Let Them Eat Books

Let Them Eat Books Episode 11: Chocolate

A bumper episode featuring Claire and Colin reminiscing about chocolate treats and confectionary they love, and also biting into a host of literary references including: Ed Atkins’ book Old Food, Laura Esquivel’s novel Like Water for Chocolate, Curtis Sittenfeld’s story The Napkin Project and also a couple of morsels from Enrique Vila-Matas and June Jordan! You’re in for a Selection Box of Literary and Food content. 

Let Them Eat Books Episode 10: The Side Dish: Coffee And Walnut Cake

A Bake Sale Classic, Colin and Claire delve into the creamy buttercream icing of a coffee and walnut cake while sharing some of their own poems and getting the giggles! 

Let Them Eat Books Episode 9: Walnuts

Always tough nuts to crack, Colin and Claire discuss the walnut this week. Featuring writing from Takashi Hiraide and André Malraux, they delve into every crack and crevice of these weird brain-shapes with their own weird brain-shapes. 

Let Them Eat Books Episode 8: The Side Dish: Aberdeen Butteries

This episode of the podcast sees Claire and Colin road trip to Aberdeen to taste-test Aberdeen Butteries or Rowies, the flaky pastry that’s beloved in the North East. Visiting Ross of Chapel Street, The Bread Guys, The Bread Maker, Byron Bakery and Ross on Swithin Street, we eat more Butteries than is good for us! 

Let Them Eat Books Episode 7: Butter

In this episode of Let Them Eat Books Claire and Colin spread themselves thinly as they talk about Butter, focusing on the novel Butter by Asako Yuzuki. They also taste a delicious dish involving Echire Butter and even reflect on Ellen Dillon’s book Butter Intervention. 

Let Them Eat Books: Episode 6 The Side Dish: Breakfast with Sandy Christie

Claire and Colin are joined for this episode with the artist Sandy Christie! After some technical mishaps, the Let Them Eat Books team were able to have not one but two delicious Breakfasts! Recorded at Down the Hatch cafe in South Queensferry. Sandy shares his thoughts on breakfast, his famous Pea-mous recipe, and insights into his artistic practice. 

Let Them Eat Books Episode 5: Breakfast

The most important podcast of the day brings you their take on the most important meal of the day! Colin and Claire take on all things breakfast, including discussion of the work of Anthony Capildeo, AA Milne, J R R Tolkien, Thom Gunn, Elizabeth David and Gary Shteyngart! Claire and Colin also disagree over the merits of Hotel Buffets and discuss some of their breakfast haunts from Peebles Hydro in the Borders, Very Bad Hotel in Kaunas, Lake Annecy, Cottonrake Bakery and Eusebi Deli in Glasgow and many more! 

Let Them Eat Books Episode 4: The Side Dish: Piña Colada

The focus of this week’s Side Dish is the legendary cocktail the Piña Colada. Colin and Claire discuss its various origin myths, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Swinging in Waitrose, and even Rupert Holmes’s famous song! 

Let Them Eat Books Episode 3: Pineapple

In the second full-length episode, Colin and Claire talk about the place of the pineapple in literary and culinary cultures, with discussion of Gabriel García Márquez‘s novel Love in the Time of Cholera, Clarice Lispector’s short story ‘The Sharing of the Loaves’, Colombian Pop Star Lao Ra, The Dunmore Pineapple, Pineapple Carpaccio, Ham and Pineapple on a pizza and much more! 

Let Them Eat Books Episode 2: The Side Dish: Jam Roly Poly

Co-hosted by Claire Reynolds and Colin Herd, our first “Side Dish” stars the classic pudding Jam Roly Poly. This episode includes discussion of Rivals - the show inspired by Jilly Cooper’s novel of the same name, ‘A Cup of Tea’, the short story by Katherine Mansfield and ‘Strawberries’, the poem by Edwin Morgan.