The Food Programme

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The Food Programme: Conversations in cafes: all hail the greasy spoon

Conversations in cafes: all hail the greasy spoon

BBC Radio 4 - The Food Programme, Conversations in cafes: all hail the greasy spoon

Leyla Kazim explores the magic of the greasy spoon.

Traditional cafes or greasy spoons have been in decline for decades, but people still love them. Leyla Kazim has three conversations about the magic of the greasy spoon.

Traditional cafes, greasy spoon cafes - have been a fixture of our highstreets for at least a century, providing sustenance for those looking for something cheap and cheerful.

But for a long time, they have been in decline for a number of reasons, tough competition from chains, our changing tastes and work patterns. From the early 2000s people have been calling curtains for the cafe, but, with inflation, the cost of energy and a crisis in hospitality staffing, things are looking as bad as ever.

In three meals in three different locations across the country Leyla Kazim celebrates the greasy spoon.

She start with breakfast with Guardian columnist, author and fry up expert Felicity Cloake in Bournville Cafe, Birmingham. In her book "Red Sauce Brown Sauce" Felicity explores why the fry up is so important to the British psyche by traveling the country.

For lunch, she chats to her dad who owned caffs when she was growing up in Kaz's Kitchen in Woowhich. They talk about how owning a cafe has changed over time.

She’s in Liverpool for dinner meeting Isaac Rangaswami who runs the caffs_not_cafes instagram page in Chinese caff San's Cafe. Isaac celebrates classic cafes and inexpensive restaurants, mostly in London. 

There is also thoughts on the possible decline of tradespeople eating in cafes from Nick Knowles and some familiar voices tell us their all time favourite places to get a fry up:

Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Angela Hui, William Sitwell, Paula Mcintyre and Henry Jeffreys

Presenter: Leyla Kazim
Producer: Sam Grist

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Conversations in cafes: all hail the greasy spoon

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