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Historical Cookery A Victorian High Tea Lichfield Garrick **** CHEF Simon Smith and historian Prof
Roland Rotherham can always be relied upon to serve up some interesting
facts along with the historic recipes they cook in what have
become a regular event at the Lichfield Garrick. While the Prof throws in obscure facts and bits
of personal knowledge – such as the Royal Yacht Britannia being the only
ship in the British fleet with a genuine Golden Rivet or at least a gold
plated one. The rivet is a joke played on new recruits often
resulting in a kick in the nether regions when they bent down to see the
golden rivet and when Princess Margaret asked, in all seriousness, to
see the said rivet the officers and crew had a dilemma which certainly
did not involve a boot up the behind so . . . they rapidly gold plated a
rivet, in less than an hour according to the Prof, then took her to see
it. The duo have covered everything from food from
the Crusades to the Second World War and in their latest dip into
history’s larder came up with the Victorian High Tea.
Know the difference been high tea and mere tea?
Neither did I but apparently high tea is served at the table and has at
least one hot dish while tea is served in the drawing room from the tea
waggon – the tea trolley apparently is that thing with a tea urn which
tea ladies pushed around factories and offices in a more civilised age. Recipes included favourites of Bertie, the future
Edward VII, with adult Eton mess, complete with brandy, (there is often
brandy or some other alcoholic element in Prof Rotherham’s recipes)
herring roe pate, kipper souffle, hot pepper cheeses and spiced
sultana tea bread. Often there is a historical connection such as
with the crab and cheese soup which was served to Queen Victoria before
the annual Ghillies Ball at Balmoral. Apart from the recipes and their history there is
also plenty of advice and tips from chef Smith, who incidentally runs
Thrales restaurant in Lichfield. The daytime shows are entertaining, informative
and have some very tasty and usually very simple recipes which are well
spiced with history. It all adds a little panache to dinner parties
when you can say this was a favourite of Victoria (Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
not Beckham) or from past shows or their cookery book Simmering
Through the Ages, recipes that Richard II or the Duke of Wellington
were partial to. For one-upmanship it beats recipes from the latest
celebrity chef’s new book hands down. Roger Clarke
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