Amuse Bouche

Kicking off the day, Neil Buttery is in conservation with Dr Eleanor Barnett about her own journey into food history and how her background in art history informs her research today and her phenomenally successful @historyeats Instagram page. They’ll also discuss the ways one can approach recreating historical recipes, how to balance historical accuracy with modern-day relevance, and epic food history fails.

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Dr Eleanor Barnett

Dr Eleanor Barnett is a leading British food historian, with a particular expertise in the history of food waste and the links between food and religion in the early modern era. She is author of Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation, which was shortlisted for both the Guild of Food Writers' and Fortnum and Mason's Book and Debut Book of the Year 2025. She has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and currently researches and teaches at Cardiff University. As a public historian, she regularly appears on TV and radio, writes the monthly historical cookery column for History Extra Magazine, and shares food history fun on Instagram as @historyeats to a large international audience of foodies and history buffs alike! Her academic book The Reformation of Food: Eating in Protestant England and Catholic Italy, c. 1560 - c. 1640 is under contract with Past & Present, Oxford University Press and will be out next year.