FOOD HISTORIAN

Researcher, writer, speaker

Publications

I publish widely on the history of food, in academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. I write the monthly recipe column in BBC History Magazine.

See my academic publications here and my public-facing publications here

Research

My latest research includes the history of food waste, and the links between food, religion, and colonialism in the early modern era. I am a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Cardiff University.

Learn more about my research here

speaking

I regularly give lectures, and present my research in food history to camera, on podcasts, and on radio to national and global audiences.

See my speaking portfolio here

Eleanor Barnett [is] one of the UK’s leading food historians, as well as one of the most accomplished communicators of academic research to a wide popular audience.’

Dan Jones

ORDER NOW!

ORDER NOW!

lEFTOVERS: a hISTORY OF foOD WASTE & Preservation

My new book is out now and available at your usual bookshops!

I explore how food waste was understood by people in the past, and the many ingenious ways our ancestors sought to avoid it by preserving food and reusing any scraps. In doing so, LEFTOVERS reflects on pressing contemporary issues that shape our modern world, such as the development of the globalised and industrialised food system, wealth and gender divisions, and climate change.

It’s Delicious Magazine’s ‘Curl-Up Read of the Month’ and recommended reading in Waitrose Magazine, the Spectator, the Telegraph and more!

‘METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED AND FULL OF GOOD THINGS, ELEANOR BARNETT MAKES LEFTOVERS INTO A REAL FEAST’ ANNIE GRAY, FOOD HISTORIAN

‘BARNETT EXCELS AT CHOOSING SPECIFIC, OFTEN FUNNY EXAMPLES THAT DEMYSTIFY THE PAST’ thE teLEGRAPH

‘A thought-provoking and entertaining examination of our relationship with food’ THE Bristol Post

LEFTOVERS IS MORE THAN JUST A HISTORICAL RETROSPECTIVE; IT IS A BOOK FOR OUR TIME’ THE SPECTATOR

‘eLEANOR baRNETT IS A RARE BREED… AN ACADEMIC WHO CAN REALLY WRITE’ dAN joNES, AUTHOR OF poWER AND THRONES

‘AS TIMELY AS IT IS FACINATING… INFORMATIVE AND ENTERTAINING’ DELICIOUS MAGAZINE

‘couldn’t be timelier than right now[…]a very readable deep dive’ OLIVE MAGAZINE

Latest WORK

Upcoming events

  • Dining Through the Decades - upcoming historical supper clubs!

    The amazing Executive Head Chef Joe Fox and I will be hosting a series of historical supper clubs at the beautiful Number Sixteen hotel in London. Each event features a delicious four-course dinner inspired by three distinct time periods. Enjoy dishes such as Nesselrode Cream, a forgotten dessert from the Victorian era, and classic 1970s favourites like Devilled Eggs and Prawn Cocktail, all while learning about the wonderful world of food history!


@historyeats

Follow me on Instagram, where I share fun food history facts, art, and objects every day to a wonderful international community of over 37,000 people!