Niche topic alert! Today I am

talking to Anouska Lewis about Ormskirk Gingerbread.

Anouska is the writer and presenter

of the BBC Sounds podcast Hometown Boring? The first episode

being all about Ormskirk gingerbread

We

talk about how one lands getting a podcast series on BBC Sounds in the first

place; the ingredients of Ormskirk gingerbread, the town’s pride in its

gingerbread, the gingerbread ladies who sold them at the train station in the

Victorian period, Ormskirk’s link with Liverpool’s sugar and slave trade, and

the value of having difficult conversations – amongst many other things.

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.

Listen to Hometown Boring? on BBC Sounds

Follow Anouska on Instagram @history_hun and TikTok @historyhun

Things mentioned in today’s episode:

Ormskirk Gingerbread on the Foods of England website

A Dark History of Sugar by Neil Buttery

Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

Gingerbread with Sam Bilton

Upcoming events:

British Library Food Season 2024, 25 May at 2pm. 

Ludlow Food Festival, Friday 13th September. 

Warwick Words History Festival, Thursday 3rd October at 4.30pm. 

Neil’s blogs:

‘British Food: a History’

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

Neil’s books:

Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

A Dark History of Sugar

Both are published by Pen & Sword and available from all good bookshops.

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 [email protected], 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

Mentioned in this episode:

Fruit Pig are currently sponsoring The British Food History Podcast

Visit fruitpig.co.uk for more details of their products and journey, and to access their shop. Grant and Matthew are very kindly giving listeners to the BFHP a unique special offer: 10% off your order until the end of October 2025 – use the offer code Foodhis in the checkout. Time to fill your boots.