It’s time for the now traditional end-of-season postbag episode of The British Food History Podcast, where I (attempt to) answer your questions, read out your comments and mull over your queries.
I’ll be disappearing for a couple of months, unless of course, you are a monthly subscriber, where there will be a bonus episode coming up for you to listen to via the website: Keeping Food Traditions Alive with Tom Parker Bowles, which was recorded live at the Serve it Forth Food History Festival on 18 October.
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This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.
Things mentioned in today’s episode
Book your place at the Serve it Forth Spooky Christmas Special on 11th of December
BBC article World black pudding championship throwers take aim
BBC article about the Denby Dale pie play
Books discussed or mentioned in today’s episode
Bilton, S. Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron. (Prospect Books, 2022).
Thomas, J. & Schultz, C. How to Mix Drinks, Or, The Bon-Vivant’s Companion. (Dick & Fitzgerald, 1862).
Bilton, S. Much Ado About Cooking: Delicious Shakespearean Feasts for Every Occasion. (Headline, 2025)
Buttery, N. Knead to Know: A History of Baking. (Icon Books, 2024).
Previous pertinent podcast episodes
Black & White Pudding with Matthew Cockin & Grant Harper
Derbyshire Oatcakes with Mark Dawson
Welsh Sheep & Cattle with Carwyn Graves
Housekeepers & Butlers with Peter Brears
Subversive Feasting in Medieval King & Common Tales with Mark Truesdale
Shakespearean Food & Drink with Sam Bilton
Cooking English Food with Nicola Aldren, Simone Blogg and Anthea Craig
Sam Bilton & Neil Buttery Talk Tripe
Previous pertinent blog posts
Cheese and Leek (or Onion) Pie
Neil’s other blog and YouTube channel
The British Food History Channel
Neil’s books:
Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper
Knead to Know: a History of Baking
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 me at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or on twitter and BlueSky @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. My DMs are open.
You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory
British Food: A History 
The correspondence between President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth brought back many happy memories of the years I spent as an archivist at the Eisenhower Presidential Library. The photograph of Ike grilling quail was probably this one:
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5723071
He was an avid cook since childhood. In his post-presidential papers there is a cookbook of recipes that he had compiled over the years. https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/file/cookbook.pdf
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This is great – thanks for finding and sending the quail photograph! Nice to make that extra, more solid, connection. The egg nog looks great too!
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