Food History

Today is an announcement day, because I haven’t had one for far too long and you will start thinking that life is all about excitement and interest. Or ought that to say that you may lose the excitement and interest in life? Hmm. I think I’m making myself a hot drink, just as soon as I finish this. I don’t know what you need from the announcements, but my brain needs defogging.

The first announcement is one you’ve been waiting for. The menu for the Prohibition Banquet for Conflux is with the chef for totally final approval and today is the day I start pretending I can desktop publish and make it look all kinds of beautiful for diners. This year I’m going to ask if we can produce just a few extra copies of that menu. More on what I’ll do with these copies in a moment.

I’ll start blogging the recipes from the Banquet and the Speakeasy (all those evil drinks) after 6 October. It won’t be all the food that is eaten on the day, because this year is a little different to last. The big difference is that the chef at The Marque has done some historical cooking before, and didn’t need recipes for dishes like consommé. If the missing recipes make you weep (because you need them and want them and they will make your life better) then tell me which ones you need and I’ll find you equivalents from the right period. I’m not going to prise the chef’s secrets from him – I’ll be looking for them in cookbooks.

What happens after this (the other big announcement) is that Food History turns three. If you read that really quickly it sounds as if the whole history of food turns three, but it doesn’t. My blog does, though.

To celebrate, there will be prizes. I’m thinking a Medieval cookbook, and I’m thinking handmade Japanese picnic squares from reproduction fabrics from different eras (so you can make a 1950s picnic, for instance and wrap that 1950s apple pie in something that gives a real feel to it) and, of course, I’m thinking signed copies of that banquet menu. Does this sound at all tempting?

Does a special prize for anyone able to collect it of an historical style hot drink and cake (recipe to be negotiated – not much use offering chocolate cake if you hate chocolate or a 16th century coffee is you get hyper on the merest whiff of caffeine) for anyone who can get into my vicinity to collect. I should be able to deliver on the latter (with the help of friends and relatives) in Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne. In Canberra, this may include a personal tour of my cookbooks and maybe even an introduction to the moustache cup.

Any other big announcements can wait. That’s quite enough for one day. There was only one small announcement. It’s for everyone who has written me emails. I did get them, but the illness-thing has made me slow in replying. I will be caught up by the end of the week. If you haven’t heard from me by then, then something’s gone wrong. If something’s gone wrong, please write again.