The entire experience of eating a fancy meal these days is no longer just about the food itself. For decades, chefs like Heston Blumenthal have been creating entire culinary experiences to delight all of your senses at once, pairing sounds, smells and textures along with the already delicious flavours of their food. But while this trend has taken off again more recently, this is by no means a modern practice. In fact, as far back as the early 1600’s an innovative chef by the name of Robert May was creating similar sensory dining experiences all around Elizabethan England. Today, we’ll discov ..read more

It’s well into the northern european winter season at the end of 1939. Five hundred thousand Russian Soviet Soldiers are making a collective push northwards, swarming the countryside as they go. They are armed to the hilt with tanks, explosives, machine guns, grenades and a staggeringly overwhelming number of troops. But there is one thing that they didn’t count on, one thing that threatened to derail their entire military offensive altogether. And that one thing, was the humble sausage. ------------------- Thank you to my brand-new supporters: Josh Lovetere Zachary Hedden You too can ..read more

For the majority of history they were considered the ultimate delicacy by European nobility who just couldn’t get enough of them. From snack to status symbol, the pineapple has graced many a King and Queens palace courts, while outside of them they took on a mythical quality akin to some sort of precious jewel. Today, we’ll track the pineapples voyage across the seas and into the history books as it became synonymous with the very peak of royal de rigeour. ------------------- Thank you to our brand-new supporter: Sarah Thompson You too can support me on Patreon for just $2 a month: pat ..read more

For as long as so-called civilised societies have existed, equally uncivilised clubs and groups have sprung up within them, allowing their members to revel in all sorts of weird and wonderful excesses. In previous episodes we have heard about secret food clubs with a goal of eating every type of animal on earth. Todays story may not be so different, although this clubs members were’nt so picky about reaching any particular goal other that just eating every type of food they could get their hands on. ------------------- Thank you to our 2 brand-new supporters: Frank Morales  Philip ..read more

Turn on the tv or radio, or scroll any news site online and you’ll no doubt be inundated with stories about crazy weather anomalies happening all around the globe. Volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, earthquakes, tornadoes and so much more. But none of us, thankfully, have ever lived through one of the strangest events in history when something a lot more dense than rain began falling from the skies onto some unsuspecting farmers in the small town of Olympia Springs, Kentucky.  ------------------- Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month: patreon.com/foodhistorypod ..read more

In our modern age we have lived through natural disasters and floods in various parts of the world, and no matter what, they are always tragic. But tragic floods are not always a cause of nature. In episode 7, we discussed the great molasses flood that occurred in Boston and the ensuing devastation of that event. Well today, we’ll be taking a look at a similar, albeit less gloopy tidal wave of destruction that occurred 100 years before that. And, as much as any of us may love a beer every now and then and dream of swimming in a pool of the bubbly liquid, this tragic event was unfortunately n ..read more

There are many stories throughout history of individuals with freakish appetites, who seem to be able to consume quantities of food well past what a human stomach should be capable of handling. Today, we’ll be diving into the story of Charles Domery, a Polish-born soldier who tried to eat the whole world. ------------------- Please support me on Patreon for just $2 a month: patreon.com/foodhistorypod ------------------- Sources for this episode's research: https://historianandrew.medium.com/the-man-who-couldnt-stop-eating-including-cats-rats-grass-and-his-friend-s-leg-c7ec7e1fce01 https ..read more

There are few things more universally loved than a good sandwich. We as humans love the simplicity and deliciousness of having something to hold all of our favourite fillings together. But there was a time in our history when the venerable sandwich was used not for sustenance, or delight in a tasty meal, but rather as a loophole with which to get around some rather limiting laws. ------------------- Thank you to Athletic Greens for being a sponsor for this episode. To make it easy, Athletic Greens will give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs wi ..read more

In the late 1800s in Japan, there was a disease that seemed to target not just inner-city dwellers in Edo, what we know as modern-day Tokyo, but it affected mainly the upper classes. Not even the emperor and his family were immune to this slow, agonizing disease that saw people waste away in front of their loved ones. It would be a few years until the true culprit was discovered and it would throw Japanese culture into a frenzy when the cause was found to be none other than their beloved, white rice. ------------------- Please support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/foodhistorypod and g ..read more

Food inherently is meant to sustain life, but this has not always been the case, in fact, for as far back as history goes food has also been used as a vehicle, not for invigorating life, but for delivering death. In this episode, we’re looking at some of the most bizarre moments in which food was involved in assassination plots throughout history. . In an extra special segment in today's episode, my friend Moxie LaBouche from the podcast Your Brain On Facts takes us through some of the more creative assassination attempts on the late Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro ..read more