Sugar: From Spice to Staple – A History of Taste, Power, and Health
Simon Partridge
- Regions:
- Norfolk, Suffolk
- Notice Period:
- Short (maybe less than one month's notice)
- Type:
- Professional
- Fee:
- Paid: £70 plus travel at 45p/mile
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 20th April 2026
- Tagged:
- Food History
Sugar first reached Britain from the east as a rare medicinal spice. This illustrated talk traces its transformation through Caribbean plantation slavery, Napoleonic sugar beet, and mass consumption. As sugar became cheaper and ubiquitous, it reshaped British diets, leaving a lasting legacy on health from tooth decay to modern chronic disease.
Views: 8 | Enquiries: 0About Simon Partridge
Simon is an experienced public speaker. For over 30 years, he has given a wide variety of talks on subjects including natural history, history, and food and drink. If he is interested in the subject, Simon will talk about it! No group is too small or too large.
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Simon Partridge
- The history and traditions of Christmas
- An introduction to Chocolate
- An introduction to the Victorians
- Tudors at Home
- A brief history of Bread
- Christmas Food
- The Norfolk Broads - a brief history.
- The late, great, herring fishing industry of East Anglia.
- An introduction to the history of British foods.
- A natural history of the Norfolk Broads.
- From Trade to Tradition: The Legacy of Norfolk Wherries
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