Category: 20th century literature

Food and England

‘I’m hungry, not tired; I want to eat heaps.’
‘That’s good. What’ll you have?’
‘Fish pie,’ said she, with a glance at the menu.
‘Fish pie! Fancy coming for fish pie to Simpson’s. It’s not a bit the thing to go for here.’                             (E. M. Forster, Howards End)

As a foodie and keen cook, I feel very grateful to be living at a time when we have access to so many foods from around the world. Not a week goes by when I don’t eat – whether home-cooked or in a restaurant – some form of international food, even if it is just the ubiquitous Italian pasta or risotto. Continue reading “Food and England”

A Child’s Christmas

Until now I haven’t written about children’s literature –  mainly because I thought this was an area I would move on to once I had exhausted food in the adult classics of English Literature (if I ever do!). But with my thoughts turning to Christmas, I remembered Dylan Thomas’s charming A Child’s Christmas In Wales and its references to seasonal fare. Continue reading “A Child’s Christmas”

Pea Soup

One of the starters at the First World War Supper Club has a long and distinguished history in literature.  Pea soup – which appears in May Byron’s Pot-luck, our source recipe book for our 1914-inspired menu – is mentioned in the Ancient Greek play, The Birds, by Aristophanes (first performed 414BC).  The servant of Tereus, an Athenian prince who has been turned into a bird, explains how he must serve his master and bring him all types of food:  “Again he wants some pea-soup; I seize a ladle and a pot and run to get it.”
Continue reading “Pea Soup”

First World War Supper Club

If you’re heading out for dinner in the rather exclusive North London area of Primrose Hill, a church might not be your most obvious choice of venue.  However, last night my friend Lou and I took over the kitchens of St Mary’s Primrose Hill, to hold our first ever supper club.  Taking the First World War as our theme, we served up 3 courses – all inspired by dishes eaten widely in 1914 – to 21 paying guests, with all the profits going to the church’s youthwork.

Continue reading “First World War Supper Club”