Sam Bilton

This parkin ice cream was one of the contribution to the virtual pot luck supper discussed at the end of my first Comfortably Hungry podcast

What is the essence of the book? Take a Goose or a Duck: Eclectic Essays on English Cookery Through the Ages is a series of concise...

Here's a sneak preview of one of the recipes in my next book, Fool's Gold: A History of British Saffron. Once you've tasted these...

I don’t possess a sweet tooth. I feel quite smug writing this but really I’m kidding myself. Sugar is everywhere from natural sources...

The blog has been taking a back seat this year. I’ve been busy promoting First Catch Your Gingerbread and immersing myself in the middle...

Losing or misplacing stuff is a daily occurrence in my house. For me it’s usually a particular kitchen utensil. For my husband, it’s...

What is the essence of the book? The Biscuit: The History of a Very British Indulgence frankly does what it says on the (biscuit) tin. It...

Gingerbread is synonymous with Christmas. From houses and lattes to lebkuchen and gingerbread Santas there is likely to be some sort of...

Inspired by a recipe from Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera (1577) Like many recipes of this period the original (which you can see below)...

Some of the happiest years of my childhood were spent in the small Aberdeenshire town of Ellon. When my parents decided to move back...

We don’t tend to think of pairing spices with strawberries but these sweet red fruits take to the warmth of spices surprisingly well....

Celery is generally a much overlooked vegetable. In recent times celery enjoyed a brief dalliance in the spotlight as a health food,...

When is a cake a biscuit? This question was raised in 1991 regarding the humble Jaffa Cake. The manufacturer McVities argued that Jaffa...

Pancakes are one of those non-binary dishes. They can be served with either sweet or savoury toppings or a combination of the two....

When the Normans invaded in the 11th century they discovered a proliferation of vineyards in southern England. Chiefly managed by...

Treacle is a bit of a Marmite confection. Made from the syrup that remains after sugar is refined it has a slightly bitter flavour and...

If you take a stroll around any large garden attached to an historic building (like Charle’s Darwins home Down House) you are likely to...

Offal is a sorely neglected source of protein in this country. One of my all-time favourites dishes is steak and kidney pudding. My...

Recently I was given some wheat berries by Trenchmore who are growing heritage grains as well as producing delicious beef and cider. I...

A few weeks ago we were besieged by snow and freezing temperatures which inevitably drove me to cook something warming and sustaining....