Hello!

*This episode was first released on April 10th 2024*

Deep in a mountain in the Pontic Alps, North-East Turkey, there's a monastery reminiscent of Tolkien's Minas Tirith; the seven-walled fortress city built on the spur of a mountain. Nestled in a steep cliff at an altitude of about 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) and facing a beautiful wooded mountain valley is Panayia Soumela Greek Orthodox monastery, dedicated to Virgin Mary. This is the heartland of the Pontic Greeks. And my journey today begun from a church with the same name, near my home town of Veria, in Northern Greece, 1800 Km away from Trabzon, deep in a forested mountain on a similar altitude...

The Pontic Greeks lived in the region of northern Turkey roughly in the areas of Trabzon, Samsun and Gerishun, Sinop for about 2 millennia before their forced expulsion and genocide.

But their food and culture remains still alive luckily for us, and even their unique Greek language which traces its lineage to ancient Greek!

So what did they eat? How they cooked their foods? And how does their cuisine differ from other Greeks, and the similarities with other Black Sea nations around...

Some spectacular videos of Panagia Soumela Monastery and countryside in Trabzon region mountains:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQb3UJVvbmM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynLcqCxCh0s

For traditional Pontic produce in Greece today go to Thessaloniki and find this guy:

http://ragian.gr/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=4

Google map link for the Thessaloniki shop:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/QJGjFiEBW4YN7W369

The farm were they age cheeses in caves, smoke their own meats and produce their pasta:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/yVQHg9HVdGDcEyWdA

More information about history and culture of Pontic Greeks:

https://pontosworld.com/index.php

And the Guardian article that inspired me to do this episode today:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/03/endangered-greek-dialect-living-bridge-ancient-world-romeyka

With music from Pavlos Kapralos

Enjoy!

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* Enjoy some great olive oil discounts if you buy your oil from here:

https://www.citizensofsoil.com/OLIVE10TDL

and use the code OLIVE10TDL *

Hello!

Today's interview is with the master of German Historic Food, Volker Bach! And I'm so exciting to share it with you!

What was medieval Germany? When and where do we find the first ever recipes in the German language?

What would you eat as a peasant or as an elite? And what are the influences to modern German cuisine?

Find out all the about and a lot a lot more, in today's episode!

More about Volker

Volker Bach website: The history of German food in Europe and the world

https://www.culina-vetus.de/

https://a.co/d/043L6kZO

https://www.zinnfigur.com/en/Books-Media/Books/Middle-Ages/Bach-Volker-Landsknecht-Cookbook.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqOLTUT7AsJsNF--bOsu7OdP4AfA1eL9h-fUiaoTAQzQOT5UZDH

My online food recommendations for this week:

Oyster farmer quits after pressure from royal landowner:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2k7n2jv29o

The Silk Road Gourmet

https://silkroadgourmet.com/

Fare issue 19: Athens

https://faremag.com/collections/single-print-issues/products/issue-19-athens

Importantly, enjoy some great olive oil discounts if you buy your oil from here:

https://www.citizensofsoil.com/OLIVE10TDL

and use the code OLIVE10TDL

Enjoy!

x

Thom

Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes!

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Hello your recipe of the week on a Saturday is here!

Enjoy!

Importantly, enjoy some great olive oil discounts if you buy your oil from here:

https://www.citizensofsoil.com/OLIVE10TDL

and use the code OLIVE10TDL

You can buy the books of the authors I have invited on the podcast here:

https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/thedeliciouslegacypodcast

Love,

Thom

Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes!

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Hello!

The ancient Spartan society still has a grip in our culture. We use the words laconic, and Spartan to describe austere, frugal things, and people who don't use many words, just the right ones and the exact ones. The ancient Sparta was a very weird place and certainly a lot more cruel rather than heroic.

It is time to see what their society truly was, how it functioned and what the warrior class do to survive.

Of course we can't forget their infamous black broth soup, the dish that only -supposedly- Spartans loved! How was it made? What it consisted of, and was it really tasty?

Join me to find the origin myths of Sparta, and dispel any myths that are still pervasive to this day.

Read Plutarch's Live of Lycurgus here:

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Lycurgus*.html

You can buy the books discussed on the podcast here:

https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/thedeliciouslegacypodcast

My recommendations for this week include:

Eat Like an Ancient Greek Philosopher

Before attending third-century dinner parties, readers consulted this “marvelous feast of words.”

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/eat-like-a-greek-philosopher-oldest-fish-recipe

Yucatán Peninsula Xunankab Bee Honey

https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/slow-food-presidia/yucatan-peninsula-xunankab-bee-honey/

north by sud- ouest charcuterie 

Northern curing, schooled in South-West France:

https://www.northbysudouest.com/about

Music by Pavlos Kapralos.

Love & Garum

Thom

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Hello!

Happy Wednesday and hope all is well my curious archaeogastronomers!

I've been talking, thinking, cooking ancient Greek food and culture for years now but it struck me that I haven't had the chance to speak with many experts from Greece (and Greek experts for that matter) in the subject! Or at least bring them on the podcast as guests. I am more than curious to know had they think and what have they discovered. One person I was always interested to talk to, and I know of is Mariana Kavroulaki who's work I've been following online for over a decade.

So here's my interview with the amazing Greek archaeologist and food historian Mariana Kavroulaki!

I've include some extra links of the topics covered in our conversation today:

Beer in ancient Greece:

https://beer-studies.com/en/world-history/Birth-of-brewing/Archaic-beers/Crete-Greece

Franchthi Cave:

https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/uploads/media/hesperia/147874.pdf

https://www.travel.gr/en/experiences-ee/unknown-greece/franchthi-cave-and-the-dolines-of-didyma-in-the-peloponnese/

Garos episode of The Delicious Legacy and other links about the topic:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-delicious-legacy/id1494707127?i=1000535608061

https://www.costatropical.net/almunecar/almunecar-monuments-fish-factory.php

https://costieraamalfitana.com/colatura-di-alici-di-cetara/

https://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/luislopezcortijo/19372/a-sauce-with-a-lot-of-history-in-southern-spain.aspx

https://fuegoysal.com/en/producto/flor-de-garum-of-cadiz-andalusia/

Mariana's website:

https://historyofgreekfood.eu/about-2/

The menu from the Hellenic Centre Dinner in London in 2024:

https://helleniccentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Feast-Menu-4.pdf

Love,

The Delicious Legacy

Thom

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Hello! Brand new episode is out for your delightful ears!

It is obvious given that I often explore historical food themes, that I usually talk about food in time. But what about time IN food?

In the 60s the average US house-wife would spend 112 minutes per day in the kitchen. In 2008 this figure was down to 66 minutes per day. A survey in 2022 in the UK found that “the most time consuming chore is cooking. The average Brit spends 253 minutes per week in the kitchen cooking meals. That’s the equivalent of 219 hours per year” and also went on “On top of this, we spend an average of 98 minutes a week washing up, which equates to 85 hours a year and 170 days in our lifetime. That’s a lot of time spent in the kitchen.” 

Feelings of time scarcity are increasingly widespread in industrialised societies. People are fulfilling a multitude of roles, possess an array of material goods, and want to get the most out of their leisure time, all of which influence feelings of not having enough time to get everything done. Time scarcity, or lack of time, is one of the major drivers of ultra-processed food consumption. This time crunch forces people to rely on ultra-processed foods that are ready to heat or ready to eat to buy back time. Overall, this time scarcity is an issue faced by the primary food shoppers, preparers and givers, who are disproportionately women across the globe.

My guest today Jenny Linford is a food writer, author and passionate advocate of many many artisanal food producers, cooks, farmers and so on. People who put all their time to create some amazing food for us, to feed us and keep us alive but also for something more important I think. Because food, eating together and eating well is part of what we are. So today, we are discussing these themes from Jenny's past book, "The Missing Ingredient -The Curious Role of Time in Food and Flavour" which is of course -as the title suggests!- about the role of time in food. And time is crucial, not just in the home kitchen…but throughout the whole process of growing, maturing, fermenting, distributing the food. She explores through a series of essays the interconnected and important nature of this underappreciated ingredient from seconds to years. Together we will try and bring a much needed appreciation of the patience that is required and perhaps have a pause and bring time to cooking and eating. We had a fascinating discussion which I hope you’ll enjoy!

You can buy Jenny's book here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/17049/9780141982816

"Everything that we eat is part of a cultural legacy that we've inherited" - Sandor Katz, Fermentation revivalist

Love,

Thom

Producers, cooks and artisans mentioned on this episode:

England Preserves: https://englandpreserves.co.uk/pages/about-us

The Wasabi Company: https://www.thewasabicompany.co.uk/

Claire Clark: https://claire-clark.com/about/

Mrs. Kirkham's Lancashire Cheese: https://www.mrskirkhamscheese.co.uk/

CJ Jackson: https://www.kentseafood.com/

https://www.waterstones.com/book/great-british-seafood-revival/cj-jackson/steve-lee/9781913159856

Friis Holm: https://friisholmchokolade.dk/?srsltid=AfmBOoqomjPiETgdr3pM0wV93pZnJQb5y_byfo-IG04kMinDxfD9RToO

Best woodfire socca: https://www.chezpipo.fr/en

Music by Pavlos Kapralos

Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes!

https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcast

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Hello!

Brand new episode is out and it's all about philosophy this time...!

The menu is a little different today...

Suki Finn is the author of a brand new book which will be released by Icon Books in two days time, Thursday 7th of May 2026, called "What's in A Doughnut Hole? And other philosophical food for thought" where she takes us into a journey of the mind talking, and making us thing about philosophical questions in a fun and foody way! The book explores many philosophical issues from various traditions broadly falling within the themes of metaphysics (on the nature of being and reality), epistemology (on truth and knowledge acquisition), value theory (on ethical and aesthetic judgements), and logic (on formal reasoning and mathematical concepts).

Find out more on today's episode!

Also you can get the book here:

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/17049/9781526679734

On this weeks recommendations I have three things for you; An article, a cookbook, and a video.

World Crust — Pork Scratchings and Making Meat of the Scraps

https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/4/14/world-crust-pork-scratchings-and-making-meat-of-the-scraps

A Taste of Madagascar: Culinary Riches of the Red Island

By Emmanuel Laroche

https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/A-Taste-of-Madagascar/Emmanuel-Laroche/9798895650141

How Tudor Sailors Survived a 7 Month Journey | Salt Pork Experiment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tWQpJ8kR5U

Music by Pavlos Kapralos.

love,

Thom

Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes!

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Have you ever eaten Stargazy Pie, or Bath Chaps? Do you like Dorset Blue? Do you know what Brawn is?

Hello!

A couple of weeks ago I embarked into a journey looking into Yorkshire food. So i thought for the sake of balance i will find some interesting food, mainly hams cheeses and pies from down south and as much specifically to west england and some unusual ingredients from the past.

so enjoy some delicious and strange recipes from the south west corner of England!

Thom

Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes!

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Hello!

Every Spring in Veria Imathia Greece, there is a little tradition; People walk, have picnics or cycle among the million pink blossoming peach trees.

The spectacle of the fertile plains full of orchards in bloom from the city in the foothills of Mt Vermion and from air is magical.

Peaches have a very strong connection with my local hometown where I grew up.

But where is the peach from? What is the history of it in Greece?

And most importantly how can you cook with it?

Let's find out on this bonus episode plus three recipes with peaches!

Enjoy!

Thom

Check the blossoming peaches here:

https://www.travel.gr/experiences/paramythenio-skiniko-monadiko-stin-el/ 

Spicy Peach Chutney from Veria:

https://www.instagram.com/agkathas_farm?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes!

https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcast

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Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy.

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The ancients, -Greeks and Romans alike- were equally worried about the relationship of health and food, and the balance between a healthy diet and a delicious one.

More so than in our days, diet played a role in preventing and curing diseases, and in fact it was one of the main areas of study even a thousand years later at medieval European medical schools.

Medical writers, doctors and philosophers of the ancient world, from Hippocrates to Galen and Oreibasius to Haly Abbas in Islamic Persia all obsessed and thought about the connection of diet and healthy body.

The notion of humours and the idea that disease was related to some imbalance of them was only one of many theories in antiquity- some of which, completely ignored them. For Galen though the definitive theory was that articulated in the Hippocratic Nature Of Man. The nature of Man was made up of blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile, and it was through these that the body felt pain and maintained health. If their balance was unevenly disturbed the body experienced disease.

To find out more, listen to the episode!

The music on this episode was written and performed by the incredible Pavlos Kapralos.

Find out more here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzgAonk4-uVhXXjKSF-Nz1A

Enjoy,

Thom & The Delicious Legacy

Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes!

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