Lecker

On this episode: stories from the food growers and edible gardeners of Hastings and St Leonards.
Town Grown is a Hastings-based food growers network and in June they organised an ‘Edible Open Gardens’ weekend, where food growing sites all over Hastings and St Leonards opened their gates to the public. 
I took my recorder along with me and spent some time getting to know what it’s like to get your hands dirty in the soil of this part of East Sussex. We have an heirloom county orchard, a former Victorian private garden finding a new lease of life in the community, a very special plot on the site of a former secondary school cricket enclosure, and we’re beginning on Helgi’s plot in Marina Allotments, in West St Leonards.
You can download a free one-page zine about each story on the Lecker website!

Marina Allotments is a sea-facing allotment site in West St Leonards. Locals interested can join the waiting list here.
St Matthews Gardens is a community garden with membership open to a catchment area in St Leonards. Find out more on Facebook.
Small Meadow Farm is a permaculture smallholding and orchard with wild camping and wwoofing opportunities. Read more on Anna’s website.
Future Growth is a food forest and regenerative allotment at Mulberry Academy St Leonards. You can find out more on Instagram and sign up to support the project on Patreon.
***
Lecker is a podcast about how food shapes our lives. Recorded mostly in kitchens, each episode explores personal stories to examine our relationships with food – and each other.
Looking for something else to read? Find all of the Lecker Book Club reads on my Bookshop.org list. [aff link]
Support Lecker:
Patreon: patreon.com/leckerpodcast
Substack: leckerpodcast.substack.com
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lecker/id1158028729

Merch:  leckerpodcast.com/merch

Listen everywhere: leckerpodcast.com
Instagram: @leckerpodcast
Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Find the transcript on the Lecker website.

A visit to the Ideal Home Show, with author Eli Davies.
Eli's book The Spinster Cookbook: Culture, Politics and Pleasure in the Single Woman's Kitchen is out now! [aff link]
Find Eli online:
Instagram: @elidaviesss
Substack: elidavies.substack.com
Related episodes:
Trophy Cabinets (Kitchens episode 1) [LINK]
Moving House, Moving Kitchen [LINK]
---
Lecker is a podcast about how food shapes our lives. Recorded mostly in kitchens, each episode explores personal stories to examine our relationships with food – and each other.
Looking for something else to read? Find all of the Lecker Book Club reads on my Bookshop.org list. [aff link]
Support Lecker:
Patreon: patreon.com/leckerpodcast
Substack: leckerpodcast.substack.com
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lecker/id1158028729

Merch:  leckerpodcast.com/merch

Listen everywhere: leckerpodcast.com
Instagram: @leckerpodcast

Full transcript available at leckerpodcast.com

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

How still life reflects - and defines - the food of an era, featuring artist Ben McDonald and author Katie Goh.
Find Ben online:
Instagram: @ben___mc
Ko-Fi store: ko-fi.com/benmc/shop
Find Katie online:
Instagram: @katie_goh_
Website: katiegoh.co.uk
You can find a list of books referenced and artworks mentioned at leckerpodcast.com
Related episodes:
A Personal History of the Orange with Katie Goh [LINK]
Oranges and Lemons [LINK]
---
Lecker is a podcast about how food shapes our lives. Recorded mostly in kitchens, each episode explores personal stories to examine our relationships with food – and each other.
Looking for something to read? Find all of the Lecker Book Club reads on my Bookshop.org list. [aff link]
Support Lecker:
Patreon: patreon.com/leckerpodcast
Substack: leckerpodcast.substack.com
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lecker/id1158028729

Merch:  leckerpodcast.com/merch

Listen everywhere: leckerpodcast.com
Instagram: @leckerpodcast

Full transcript available at leckerpodcast.com

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Sculptor and miniaturist Alice Hewitt explains the secrets of her tiny kitchen tables.
There's also a lo-fi video version of this episode with images of the tables discussed on YouTube. You can also buy the book from the exhibition, with images of each table and their accompanying texts HERE.
Find Alice online:
Instagram: @alicemakesathing
TikTok: @alicemakesathing
YouTube: @alicemakesathing
Website: alicemakesathing.co.uk
---
Lecker is a podcast about how food shapes our lives. Recorded mostly in kitchens, each episode explores personal stories to examine our relationships with food – and each other.
Looking for something to read? Find all of the Lecker Book Club reads on my Bookshop.org list. [aff link]
Support Lecker:
Patreon: patreon.com/leckerpodcast
Substack: leckerpodcast.substack.com
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lecker/id1158028729
Merch:  leckerpodcast.com/merch
Listen everywhere: leckerpodcast.com
Instagram: @leckerpodcast
Full transcript available at leckerpodcast.com
Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Have you ever thought about what you might put on your gravestone? A quote, a poem....a recipe? Rosie Grant, the world's leading expert on gravestone recipes, explains all.
NOTE: this episode was edited on 31/08/26 as it previously included incorrect information about Julia Child's burial site. Rosie stated that Julia is buried at the Neptune Memorial Reef, which is false. Julia’s ashes were spread in a few of her favorite places, including California, France and New England; this is information from her family. The Neptune Memorial Reef posted on Facebook in May that Julia is not buried there or associated with the reef in any way.
About Rosie Grant:
Rosie Grant is a writer, researcher, and archivist whose work explores the intersections of archives, folklore, and family storytelling. She is the creator of @GhostlyArchive, where her exploration of gravestone recipes and the histories behind them has reached hundreds of thousands of followers across social media. TO DIE FOR: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes is her first book.
Find her:
Instagram: @ghostly.archive
TikTok: @ghostlyarchive
Find all of the Lecker Book Club reads on my Bookshop.org list. [aff link]
Further Listening:
Sunday Roast Rites: on death and cooking
Moots: on the food related traditions of Hop-tu-Naa, the Manx celebration of Samhain
---
Lecker is a podcast about how food shapes our lives. Recorded mostly in kitchens, each episode explores personal stories to examine our relationships with food – and each other.
Support Lecker:
Patreon: patreon.com/leckerpodcast
Substack: leckerpodcast.substack.com
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lecker/id1158028729
Merch:  leckerpodcast.com/merch
Listen everywhere: leckerpodcast.com
Instagram: @leckerpodcast
Full transcript available at leckerpodcast.com
Lecker is part of Heritage Radio Network - heritageradionetwork.org
Music by Blue Dot Sessions