Let Them Eat Books
Let Them Eat Books is a podcast hosted by Claire Reynolds and Colin Herd about all the food you have and haven’t tried in all the books you have and haven’t read. Leaving jammy fingerprints on book jackets, reading every last word on the back of packets, we combine the two things that make us who we are: a shared passion for the culinary and the literary! We also visit food and book locations around Scotland and further afield.
Episodes
A Scottish Culinary Institution with tangible cultural heritage dripping like brown sauce down the chin, this week's episode sees a crispy Claire and a well-fired Colin celebrate the Scottish Morning Roll. From Morton's to McGhee's, from Christie's to Goodfellow & Steven, we worship at the ovens of some of Scotland's iconic purveyors of the king of bakery items. And in terms of authors, how could you better the doubler of Louis...
Coated in sesame seeds, Colin and Claire discuss works by Angela Hui, Ronan Hession and Will Harris as they discuss the legendary Cantonese dish Prawn Toast through some literary references to it!
The Bertie Bassetts of the podcast world, licoricious as always, Colin and Claire talk all sorts about the sweeter than sweet root Licorice and its story and literary connections, taking us to Ancient Egypt, Scandinavia and even as far afield as Pontefract in Yorkshire. They discuss texts by Monique Quintana, Ernest Hemingway and Raymond Antrobus, with a mention of Sir John Betjemen.
Your Colin and Claire talk Blueberries in the latest episode of Let Them Eat Books. This episode focuses on Amanda Peters' novel The Berry Pickers and Ellena Savage's collection of essays Blueberries, and also mentions a poem by Caroline Laganas. The inspiration for the episode came from Monica's Bakes in Balsall Common thanks to their Blueberry Flapjack!
Two Shellfish T**ts discuss Mussels! Highlighting Birgit Vanderbeek's brilliant 1990 novella The Mussel Feast, Colin and Claire take a trip through Mussels from Belgium to Chile, stopping off at the iconic Loch Fyne Shellfish Bar in Glasgow's Barras Market.
An Ugly ball of roots and Claire discuss an ugly ball of roots. Celeriac is the star of today's show featuring literary references to Gail Honeyman, Simon Barraclough and Olga Dermott-Bond.
It's time Empire Biscuits were rebranded! Listen in to the episode to see what Colin and Claire come up with for this deliciously short jammy sandwich cookie. They also read their own poems inspired by the bakery staple and Claire gets pretty hot under the colour about Milkybar version.
Colin and Claire cut the cheese and shoot the breeze on all things Cheeseboard, whether you take yours before or after dessert! Featuring texts by Jon Ståle Ritland, Monica Sok and Maaria Rajput! Listen in but not too close to bed time or expect cheese-mares!
This week's episode features the Sicilian Pastry Minne di Sant'Agata. Colin and Claire discuss texts by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa, Michelle Steinbeck, Dorothea Lasky, Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha and Michèle Saint-Michel. As this episode details sexual violence, please do visit Survivors Network for resources if effected by any of the content.
Claire and Colin are joined at The Last Bookstore in Glasgow by Sumayya Usmani, author of Summers Under the Tamarind Tree: Recipes & Memories From Pakistan, Mountain Berries and Desert Spice: Sweet Inspiration From the Hunza Valley to the Arabian Sea and Andaza, a food memoir. They discuss writing, food and memory.
It's Oranges and Oranges as Claire and Colin up their Hispter Credentials by tasting Orange Wines - Kisi Kikhvi Anapea, Georgia, and Arneis Origins Jauma, Australia, from Sylvan in Glasgow's Woodlands Road, as well as Claire's homemade Vin D'Orange (the traditional Provencal drink). Writers discussed in the episode include Janelle Tan, Sally Rooney, D.S. Waldman and the legendary French singer Francoise Hardy.
Claire and Colin eat and discuss one of the world's greatest breads... Focaccia from Liguria, featuring texts by Virgil, Dante Alighieri, Laura Accerboni and Kat Dixon. They also eat focaccia from Twelve Triangles in Portobello, Gloriosa in Glasgow's Finnieston and Focaccia in Glasgow's West End.
Colin and Claire visit Brasserie Prince in Edinburgh to eat the French delicacy of Escargot. They also get to grips with global snail-eating culture, and discuss texts by Langston Hughes, William Soutar, Thom Gunn, Selima Hill and Patricia Highsmith!
How do you like them apples? Colin and Claire meet artist and writer Annie Lord in Portobello to discuss The Neighbouring Orchard, a dispersed orchard formed of 200 apple trees and grown by more than 170 people, spread across North East Edinburgh and Musselburgh, found everywhere from front gardens to children’s play parks.
Hot Diggidy! Colin and Claire chow down on Hot Dogs at Thundercat in Glasgow’s Miller Street and discuss all things Hot and Doggy including poems by Frank O’Hara and Grace Cavalieri and Jamie Loftus’ book Raw Dog.
In our 50th episode, and to celebrate "Quiche and Salad Season", Claire and Colin picnic on one of their all time favourite foods: quiche. Featuring discussion of works by Zadie Smith, Toni Cade Bambara and even the band Getdown Services. They also taste test two quiches from Cottonrake Bakery in Glasgow!
Curl up with Let Them Eat Books' nutty hosts Colin and Claire as they explore all things cashew! This episode features poems by Severo Sarduy, Francis de Lima, Ranudi Gunawardena, a non-fiction essay by Kopal Agarwal, and talks about such cashew treats as Hawkshead Whisky Smoked Cashews, Feed the Squirrel Cashew Cookie Dough Butter and Glasgow's Ceylon Tea Bar's Kaju Mulawa.
Claire and Colin discuss Black Pudding, as it's known in the UK, and many of its variations around the world, including reference to poets and authors including Bill Buford, Eileen P Keane and Luis de Góngora.
Claire and Colin whisk you away to a world of Vegan Baking this week as they feature poems by Amy Gerstler, Sappho translated by Anne Carson and celebrate the launch of Colin's new collection Aquafaba out now from Spite Press.
Kathleen Jamie and Liz Lochhead are the poets whose work we discuss in this episode of Let Them Eat Books, host by Claire and Colin, well oiled by The Water of Life!
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