A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino

A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Food
  • Updated Biweekly

A podcast exploring gothic food, horror, and the culture of consumption. In A Curious Appetite, Dr Alessandra Pino examines food not simply as something we consume, but as something that consumes us — shaping memory, identity, longing, and fear. From Gothic feasts to migrant kitchens, from childhood nostalgia to culinary reinvention, each episode traces the stories that linger at the table. Through conversation, the podcast asks what happens when appetite becomes a language for belonging, transformation, power, and desire.

  1. 4d ago

    Dr Tré Ventour-Griffiths: Saltfish and Sensibility

    What histories do we carry in the food we cook, the stories we inherit and the places we call home? In this episode of A Curious Appetite, I’m joined by Dr Tré Ventour-Griffiths for a conversation that begins with his grandmother’s saltfish fritters and takes us through Caribbean family memory, migration, haunted landscapes and Jane Austen. We explore how food connects us with generations we never knew, the lost futures imagined by Caribbean migrants, and the histories of enslavement and empire that remain present in Britain’s country houses and cultural institutions. We also discuss Sanditon, Georgiana Lambe and “Pineapplegate”, asking what contemporary period dramas reveal, or leave unexamined, about colonial wealth. Tré closes the episode with a reading from his creative research on Delapré Abbey, bringing together landscape, haunting and the knowledge carried through families. My warmest thanks to Tré for such a thoughtful and generous conversation. Read the accompanying article, references and further reading on my Substack:https://dralessandrapino.substack.com Find more of Tré’s writing:https://substack.com/@avidpedestrian With thanks to Sage at Haints and Hollers Apothecary for supporting A Curious Appetite. Discover handcrafted tea blends inspired by folklore, horror and the strange:https://haintsandhollersapothecary.comInstagram: @haintsandhollersapothecary Thank you, as always, to the brilliant people who help bring this podcast to life:Artwork: Claudia Del FiaccoAudio editing and mixing: @thedeliciouslegacyMusic: Manuel Pino Hosted by Dr Alessandra Pino.Contact: acuriousappetite@gmail.com If you enjoyed this conversation, please follow the podcast, leave a rating or share it with someone who might enjoy listening. Thank you for being here and staying curious about what’s on your plate.

    Dr Tré Ventour-Griffiths: Saltfish and Sensibility

  2. Sep 16

    Flossy Phillips: The Texture of Tripe

    The Texture of Tripe is a bit of a punch to the gut, in the best possible way. In this episode of A Curious Appetite, I’m joined by Flossy (Flora Phillips) for a gloriously gutsy conversation about offal, butchery, art, appetite and why organs can inspireequal parts fascination, pleasure and disgust. Naturally, we start on a slightly spooky foot. You’ll see what I mean. There are prophetic artworks, strange signs of things to come and a Charming Baker calf already marked out in butcher’s cuts, longbefore Flossy swapped the art world for butchery. Although perhaps the writing was already on the wall: she had been cooking and eating offal since she was eleven. From there, we get straight to the guts of it. Why do organs make some of us recoil while others positively salivate? Why can liver, heart, tripe and blood move so easily between comfort food, culinaryluxury and the downright disgusting? We talk about the curious ways we distance ourselves from the animals we eat, why a highly processed food can sometimes feel less confronting than a recognisable organ, and what our reactions to meatmight reveal about class, culture, memory, taste and the stories we tell ourselves about what is acceptable to put in our mouths. Along the way, Dark Food, Mary Douglas,Sidney Mintz, Ian Miller’s The Anatomy of Disgust and ClaudeLévi-Strauss’s Culinary Triangle all find their way onto the butcher’s block. The conversation continues beyond the podcasttoo. An accompanying article drawing on this interview, and going further into Flossy’s work, offal, blood, butchery and the strange cultural life of guts, is published with GUTS magazine. We also talk about the sensory pleasures of cooking and eating offal, some of Flossy’s favourite London places to doexactly that, and possibly my favourite image from the whole conversation: Flossy heading to the cricket at The Oval with a pot of leftover tripe, because frankly, why settle for a sandwich? We also get into blood, abattoirs, food regulation, disappearing skills and what we risk losing when small-scale systems of slaughter and production vanish. Offal has an image problem. This episode askswhat happens when we stop looking away. Useful links • Charming Baker • Alessandra Pino, Dark Food • Gelsey Kirkland, Dancing on My Grave • Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger (1966), including her work on pollution • Sidney Mintz, Sweetness and Power (1985), particularly the separation and distance between sites of production and consumption • Ian Miller, The Anatomy of Disgust (1998) • Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747) • Claude Lévi-Strauss, The Culinary Triangle (1966) • Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas • Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey (2026) • Alessandra Pino and Ella Buchan, A Gothic Cookbook (2026) • Kate Ryan, Blood, Guts and Black Pudding (2026), referred to during the discussion about blood, abattoirs and food safety • Polentina • St. JOHN • Camille • Bouchon Racine • Future Food Week, Vienna Credits Contact: acuriousappetite@gmail.com Artwork: @medusazzz Audio Production: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: @manu_pino_1111

    Flossy Phillips: The Texture of Tripe

  3. Aug 21

    The Canal as Archive: Reading Robert Aickman's The River Runs Uphill

    In this episode of A Curious Appetite, I’m joined by Dr Dan O’Brien to talk about Robert Aickman’s The River Runs Uphill, cultural memory, Britain’s waterways and some of the ideas currently shaping our research for The River Remembers: A Gothic Voyage through Forgotten Histories of the Thames. Originally released for paid subscribers, this conversation is now open to everyone. Best known for his strange and unsettling fiction, Robert Aickman was also a committed conservationist who helped establish the Inland Waterways Association in 1946. His lifelong campaign to preserve Britain’s canals provides a fascinating counterpart to his literary interest in overlooked places, lingering histories and things that resist disappearance. Dan and I discuss the difference between rivers and canals, and what happens when we begin to think of waterways as repositories of human experience. Canals carry histories of engineering and labour as well as water, while the communities that once worked and lived around them can disappear even when the physical landscape survives. We also explore mudlarking and the Thames as an unruly kind of archive: one governed by tides, chance and material fragments rather than catalogues and classifications. Dan shares the extraordinary story of finding an object thought to be part of a mammoth’s tooth, a discovery that stretches the history of the Thames far beyond London itself. Our conversation also considers the more difficult aspects of reading Aickman today, including passages that reflect exclusionary attitudes towards race. Rather than ignoring these moments or allowing them to overwhelm the rest of the work, we ask what responsible reading might look like and whose histories have traditionally been preserved, celebrated or left out. The River Runs Uphill becomes a way of thinking about attention itself: how landscapes hold memories of labour, migration, trade, industry, leisure and loss, and how easily ordinary lives can disappear when nobody stops to notice them. Robert Aickman beyond the strange storyThe Inland Waterways Association and canal conservationRivers, canals and cultural memoryWaterways as archives of labour and everyday lifeMudlarking, chance and historical discoveryA mammoth tooth and the deep history of the ThamesHeritage, preservation and the stories we choose to rememberReading difficult historical texts criticallyThe ideas feeding into The River RemembersFeatured book: Robert Aickman, The River Runs Uphill Have you read Aickman, or has a book ever unexpectedly changed the way you look at a familiar landscape?

    The Canal as Archive: Reading Robert Aickman's The River Runs Uphill

  4. Jun 24

    Niki Gorick: Secret Feasts and the City- London Life Through the Lens

    How do you photograph a city that never stands still? In this episode of A Curious Appetite, I am joined by photographer and author Niki Gorick, whose work has documented London's hidden ceremonies, docklands, working communities, and riverside traditions for more than twenty-five years. Beginning with her early fascination for storytelling and inspired by photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Antony Armstrong-Jones (Lord Snowdon), Niki reflects on how photography became her way of preserving fleeting moments before they disappear forever. Together we explore photography as cultural memory, the hidden rituals that continue to shape the City of London, and why food remains central to some of Britain's oldest surviving ceremonies. From medieval guilds and lavish civic banquets to Swan Upping on the River Thames, the conversation uncovers a London that most people never encounter. Along the way, we discuss the philosophy of documentary photography, London's remarkable charitable traditions, the changing relationship between people and wildlife, and the challenge of preserving living heritage within a constantly changing city. Through photography, food history, London's hidden traditions, and cultural memory, this episode opens the door to a side of the city that few people ever have the chance to experience. Further reading and resources Learn more about Niki Gorick's work and current projects: Niki Gorick PhotographyDock Life at the Cutty Sark, Royal Museums GreenwichNiki Gorick's Dock Life is currently on display at Cutty Sark, part of Royal Museums Greenwich, where her contemporary photographs are presented alongside images and stories from the museum's archive, creating a dialogue between London's docklands past and present. Explore the photographers who inspired Niki: Henri Cartier-Bresson – the pioneering documentary photographer best known for the concept of the decisive moment. Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson | Magnum Photos ArchiveAntony Armstrong-Jones (Lord Snowdon) – celebrated portrait and theatre photographer. National Portrait Gallery CollectionFind out more about London's ceremonial traditions: City of London CorporationThe Lord Mayor's ShowThe Livery CommitteeSt Bride's Church, Fleet Street (home of the annual Bubble Service discussed in this episode)Discover more about Swan Upping and London's relationship with the River Thames: The Royal Family – Swan UppingThe Worshipful Company of VintnersThe Worshipful Company of DyersRoyal Museums GreenwichCanal & River TrustPhotography resources mentioned during the conversation: Sony Alpha CamerasNikon UKAdobe Camera RAW GuideNiki's books: Dock Life Renewed: How London's Docks Are Thriving AgainFaith in the City of LondonContact: ⁠acuriousappetite@gmail.com⁠ Artwork: @medusazzz Audio Production: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: @manu_pino_1111

    Niki Gorick: Secret Feasts and the City- London Life Through the Lens

  5. Jun 10

    Dr Sam Hirst on Singing for Supper: William Linley in Regency Britain

    In this episode of A Curious Appetite, I am joined by Gothic scholar, educator, and founder of Romancing the Gothic, Dr Sam Hirst, to explore the remarkable travel journal Summer Rambles in 1825 by the musician and traveller William Linley. Drawing on Sam's work transcribing and annotating the manuscript at Newstead Abbey, we journey through Regency England in the company of one of its most observant and entertaining diarists.  We discuss Linley's connections to the world of music and theatre, his possible links to Lord Byron, and his fascinating visit to Newstead Abbey, Byron's former home. Sam reflects on discovering the diary in the Newstead archives and explains why Linley's candid observations, social commentary, and frequent complaints make him such an engaging narrator.  Food features throughout our conversation. We examine what Linley's diary reveals about Regency hospitality, travel, and dining, from breakfasts and suppers to pickled onions, delayed fish deliveries, cold fowl, ham, and "badly dressed eels." Together we consider how food functioned as a marker of status, comfort, and sociability, and how complaints about meals often reveal just as much as descriptions of them.  Our discussion also returns to Newstead Abbey, where Sam shares insights from his work marking the bicentenary of Byron's death. We explore Byron's complicated relationship with dancing, the scandalous reputation of the waltz, the role of music within the house, and the ways Newstead has been reinterpreted for modern visitors.  The conversation then turns eastwards as Sam reflects on living and working in Kazan, Russia, a city shaped by Russian, Tatar, Muslim, Orthodox Christian, and Jewish traditions. We discuss how experiencing different cultures transformed his perspective as a historian and researcher, encouraging a deeper appreciation of nuance, complexity, and the dangers of simplistic historical narratives.  Naturally, food accompanies us on this journey. Sam shares memories of Russian, Tatar, and Central Asian cuisines, including plov, triangular meat-and-potato pastries, sour cream, cottage cheese, and the extraordinary hospitality he encountered around family tables. We also discuss nostalgia, migration, and the foods we continue to long for long after we have left a place behind.  Along the way we talk about: William Linley and Regency musical cultureByron, Newstead Abbey, and the waltzHospitality and social performance in the Regency periodFood, travel, and complaint as historical evidenceManuscript transcription and archival detective workRussia, Tatarstan, and cultural diversityPlov, pastries, hospitality, and food nostalgiaWhy complexity is often more interesting than certaintyWhether you're interested in Byron, Regency travel, food history, archives, or the pleasures of a well-kept diary, this episode offers a fascinating glimpse into the people, meals, friendships, and journeys that shaped life in the early nineteenth century. Learn more about Dr Sam Hirst's work, courses, and events at Romancing the Gothic. The platform brings together readers, writers, and researchers interested in the Gothic, Romanticism, folklore, and literary history. Interested in Byron and Newstead Abbey? Read Dr Sam Hirst's article, "Byron's Letters Reveal the Real Queer Love and Loss That Inspired His Poetry," which explores Byron's relationship with John Edleston and the emotional experiences reflected in his letters and verse. Artwork: @medusazzz Audio Production: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: @manu_pino_1111

    Dr Sam Hirst on Singing for Supper: William Linley in Regency Britain

  6. May 27

    Nina Atesh: Dining with the Devil

    What happens when history itself becomes a magic trick? In this episode of A Curious Appetite, I am joined by writer, director, and Artistic Director of Pither Productions, Nina Atesh, to discuss In League with the Devil, her fascinating new play inspired by the extraordinary life of Erik Jan Hanussen: illusionist, clairvoyant, celebrity showman, fraudster, political opportunist, and one of the most enigmatic figures of twentieth-century Europe. Together we explore the challenges of researching a man who spent his life reinventing himself, blurring the boundaries between fact, fiction, performance, and belief. We discuss historical truth, psychological horror, charismatic manipulators, cults, scammers, influencers, and why audiences continue to be drawn towards certainty, spectacle, and the promise of hidden knowledge. We also delve into the theatrical process behind the production, including Nina's collaboration with legendary illusionist Simon Drake and mind reader Graham Jolley, whose work helped recreate some of Hanussen's techniques on stage. Along the way we discuss theatre-making, pub theatre culture, the changing economics of performance, and the enduring magic of gathering together in a room to experience a story unfold in real time. Because this is still A Curious Appetite, we also talk food memories, childhood kitchens, Cypriot family meals, smoky bacon crisps, Sunday roasts, and the surprising connections between cooking and theatre. Both rely on ritual, timing, community, and a little bit of everyday magic. We also touch upon horror theatre, GrimFest, Kim Newman, creative collaboration, and the strange power of performance to make us believe, if only for a moment, in something impossible. Erik Jan HanussenIllusion, magic, and performanceHistorical research and unreliable sourcesPsychological horror and theatrical storytellingCult leaders, scammers, and charismaSimon Drake and stage illusionGraham Jolley and mind readingPither Productions and GrimFestKim Newman and horror culturePub theatre and creative communitiesCyprus, Canada, and EnglandFood memories and family kitchensSmoky bacon crispsTheatre, ritual, and beliefSpecial thanks to Nina Atesh, Simon Drake, Graham Jolley, Kim Newman, and everyone at Pither Productions for their generosity, creativity, and for helping bring one of the most intriguing theatrical projects I have encountered in recent years to life. Hosted by Dr Alessandra Pino. A podcast exploring how food shapes memory, identity, longing, fear, culture, and storytelling. 📩 Contact: acuriousappetite@gmail.com Artwork: @medusazzz Audio Production: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: @manu_pino_1111 Useful Links Pither ProductionsGrimFest London Horror Theatre FestivalSimon Drake's House of Magic

    Nina Atesh: Dining with the Devil

  7. May 13

    Dorothy Barrick: Feeding the Frame- The Art of Food in Film

    What kind of job requires you to carry knives, toothpicks, pastry brushes, chopping boards, glycerine spray, and sometimes half a kitchen in the back of your car? Food styling. In this episode of A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino, I’m joined by Dorothy Barrick, known as Dot, a food stylist and home economist whose work brings food to life on screen in ways that are often invisible, but absolutely essential. We talk about what it really means to work behind the scenes on film sets, from preparing edible props to understanding how food behaves under lights, heat, pressure, and repetition. A dish might need to look fresh for hours. It might need to be eaten repeatedly by an actor. It might need to appear identical across multiple takes. And sometimes it needs to do something stranger altogether, like ooze, collapse, bleed, or stand in for something else entirely. I first came across Dot’s work through The Radleys (2024), based on Matt Haig’s novel, where food becomes part of the film’s unsettling emotional atmosphere. We explore how food on screen creates mood, reveals character, and shapes tension, especially in horror and uncanny cinema. We also discuss:• Working on The Roses with Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch• Nicholas Hoult’s enthusiastic eating on The Great• Horror food styling and beautifully grotesque visual tricks• Cooked watermelon used as tuna sashimi• Pear standing in for delicate raw fish• Continuity, repetition, and the pressure of keeping food camera-ready• Fashion, colour, design, and food as visual storytelling We also spend time discussing Babette’s Feast, one of the great films about food, grief, memory, and transformation. Dot reflects beautifully on the meditative power of baking and how repetitive, intricate culinary tasks can help us process difficult moments and sit quietly with ourselves. And of course, because this is A Curious Appetite, we end with food memories: childhood casseroles, the horror of beef tongue, oysters, whelks, seafood towers, and the foods that stay with us. This episode is a deep dive into the mysterious, meticulous, and often under-credited world of food on film. Because next time you watch a scene and think “that food looks incredible,” it is worth asking: who made it look that way? Useful links: Dorothy Barrick / @dotscookinCherry Bombe interview with Dorothy Barrick and Olivia ColmanFear Feasts podcast episode on The RadleysA Curious Appetite Substack 📧 acuriousappetite@gmail.com 🎧 Available now on all major podcast platforms. Artwork by @medusazzz Audio by @thedeliciouslegacy Music by @manu_pino_1111

    Dorothy Barrick: Feeding the Frame- The Art of Food in Film

  8. Apr 29

    Richard Crampton-Platt: Pasta and Prejudice

    This episode was not sponsored by Greggs. But it begins with a sausage roll! I’m joined by Richard Crampton-Platt (you might know him as @thegreedydick). We talk about chicken rolls and why they disappoint. Raw chicken sushi and what “safe” really means. Why Britain trusts takeaways and Italy doesn’t. Food delivery and what it reveals about how we live. The myth of pizza margherita. Carbonara, cream, and the illusion of authenticity. Food smuggling, migration, and adaptation. And why food feels different from art or music.  It starts light It turns philosophical And somewhere along the way it becomes about trust. Because food is the one thing we choose to put inside our bodies. And that always says more than we think. Read more on Substack https://substack.com/@dralessandrapino Email: acuriousappetite@gmail.com Artwork by @medusazzz Audio by @thedeliciouslegacy Music by @manu_pino_1111  Useful links and referencesRichard Crampton-Platt’s writing, videos and restaurant commentary can be found via The Greedy Dick on Substack and his wider online platforms.  Café Britaly, PeckhamRichard discusses founding Café Britaly, a British-Italian café in Peckham, and its playful approach to “Britalian” food, including carbonara with cream and a fried egg.  Bocca di Lupo, SohoRichard talks about working at Bocca di Lupo, the regional Italian restaurant in Soho, which helped shape his understanding of Italian food and food history.  Britalian food and Italian cafés in BritainTopics include British-Italian greasy spoons, post-war Italian café culture in London, and the blending of British and Italian food traditions. Greggs sausage rollsRichard mentions Greggs expanding its sausage roll range, including pork, vegan and chicken sausage rolls. BovrilThe conversation touches on Bovril, Bovril on toast, Bovril as stock, Bovril in Arctic contexts, and its role in British food memory. Claude Lévi-Strauss, “The Culinary Triangle”Discussed in relation to broth, boiling, food preparation and social bonding.  Sidney Mintz- Sweetness and Power (1985)Mentioned in relation to industrialisation, sugar, work, pleasure and modern eating habits. Fellini’s Satyricon / Trimalchio’s feastRichard discusses Fellini’s strange, uncanny representation of Roman feasting, excess and food spectacle. Carbonara and authenticityThe episode explores carbonara as a contested dish, including cream, pancetta, guanciale, egg, authenticity and cultural negotiation. Zuppa IngleseMentioned as an Italian dessert whose name translates as “English soup”, and as an example of Anglo-Italian culinary overlap. Fagioli all’uccellettoMentioned in relation to beans, sage and their transformation within a British breakfast context. Full English breakfast and global variationsThe conversation touches on full English breakfasts, British breakfast culture, and variations such as full Turkish, full Greek and other cultural reinterpretations. A Full English on Pizza? La Cucina ItalianaRichard mentions looking through La Cucina Italiana for elaborate celebratory dishes, including timbales. Le Gavroche and the Roux familyDiscussed in relation to French food in Britain, ingredient sourcing and the challenges of early fine dining in the UK. Delivery food and food trustThe episode compares British and Italian attitudes to takeaway, delivery apps, trust, ingredients and food safety. Food safety, industrialisation and adulterationTopics include adulterated bread, chalk, alum, salmonella fears, raw chicken in Japan, and different cultural attitudes to risk. Mussolini, rural fantasy and Italian food nostalgiaRichard mentions the darker historical roots of certain romanticised images of rural Italian food culture. A is for Apple: Bovril episodeAlessandra mentions having discussed Bovril previously on A is for Apple.

    Richard Crampton-Platt: Pasta and Prejudice
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Ratings & Reviews

5
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About

A podcast exploring gothic food, horror, and the culture of consumption. In A Curious Appetite, Dr Alessandra Pino examines food not simply as something we consume, but as something that consumes us — shaping memory, identity, longing, and fear. From Gothic feasts to migrant kitchens, from childhood nostalgia to culinary reinvention, each episode traces the stories that linger at the table. Through conversation, the podcast asks what happens when appetite becomes a language for belonging, transformation, power, and desire.

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