This is part of my Summer Reads series where I’ll be sharing book recommendations – a series of “not just cookbooks”.
Hi dear readers – it’s been… a while. Quick update for those of you who don’t follow me on Instagram…
At the beginning of May (after being fairly unwell for the month of April and even before) I was hospitalized for a fairly serious emergency surgery. Surgery went well, and prognosis looks incredibly good, but my recuperation period is such that I am on medical leave for the rest of the school year, hence my radio silence since… mid-April. Slowly I can do a little more laptop time every couple of days and I’m hoping to be more active over the next few weeks…
I’ve dictated most of this post and have copied and pasted from my Instagram post about this book to make things a bit easier on my eyes so apologies if you already read this on my IG feed.
For me, it’s the summer of rediscovering the joy of reading physical books. Typically I read on my Kindle but right now that isn’t helping my recovery. So a lovely friend dropped off a bunch of books the first day I was home from the hospital and The Language of Food is the book I began with.
From the publisher:
England, 1835. Eliza Acton dreams of becoming a poet, but when she takes her new manuscript to a publisher, she’s told that ‘poetry is not the business of a lady’. Instead, he demands a cookery book.
Eliza is hesitant but when her bankrupt father is forced to flee the country, she has no choice but to comply.
Although she has never cooked before, she is determined to learn and to bring her skills as a poet to the craft of recipe writing. She hires young, impoverished Ann Kirby as her assistant and, before long, the two women develop a radical friendship crossing the divides of age and class. Together, Eliza and Ann break the mould of traditional cookbooks, changing the course of food writing forever. But in the process of doing so, their friendship is pushed to its very limits.
What an utterly delightful and extraordinary read. This is the story of Eliza Acton‘s 576-page cookery book which she wrote between 1835 and 1845, with an assistant. It was published as “Modern Cookery, In all its branches: reduced to a system of easy practice, for the use of private families“.
The original Mrs. Beeton, and many say Mrs. Beeton copied the recipes from here.
I had never heard of this, and was entranced from the first page. Highly recommend!
Buy The Language of Food on Amazon (this affiliate link should bring you to the Amazon store in, or closest to, your country).
Please note: This post contains affiliate links. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This means that if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price (at no extra cost to you). Thank you in advance!
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Buy my books! In the French kitchen with kids and French Food for Everyone: le goûter (after school snacks), le dîner (dinner) and le petit déjeuner (breakfast) are out now! Click here for details and how to order!
I’m often reminded of the importance of good language where food is concerned. We have a program on TV here (a kind of what’s on at the weekend?) where the presenters taste food and inevitably exclaim: “Wow. That’s amazing.” Compare that with the late AA GILL (a restaurant critic with the London Sunday Times) who once described a fish soup as: “As fishy as a Chancellor’s promise and as silky as a gigolo’s handshake.” Wow indeed.
For those not in the know the Chancellor is the UK title for the federal treasurer or finance minister.
Welcome back Mardi.