Exploring how food connects us to our deepest memories
“vivid, eloquent, grief-inspired tale of unforgettable tastes. This is lovely storytelling that will leave you yearning for a restaurant trip. ”
Bitter/Sweet, is a podcast that explores the relationship between food and our deepest memories. In each episode guests share a profound moment in their lives, involving an evocative meal and share why it was so meaningful for them. Guests are invited to take us on a journey into the fusion of flavours and layers of aroma, taste, and texture that embrace that memory. By engaging their senses through food, they experience it more vividly and bring their stories to life.
The relationship between flavour and memory is a powerful one. In one bite, you can travel back in time or be taken anywhere in the world. Tapping into the senses, food becomes a transformational vehicle that allows us to connect deeply to our memories and each other.
In series one, we meet restaurateur Jeremy King; creative director Anna Burns; journalist and producer Markus Hippi; fashion critic Tim Banks and Mama J, Natasha’s grandmother.
Come for the food; stay for the memories.
This six part series podcast launched in March 2023.
It has been featured in The Guardian, Pod Bible, The Stylist and Pocket Cast.
“My childhood memories of weekly visits to Ridley Road market, London with my grandma for Sunday’s rice and peas prepared me for the sensory adventure I seek in food. The smell of freshly grated coconuts, scallions and thyme still transport me back in time.”
I am Natasha Miller, an artist, writer, producer and founder of Miller Libertine, a taste branding consultancy (winner of several Great Taste Awards) that strives to create food experiences that people will remember, long after the dishes have been cleared away. We find the flavours, aromas and textures that tell a story. Brand partners include The National Trust, Liberty, The Big Lottery and UBS Bank.
Bitter/Sweet started out as an exploration of the intricate relationship between memory, emotion and the sensory pleasure of food. Some of the richest connections I have ever experienced, have been centred around food and sharing it. Whether it be family meals or community food projects reducing elderly isolation or empowering children to cook nourishing meals; I have been committed to learning how food can be used as a means to nurture meaningful social and emotional connections. But when I experienced significant personal loss, I worried about forgetting important shared moments. I was reminded that food could be my personal catalyst for remembering. Series one of this podcast became a love letter to my mum and a way of navigating my way through grief.
During the process of creating Bitter/Sweet, I have been on a journey discovering and harnessing the powerful link between flavour, memory and emotions.
I have also fallen in love with the intimacy of audio storytelling. It is my desire that through hearing the stories in this podcast, we might deepen our understanding of the healing power of food.
I hope that by sharing Bitter/Sweet, that you will be nourished by hearing something meaningful. I have mixed the ingredients together to create this podcast for you to savour and enjoy!
PODCAST EPISODES
Credits
Executive Producer: Kate McAll
Producers: Natasha Miller and Linda Debrah McSteen
Mixing and Mastering: John Biddle
Music: James Kennaby
Web Copy: John Mallon
GRATITUDE
Mum, Troy, Dad, Tim, Anna, Markus, Jeremy, Kate, Linda, John, Georgie, Taufique, Helen, Neil, Cathy, Matt, Neil, Caitlin, Rachel, Eleanor, Helen, Steve, Lucy.