The Full English

Ben Highmore joins me to discuss the lifestyle revolution that Britain’s middle classes went through in the 1960s - the one that gave us the ubiquitous rustic Italian food we have in England today. Ben’s book is available from Manchester University Press . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lewisbassett.substack...

“What is this fantasy of hardship and labour endemic to those parts of the city catering to the rise of affluence, the empire of the flat-whites, draining neighbourhoods of colour, and leaving in their wake a mild-mannered army dressed in Breton stripes and vintage labouring apparel? What is this love of the workshop, the jailhouse, the farm, and the forces, which has caused a swathe of the popula...

Craft matters for our sense of self. And studies show that taking part in craft production can be a balm for the kinds of anxieties produced in our world of screens. Lewis speaks to historian, writer and broadcaster James Fox about his book ‘ Craftland ’ which uncovers the extent to which our country was once a deeply crafty place, and it champions the artisans still at work in Britain today. This...

If you know one thing about English food culture it’s probably that it’s riven by class. But what is class? Is class a matter of taste or a matter of wealth, or both? And how do different classes affect contemporary politics? Lewis speaks to sociologist Dan Evans about his book ‘ A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petty Bourgeoisie ’. This is a public episode. If you would like t...

And we’re back. After almost two years the Full English podcast is back! I've been busy writing a book: The Full English: The Ways We Eat and Why is out now with Verso. We’re kicking off this new season of the podcast with a truly exceptional guest. Fuchsia Dunlop is ‘The English person with a Chinese stomach’ ; she is a one woman gateway to the infinities of Chinese cuisine and it’s deep traditio...

It's the final episode of the Full English and we're talking about Rick Stein and Keith Floyd, two of the most popular cooks on TV in Britain. Lewis is speaking to the editor and writer John Merrick. Find his essay on Stein here . The Full English is produced by Lewis Bassett. Mixing and sound design is from Forest DLG. Follow the Full English on Instagram . Follow Lewis on Instagram here . And Fo...

Fergus Henderson! The man who thirty years ago opened St John and ever since has implored us to eat from "nose to tail". Lewis Bassett talks to Zoe Williams , columnist at the Guardian newspaper, and Amber Husain, author of Meat Love: An Ideology of The Flesh . Read Lewis' article on St John here. The Full English is produced by Lewis Bassett. Mixing and sound design is from Forest DLG. Follow the...

The only person who has sold more books in Britain than Jamie Oliver is J. K. Rowling. Jamie has been watched and read by millions. His enthusiasm for food is often infectious. His cooking and his campaigning have changed the way we eat. I'm speaking about Jamie with Rachel Roddy, author of a regular column on Italian food for the Guardian. We focus mainly on how Jamie, and others, have viewed foo...

Alexis Soyer cooked for the rich and poor alike. He transformed elite restaurant kitchens in London with new technologies such as gas stoves and he provided nourishment to the starving in Ireland and the battered and the bloody during the Crimean war. Soyer's fierce desire to feed people went against the grain of Victorian common sense and he helped change how we think about who is responsible for...

The most influential cook that you've probably never heard of, according to food historian Neil Buttery. Elizabeth Raffald captured the distinctly modern English food of the 18th century. The Heston Blumental of her time, inspiring cooks like Fergus Henderson today. Neil Buttery is the author of "Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England's Most Influential Housekeeper". He's also got two new b...

Obviously we were going to do an episode about Madhur Jaffrey, and so here it is. Madhur Jaffrey: the actress who taught British and American audiences how to cook Indian food. Lewis Bassett speaks about Madur with Mayuk Sen, author of Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America . We talk about Madur's life, some of the barriers to her success as an actress and her move...

Ken Hom taught the British how to cook Chinese food, but Chinese takeaways showed us what it was in the first place. Lewis Bassett talks to journalist Angela Hui about Ken's impact and about her book Takeaway: Stories From a Childhood Behind the Counter . The Full English is produced by Lewis Bassett. Mixing and sound design is from Forest DLG. Follow the Full English on Twitter , Instagram and Ti...

Part two on Elizabeth David is all about the impact of her work, with Jeremy Lee and Ruth Rogers. Jeremy Lee's award winning cookery book is called "Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many". The River Cafe have a number of brilliant cookbooks and, in recent news, have also opened a cafe (a River Cafe Cafe) next door to their main restaurant in West London. The Full English is produced by Lewis B...

Elizabeth David led a life whose story is as compelling as her impact on the way we eat. In part one of two episodes, Lewis speaks to Artemis Cooper, author of Writing at the Kitchen Table: The Authorized Biography of Elizabeth David. Part two featuring Ruth Rogers and Jeremy Lee will appear soon. The Full English is produced by Lewis Bassett. Mixing and sound design is from Forest DLG. Follow the...

Marco Pierre White, once the "enfant terrible" of the UK restaurant scene today the face of Knor stock cubes. Who is Marco, what impact has he had on how we eat and just why is he so weird? Answering the questions for a change is The Full English's Lewis Bassett. Taking over is Ida Février and her show No Man Land. Join us for this special crossover episode, part of our season on cooks that have...

Episode two in our series on cooks that have changed the way we eat. Lewis Bassett speaks to Luke Barr, author of 'Ritz and Escoffier: The Hotelier, The Chef, and the Rise of the Leisure Class' about the French chef Auguste Escoffier, who rose to fame in London at the Savoy in the 1890s. Mixing and sound design from Forest DLG. Follow the Full English on Twitter , Instagram and TikTok . Hosted on...

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Delia Smith: friend of the royals, a national treasure who taught us how to boil and egg and an advocate for radical spiritualism. In this episode Lewis Bassett, Felicity Cloak and Zoe Williams unpick who Delia is and what her impact has been on how we eat in Britain. This is the first episode of our new series on cooks who've change the way we eat. Subscribe to hear future episodes on everyone fr...

Who or what are ultra elite restaurants for? Welcome to a pervert's guide to fine dining. Produced and presented by Lewis Bassett, featuring Andy Hayler , Erin McDonnell and Robin Burrow . Mixing and sound design from Forest DLG. Follow the Full English on Twitter , Instagram and TikTok . Clips from: The Bear, FX Grant Achatz on Chef's Table, Netflix Dan Barber on Chef's Table, Netflix Artisans of...

Join us, join us, join us for a Full English Christmas special! Get the turkey in the oven and warm some wine as we answer all your questions on why we eat and drink in the ways we do at Christmas. And hear us rate the best and worse mince pies from high street coffee shops. Lewis Bassett is joined by the man of music Forest DLG, master baker Rebecca Spaven, the talented Jemma Greenwood and the fo...

What did the ancient Romans do for us? Well, according to Thom Ntinas from The Delicious Legacy podcast , they were the first to give Britain the burger. Find out more about the lasting culinary legacies of ancient Roman Britain in this special cross over episode. Presented by Thom Ntinas and Lewis Bassett. Produced and edited by Thom Ntinas. Music from Pavlos Kapralos. Follow the Full English on...

Costa is the nation's most popular coffee shop. There are 1000 more Costa than Starbucks and 500 more than Greggs. And that's before we take into account Costa's express machines and retail products. How did Costa get so big and why do we love it? Lewis Bassett is joined by co-host Jemma Greenwood, comments from the coffee historian Jonathan Morris and a Costa taste testing with three time UK bari...

Few people are aware that in the first half of the 20th century the British government helped establish a huge number of popular canteens, serving food to everyone who wanted it during war time and afterwards. These British Restaurants, as they became known during World War II, were, at their hight, more numerous than today's McDonalds and Wetherspoons combined. Lewis Bassett speaks to Bryce Evans...

Vines in a Cold Climate is a new book by Henry Jeffreys charting the sparkling rise of English wine and the people behind it. Lewis Bassett and Jemma Greenwood speak to Henry over a couple of bottles of vins anglais about Henry's book, the story of English wine and attitudes towards wine drinking in England. Mixing and sound design is as ever from Forest DLG. Follow the Full English on Twitter , I...

What is a caff when it's not a cafe? Where did the caff come from and who will mourn the greasy spoon if, as we hear, they're disappearing? Joining Lewis Bassett is the author and Guardian columnist Felicity Cloake and Isaac Rangaswami, writer and the man behind the Instagram page Caffs Not Cafes. Felicity's book is Red Sauce Brown Sauce . Her writing for the Guardian can be found here . Isaac has...