Free public talk by Dr Alessandra Pino on the food Lord Byron encountered from Nottinghamshire to Greece, part of the Missolonghi Exodus 200 programme.
Dr Alessandra Pino is at Nottingham Central Library on Friday 23 October for Potatoes, Pilaf and Daily Bread, a talk that follows the culinary journey of Lord Byron. It's part of the Missolonghi Exodus 200 programme, which commemorates Byron's final journey.
The talk traces the food Byron encountered between Nottinghamshire and Greece, drawing connections between historical gastronomy and his travels to offer insights into 19th-century dining practices. The title itself—potatoes, pilaf and daily bread—points to the shift in what he ate as he moved from the English countryside to the Mediterranean, so it's as much about the food as it is about the man. If you've ever wondered what a 19th-century aristocrat actually ate on the road, this is where you'll find out.
It's a specific way of looking at Byron, too. Rather than focusing on the poetry or the politics, Pino uses his diet as a lens into the period's eating habits. The talk sits within the wider Missolonghi Exodus 200 programme, which marks the bicentenary of Byron's final journey to Missolonghi, the Greek town where he spent his last months. So while the focus is on the plate, the context is that final, long trip away from home.
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It runs from 13:45 to 15:00 at Nottingham Central Library on Carrington Street, NG1 7FF. General admission is free, so you can just turn up on the Friday afternoon. If you're around the city centre and fancy an hour and a quarter of food history, it's an easy one to slot in.
