In a quest for the perfect dosa – commutable in a lunch break from the university in which they work – anthropologists James and Luke begin to eat their way across West London. But have they bitten off more than they can chew?
The Migration Menu is an ongoing podcast series that explores journeys from South Asia to West London, through food. Anthropologists Luke and James examine how nostalgia and authenticity creates a “home away from home” for migrants and diaspora in host countries.
Luke Heslop – Host
I am an anthropologist and writer with a long-standing interest in how people make homes, work, and build lives across different places. Since 2003, I have spent extended periods living and working in Sri Lanka, alongside time in the UK, the Maldives, and Bangladesh.
My research and writing focus on mobility, livelihoods, and social change. My first book, Highways and Hierarchies, examines movement and connection from the Himalaya to the Indian Ocean. My forthcoming book, A Merchant’s House: Life and Work in Small Town Sri Lanka (Penn Press), looks closely at everyday life, labour, and aspiration in a small Sri Lankan town.
The Migration Menu grows out of these interests and reflects my curiosity about how questions of migration and identity are lived and expressed in everyday life. I love making the podcast and creating something accessible and fun. I particularly like working with sound and doing the production, which, in some ways takes me back to my days playing in a band. Alongside the pod, I run a consultancy, and work as a Country-of-Origin Information Expert for asylum cases.
I grew up in Lincolnshire and now live in South London with my wife and four children, most of whom share my enthusiasm for spicy food!
Favourite Dish: Wambatu Moju
James Staples – Host
I am a social anthropologist and former journalist with decades of fieldwork experience in India – particularly the rural South, Hyderabad and Mumbai – as well as in West London, the original stomping ground of our podcast.
Even before I was fully aware of it, food was central to my research, with most of my data collected over shared meals with the people I’ve had the privilege to work with, or in conversations accompanied by snacks and drinks at tea stalls and street food stands. My third book, Sacred Cows and Chicken Manchurian (2020, University of Washington Press) focused specifically on the contemporary politics of eating meat in India, but I’ve also focused on food in numerous chapters and journal articles. Anthropologist and novelist Kirin Narayan, who reviewed my earlier book, Leprosy and a Life in South India (2014, Lexington Press), a biography of my research assistant, commented that they could not “recall any other life histories in which food is so evocatively described and linked to performing identity.”
Turning to food as a lens through which to understand social life in the area surrounding the university where I work – Brunel University of London, in the West London borough of Hillingdon – felt like a natural progression, particularly as such a large proportion of the region’s population identifies as British South Asian. The close editing work that co-hosting and producing The Migration Menu involves connected me back to my earlier work as a journalist in the 1990s – as well as offering me the opportunity to enjoy stimulating conversations over some amazing food while being paid for it. Working with Luke, my co-host, on this project has also been the perfect antidote to the more solitary labour of writing academic books and articles in my garden shed.
I grew up just beyond The Migration Menu’s initial stomping ground of West London in the Chiltern Hills, where I still live with my partner and now grown-up children.
Favourite food: Gongura Pappu with Lemon Rice and Pickles
Supported By
The Migration Menu has been supported by:
I am a multimedia specialist within the Digital Education team. I specialise in recording and editing high quality learning audio/video content with academic staff for teaching and learning for use with Brunel’s learning platforms.
Favourite Dish: Mumbai Street food Pav Bhaji.
I am an undergraduate anthropology student. I live on a boat with my daughter and chihuahua, having travelled the Kennet and Avon canal and the Thames to settle in London. I love sewing and making my own clothes or reading in the garden and watching the boats go by.
Favourite Dish: Beef Stew
Angele Ijeh – Media Intern
I am a music student at Brunel University. I live in Kent with my Cameroonian mother who raised me and my 3 siblings. In my spare time, I like to sing, cook and dance.
Favourite Dish: Butter Chicken
Stefani Regalado
I’m an Anthropology student at Brunel University. I was born and raised in Cambridge and my family is from the Philippines. I enjoy exploring new places, going on long walks and collecting cameras. I especially like learning about different cultures through their traditions and food.
Favourite Dish: Pav Bhaji
Jafnah Uddin
I’m an Anthropology and Sociology student at Brunel University. My ethnicity is Bengali and I love learning about different cultures and societies through their food, traditions, and rituals. I adore animals especially cats, and in my free time, I enjoy reading, playing video games and collecting trinkets.
Favourite Dish: Panipuri
Esther Opoku Debra
I am an anthropology student at Brunel University. I was originally born in Italy to Ghanaian parents but now live in Reading. As it happens, I love learning about different cultures, languages and foods. In my spare time, I love to read comics, play video games and go to as many concerts as possible.
Favourite Dish: Shawarma.