Figs reverence surely stems from their historic connection to our own agricultural journey and they are a symbol of abundance and important to ancient peoples, cultures, art, cookery and religions. They are symbols of fertility, wealth, youth and the brevity of life. This episode will look at the Greek etymology behind 'sycophancy' and the Roman Apicius' recipe for fegato. Artists discussed include Giovanna Garzoni, Albrecht Durer, Clara Peeters, Suzanne Valadon, Vivienne Westwood and Figs in Wigs.
Read MoreEp7 - Bunches of Grapes
Grapes are one of the first plants to be grown domestically by people and this cultivation cycle . One only needs to look at the symbolic, religious and cultural importance of grapes to get a small fathoming of what they must have meant to the early peoples who first fermented them to what they mean across the world today. We'll also look at the art of Zeuxis, Juan Fernandez El Labrador, Louise Moillon, Luca Forte, Georgia O'Keeffe, Alfred Steiglitz and Grimanesa Amoros.
Read MoreEp6 - Ice Cream w/Tara Esperanza of T.O.I.C. - Tara's Organic Ice Cream
A look into the art, history and design of ice cream and celebrate this food that is so connected to our pleasure senses. Tara Esperanza of Tara's Organic Ice Cream and I chatted about ice cream, food culture, memories, trends and the artistry of food. You can find T.O.I.C. at their two California shops (Oakland & Berkeley) and an offering of over 173 flavours which are made with limited availability or seasonal ingredients.
Read MoreEp5 - Pancakes & Creativity w/Aimee Furnival of Another Studio
This week I'll be looking at pancakes and chatting to Aimee Furnival, Founder and Director of Another Studio. Another Studio is a craft-design practice creating original products for the desk, home and workplace. At the heart of their studio is the notion that a creative idea combined with playful material exploration will result in brilliant designs. Aimee and I made pancakes together and chatted about creativity, similarities between cooking and design processes and how design affects the items that surround us in our kitchens and dining rooms and as we prepare and share our meals. This episode will look at how and why the flat, round pancake is universally enjoyed across the world in different variations and how this has been represented in art, history and design. There are artworks and stories from Rembrandt, Heironymous II, Tiger Tomato and stories of the first cookbook aimed at a medieval female audience and the background of the Aunt Jemima trademark.
Read MoreEp4 - Canapés w/Diana Pinkett of Vegan Peasant Catering
This week I will be discussing the history of canapes, where they come from, their purpose and how these bite size foods have always been functional and ways to express creativity. I am joined this week by Diana Pinkett who with her partner Adrian Smith form Vegan Peasant Catering. She shares with me their vision and how travel has played such an important part in their 100% plant based canape and food bowl catering company. As well as images of Vegan Peasant Catering there are also featured artworks from Lizet Dingemans and Kate Jenkins, as well as some Smy Goodness canapes.
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