In Episode 1 I’m joined by my fellow A is for Apple podcast host Dr Alessandra Pino who is an expert on the intersection of the Gothic, food and cultural memory. We talk about her theory on ‘dark food’ in literature, an original concept that provides an insight into the legacies of slavery and its relationship to capitalism, in the context of Cristina Garcia’s novel Dreaming in Cuban (1992). We also chat about the long awaited A Gothic Cookbook, which is finally out of its ‘coffin’.

Useful Links

You can find Allie on Instagram @sasacharlie and X @foodforflo or discover more about her work on her website. Allie also co-hosts the Fear Feasts podcast.

A Gothic Cookbook is published by Unbound and can be ordered direct from their website. For more information on Allie’s theory of dark food see her essay on the subject in The Palgrave Companion to Memory and Literature.

Professor Lorna Piatti Farnell founded the Gothic Association of New Zealand and Australia.

Roland Barthes was a French essayist and social and literary critic.

Suggested Reading

* Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen

* Dark Tourism by Malcolm Foley and J. John Lennon

* Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia

* Sweetness & Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History by Sidney Mintz

* ‘Exploring the Role of Food in Gothic Literature’ by Alessandra Pino in Petits Propos Culinaires 129, Autumn 2024

* Mind in Society: Development of Higher Psychological Processes by L. S. Vygotsky

Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or X @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.

A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast.