A Taste of Home: Food, History and Heritage
Last week I was on holiday in and around Bologna, the place that gave spag bol to us Brits and baloney to Americans by way of tagliatelle al ragù and mortadella. Other Bologna classics like lasagne, tortellini and tortelloni are today famous the world over thanks to the movement of Italian migrants across the globe. In Bologna itself the culinary heritage of the city and wider Emilia-Romagna region is evident everywhere you look. Yet the expression of history and heritage through food isn’t something we talk about very often in the UK. My trip to Bologna got me thinking about the food and drink of the places I’ve called home: Southend-on-Sea, Leeds and East London.
Cockles
Growing up in Southend-on-Sea in Essex on the Thames Estuary, Leigh-on-Sea was seen as the trendy part of town. It’s the same today. Down the hill from the cafes and shops of Leigh Broadway, is the historic fishing village now known as Old Leigh. As a child I performed in a youth theatre production called Tales of Leigh Old Town about the history of this place, but that’s for another day. For well over a hundred years, Old Leigh has been home to Osborne Brothers, the place to stop for a pint of cockles. Cockles, a small shellfish, have waned in popularity in recent years. They were once a staple food of coastal communities. When I take friends to Leigh for the first time it’s always touch and go whether they’ll love or loathe cockles. If you ever find yourself in Leigh-on-Sea I highly recommend enjoying some cockles with vinegar while looking out at the fishing boats on the Thames, or mud if the tide’s out. You’ll get a sense of what fishing communities on the Thames Estuary like Leigh were like in the past.
Taddy Lager
Whenever I visit a Samuel Smith pub, I am immediately transported back to the Angel Inn. A haunt from my student days in Leeds. Sam Smiths’ most iconic drink is its Taddy Lager, a reference to the brewery’s home in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. Sam Smith’s claims to be the oldest brewery in Yorkshire and each of its pubs has an authentically iconic feel to it. To be really honest, as a student the appeal of Sam Smith’s lay more in the price than the heritage - the Angel Inn was one of the cheaper pubs around Leeds’ main shopping street, Briggate - but it’s hard to visit Sam Smith and not get a sense of the past. More so than that, Samuel Smith’s speaks to an era before pub chains when brewing was a much more local affair. Even though there are Sam Smith’s up and down the country, to me Sam Smith’s will always be a reminder of Yorkshire.
Salt Beef Beigels
My home today is in Bethnal Green, East London. It’s a place where three of my four grandparents grew up after their parents and grandparents settled here from Eastern Europe and Jerusalem before my family moved out to Essex. A familiar story for many Jewish people in the UK. Just down the road from my flat is Brick Lane, the home of Beigel Bake, the ultimate place for a salt beef beigel. The kind of beigels (pronounced “BYE-gull”) sold at Beigel Bake are the chewier, tastier and more authentic cousins of the mass produced New York bagels you find in supermarkets. Beigels are a longstanding staple of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish food culture. There are two beigel shops at the top of Brick Lane. Anyone who’s in the know only eats at Beigel Bake with Beigel Shop considered the preserve of tourists. Don’t ask me why. Having been a hub of London’s Jewish community, Brick Lane is now more famous for curry, reflecting the changing patterns of immigration into the area. When I pass through Brick Lane it’s hard to resist a salt beef beigel and feel that sense of connection to my ancestors.
Final reflection
Food tourism is a massive industry. People travel the globe to taste new flavours and experience a culture through its food and drink. Hopefully this short blog will encourage you to think about (and of course taste!) the foods and drinks that reflect and represent the place you call home, and what they say of the history and heritage of that place.
