The Food Programme - A Pudding Celebration

A Pudding Celebration

04/02/23 • 29 min

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The Food Programme

Are we still a nation of pudding lovers and does pudding still matter?

Join Sheila Dillon in her kitchen where she's joined by some of the UK's best pudding makers to share some of the secrets of great pudding, and why they matter to them.

Olia Hercules makes a pudding from her childhood in Ukraine, a cheesecake made from the "cheese of all cheeses"; Regula Ysewijn bakes an early version of a Bakewell Pudding using apricot kernels and sweetmeats; Melissa Thompson brings Jamaican nostalgia into her own pudding invention, Guinness Punch Pie; Jeremy Lee cooks his Granny's Steamed Treacle Dumpling and chef Anna Higham who's book "The Last Bite" is a celebration of seasonal fruit puddings, makes a rice pudding with a rhubarb compote.

So what it is about pudding that delights people so much? And why don't we eat them as much as we once did? Sheila speaks to food historian, Ivan Day, who has spent a lifetime researching and recreating puddings from the past, to see what he makes of our relationship with them now.

Presented by Sheila Dillon Produced in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

Are we still a nation of pudding lovers and does pudding still matter?

Join Sheila Dillon in her kitchen where she's joined by some of the UK's best pudding makers to share some of the secrets of great pudding, and why they matter to them.

Presented by Sheila Dillon Produced in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

Previous Episode

Glasgow: Seeking Asylum and Finding Refuge in Food

Leyla Kazim and producer Robbie Armstrong explore the central role of food in building community, shaping identity and providing culturally appropriate spaces for refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow, resettled in the city as part of the UK Government’s asylum dispersal policy.

Leyla speaks to Selina Hales, founder of charity Refuweegee, which distributes welcome packs and emergency food parcels, runs community meals and organises events for people starting a new life in Glasgow.

Teresa Piacentini of the Glasgow Refugee, Asylum & Migration Network outlines how the dispersal system works, the changing landscape in Glasgow, and how food is used to establish community, identity and belonging for those seeking refuge or making a new home in Scotland.

Ibrahim Kamara and Arij Alnajjar take Leyla out for lunch, where they discuss their experience in the asylum system, and how crucial food has been in helping them reclaim their identity and share their culture and cuisine with friends in a foreign country.

Producer Robbie Armstrong visits the Garnethill Multicultural Centre to meet development worker Vivien Opiolka. He attends their community meal, and hears from service users about the importance of shared meals for those in the asylum system. Robbie shows Leyla around his neighbourhood of Govanhill, Scotland’s most multicultural area, and talks about its diverse array of cuisines, restaurants and affordable supermarkets.

We hear from councillor Roza Salih, herself a Kurdish refugee and member of the legendary activist group the Glasgow Girls. She visits Kurdish kebab takeaway Shawarma King to toast owner Majed Badrekhan on his takeaway being crowned ‘best kebab in Scotland’ two years in a row.

Closer to home, Leyla visits the Cyprus House restaurant in the Turkish Cypriot Cultural Association in Green Lanes, North London, where she reflects on her Cypriot heritage, her dad’s escape from war-torn Cyprus, and why food is a central part of her identity.

Presented by Leyla Kazim. Produced by Robbie Armstrong.

Next Episode

Secret Supply Lines – Fruit & Veg Under the Radar

Sheila Dillon delves into the world of fresh produce wholesale markets – an unseen part of the food system which has provided a steady supply of fruit and veg to greengrocers, corner shops and restaurants during the recent shortages in supermarkets. Could they be game changers in building a better, more secure food system in Britain?

Presented by Sheila Dillon and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol