If you’ve got an appetite for knowledge and a passion for food, we’d recommend heading down to the British Library this spring.
As part of its upcoming Food Season, the British Library has brought together an impressive line-up of food experts, chefs, historians and writers who will all be taking part in the month long celebration of all things food. This is the second Food Season the venue has hosted, and it will include talks, tastings and workshops, all of which are influenced by the Library’s vast collections.
Nigella Lawson will host a conversation about storytelling through cookbooks
The season will run between 1 April and 31 May, with big name guests including Nigella Lawson, Heston Blumenthal and Yotam Ottolenghi. Some of the collaborations you can expect to see include the pairing of Heston Blumenthal and composer Dominic Murcott, who will team up to explore the relationship between food and music with live performances, experiments and tastings.
Yotam Ottolenghi will be looking at how our environment shapes our love of food
Elsewhere, Yotam Ottolenghi will look at how our upbringing and genetic makeup can shape how we enjoy food, while you’ll find food writers Nigella Lawson, Bee Wilson and Ella Risbridger tackling the role of voice, narrative and storytelling in cookery books.
Polly Russell, Curator for Contemporary Politics and Public Life at the British Library, said: “Whether it is handwritten manuscripts of printed cookery books, letters and diaries revealing the intimate details of eating habits or in-depth oral histories of food producers, food is present in the British Library’s collections and I am thrilled the Library will be hosting its second Food Season this spring.”
Heston Blumenthal will explore the relationship between food and music
It’s not just famous names that will be getting all the attention though, as there will be plenty of insight from experts too. Just take children’s books expert Julia Eccleshare, who will be discussing the symbolism of food in children’s literature, or renowned designer Caz Hildebrand, who will explore how the changes in cookbook design have led to shifts in the way we eat.
Tickets for all of the events which will form the Food Season will go on sale to the general public on 8 March. Standard tickets for most events start from £12 per person and can be booked online here.