Rupert Croft-Cooke
Detective Stories and the Defence of English Foodways
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/ppc.28129Keywords:
Rupert Croft-Cooke, English Cooking: A New Approach, Socio-cultural norms, United Kingdom , mid 20th-century, English cuisine, food fashions, food writingAbstract
In 1960 a curious book appeared, called English Cooking: A New Approach. The book was a brave and forlorn effort to rehabilitate traditional British cuisine. The timing was not ideal. By then, the days of rationing were forgotten and the influence of Elizabeth David, among other blights, had relegated British food to untouchable status. This articles puts English Cooking into historical context and discusses the attempts of other writers to preserve English foodways, noting Rupert Croft-Cooke's own opinions of their efforts while also providing a biographical account of Croft-Crooke's extraordinary life.
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