The Pedant in the Kitchen
by Julian Barnes
Guardian Books, £9.99, pp. 96, ISBN 1843542390
‘I haven’t cooked since the War,’ proclaims the Duchess of Devon- shire in the introduction to her Chatsworth Cookery Book. Though it was put to her that writing a cookery book was, in that case, ‘like a blind woman driving down the M1’, she went ahead with blithe self-confidence. It is audacious for someone who has not cooked in 58 years to collect together her favourite dishes, but not absurd. Dr Johnson said, ‘You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you cannot make a table’, and some of the finest food writers of the past (e.g. Brillat-Savarin) are known more for their discriminating palates and the encouragement they gave their cooks than for their own dexterity with a paring-knife.
The receipts the Duchess gives (she favours the archaic word), all favourites in her family, have been written by four Chatsworth chefs and are at their strongest in the chapters on eggs and light lunch dishes. Such dishes as Oeufs à la Tripe and My Mother’s Gnocchi are familiar from prewar cookery books (most people’s lunch these days consisting of a sandwich at their desk) and, like that for Chilled Clear Tomato Soup, which requires 5.4kg (12lb) of vine-ripened tomatoes, are completely delicious.
Cakes and puddings are also strong, Malva pudding and the luscious Duke’s Chocolate Cake in particular. But there are some disgusting-sounding ideas too; for example the Salmon Gravlax and Cheddar Terrine with Beurre Blanc Sauce. Some of the main courses, with their heavy use of the deep-fat fryer and tricksy filo pastry concoctions, though feasible in a well-staffed kitchen will (and should) remain unattempted by the home cook.
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