Common Market Cookery

Fanny Cradock’s European Fantasy

Authors

  • Kevin Geddes Independent Scholar Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/ppc.27984

Keywords:

Fanny Craddock, culinary celebrities, mid 20th-century, culinary gatekeepers, recipe interpretation, television chefs, British popular culture, olive oil, Common Market, Politics

Abstract

Fanny Cradock remains best known for her ball-gowns, brows and her berating of assistants, but she also had a lifelong ambition, threaded through her work. She wanted to bring the gastronomic landscape of Europe to the housewives of Britain. From her early days as a young, ambitious, jobbing newspaper feature writer, food activist and campaigner, to her rise as a television celebrity extraordinaire, she championed the style, the feel and the food of the Continent. This essay looks at Craddock's career and asks, was Fanny as ‘ProEU’ as she seemed, or would Brexit be more up her boulevard?

Author Biography

  • Kevin Geddes, Independent Scholar

    Kevin Geddes writes the blog http://keepcalmandfannyon.blogspot.co.uk. His dissertation for a Master of Science in Gastronomy at the Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom was on the contribution Fanny Cradock made to home cooking in Britain between 1955 and 1985. It has been published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies. Kevin is currently writing a definitive account of Fanny Cradock and her many careers.

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Published

2018-02-01

Issue

PPC 110 (2018)

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Geddes, Kevin. 2018. “Common Market Cookery: Fanny Cradock’s European Fantasy”. Petits Propos Culinaires, February, 65-74. https://doi.org/10.1558/ppc.27984.