1. How and when did you get hooked on history?
I got hooked on history as a young child when my parents gave me a stunning and very big hardcover book about great historical events depicted in a where's waldo style cartoon. I would spend hours looking at, for instance, the double page spread of the pyramids and look at all of the hundreds of little people all engaged in some activity or other in ancient Egypt, floating on the Nile, getting chased by crocodiles, carrying blocks towards the pyramids build site etc. It was fascinating to me. At the age of 10 I actually got to take a trip to Egypt and went inside one of the pyramids, went to the Cairo Museum, saw the Rosetta stone, made traditional papyrus. History came alive to me even more then.
2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?
In my personal life, history is a massive part of my daily podcast intake, as I love listening to history-based shows. In other personal areas of my personal life, I grew up with a mother who was fascinated by World War 2 as her father, my grandfather, had fought in the war. We had photos of him during the war and letters he'd sent home up in frames around the house. He was a war hero for a particular conflict in Italy and was personally mentioned by the Queen of England in her dispatches for his heroism. So it's not hard to see why I too became incredibly fascinated with WW2.
3. How does history play a part of your professional life/career?
In my professional life I studied for 4 years to be a teacher, and then taught for 5 years in a small under-resourced school in one of the townships here. I taught history, amongst a few other subjects and it was always my favourite subject to teach. My kids thrived and I like to think that I imparted my love of history into them.
4. Why is studying/knowing history important?
This is a long and intricate question to answer properly, but at its core history teaches us about ourselves, where we came from and why we do the things we do. We're not so different from those who came before us and so we can look to history to learn how to live well today. And when it comes to human tragedy and suffering, I'm VERY sure you already know the quote, but it is very true: "Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it."
5. What is your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?
I tend to have 3 distinct periods in history that hold my attention more than others. I am enthralled with biblical era history, specifically to do with the Bible itself, but also the surrounding ages of the rise and fall of the Persian empire, Alexander the Great and of course the Roman Empire. Then I have a special place in my heart for the 1800's which seemed like an era of adventure, discovery, giant leaps forward in knowledge, inventions and general "let's try this thing and see what happens" kind of mentality. And finally as I mentioned before, I am obsessed with World War 2 for obvious, Grandfather related reasons.
6. How did the Fantastic History of Food podcast come about?
Food and history have always been my two great passions in life. I am also a published cookbook author and worked for many years at a food based e-commerce retailer in their marketing team. I had originally conceptualised it as a content piece for the brand, but as with many things never got the time to action it. A few years later, after having moved to a different company, I thought about it again and how much fun it would be to just do in my personal capacity. The timing of it however couldn't have been worse as I, for some reason, decided to start doing it one week after the birth of my first child, hence why my release schedule is always all over the place :)
7. What does food history tell us about the bigger picture of history?
What I love about the history of food is that it is the one thing that ties every civilization on earth together, all throughout history. Every single one of us has had to stop to eat a meal each and every day. It's been around the dinner table that great meetings have happened, treaties and accords signed, delegations assassinated and on and on the list goes. Food has been at the centre of so many major world events. It's one of the first things to be blended when cultures collide, and food, more so than many other things defines and denotes one culture's heritage from another.
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