Diary of a Shopkeeper, 26th September
ED’s pepper pot and - yes! - ED’s peppercorns.
The most influential cookbook of the 20th century was Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking, published in 1960. Post-war food rationing had ended just six years before, and foreign holidays were an expensive rarity. So David’s survey of the wonderful food and drink of France was a revelation and an inspiration.
Far more than a collection of recipes, it included dozens of descriptions of cafes, restaurants, markets and the people who thronged them. David was one of the first writers to realise that the food of a region captured its history, culture and character as well as any museum or textbook. And also that a ‘provincial’ origin was not a cause for embarrassment.
So her book focused not on the temples to gastronomy of Paris but the varied and delicious fare of every area of France, from Brittany to Burgundy to Béarn (home to the Museum of Salt – that’s how seriously the French take their food!)
These days, now that anyone interested in food or drink knows to value localism, it seems obvious. But until a few visionaries pointed it out, just about everyone thought that good food was to be found ‘somewhere else’ – anywhere but here in the provinces. In reality, it was on our doorstep the whole time, if only we had looked at it through a pair of Elizabeth David glasses.
In Orkney we might think we already have a healthy appreciation of local food and drink. But the battle has never been fiercer between local producers, processors and retailers on one hand, and multinational, planet-ravaging megastores and junk-food factories on the other.
It’s very welcome, therefore, that we have a new Regional Food Tourism Ambassador for Orkney, in the shape of Rosemary Moon of South Ronaldsay. Created by Scotland Food and Drink, in partnership with the Scottish Tourism Alliance, the scheme has an ambitious list of goals for its 25 ambassadors across the country.
Rosemary says her own personal aims include, ‘shaping sustainable food tourism experiences with our businesses and communities, and connecting visitors to our unique “taste of place” and regional provenance.’
Orkney does taste delicious! Good luck to Rosemary in her new role.
Long before Rosemary, or even Elizabeth David, an Orcadian studied and wrote inspiringly about the food of Scotland. F. Marian McNeill, born and raised in Holm, is one of those important figures from our past who are constantly being “discovered”, only to be forgotten again, then rediscovered by yet another generation.
Her most important book, The Scots Kitchen, goes in and out of print, so grab it while you can. Its companion volume, The Scots Cellar, tends not get reissued at all, despite featuring memorable drinks such as Old Man’s Milk, a startling blend of whisky, milk, sugar and raw eggs, which I once persuaded Alan Craigie to whisk up live on Radio Orkney.
Most recently, McNeill has been rediscovered by Robbie Armstrong on the Vittles blog. Vittles is always a stimulating read, even if it gets much of its energy from starting arguments about food issues it feels strongly about.
Armstrong could start a fight in an empty chip shop, especially if deep fried Mars bars were on the menu. He argues fiercely for an appreciation of Scotland’s real food culture, not just the easy tourist-hooks of haggis, shortbread and deep-fried everything. Not that he’s advocating the poverty-food of unrelieved oats and kale either.
In future diaries I will return to this subject, trying to steer a course between Haut Cuisine and Oat Cuisine – with the redoubtable trio of Elizabeth David, Marian McNeill and Rosemary Moon to guide me. Bon appetit!
One reader (Ola) writes to say that she was given Old Man’s Milk as a child in the 1940s - minus the whisky! - though the name was a lovely Orkney one: Frim Froy.
You can read Robbie Armstrong’s blog on F Marian McNeill here. A tip of the hat to whoever thought of the title, ‘Scotland, stop selling yourself shortbread!’
You can read more about Rosemary Moon and her many activities here. When Rosemary read this diary, she immediately got in touch with some exciting news. Several years after Elizabeth David’s death, she acquired a pepper pot that had once belonged to ED. And the peppercorns within it! She kindly sent a photo of the pot - a fine example of the 19th century Ayrshire craft known as Mauchline Ware - and I reproduce it here. Rosemary’s appreciation of ED is no surprise, but the presence of this holy culinary relic in Orkney is a wonderful portent.
This diary appeared in The Orcadian on 29th September. Other diaries continue to appear weekly. I am posting them in this blog a few days after each newspaper appearance, with added illustrations., and occasional small corrections or additions.