A Feast of Folklore : The Bizarre Stories Behind British Food

Author: Gazur, Ben

United Kingdom, Great Britain

Published on 25 June 2026 by The History Press Ltd in the United Kingdom.

Paperback / softback | 30 Illustrations, black and white
198 x 129

British food has an unsavoury global reputation, but the folklore which made it what it is can be traced back millennia. Folklorist Ben Gazur guides you through the dark alleys of British history to uncover how our food habits have been passed down through generations of traditions. Readers will get a taste of what life was life in a time when food was both magical ingredient and sustenance.

Discover why we throw salt over our shoulder, why we think carrots help us see in the dark, when living snakes in pies were once the height of fashion at weddings, and why people risk life and limb to chase wheels of cheese down a hill.

Hilarious and fascinating, A Feast of Folklore will introduce you to the gloriously eccentric folk who aren’t often noticed by historians. Here lies a smorgasbord of their dark remedies and deadly delicacies, waiting to be discovered.