Gimme a break, gimme a break - break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar - it’s the food history and food art of the Kit Kat. My next episode will be followed up with a much deeper look at cacao. This episode is a bit of a departure as it’s the first time I have featured a brand. It was inspired by my dear friend Michiru and her recent gift of a pack of assorted Japanese Kit Kats and will start with original Kit Kats. From the 18th century savoury pies they share their name with, to their 100 year journey to being the most influential confectionery bar of all time. Their world domination includes Japan and the hundreds of Kit Kat varietals of gentei limited edition culture but it must also include an honest look at Nestle and Corporate Social Responsibility. There’s the Kit Kat portraits of old from Sir Godfrey Kneller and the The New Kit-Cat Portraits by Gloria and Mike of In the Long Run Designs Kit Kat origami; a Kit Kat Coffee Table by design house den-Holm; a Chocnology exhibition and more.

With this episode I’m going straight to my interview with today’s guest - Maddalena Ghezzi. Maddalena is a musician, singer, composer, artist and improviser. She has been working in the field of jazz, improvised and experimental music since moving to the UK in 2009 and her work draws inspiration from the natural world, literature, visual arts and the socio-political status of our world. Here we chat about her new release, Emeralds, which is a collaboration with synth player, composer, producer and pianist Maria Chiara Argirò. Emeralds is the latest in her Minerals series of EP releases done in collaboration with an other musicians. Maddie’s music is enigmatic, atmospheric and her compositions and voice will carry you to new places that feel both metaphysical and tangible at the same time. We chat about collaborations, composing, creativity, cuisine (new year baby polenta, chiavi della cucina, Dolomites and puzzone) and sci-fi!

I chat with one of my dearest friends, award-winning writer and artist Kurt Cole Eidsvig.  Kurt has been featured in The Boston Globe, The Improper Bostonian, NBC, CBS, and ABC and loads more prestigious places.

We will talk about his new book OxyContin for Breakfast, his previous book Pop X Poetry, his visual art, inspirations and how food factors in to all of the above. We will chat about his connection to apple cider vinegar, mint jelly omelettes, analogue vampiric beef binkies, Sully's snapper dogs and more. The first minute of audio is a wee bit tinny as we get set up but it features our first of many nods to Nance…. This episode is dedicated to Kurt’s mom Nancy Cole Landon who passed away last May at the age of 85.

You can listen to the podcast here, anywhere you get them or watch our interview on the Smy Goodness YouTube channel.