“The BBC was promoting the very thing that undermined the community it was portraying”

The Archers’ former editor on radio drama as a political-economic tool, dealing with angry listeners, and how our food should be produced now

Sep 23 • Hugh Thomas

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Why dairy farmers “are idiots”, a day in the life of a Somerset eel, and the “biggest mistake” of an agriculture minister’s life

It’s that time again for more food news pertaining to Somerset and beyond

Sep 9 • Hugh Thomas

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August 2026

The man who fed the world... or corrupted it for eternity?

Simply walking through a wheat field gives you an idea of how the human race avoided mass famine – but how it also instigated health, climate, and…

Aug 26 • Hugh Thomas

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How heatwaves influenced British food culture, exploring the subversive in trad Germany, and a pudding’s historical link to Somerset

Food news pertaining to Somerset and beyond

Aug 12 • Hugh Thomas

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July 2026

What if every town was supplied with hyperlocal veg?

On the abrupt and undocumented renaissance of people growing fruit and veg for their communities

Jul 29 • Hugh Thomas

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The fate of community restaurants in your town, pineapple colonialists, and can an izakaya survive in Somerset just this once?

Food news pertaining to Somerset and beyond

Jul 15 • Hugh Thomas

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The man who forever changed Indian restaurants in the South West

The Mint Room founder on why ‘Indian’ restaurants aren't Indian, the Dishoom effect, and how British appetites for chicken tikka built a city in…

Jul 1 • Hugh Thomas

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June 2026

Somerset's best restaurants (Summer 2026)

A seasonally-updating guide of 22+ must-visit restaurants, written by a local food journalist who thinks he knows what he's talking about

Jun 17 • Hugh Thomas

The arbitrariness of restaurant awards, how (not?) to relocate a farmers' market, and why cows need trees

Food news and suchlike, pertaining to Somerset and beyond

Jun 17 • Hugh Thomas

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Where to eat in Frome: A local's guide (updated for 2026)

Featuring a Frome-dwelling food journalist's heavily-opinionated suggestions

Jun 17 • Hugh Thomas

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Growing pains: Why ethical chicken struggles in the mainstream

Understanding chicken breeds can help us make more informed decisions on animal welfare, what we buy, and where we buy it

Jun 3 • Hugh Thomas and Tom Woolman

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May 2026

Yeovil food network beginnings, what connects London's most anticipated new resto to Somerset, and The Newt upsets locals again

Good morning and welcome to this edition of Food-Relevant Things That Occurred In The Last Four Weeks And That I Think Are Probably Worth Commenting On.

May 20 • Hugh Thomas

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