Niki Gorick: Secret Feasts and the City- London Life Through the Lens

Niki Gorick: Secret Feasts and the City- London Life Through the Lens

How do you photograph a city that never stands still? In this episode of A Curious Appetite, I am joined by photographer and author Niki Gorick [https://www.nikigorick.com/], whose work has documented London's hidden ceremonies, docklands, working communities, and riverside traditions for more than twenty-five years. Beginning with her early fascination for storytelling and inspired by photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Antony Armstrong-Jones (Lord Snowdon), Niki reflects on how photography became her way of preserving fleeting moments before they disappear forever. Together we explore photography as cultural memory, the hidden rituals that continue to shape the City of London, and why food remains central to some of Britain's oldest surviving ceremonies. From medieval guilds and lavish civic banquets to Swan Upping on the River Thames, the conversation uncovers a London that most people never encounter. Along the way, we discuss the philosophy of documentary photography, London's remarkable charitable traditions, the changing relationship between people and wildlife, and the challenge of preserving living heritage within a constantly changing city. Through photography, food history, London's hidden traditions, and cultural memory, this episode opens the door to a side of the city that few people ever have the chance to experience. Further reading and resources Learn more about Niki Gorick's work and current projects: * Niki Gorick Photography [https://www.nikigorick.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Dock Life at the Cutty Sark, Royal Museums Greenwich [https://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark/attractions/niki-gorick-dock-life?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Niki Gorick's Dock Life is currently on display at Cutty Sark, part of Royal Museums Greenwich [https://www.rmg.co.uk/], where her contemporary photographs are presented alongside images and stories from the museum's archive, creating a dialogue between London's docklands past and present. Explore the photographers who inspired Niki: * Henri Cartier-Bresson – the pioneering documentary photographer best known for the concept of the decisive moment. Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson [https://www.henricartierbresson.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] | Magnum Photos Archive [https://www.magnumphotos.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Antony Armstrong-Jones (Lord Snowdon) – celebrated portrait and theatre photographer. National Portrait Gallery Collection Find out more about London's ceremonial traditions: * City of London Corporation [https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * The Lord Mayor's Show [https://lordmayorsshow.london/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * The Livery Committee * St Bride's Church, Fleet Street [https://www.stbrides.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] (home of the annual Bubble Service discussed in this episode) Discover more about Swan Upping and London's relationship with the River Thames: * The Royal Family – Swan Upping [https://www.royal.uk/swan-upping?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * The Worshipful Company of Vintners * The Worshipful Company of Dyers * Royal Museums Greenwich [https://www.rmg.co.uk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Canal & River Trust [https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Photography resources mentioned during the conversation: * Sony Alpha Cameras * Nikon UK [https://www.nikon.co.uk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * Adobe Camera RAW Guide Niki's books: * Dock Life Renewed: How London's Docks Are Thriving Again * Faith in the City of London Contact: ⁠acuriousappetite@gmail.com⁠ Artwork: @medusazzz Audio Production: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: @manu_pino_1111

Dr Sam Hirst on Singing for Supper: William Linley in Regency Britain

In this episode of A Curious Appetite, I am joined by Gothic scholar, educator, and founder of Romancing the Gothic, Dr Sam Hirst, to explore the remarkable travel journal Summer Rambles in 1825 by the musician and traveller William Linley. Drawing on Sam's work transcribing and annotating the manuscript at Newstead Abbey, we journey through Regency England in the company of one of its most observant and entertaining diarists.  We discuss Linley's connections to the world of music and theatre, his possible links to Lord Byron, and his fascinating visit to Newstead Abbey, Byron's former home. Sam reflects on discovering the diary in the Newstead archives and explains why Linley's candid observations, social commentary, and frequent complaints make him such an engaging narrator.  Food features throughout our conversation. We examine what Linley's diary reveals about Regency hospitality, travel, and dining, from breakfasts and suppers to pickled onions, delayed fish deliveries, cold fowl, ham, and "badly dressed eels." Together we consider how food functioned as a marker of status, comfort, and sociability, and how complaints about meals often reveal just as much as descriptions of them.  Our discussion also returns to Newstead Abbey, where Sam shares insights from his work marking the bicentenary of Byron's death. We explore Byron's complicated relationship with dancing, the scandalous reputation of the waltz, the role of music within the house, and the ways Newstead has been reinterpreted for modern visitors.  The conversation then turns eastwards as Sam reflects on living and working in Kazan, Russia, a city shaped by Russian, Tatar, Muslim, Orthodox Christian, and Jewish traditions. We discuss how experiencing different cultures transformed his perspective as a historian and researcher, encouraging a deeper appreciation of nuance, complexity, and the dangers of simplistic historical narratives.  Naturally, food accompanies us on this journey. Sam shares memories of Russian, Tatar, and Central Asian cuisines, including plov, triangular meat-and-potato pastries, sour cream, cottage cheese, and the extraordinary hospitality he encountered around family tables. We also discuss nostalgia, migration, and the foods we continue to long for long after we have left a place behind.  Along the way we talk about: * William Linley and Regency musical culture * Byron, Newstead Abbey, and the waltz * Hospitality and social performance in the Regency period * Food, travel, and complaint as historical evidence * Manuscript transcription and archival detective work * Russia, Tatarstan, and cultural diversity * Plov, pastries, hospitality, and food nostalgia * Why complexity is often more interesting than certainty Whether you're interested in Byron, Regency travel, food history, archives, or the pleasures of a well-kept diary, this episode offers a fascinating glimpse into the people, meals, friendships, and journeys that shaped life in the early nineteenth century. Learn more about Dr Sam Hirst's work, courses, and events at Romancing the Gothic [https://romancingthegothic.com/about/?utm_source=chatgpt.com]. The platform brings together readers, writers, and researchers interested in the Gothic, Romanticism, folklore, and literary history. Interested in Byron and Newstead Abbey? Read Dr Sam Hirst's article, "Byron's Letters Reveal the Real Queer Love and Loss That Inspired His Poetry," [https://theconversation.com/byrons-letters-reveal-the-real-queer-love-and-loss-that-inspired-his-poetry-224540]which explores Byron's relationship with John Edleston and the emotional experiences reflected in his letters and verse. Artwork: @medusazzz Audio Production: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: @manu_pino_1111

Nina Atesh: Dining with the Devil

What happens when history itself becomes a magic trick? In this episode of A Curious Appetite, I am joined by writer, director, and Artistic Director of Pither Productions, Nina Atesh, to discuss In League with the Devil, her fascinating new play inspired by the extraordinary life of Erik Jan Hanussen: illusionist, clairvoyant, celebrity showman, fraudster, political opportunist, and one of the most enigmatic figures of twentieth-century Europe. Together we explore the challenges of researching a man who spent his life reinventing himself, blurring the boundaries between fact, fiction, performance, and belief. We discuss historical truth, psychological horror, charismatic manipulators, cults, scammers, influencers, and why audiences continue to be drawn towards certainty, spectacle, and the promise of hidden knowledge. We also delve into the theatrical process behind the production, including Nina's collaboration with legendary illusionist Simon Drake and mind reader Graham Jolley, whose work helped recreate some of Hanussen's techniques on stage. Along the way we discuss theatre-making, pub theatre culture, the changing economics of performance, and the enduring magic of gathering together in a room to experience a story unfold in real time. Because this is still A Curious Appetite, we also talk food memories, childhood kitchens, Cypriot family meals, smoky bacon crisps, Sunday roasts, and the surprising connections between cooking and theatre. Both rely on ritual, timing, community, and a little bit of everyday magic. We also touch upon horror theatre, GrimFest, Kim Newman, creative collaboration, and the strange power of performance to make us believe, if only for a moment, in something impossible. * Erik Jan Hanussen * Illusion, magic, and performance * Historical research and unreliable sources * Psychological horror and theatrical storytelling * Cult leaders, scammers, and charisma * Simon Drake and stage illusion * Graham Jolley and mind reading * Pither Productions and GrimFest * Kim Newman and horror culture * Pub theatre and creative communities * Cyprus, Canada, and England * Food memories and family kitchens * Smoky bacon crisps * Theatre, ritual, and belief Special thanks to Nina Atesh, Simon Drake, Graham Jolley, Kim Newman, and everyone at Pither Productions for their generosity, creativity, and for helping bring one of the most intriguing theatrical projects I have encountered in recent years to life. Hosted by Dr Alessandra Pino. A podcast exploring how food shapes memory, identity, longing, fear, culture, and storytelling. 📩 Contact: acuriousappetite@gmail.com Artwork: @medusazzz Audio Production: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: @manu_pino_1111 Useful Links * Pither Productions * GrimFest London Horror Theatre Festival * Simon Drake's House of Magic [https://www.simondrake.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com]

Dorothy Barrick: Feeding the Frame- The Art of Food in Film

What kind of job requires you to carry knives, toothpicks, pastry brushes, chopping boards, glycerine spray, and sometimes half a kitchen in the back of your car? Food styling. In this episode of A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino, I’m joined by Dorothy Barrick, known as Dot, a food stylist and home economist whose work brings food to life on screen in ways that are often invisible, but absolutely essential. We talk about what it really means to work behind the scenes on film sets, from preparing edible props to understanding how food behaves under lights, heat, pressure, and repetition. A dish might need to look fresh for hours. It might need to be eaten repeatedly by an actor. It might need to appear identical across multiple takes. And sometimes it needs to do something stranger altogether, like ooze, collapse, bleed, or stand in for something else entirely. I first came across Dot’s work through The Radleys (2024), based on Matt Haig’s novel, where food becomes part of the film’s unsettling emotional atmosphere. We explore how food on screen creates mood, reveals character, and shapes tension, especially in horror and uncanny cinema. We also discuss: • Working on The Roses [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31973693/]with Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch • Nicholas Hoult’s enthusiastic eating on The Great [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2235759/] • Horror food styling and beautifully grotesque visual tricks • Cooked watermelon used as tuna sashimi • Pear standing in for delicate raw fish • Continuity, repetition, and the pressure of keeping food camera-ready • Fashion, colour, design, and food as visual storytelling We also spend time discussing Babette’s Feast [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092603/], one of the great films about food, grief, memory, and transformation. Dot reflects beautifully on the meditative power of baking and how repetitive, intricate culinary tasks can help us process difficult moments and sit quietly with ourselves. And of course, because this is A Curious Appetite, we end with food memories: childhood casseroles, the horror of beef tongue, oysters, whelks, seafood towers, and the foods that stay with us. This episode is a deep dive into the mysterious, meticulous, and often under-credited world of food on film. Because next time you watch a scene and think “that food looks incredible,” it is worth asking: who made it look that way? Useful links: Dorothy Barrick / @dotscookin [https://www.instagram.com/dotscookin/] Cherry Bombe interview [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMguduK0buk] with Dorothy Barrick and Olivia Colman Fear Feasts podcast episode on The Radleys [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-family-that-bloodsucks-together-the-radleys/id1672786626?i=1000688914541] A Curious Appetite Substack [https://substack.com/@dralessandrapino] 📧 acuriousappetite@gmail.com 🎧 Available now on all major podcast platforms. Artwork by @medusazzz Audio by @thedeliciouslegacy Music by @manu_pino_1111

Richard Crampton-Platt: Pasta and Prejudice

This episode was not sponsored by Greggs. But it begins with a sausage roll! I’m joined by Richard Crampton-Platt (you might know him as @thegreedydick). We talk about chicken rolls and why they disappoint. Raw chicken sushi and what “safe” really means. Why Britain trusts takeaways and Italy doesn’t. Food delivery and what it reveals about how we live. The myth of pizza margherita. Carbonara, cream, and the illusion of authenticity. Food smuggling, migration, and adaptation. And why food feels different from art or music.  It starts light It turns philosophical And somewhere along the way it becomes about trust. Because food is the one thing we choose to put inside our bodies. And that always says more than we think. Read more on Substack https://substack.com/@dralessandrapino Email: acuriousappetite@gmail.com Artwork by @medusazzz Audio by @thedeliciouslegacy Music by @manu_pino_1111  Useful links and references Richard Crampton-Platt’ [https://thegreedydick.substack.com/about]s writing, videos and restaurant commentary can be found via The Greedy Dick on Substack [https://thegreedydick.substack.com/?utm_source=mention&utm_content=writes] and his wider online platforms.  Café Britaly, Peckham Richard discusses founding Café Britaly [https://www.instagram.com/cafe.britaly/], a British-Italian café in Peckham, and its playful approach to “Britalian” food, including carbonara with cream and a fried egg [https://www.instagram.com/p/C7WlXtFoRL0/].  Bocca di Lupo, Soho Richard talks about working at Bocca di Lupo [https://www.boccadilupo.com/], the regional Italian restaurant in Soho, which helped shape his understanding of Italian food and food history.  Britalian food and Italian cafés in Britain Topics include British-Italian greasy spoons, post-war Italian café culture in London, and the blending of British and Italian food traditions. Greggs sausage rolls Richard mentions Greggs expanding its sausage roll range, including pork, vegan and chicken [https://www.greggs.com/menu/product/chicken-roll-1003417] sausage rolls. Bovril The conversation touches on Bovril [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s2e6-b-is-for-beef-wellington-brains-bovril/id1743840806?i=1000708415574], Bovril on toast, Bovril as stock, Bovril in Arctic contexts, and its role in British food memory. Claude Lévi-Strauss, “The Culinary Triangle [https://miac2fooddesign.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/levi-strauss-and-culinary-triangle1.pdf]” Discussed in relation to broth, boiling, food preparation and social bonding.  Sidney Mintz- Sweetness and Power [https://archive.org/details/sweetnesspowerpl0000mint](1985) Mentioned in relation to industrialisation, sugar, work, pleasure and modern eating habits. Fellini’s Satyricon [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064940/] / Trimalchio’s feast Richard discusses Fellini’s strange, uncanny representation of Roman feasting, excess and food spectacle. Carbonara and authenticity The episode explores carbonara as a contested dish, including cream, pancetta, guanciale, egg, authenticity and cultural negotiation. Zuppa Inglese [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuppa_inglese] Mentioned as an Italian dessert whose name translates as “English soup”, and as an example of Anglo-Italian culinary overlap. Fagioli all’uccelletto [https://www.lacucinaitaliana.com/italian-food/italian-dishes/fagioli-alluccelletto-tuscan-bean-recipe] Mentioned in relation to beans, sage and their transformation within a British breakfast context. Full English breakfast and global variations The conversation touches on full English breakfasts, British breakfast culture, and variations such as full Turkish, full Greek and other cultural reinterpretations. A Full English on Pizza? [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/full-english-pizza] La Cucina Italiana [https://www.lacucinaitaliana.com/] Richard mentions looking through La Cucina Italiana for elaborate celebratory dishes, including timbales. Le Gavroche [https://www.le-gavroche.co.uk/]and the Roux family Discussed in relation to French food in Britain, ingredient sourcing and the challenges of early fine dining in the UK. Delivery food and food trust The episode compares British and Italian attitudes to takeaway, delivery apps, trust, ingredients and food safety. Food safety, industrialisation and adulteration Topics include adulterated bread, chalk, alum, salmonella fears, raw chicken in Japan, and different cultural attitudes to risk. Mussolini, rural fantasy and Italian food nostalgia Richard mentions the darker historical roots of certain romanticised images of rural Italian food culture. A is for Apple: Bovril episode Alessandra mentions having discussed Bovril previously on A is for Apple. [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s2e6-b-is-for-beef-wellington-brains-bovril/id1743840806?i=1000708415574]