A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino

A podcast exploring gothic food, horror, and the culture of consumption.In A Curious Appetite, Dr Alessandra Pino examines food not simply as something we consume, but as something that consumes us — shaping memory, identity, longing, and fear. From Gothic feasts to migrant kitchens, from childhood nostalgia to culinary reinvention, each episode traces the stories that linger at the table. Through conversation, the podcast asks what happens when appetite becomes a language for belonging, transformation, power, and desire.

A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino is a arts podcast hosted by Dr Alessandra Pino, with 13 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Dr Alessandra Pino hosts A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino, a arts show with 13 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino

  Dr Tré Ventour-Griffiths: Saltfish and Sensibility

  Sep 30, 20261h 1m

  What histories do we carry in the food we cook, the stories we inherit and the places we call home? In this episode of A Curious Appetite, I’m joined by Dr Tré Ventour-Griffiths for a conversation that begins with his grandmother’s saltfish fritters and takes us through Caribbean family memory, migration, haunted landscapes and Jane Austen. We explore how food connects us with generations we never knew, the lost futures imagined by Caribbean migrants, and the histories of enslavement and empire that remain present in Britain’s country houses and cultural institutions. We also discuss Sanditon, Georgiana Lambe and “Pineapplegate”, asking what contemporary period dramas reveal, or leave unexamined, about colonial wealth. Tré closes the episode with a reading from his creative research on Delapré Abbey, bringing together landscape, haunting and the knowledge carried through families. My warmest thanks to Tré for such a thoughtful and generous conversation. Read the accompanying article, references and further reading on my Substack: https://dralessandrapino.substack.com Find more of Tré’s writing: https://substack.com/@avidpedestrian With thanks to Sage at Haints and Hollers Apothecary for supporting A Curious Appetite. Discover handcrafted tea blends inspired by folklore, horror and the strange: https://haintsandhollersapothecary.com Instagram: @haintsandhollersapothecary Thank you, as always, to the brilliant people who help bring this podcast to life: Artwork: Claudia Del Fiacco Audio editing and mixing: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: Manuel Pino Hosted by Dr Alessandra Pino. Contact: acuriousappetite@gmail.com If you enjoyed this conversation, please follow the podcast, leave a rating or share it with someone who might enjoy listening. Thank you for being here and staying curious about what’s on your plate.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino

  Flossy Phillips: The Texture of Tripe

  Sep 16, 202658 min

  The Texture of Tripe is a bit of a punch to the gut, in the best possible way. In this episode of A Curious Appetite , I’m joined by Flossy (Flora Phillips) for a gloriously gutsy conversation about offal, butchery, art, appetite and why organs can inspireequal parts fascination, pleasure and disgust. Naturally, we start on a slightly spooky foot. You’ll see what I mean. There are prophetic artworks, strange signs of things to come and a Charming Baker calf already marked out in butcher’s cuts, longbefore Flossy swapped the art world for butchery. Although perhaps the writing was already on the wall: she had been cooking and eating offal since she was eleven. From there, we get straight to the guts of it. Why do organs make some of us recoil while others positively salivate? Why can liver, heart, tripe and blood move so easily between comfort food, culinaryluxury and the downright disgusting? We talk about the curious ways we distance ourselves from the animals we eat, why a highly processed food can sometimes feel less confronting than a recognisable organ, and what our reactions to meatmight reveal about class, culture, memory, taste and the stories we tell ourselves about what is acceptable to put in our mouths. Along the way, Dark Food , Mary Douglas,Sidney Mintz, Ian Miller’s The Anatomy of Disgust and ClaudeLévi-Strauss’s Culinary Triangle all find their way onto the butcher’s block. The conversation continues beyond the podcasttoo. An accompanying article drawing on this interview, and going further into Flossy’s work, offal, blood, butchery and the strange cultural life of guts, is published with GUTS magazine . We also talk about the sensory pleasures of cooking and eating offal, some of Flossy’s favourite London places to doexactly that, and possibly my favourite image from the whole conversation: Flossy heading to the cricket at The Oval with a pot of leftover tripe, because frankly, why settle for a sandwich? We also get into blood, abattoirs, food regulation, disappearing skills and what we risk losing when small-scale systems of slaughter and production vanish. Offal has an image problem. This episode askswhat happens when we stop looking away. Useful links • Charming Baker • Alessandra Pino, Dark Food • Gelsey Kirkland, Dancing on My Grave • Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger (1966), including her work on pollution • Sidney Mintz, Sweetness and Power (1985), particularly the separation and distance between sites of production and consumption • Ian Miller, The Anatomy of Disgust (1998) • Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747) • Claude Lévi-Strauss, The Culinary Triangle (1966) • Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas • Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey (2026) • Alessandra Pino and Ella Buchan, A Gothic Cookbook (2026) • Kate Ryan, Blood, Guts and Black Pudding (2026), referred to during the discussion about blood, abattoirs and food safety • Polentina • St. JOHN • Camille • Bouchon Racine • Future Food Week , Vienna Credits Contact: acuriousappetite@gmail.com Artwork: @medusazzz Audio Production: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: @manu_pino_1111

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino

  The Canal as Archive: Reading Robert Aickman's The River Runs Uphill

  Aug 21, 202640 min

  In this episode of A Curious Appetite , I’m joined by Dr Dan O’Brien to talk about Robert Aickman’s The River Runs Uphill , cultural memory, Britain’s waterways and some of the ideas currently shaping our research for The River Remembers: A Gothic Voyage through Forgotten Histories of the Thames . Originally released for paid subscribers, this conversation is now open to everyone. Best known for his strange and unsettling fiction, Robert Aickman was also a committed conservationist who helped establish the Inland Waterways Association in 1946. His lifelong campaign to preserve Britain’s canals provides a fascinating counterpart to his literary interest in overlooked places, lingering histories and things that resist disappearance. Dan and I discuss the difference between rivers and canals, and what happens when we begin to think of waterways as repositories of human experience. Canals carry histories of engineering and labour as well as water, while the communities that once worked and lived around them can disappear even when the physical landscape survives. We also explore mudlarking and the Thames as an unruly kind of archive: one governed by tides, chance and material fragments rather than catalogues and classifications. Dan shares the extraordinary story of finding an object thought to be part of a mammoth’s tooth, a discovery that stretches the history of the Thames far beyond London itself. Our conversation also considers the more difficult aspects of reading Aickman today, including passages that reflect exclusionary attitudes towards race. Rather than ignoring these moments or allowing them to overwhelm the rest of the work, we ask what responsible reading might look like and whose histories have traditionally been preserved, celebrated or left out. The River Runs Uphill becomes a way of thinking about attention itself: how landscapes hold memories of labour, migration, trade, industry, leisure and loss, and how easily ordinary lives can disappear when nobody stops to notice them. Robert Aickman beyond the strange story The Inland Waterways Association and canal conservation Rivers, canals and cultural memory Waterways as archives of labour and everyday life Mudlarking, chance and historical discovery A mammoth tooth and the deep history of the Thames Heritage, preservation and the stories we choose to remember Reading difficult historical texts critically The ideas feeding into The River Remembers Featured book: Robert Aickman, The River Runs Uphill Have you read Aickman, or has a book ever unexpectedly changed the way you look at a familiar landscape?

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #9

  Niki Gorick: Secret Feasts and the City- London Life Through the Lens

  Jun 24, 202649 minS1

  How do you photograph a city that never stands still? In this episode of A Curious Appetite , I am joined by photographer and author Niki Gorick , whose work has documented London's hidden ceremonies, docklands, working communities, and riverside traditions for more than twenty-five years. Beginning with her early fascination for storytelling and inspired by photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Antony Armstrong-Jones (Lord Snowdon), Niki reflects on how photography became her way of preserving fleeting moments before they disappear forever. Together we explore photography as cultural memory, the hidden rituals that continue to shape the City of London, and why food remains central to some of Britain's oldest surviving ceremonies. From medieval guilds and lavish civic banquets to Swan Upping on the River Thames, the conversation uncovers a London that most people never encounter. Along the way, we discuss the philosophy of documentary photography, London's remarkable charitable traditions, the changing relationship between people and wildlife, and the challenge of preserving living heritage within a constantly changing city. Through photography, food history, London's hidden traditions, and cultural memory, this episode opens the door to a side of the city that few people ever have the chance to experience. Further reading and resources Learn more about Niki Gorick's work and current projects: Niki Gorick Photography Dock Life at the Cutty Sark, Royal Museums Greenwich Niki Gorick's Dock Life is currently on display at Cutty Sark, part of Royal Museums Greenwich , where her contemporary photographs are presented alongside images and stories from the museum's archive, creating a dialogue between London's docklands past and present. Explore the photographers who inspired Niki: Henri Cartier-Bresson – the pioneering documentary photographer best known for the concept of the decisive moment . Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson | Magnum Photos Archive Antony Armstrong-Jones (Lord Snowdon) – celebrated portrait and theatre photographer. National Portrait Gallery Collection Find out more about London's ceremonial traditions: City of London Corporation The Lord Mayor's Show The Livery Committee St Bride's Church, Fleet Street (home of the annual Bubble Service discussed in this episode) Discover more about Swan Upping and London's relationship with the River Thames: The Royal Family – Swan Upping The Worshipful Company of Vintners The Worshipful Company of Dyers Royal Museums Greenwich Canal & River Trust Photography resources mentioned during the conversation: Sony Alpha Cameras Nikon UK Adobe Camera RAW Guide Niki's books: Dock Life Renewed: How London's Docks Are Thriving Again Faith in the City of London Contact: ⁠acuriousappetite@gmail.com⁠ Artwork: @medusazzz Audio Production: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: @manu_pino_1111

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino

  Dr Sam Hirst on Singing for Supper: William Linley in Regency Britain

  Jun 10, 202637 min

  In this episode of A Curious Appetite , I am joined by Gothic scholar, educator, and founder of Romancing the Gothic, Dr Sam Hirst , to explore the remarkable travel journal Summer Rambles in 1825 by the musician and traveller William Linley . Drawing on Sam's work transcribing and annotating the manuscript at Newstead Abbey, we journey through Regency England in the company of one of its most observant and entertaining diarists. We discuss Linley's connections to the world of music and theatre, his possible links to Lord Byron , and his fascinating visit to Newstead Abbey , Byron's former home. Sam reflects on discovering the diary in the Newstead archives and explains why Linley's candid observations, social commentary, and frequent complaints make him such an engaging narrator. Food features throughout our conversation. We examine what Linley's diary reveals about Regency hospitality, travel, and dining, from breakfasts and suppers to pickled onions, delayed fish deliveries, cold fowl, ham, and "badly dressed eels." Together we consider how food functioned as a marker of status, comfort, and sociability, and how complaints about meals often reveal just as much as descriptions of them. Our discussion also returns to Newstead Abbey , where Sam shares insights from his work marking the bicentenary of Byron's death. We explore Byron's complicated relationship with dancing, the scandalous reputation of the waltz, the role of music within the house, and the ways Newstead has been reinterpreted for modern visitors. The conversation then turns eastwards as Sam reflects on living and working in Kazan, Russia , a city shaped by Russian, Tatar, Muslim, Orthodox Christian, and Jewish traditions. We discuss how experiencing different cultures transformed his perspective as a historian and researcher, encouraging a deeper appreciation of nuance, complexity, and the dangers of simplistic historical narratives. Naturally, food accompanies us on this journey. Sam shares memories of Russian, Tatar, and Central Asian cuisines, including plov , triangular meat-and-potato pastries, sour cream, cottage cheese, and the extraordinary hospitality he encountered around family tables. We also discuss nostalgia, migration, and the foods we continue to long for long after we have left a place behind. Along the way we talk about: William Linley and Regency musical culture Byron, Newstead Abbey, and the waltz Hospitality and social performance in the Regency period Food, travel, and complaint as historical evidence Manuscript transcription and archival detective work Russia, Tatarstan, and cultural diversity Plov, pastries, hospitality, and food nostalgia Why complexity is often more interesting than certainty Whether you're interested in Byron, Regency travel, food history, archives, or the pleasures of a well-kept diary, this episode offers a fascinating glimpse into the people, meals, friendships, and journeys that shaped life in the early nineteenth century. Learn more about Dr Sam Hirst's work, courses, and events at Romancing the Gothic . The platform brings together readers, writers, and researchers interested in the Gothic, Romanticism, folklore, and literary history. Interested in Byron and Newstead Abbey? Read Dr Sam Hirst's article, "Byron's Letters Reveal the Real Queer Love and Loss That Inspired His Poetry," which explores Byron's relationship with John Edleston and the emotional experiences reflected in his letters and verse. Artwork: @medusazzz Audio Production: @thedeliciouslegacy Music: @manu_pino_1111

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on A Curious Appetite with Dr Alessandra Pino. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.