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 references
Richard Crampton-Platt’s writing, videos and restaurant commentary can be found via The Greedy Dick on Substack and his wider online platforms.
Café Britaly, Peckham
Richard 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, Soho
Richard 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 Britain
Topics include British-Italian greasy spoons, post-war Italian café culture in London, and the blending of British and Italian food traditions.
Greggs sausage rolls
Richard mentions Greggs expanding its sausage roll range, including pork, vegan and chicken sausage rolls.
Bovril
The 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 feast
Richard discusses Fellini’s strange, uncanny representation of Roman feasting, excess and food spectacle.
Carbonara and authenticity
The episode explores carbonara as a contested dish, including cream, pancetta, guanciale, egg, authenticity and cultural negotiation.
Zuppa Inglese
Mentioned as an Italian dessert whose name translates as “English soup”, and as an example of Anglo-Italian culinary overlap.
Fagioli all’uccelletto
Mentioned in relation to beans, sage and their transformation within a British breakfast context.
Full English breakfast and global variations
The 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 Italiana
Richard mentions looking through La Cucina Italiana for elaborate celebratory dishes, including timbales.
Le Gavroche and the Roux family
Discussed in relation to French food in Britain, ingredient sourcing and the challenges of early fine dining in the UK.
Delivery food and food trust
The episode compares British and Italian attitudes to takeaway, delivery apps, trust, ingredients and food safety.
Food safety, industrialisation and adulteration
Topics include adulterated bread, chalk, alum, salmonella fears, raw chicken in Japan, and different cultural attitudes to risk.
Mussolini, rural fantasy and Italian food nostalgia
Richard mentions the darker historical roots of certain romanticised images of rural Italian food culture.
A is for Apple: Bovril episode
Alessandra mentions having discussed Bovril previously on A is for Apple.
