To celebrate this year’s Chelsea History Festival, join food historian Sam Bilton for a talk and tasting focused on her latest book, Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron.

Saffron ‘is a herb of the Sun’ (Nicholas Culpeper, 1653) and has delighted us with its golden hues throughout the ages.

In English kitchens, it was particularly popular during the early modern era, finding its way into almond milk sauces, gilding roasted fowls and adding a yellow glow to fruit-laden buns still popular today in Cornwall.

Sam will give a brief introduction to the historical culinary uses of this spice, providing a few tasters along with way.

Booking Information:

Tickets are £25 per person (Concession: £23)

This event will take place in our first floor Gallery space, which unfortunately is not wheelchair accessible.

The Speaker 

Sam Bilton

Food historian, writer and cook Sam Bilton has been intrigued by spices most of her life. Her first book on the history of gingerbread won a World Gourmand Cookbook award in 2021 and she is a frequent contributor to national magazines, food festivals, television and radio. Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron is Sam’s second book and will be released on 12 July 2022.  For further information visit sambilton.com  or follow Sam on Instagram @mrssbilton