Views on London Podcast

This Podcast Explores the things that help define London and the British  and todays subject is London Nosh – a more in depth analysis of some of British more Iconic dishes such as fish and chips, roast dinners and toast from a factual, practical and historic perspective.  

So lets get down to the some general facts about London and food. 

In London you could quite easily stay within the capital and effectively taste food from around the world   in 80 Restaurants – a modern take on Philias Fogg around world in 80 days  challenge

There’s a really vibrant food scene in London with  world class restaurants that proudly sit on international lists of best places to eat  and they have international chefs who are well travelled and highly creative and top draw.   – highest quality for both fine dining and casual dinners. 

This Podcast will focus on some of the more traditional iconic British dishes  which we are known for to help you understand them better and to entice you to try them.

This podcast will look at the some British foodie facts, it will explain some of the history behind the British pallet ,  and give an overview of some of the stranger British dishes

I do briefly touching some of the ones that are more associated with typical British cuisines like fish and chips but – these will be subject to their own Podcast

Where as British drinks are well respected around the world, the same is not so true of British Cuisine.

We are reasonably happy with it, and are quite loyal to the traditional  foods but like Cricket it can seem a bit confusing from the outside.

We do have many great restaurants – especially in London and fantastic home cooks – family favourites  - just ask any of our mothers!

• And we do take a lot of interest in other people cooking given the number of Morning and weekend television programs devoted to cooking – however it’s the eating that we tend to focus on!

Somehow  British food  an unfair reputation with  some visitors  will generally describe their impression of British food as as Pleasant ,  ‘nice’ ‘not too bad’ and sometimes as

bland, soggy, overcooked, and visually unappealing.

However that’s a bit unfair , with a rich mix of cultures and restaurants, you can find great food in London but you may need to do some sleuthing – like Sherlock Holmes to find the best ones for your pallet and there are plenty of websites blogs and apps such as Tripadvisor Toptable and bookatable that can help with booking and reviews and you will get a good meal – but may be not as memorable as those on Continental Europe.

Although the company and venue may well be!

Why is this ? - well find out more in this podcast when we explore its hstory and some of the stranger  british and London dishes

This podcast explores why Tea is so much better then coffee and is the perfect London drink.

It Just is!

In this podcast I will begin with a  comparative fact check to  test the Hypothesis  as to whether  teas has superiority over coffee,  then I will  look at the history of coffee and its journey to being in the top four London as well as the causes of its demise in the 19th century and its re-emergence as a contender/pretender in the 21st century.

This Podcast Explores the things that help define London and the British  and todays subject is Tea – and why its so in grained in the British Psyche. We will look at the facts, its history,  how to drink it  and why is so hard to get a decent cup of tea in London.

Tea is the most widely consumed substance  after Air and water,

It propped up the British empire, helped the industrial revolution defined class, funded wars and made life more bearable

For example

Its effect on the British

• It Drove society - In Victorian society ladies regularly visited each other and had had tea their social networking
• It Drove Commerce – Made business more productive when they met in coffee house to strike deals or exchange information in a sober manner with of tea or coffee

It Drove International Trade - government helped to establish tea as main drink for the empire and exported to its colonies and collected taxes.  And in the late 17c   the government a Tax on tea that went  up to 119% and  accounted for almost 10% of its revenue.

However this led  to a rich trade in Smuggled tea!

• It helped the Industrial revolution  and made the workforce more productive - sweet drink – and energising them - plus purifies the water - up until then the nations was dependant on beer as the only dependable safe drink - therefore it made us less dependant on alcohol
• It created to wars - the Opium wars with China in the Victorian era ( mid 1800) and the American Revolution (Boston Tea Party) in the 1773
• An it’s Protected by Government - So much so that in WWII – tea stock were hidden and stored in  strategic locations  and was part of the  key supply line for the British troops.

An it has always been  – Anytime any place anywhere –

it’s best known as the  general drink to Welcoming people of the Btitish  -  come in for a cuppa and for a gossip!

But we have it formally for

Breakfast

Tea breaks

Afternoon tea

High tea/ Tea (traditional common word for evening meal at 6:00  - Teatime

Even as a night cap hydrate after a drinking session – especially with Toast and a chat.

This Podcast Explores the things that help define London and the British  and today’s subject in the British culture series  is  Gin

We will look at the facts, its history, the types of gin  how to drink and where to drink it,  and what to drink it with.

Lets start by getting some affirmations about Gin before we deal with some of its unfavourable side effects.

• Hawkey – MASH – I’ll stick to gin – Champagne is just ginger ale that know someone
• Winston Churchill – The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen’s lives and minds than all the doctors in the Empire
• Humphrey Bogart -Casablanca – Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world – she walks into mine

Ginastics – a sport where you learn the agility and co-ordination of pouring and drinking a juniper-based spirit.

So what is Gin

Both gin and vodka are made from neutral grain spirits (like rye, barley, wheat, corn) but British gin use Barley - gets steeped/soaked with botanicals (fancy word for dried herbs, roots, and citrus peels) and redistilled. So you might sip a gin and taste juniper Whereas vodka you may taste the notes of the grain

This podcast will focus on the London Pint of Beer

It will look at the facts, its history, the different types of beer,  how and where to drink it

Beer has a lot going for it

1. Around the world, humans consume over 50 billion gallons of beer every year.
2. Beer is the most widely consumed alcoholic drink on the planet.
3. beer is one of the oldest beverages in the world - Dating back to 7000 years – at least!

And beer has been given 5 star ratings from the great and the good – and here are a few examples

•  Plato He is a wise man who invented beer
• Shakespeare, Henry V  I would give all my fame for a pot of ale and safety. –
• Benjamin Franklin  Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. –
• Homer Simpson  Ah, beer. The cause of and the solution to all of life’s problems.–
• Henry Lawson – Australian poet Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer. –

Beer is in grained in British and European society  - and ironically  it’s  Grain that has provided us  food (bread) and drink (beer) for centuries  in fact

• Prior to 1700, the average European consumed 182 kg of bread and 182 litres of beer per year (Allen 1992) – so in equal weight as I litre of beer is around a kg in weight.. Half of all spending was on beer and bread, and three-quarters of all calories came from these two sources alone. The reason for massive beer consumption was simple – water was often contaminated. The problem note by – WC Fields who said that the problem with by water is that you never know where its been

 This was especially true in the cities where  clean drinking water was in short supply but beer was plentiful cheap and safe to drink. It is hence not surprising that it was consumed throughout the day, from breakfast until  the late evening.

We have evolved to drink less beer but its still a firm favourite

As is bourn out from the figures – physical and numerical

Quantity wise

In 2018, 8.5 billion pints of beer _ more than any other alcoholic

In comparison 7.4 billion  glasses of wine were sold in the UK

And 1.2 billion pints of cider

And the government benefits from this as the British  pay a staggering 11 times more beer duty than drinkers in Germany or Spain.

This Podcast Explores the things that help define London and the British  and todays subject is  the British Pub

We will look at the facts, its history,  how to drink it in it,  and how to deal with the inevitable consequences of the morning following the night before – the hangover

This Podcast Explores the things that help define London and the British. 

And todays subject is the British Drinking Culture – and why it’s so in grained in the British Psyche. And funnily enough, Grain is the principal ingredient in two of its principal substances -  beer and Gin – London’s tipples

In this podcast  will look at the culture of drinking  by focusing on some drinking facts, and London’s drinking history,  and briefly touching on   how  and where to drink it  and the main drinks that are associated with London’s historic drinking. These later areas will be podcasts in their own right.

This Podcast Series Explores the things that help define London and the British. This is an introduction to what the Podcast series will cover.

Imagine if London could speak to you  – what would she talk to you about, what sight would she show you and what questions would you ask her? This is what this Podcast is all about

Views from London will cover an eclectic mix of subjects including

• Our drinking and eating cultures
• Britishness and London icons
• Our way of life and eccentricities
• Pleasures and Pastimes
• Exploring and getting around London
• Royalty and History
• Its People and places
• And some photographic tips and ideas to help you capture those special London moments.

Whilst Photoruns.com  focuses on the visuals side, this Podcast focuses on the audio and the general chit chat that may go on if London  was walking beside you or having a chat with you over a  pint or a cup of tea.