Food in the trenches

10 years ago a friend and I hosted a fundraising supper club on the theme of the First World War (which had broken out 100 years previously); all the food served had a connection with the Great War; you can read more about the supper club here Continue reading “Food in the trenches”

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”