Food Lives: Food History Tour of Tower Hamlets
If you’re a fan of history, community and food we might just have the perfect podcast for you. Food Lives: Food History Tour of Tower Hamlets takes listeners on a journey back in time to discover some of Tower Hamlet’s lesser celebrated food history. It features our very own residents and community researchers Shazna Hussain and Sajna Miah along with Food Feminist Specialist Elaine Swan over three insightful episodes.
The podcast is a result of the Food Lives Tower Hamlets project run by The Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) and University of Sussex taking place on the St George's estate, Shadwell. The project looks at the role food plays in our lives and the importance of history, culture and heritage to our food habits.
In 2022, community researchers from WEN and the University of Sussex co-produced a Food History Tour of Tower Hamlets.
The tour takes in Watney Market, Cable Street, the original site of Café Rio, Wombat’s City Hostel, Wilton’s Music Hall, the former dairies and sugar factories of Wellclose Square and Swedenborg Gardens, and ends in an urban orchard in the heart of the St George's estate. This tour has gone onto inspire the podcast.
Community researcher, Sajna Miah said:
My very first experience working on our research was in the beautiful Archives building, it took me back in time going through the old photos. I could feel, see, and smell history through our work on St Georges estate in Shadwell. The love of food brings people together.”
Shazna Hussain said:
Food is such an important part of our lives. Discovering more about Tower Hamlets’ food heritage and the different types of people who shaped our food offering has been fascinating. There’s so much to learn and celebrate. Who knew a humble kitchen utensil played an important role in the Battle of Cable St? Or a Somalian cafe could be the inspiration behind a famous Bob Dylan album cover?
Project Lead Elaine Swan said:
We have learned so much from developing the tour and working with the Archives and community social history websites. We found out about the long history of hospitality and foodwork performed by migrants from Bangladesh, Somalia, Pakistan to help people feel more at home especially in the face of exclusion and racism. Our podcast is a great opportunity to share our learnings with broader audience we hope you enjoy it.
Food Lives podcast is available on Apple and Spotify platforms or you can listen on their website here https://www.wen.org.uk/2024/03/13/food-lives-podcast/.
If you’re interested in joining our food research or want to find out more about the tour please contact Elaine Swan E.Swan@sussex.ac.uk.