food history

Part 3 - Elizabeth David’s Spaghetti alla Carbonara, 1954

The next instalment of my Authentically British Carbonara miniseries explores the second Carbonara recipe ever published in Britain - Elizabeth David’s…

Sep 29 • Mark Gowen

Part 2: Spaghetti Carbonara - Theodora FitzGibbon, 1952

My journey through British Carbonara recipes starts with Theodora Fitzgibbon’s 1952 recipe, from ‘Cosmopolitan Cookery in an English Kitchen.’

Sep 21

I’ve been eating pesto since 1977 and making it since the mid 1980s. This is my pesto.

Sep 18 • Mark Gowen

Part 1: The Road to Nowhere… or Finally Revealing Carbonara’s Hidden DNA?

Welcome to my new Substack miniseries, and the start of my journey to discover the origins of Authentically British Carbonara...

Sep 14 • Mark Gowen

DID THE NORMANS BRING PASTA TO BRITAIN?

Around 1290 an Anglo-Norman manuscript recorded a dish made from saffron and ginger flavoured pasta ribbons, woven into patterned squares. But is it…

Sep 3 • Mark Gowen

WHEN ADVERTISING TAUGHT US HOW TO COOK PASTA

Millions of years ago I worked in advertising as a copywriter. I've recently been researching some early 20th century pasta press ads and I've…

Aug 31 • Mark Gowen

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