Richard Crampton-Platt: Pasta and Prejudice

<p>This episode was not sponsored by Greggs. But it begins with a sausage roll! I’m joined by Richard Crampton-Platt (you might know him as @thegreedydick).</p><p>We talk about chicken rolls and why they disappoint. Raw chicken sushi and what “safe” really means. Why Britain trusts takeaways and Italy doesn’t. Food delivery and what it reveals about how we live. The myth of pizza margherita. Carbonara, cream, and the illusion of authenticity. Food smuggling, migration, and adaptation. And why food feels different from art or music. </p><p>It starts light</p><p>It turns philosophical</p><p>And somewhere along the way it becomes about trust. Because food is the one thing we choose to put inside our bodies. And that always says more than we think.</p><p>Read more on Substack https://substack.com/@dralessandrapino</p><p>Email: acuriousappetite@gmail.com</p><p><br></p><p>Artwork by @medusazzz <br>Audio by @thedeliciouslegacy <br>Music by @manu_pino_1111 </p><p><br></p><p><strong>Useful links and references</strong><br><a href="https://thegreedydick.substack.com/about" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Richard Crampton-Platt’</a>s writing, videos and restaurant commentary can be found via <em>The Greedy Dick</em> on <a href="https://thegreedydick.substack.com/?utm_source=mention&utm_content=writes" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Substack</a> and his wider online platforms. </p><p><strong>Café Britaly, Peckham</strong><br>Richard discusses founding <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cafe.britaly/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Café Britaly</a>, a British-Italian café in Peckham, and its playful approach to “Britalian” food, including <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C7WlXtFoRL0/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">carbonara with cream and a fried egg</a>. </p><p><strong>Bocca di Lupo, Soho</strong><br>Richard talks about working at <a href="https://www.boccadilupo.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Bocca di Lupo</a>, the regional Italian restaurant in Soho, which helped shape his understanding of Italian food and food history. </p><p><strong>Britalian food and Italian cafés in Britain</strong><br>Topics include British-Italian greasy spoons, post-war Italian café culture in London, and the blending of British and Italian food traditions.</p><p><strong>Greggs sausage rolls</strong><br>Richard mentions Greggs expanding its sausage roll range, including pork, vegan and <a href="https://www.greggs.com/menu/product/chicken-roll-1003417" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">chicken</a> sausage rolls.</p><p><strong>Bovril</strong><br>The conversation touches on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s2e6-b-is-for-beef-wellington-brains-bovril/id1743840806?i=1000708415574" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Bovril</a>, Bovril on toast, Bovril as stock, Bovril in Arctic contexts, and its role in British food memory.</p><p><strong>Claude Lévi-Strauss, “</strong><a href="https://miac2fooddesign.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/levi-strauss-and-culinary-triangle1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong>The Culinary Triangle</strong></a><strong>”</strong><br>Discussed in relation to broth, boiling, food preparation and social bonding. </p><p><strong>Sidney Mintz- </strong><a href="https://archive.org/details/sweetnesspowerpl0000mint" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong>Sweetness and Power </strong></a><strong>(1985)</strong><br>Mentioned in relation to industrialisation, sugar, work, pleasure and modern eating habits. </p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064940/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong>Fellini’s </strong><em><strong>Satyricon</strong></em></a><strong> / Trimalchio’s feast</strong><br>Richard discusses Fellini’s strange, uncanny representation of Roman feasting, excess and food spectacle.</p><p><strong>Carbonara and authenticity</strong><br>The episode explores c