On being a winner

Please forgive this self-indulgent post but I’m bursting with excitement to share some important news with you.

Last Thursday, I won the Audio Category for the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards for the Culinary Creativity of the Enslaved episode of the Comfortably Hungry podcast.

It means a great deal for the podcast to receive this recognition not least because of the hard work that goes into researching, writing and presenting it (all of which I thoroughly enjoy). I am eternally grateful to Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy Podcast for his sound editing skills and to all of my guests from seasons 1-3. But I’m especially grateful to Dr Peggy Brunache for sharing her research in the winning episode.

So, you’ll have to excuse me if I’m a little dizzy for the next few weeks. The last time I won something was a Christmas hat competition at primary school when I was about six or seven. I made a hat shaped like a Christmas pudding (have I mentioned how much I LOVE Christmas pudding?) and despite the fact that most of my classmates laughed at my creation, I was awarded first place. Sadly the hat is long gone but if it did still exist I would be tempted to eat it, such was my surprise at winning the F&M award. I’ve had to wait nigh on half a century for another victory, but it was worth it.

Thank you for listening and continuing to support the podcast. Don’t forget there will be a number of bonus episodes (and recipes for paid subscribers) over the coming months starting with a VE Day special on Thursday, 8 May 2025.