Shorthorn illustrated in Mrs Isabella Beeton, Beeton's book of household management. Ward, Lock & Co., London, 1907.
In an act of political defiance, William Charles Wentworth hosted a ‘grand fete’ at his home at Vaucluse on October 21, 1831. A ‘fatted ox’ was paraded around Sydney, adorned with ribbons, with a promise that it would be barbequed next day on a spit, for all to enjoy! 4,000 Sydney-siders of all ‘descriptions’ joined the party.
British sailors boarding a Greek pirate (detail), J.L. Marks. The Mariner's Museum Collection
So blow me down ye son of a biscuit eater! Here be a tale of pirates at that den of infamy, Parramatta! – and a curious recipe for ‘Pirate’s delight‘! Arrrr!
Gelatin paper print photograph of Queen Victoria (detail), photographer unknown. Rouse Hill House & Farm Collection
May 24 was Queen Victoria’s birthday, later celebrated as Empire Day. To mark the occasion I’ve been looking for Victoria Sponge recipes in my nineteenth century cookbooks – to no avail. Perhaps, like many other traditions, it is not so traditional at all – at least not for its claimed origins. Continue reading
A plate of Tot's lemon biscuits at Meroogal.. Photo Scott Hill © Sydney Living Museums
Our houses have been home to thousands of residents, and of course, hundreds of Mothers! For Mothers’ Day this year, Meroogal is hosting a very special afternoon tea and Mums can visit our houses and museums for free. Continue reading
Amongst the collections provenanced to Meroogal is a very simple manuscript recipe titled ‘Bobs Pudding’. Its obvious restraint makes it intriguing, being devoid of butter, sugar or eggs, ingredients that the kitchen at Meroogal would always have had on hand. In this way it strikes me as being an ‘austerity’ pudding, suited to times or circumstances when access to fresh provisions is limited. It is quite unlike the other recipes in the family collection. Continue reading
Eggs from the chickens at Rouse Hill House and Farm. Photo Scott Hill © Sydney Living Museums
Egging? Get it? I know, that was a crack up! Anyway… being Easter time our attentions naturally turn to that most biologically challenging of animals, the Easter Bunny, and eggs! Continue reading
Australian Monument to the Great Irish Famine at Hyde Park Barracks. Photo Alysha Buss © HHT
Food is never more important as when there isn’t any. The earliest years of settlement in Sydney were dogged by the very real fear of running out of food supplies for the colony, but the most significant effect of famine on colonial Australia was as a result of the chronic ‘potato famine’ in Ireland, which occurred in the late 1840s. St Patrick’s Day seemed to be a good day to pay tribute to the many ‘Irish Marys’ who made their way though Hyde Park Barracks, where they maintain a strong presence in the museum’s stories. Continue reading
Album of Chinese paintings showing stages of tea production (detail), watercolour on pith paper, 19th century. Caroline Simpson Collection, Historic Houses Trust: L2007/174-2
Kung Hei Fat Choy from all at the Cook and the Curator! Today marks the start of the 2013 Chinese lunar year – ‘the Year of the Snake’. Continue reading
Governor's House at Sydney, Port Jackson 1791 by William Bradley. State Library of NSW Safe 1/14
Most First Fleet or early settlement histories concentrate on rations and the eventual lack thereof when talking about food in the early years of the colony. But as a gastronomer, and for the purposes of this blog, I am curious about what the colonists did with their rations? In other words, what did they actually eat? Continue reading
'Sketch of Christmas tree' (detail) in Sidney James Waudby, Indian Sketches, 1860. Caroline Simpson Collection, Historic Houses Trust
Merry Christmas from all at the Cook and the Curator!
As we hoe into just that one extra slice of pudding (can I have that end bit, and yes, I will have the custard thanks), we cant help but share this wonderfully over-the-top comparison between a British and Australian Christmas. Its the introduction from that most traditional Christmas tale, the Dickens-style ‘Yuletide ghost’ story. Enjoy! Continue reading