Tastes Like Home
Tastes Like Home is a cultural exploration of food & drink heritage in Bedford, culminating in an Audio Trail of food-based stories & reminiscences around Bedford Town Centre, using GPS triggered map software Overhear.
Artists & Associates
Tastes Like Home was an audio food trail project based in Bedford, a concept developed by Alex Levene, Creative Producer & Company Director of WordSetFree and Radhika Aggarwal, award-winning Voice Over and Actor, Artist and Presenter.
Bedford is a town pulsating with the influences of Italian, Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, and Polish communities. Tastes like Home seeks to honour and embrace this cultural diversity by uncovering the stories and memories behind the flavours that have become an integral part of the town’s identity.
The heart of the project lay in a series of workshops led by Radhika Aggarwal. These workshops, carried out in early 2024, served as collaborative spaces where participants contributed their stories and memories, creating a collective narrative to reflects the town’s vibrant culinary heritage. From written material to songs, poems and short stories, the creative process becomes a shared endeavour, weaving together the threads of Bedford’s diverse food culture.
The project unfolded digitally, featuring an interactive map that guided participants through the diverse culinary landscape of Bedford. Restaurants, markets, cafes, and stalls become waypoints on the digital map, providing users with a visual and immersive experience.
Beyond merely documenting food and drink, Tastes Like Home endeavoured to foster community engagement. Alex Levene emphasised the communal nature of food, viewing it as a bridge that brings people together. The project aimed to break down cultural barriers by inviting participants to share in the universal experience of breaking bread and creating shared memories around food.
Listen to the Audio Trail
Taste Like Home is concept by Radhika Aggarwal and Alex Levene, produced by WordSetFree Ltd and Echo Chamber Audio in association with Overhear and The Place Bedford, with support from Bedford Creative Arts. It is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and is part of the High Streets Heritage Action Zone Cultural Programme, led by Historic England, in partnership with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund
