sour food, mince pies, mediocre medieval spices, and helmeted cocks – amongst many other things.This is the last regular episode of the run, meaning that the next episode will be the traditional postbag edition – so send me your comments, questions, and queries. Your deadline is the 28th of May 2024.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.Follow Jay on Instagram @jayreifel and visit his website jayreifel.com – where you can find more details of his book.Things mentioned in today’s episode:Jay’s Helmeted Cock in VogueNeil’s Helmeted Cock on Channel 5Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode:The History of Food Waste & Preservation with Eleanor BarnettMedieval Meals & Manners with Danièle CybulskieSpices with Ian AndersonChristmas Special 2023: Mince PiesTudor Cooking & Cuisine with Brigitte WebsterForme of Cury with Christopher MonkPrevious blog posts pertinent to today’s episode:Westmorland Sweet Lamb PieFavourite Cook Books no.3: The Forme of Cury, Part IFavourite Cook Books no. 3: The Forme of Cury, part 2 – recipesUpcoming events:British Library Food Season 2024, 25 May at 2pm. We Invented the Weekend festival, Salford, 16th June