Smy Goodness Podcast : Food History & Food Art

Ep43 - Break Me Off a Piece of that Kit Kat...Pod

Gimme a break, gimme a break - break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar - it’s the food history and food art of the Kit Kat. My next episode will be followed up with a much deeper look at cacao. This episode is a bit of a departure as it’s the first time I have featured a brand. It was inspired by my dear friend Michiru and her recent gift of a pack of assorted Japanese Kit Kats and will start with original Kit Kats. From the 18th century savoury pies they share their name with, to their 100...

Ep42 - Music, Minerals, Mangia! with Maddalena Ghezzi

With this episode I’m going straight to my interview with today’s guest - Maddalena Ghezzi. Maddalena is a musician, singer, composer, artist and improviser. She has been working in the field of jazz, improvised and experimental music since moving to the UK in 2009 and her work draws inspiration from the natural world, literature, visual arts and the socio-political status of our world. Here we chat about her new release, Emeralds, which is a collaboration with synth player, composer, produc...

Ep41 - OxyContin for Breakfast with Kurt Cole Eidsvig

I chat with one of my dearest friends, award-winning writer and artist Kurt Cole Eidsvig.  Kurt has been featured in The Boston Globe, The Improper Bostonian, NBC, CBS, and ABC and loads more prestigious places. We will talk about his new book OxyContin for Breakfast, his previous book Pop X Poetry, his visual art, inspirations and how food factors in to all of the above. We will chat about his connection to apple cider vinegar, mint jelly omelettes, analogue vampiric beef binkies, Sully's...

Ep40 - As Art As Vinegar

Vinegar depictions range from fanciful stories relating to it, appearances in still life paintings to the different stages of its production and enjoyment. Vinegar is a symbol of preservation, of hard work and longevity and being cleansed. It’s found in religious stories, fables, stories of love, war, money and death…basically all aspects of the human experience. Featuring artworks such as the Three Vinegar Tasters, Parody of the Vinegar Tasters, Elisabetta Sirani's painting Cleopatra and th...

Ep39 - Sour Power of Vinegar Half Hour

Vinegar is a vital addition to popular dishes, condiments and beverages from around the world. It has as many uses outside of the kitchen as it does in it and is a staple ingredient of many natural or home remedies. There are countless health benefits that are associated with it and the varieties are endless - from bayberry, bamboo, black, brown and balsamic and one that is famously described as with the mother. Today it's all about the food history of vinegar - its important beginnings, fer...

Ep38 - Mushrooms Depicted in Art - Pt 4 of Mystic, Magic and Mealtime Mushrooms

Ep37 - Mushrooms - Pt 3 - Mealtimes, Mental Health and Mindfulness with Karmen Perez-Pineda of Cats with a Heart

Ep36 - Mushrooms - Pt 2 - Fungi Folklore

Ep35 - Mushrooms - Pt 1 - Shamans and Shrooms

Ep35 - Mushrooms - Mystic, Magic and Mealtime

Ep34 - Smy Thoughts - Racism and Racist Imagery in Food and Art

I am sharing and processing some of my thoughts and experiences of racism as a woman of colour. Covering examples of racist imagery in food history and amazing representation, examples of racist imagery in art and amazing representation in art. Covering racial stereotypes, Ava DuVernay and the documentary 13th, Mixed Girl Meetup, Birth of a Nation, , fried chicken, watermelon, stereotypes, micro-aggressions, Sohla El-Waylly and Bon Appetit, MOFAD, Mariya Russell, Kara Walker, Angela Davis a...

Ep33 - Flour Power and Superb Herbs

In a special edition of Smy Goodness Podcast - Quarantine Catch-up we chat with Aimée Furnival of Another Studio, the London design studio specialising in Plant Gifts and Playful Products. Aimée featured in the Smy Goodness Podcast Ep5 Pancakes and Creativity which looked at the food history and food art relating to pancakes all whilst we chatted about creativity, similarities between cooking and design processes and how design affects the items that surround us in our kitchens and dining ro...

Ep32 - Pomegranate memories with Freelance Writer and Journalist Sophie Jean-Louis Constantine

Ep31 - Pomegranate - Superfood, Seeds, Symbolism and Stories

Across the world and throughout myths, legends and religious texts pomegranates have been symbolic of wealth, fertility and good luck. The pomegranate has been a popular feature and motif in artworks, literature, ceremonies and culinary offerings from all over the world. A modern day superfood yes…but people throughout time and place have known of its health benefits. From stories of Agdistis, Persephone, Roman Britain and Catherine of Aragon. With artworks from Giovanna Garzoni, Clara Peete...

Ep30 - Fashion and Food with Em and Ems - Emilio de la Morena and Emmerline Smy

Exploring the historical links between food and fashion plus a chat with fashion designer and artist Emilio de la Morena. Emilio was my very first guest for Episode 1 which was all about quince and now he’s my latest guest for Episode 30! We discuss his latest creative endeavours as a painter; the fashion and food events we have been hosting and how food and fashion inspire us both. Connected since our earliest days as humans, we’ll also look at how 5000 year old Ötzi the Iceman changed how ...

Ep29 - Lobster Tails, Lobster Rolls and Lobster Tales with Lobsterman Greg Weeks

They are associated with luxury but historically this has not always been the case. They live in all oceans, yet I am partial and prejudiced to those from New England. Today it's the food history and food art of lobster. My guest Greg Weekes shares his insight and stories as a Cape Cod Lobsterman. Their form and colour have inspired artists throughout the ages. There's art from the Moche civilisation of Peru, Albrecht Durer, Claara Peeters, Anne Vallayer-Coster, Judith Sobel and Carrie Mae W...

Ep28 - Mastic, Mastiha, Mummies and Massage with Aristea Zougri of Althea Massage Therapy and Yoga

Heat from the body can soften it making it more pliable and chewy. Chewy is a key word around its etymology. It’s a tree sap that is dried in the sun from only one place, the Greek island of Chios. It’s all about mastic, or mastiha in Greek or by it’s poetic name Tears of Chios. I’ll look at its history, rarity, value and its many uses. There's art by Émile Bayard, Elisabetta Duminuco and Clémentine Bal. Our guest Aristea Zougri of Althea Massage Therapy and Yoga has a myriad of skills and t...

Ep27 - Feed A Lady Marmalade - Voulez-vous écouter avec moi ce soir

Ep27 - Feed A Lady Marmalade - Voulez-vous écouter avec moi ce soir

Ep26 - Octopus, Polpo, Pulpo, Tako: - Takoyaki - My Delicious Dilemma

"Marine Style" flask with octopus, Aegean Civilisation of Crete, the Late Minoan Bronze Age from c. 1500-1450 BC Throughout the world and throughout time, people and cultures have both revered and feared this eight-limbed, legendary Cephalopod - the octopus. We’ll look at the mythology and folklore of the octopus, their physiology and behaviour; which all strengthen their reputation as symbols of strength, intelligence and mystery. We’ll look at artworks by Japanese master Hokusai, res...

Ep25 - Gooseberries and Gooseberry Gumbo at Jimmy's Festival on Jimmy's Farm

  Notes: 
0 - 1.00: 
 intros
 1.00 - 9.35: 
 Gooseberry history, etymology, pairings, Egton Bridge Gooseberry and world’s biggest gooseberry, banned in the USA, Enclosures Act 
9.35 - 14.20 
Still life paintings by Dutch artist Adriaen Coorte, landscape painting by British artist Isabel Naftel, contemporary painting by Indigenous Australian artist Kerry Madawyn McCarthy 
14.20-16.30
 Intro to Jimmy’s Festival 
16.30 - 23.30
 Snippets from my food demo at Jimmy’s Festival 
23.30 -...

Ep24 - Fiori di Zucca with Orso Tosco

Orso Tosco, author of Aspettando i Naufraghi This episode it's the zucchini aka the courgette and their stunningly beautiful flowers. As my guest was Orso Tosco, the Italian author who has just published his novel, Aspettando I Naufraghi. For his topic Orso chose fiori di zucca or courgette/zucchini flowers as they feature in his novel and are one of his favourite dishes. As we will see there is a strong link between Italy and courgette flowers which will play out in our chat, the artwor...

Ep23 - A Rhubarb of a Pickle of a Jam

          This episode looks at where rhubarb came from and how it traveled the world. I look at the changes from how rhubarb was first used by humans to how it is enjoyed today. We'll learn about the etymology of rhubarb, the need for albarelli drug jars and then there's the utterly interesting link between rhubarb and the Zoroastrian creation myth. I'll share why the culinary tradition of Forced Rhubarb fully deserves its PDO status. Go to SmyGoodness.com to see the artworks  I w...

Ep22 - Bubbly: Champagne, Prosecco and Cava - 12 Foods of Christmas

At Christmas-time and New Year we drink more of it than ever and it seems perfectly acceptable to be cracking open bottles of bubbly before noon or anytime you have guests round. It’s also the perfect gift to bring round, a ribbon tied round the iconic bottle. Bubbly is a great aperitif, can finish off a meal, be paired with liqueurs or drank on its own. Those bubbles can go straight to ones head…and what starts as giddiness…quickly moves into tipsiness…which is sure to end in headache if on...

Ep21 - Christmas Chocolates - Twelve Foods of Christmas

This mini-episode is just a little taster, chocolate will get a FULL ON episode in the future, here we are just focusing on Christmas chocolates such as chocolate coins, chocolate tins and trays. From its roots in South and Central America cacao has created joy and good tidings everywhere it has gone and we love to gift it, share it and gorge on it at Christmas. yougov.uk did a really snazzy poll this year to find out which chocolates were the favourites from the Roses, Quality Street, Cel...

Ep20 - Gin & Sloe Gin - Twelve Foods of Christmas

It's the mid point between Christmas and New Year…we might benefit from a break from the excesses. We can't go cold-turkey from the excesses of non-stop food and drink so a gin and tonic or a bit of sloe gin is a welcome comfort. The Sloe, or wild Plum, is the fruit of the Blackthorn found in the hedgerows. By autumn these small fruits are oval, blue-black and their sourness makes them perfect to cover with sugar and gin which by Christmas has formed into a perfectly luxurious holiday tippl...

Ep19 - Christmas Chutney - Twelve Foods of Christmas

How do you eat your chutney? What is your favourite cheese and chutney combination? Today’s Christmas food is chutney. Since the last 12 Foods of Christmas episode featured cheese, it would seem only fitting that we follow that up with chutney. I have often been asked by Spanish or Italian friends or customers what a chutney is. Chutney originated in India and has now become a staple condiment that has no standard recipe. Discoveries, capitalism and colonialism all contributed to chutneys ...

Ep18 - Christmas Cheese - Twelve Foods of Christmas

It’s a perfect symphony of seasonality. Many cheeses that we enjoy at Christmas have been made in the summer and are just coming in to peak maturity around the holidays. What’s your cheese? British classics or continental cheeses? Are you someone who goes for the cheese board rather than a pudding? Luckily at Christmas you can sample ALL the cheeses and all the puddings! It's a perfectly delicious puzzle when choosing ones post Christmas dinner plate of cheeses and pairing them with chutneys...

Ep17 - Oranges - Twelve Foods of Christmas

In the 5 or 6 weeks prior to Christmas is when clementines, satsumas, manderins and tangerines come into season and join forces to dominate the fruit bowl. Their flavours and essences appear throughout our food, drink and traditions throughout Christmas. Find out about the roots and origins of oranges and the differences between the easy-peelers. We'll learn about St. Nicholas and why we put oranges in stockings with help of Gentile da Fabriano and his painting, Three Gold Balls. Three Gold...

Ep16 - Mulled Wine - Twelve Foods of Christmas

It has lots of the familiar spices we associate with Christmas infused together in warmed wine, spirits, fruit and sugar. Walk in to a party from the cold and serving mulled wine and you’ll know instantly as it saturates your sense of smell and warms you up as it fills your belly. Since pre-history we have found ways to drink fermented beverages and we owe thanks to the Greeks and the Romans for specifically bringing mulled wine to Northern Europe and throughout the world. We'll discuss Circ...

Ep15 - Christmas Goose - Twelve Foods of Christmas

Goose - the squatted, more flavourful, dark meat alternative to their dry, white-melted fowl cousin the turkey. The custom and popularity of eating a goose during autumnal and winter harvest and holidays stretches from when they were domesticated by the Egyptians over 4000 years ago. This episode looks at traditions throughout the ages including the long-running Tavistock Goosey Fair, Michaelmas, the Smithfield's Market Christmas Eve Sale and the goose/turkey dynamic of Charles Dickens' A Ch...

Ep14 - Cinnamon - Twelve Foods of Christmas

It works sweet or savoury and can be oh-so overpowering if you let it. It’s not my favourite spice and is one that I use sparingly so that it doesn’t dominate a dish, but properly balanced, cinnamon brings warmth and depth of flavour to dishes all year round but particularly at Christmas. We'll look at its importance throughout the ancient world, how beneficial it is in terms of health and how it is only recently enjoyed by the masses. Artwork from 'Tractatus de Herbis' by Dioscorides, 15th ...

Ep13 - Cranberry Sauce - Twelve Foods of Christmas

These small, round, bright-red berries are more tart than sweet which makes them a perfect accompaniment to roast meat and dinners bringing a nice bright dash of Christmas red to ones plate. This week we look at how these North American fruits have become part of Christmas, gained status as a superfood and the many ways they can be enjoyed throughout the holidays and year-round. Save

Ep12 - Brussel Sprouts - Twelve Foods of Christmas

When I was little I was sure that someone with magical powers had shrunk cabbages into bite size portions. If you don’t think they taste delicious, you’re probably cooking them wrong! And if you’re just eating them at Christmas…well lots of people do but they deserve a place at the table beyond the Christmas holidays and sprouts are a £650,000,000 business with loads of varieties to try and inventive pairings and ways to prepare them. Artwork from Amedee Varin. Save

Ep11 - Mincemeat - Twelve Foods of Christmas by Smy Goodness Podcast

Mincemeat and mince pies are markers of Christmas. Mincemeat is the filling baked inside pies and they originally contained dried fruit, spices, vinegar and meat when they first appeared in the 15th century. There’s the old wives' tale that you should eat a mince pie on each of the 12 days of Christmas for good luck in the upcoming year...if I eat two per day will it bring me double the good luck next year? Listen for a brief look at the history, art and design of mincemeat.

Ep10 - Plates and Platters with Tim Parker of You'll Soon Know on NTS

This week I sat down with Tim Parker the Web Developer, Designer, DJ and host of the NTS radio programme You'll Soon Know. We discussed food and music memories, travel, design and how we approach and share all of the above. Before my chat with Tim I look at the history of plates from our pre-history days as humans and their quick evolution from functional pieces to decorative, artistic and even space exploring items. The work of Judy Chicago, Chloe Wise, Dr Amanda Furman's The Ascent of Wo...

Ep9 - Anyone Sycophancy a Fig?

Figs are one of the earliest if not our earliest cultivated plant.  Their reverence surely stems from their historic connection to our own agricultural journey and they are a symbol of abundance and important to ancient peoples, cultures, art, cookery and religions. They are symbols of fertility, wealth, youth and the brevity of life. This episode will look at the Greek etymology behind 'sycophancy' and the Roman Apicius' recipe for fegato. Artists discussed include Giovanna Garzoni, Albrech...

Ep8 - Dumplings with Peiran Gong and Tongtong Ren of Chinese Laundry Room

They occur all over the world in some shape or form - you might know them as ravioli, empanada, gyoza, fufu, piroges, tortellini - pastries filled with savoury meat and/or vegetables or even sweet versions filled with fruit. They can be steamed, boiled, broiled, baked or fried. This episode will focus on the Chinese dumpling, and look at how this ancient food is the epitome of a food so steeped in art, history and design that, when done properly, is a little edible works of art. I will foc...

Ep7 - Bunches of Grapes

Grapes are one of the first plants to be grown domestically by people and their cultivation cycle has been embedded deep within us. One only needs to look at the symbolic, religious and cultural importance of grapes to get a small fathoming of what they must have meant to the early peoples who first fermented them to what they mean across the world today. Since Ancient Greece artists have used grapes to show off their artistic skills by capturing the beauty held within both the individual gr...

Ep6 - Ice Cream w/Tara Esperanza of T.O.I.C. - Tara's Organic Ice Cream

Show Notes: 0-2.30 - Episode Intro 2.30-7.30 - Ice cream, history and design 7.30-10.15 - Picasso, Axell, Burman - artists and ice cream depiction 10.15 - 57 - Tara Esperanza of T.O.I.C. interview 57-59 - episode closing comments This week it's ice cream! Listen above to hear how, why and when ice cream became the world-wide popular dish that it is is. Everyone has their own memories and preferences relating to this frozen treat that it delicious served with fruit, cake in a cone or o...

Ep5 - Pancakes & Creativity w/ Aimee Furnival of Another Studio

This week I'll be looking at pancakes and chatting to Aimee Furnival, Founder and Director of Another Studio. Aimee and I made pancakes together, something we have done countless times. Pancakes are the popular breakfast food that are generally enjoyed on the weekend, at brunch or special occasions. It's always a special occasion to spend time with Aimee who is a truly wonderful friend and a creative inspiration. Over pancakes we chatted about design processes from start to finish and how cr...

Ep4 - Canapés with Diana Pinkett of Vegan Peasant Catering

Diana Pinkett of Vegan Peasant Catering and I discuss how canapes, travelling, family and life have impacted on her everyday life and that of her and her partner Adrian Smith's 100% plant based catering company. Join us for that as well as a little exploration in to canapes and their evolution from ancient times to today. Where did they come from? How did they get their name? And how are they represented today throughout food, art, history and design.

Ep3 - The Magical Lemon w/Hardeep Singh Kohli

This week it's all about the magical lemon and I sat down with comedian, chef, journalist, broadcaster and my dear friend Hardeep Singh Kohli to talk about his professional take on lemons. As usual in the interviews for the podcast, personal memories came to mind and as usual with Hardeep we had lots of laughs throughout our conversation.

Ep2 - Popping Cherries w/Mike Wolff

Come and join me on a little cherry adventure! Throughout the ages cherries have been symbolic of life, love, rebirth, fertility, reproduction and sexuality. I was joined by visual artist, street photographer and dear friend Mike Wolff to discuss his work, creative inspirations and to reminisce about the Black Forest, Black Forest Cake and more.

Ep1 - Emilio de la Morena & Quince

I sat down with Emilio de la Morena to chat about quince, the fruit from antiquity resembling a pear/apple hybrid which has inspired cooks, artists and lovers. Emilio is the Creative Director at Emilio de la Morena, a fashion brand that designs and manufactures luxury womenswear. The aim of the podcast is to explore how food, art, history and design intersect. Born in Spain, Emilio studied at Central Saint Martins and the London College of Fashion; a Spanish artisan with a London aesthetic. ...

Ep0 - Introducing Smy Goodness Podcast

This podcast will look at food, history, art and design. How, why and where they intersect and the impact that they have had and have on our culture and experiences. Together we’ll travel the world throughout time and space to uncover tales, facts, people and objects that have shaped our everyday lives in ways we may not have realised.