Coronation chicken, cranachan, damask cream – for me, these names evoke childhood afternoons thumbing through the fanciful images in “The Best of British” cookbook by Hilaire Walden.
Browsing the books in my family’s home, you can find dozens detailing every subject from French novels to multivariable calculus, but you won’t find many cookbooks. My parents cook “until it feels right” – with recipes passed down through experience and intuition rather than precise measurements. The dishes from this cookbook are the one exception.
Gifted to my parents before we emigrated to the US in 2001, Walden’s book is a well-loved reminder of our years in the UK and our first introduction to Western cuisine – unadorned but comforting and stunning in its own right. Its pages encompass literal bites of history: everything from pan haggerty, a potato dish dating from Britain’s agricultural days, to Mulligatawny soup or “pepper water,” inspired by colonial India.
If you’re looking for cutesy anecdotes and trendy recipes, search elsewhere. There are no mystical feats of molecular gastronomy to be found here, just dozens of dishes from the country’s storied past presented with typical British bluntness.
The recipes are approachable, straightforward, and informative. I have fond memories of being elbow-deep in flour, rubbing in butter to make scones during my first solo-baking endeavor at 10 years old. Despite the mess, with the colorful, step-by-step photos and clear instructions, they turned out perfect – golden, fluffy, and a delicious accompaniment to tea.
I’ve since then graduated to making the Chelsea buns, Madeira cake, and more and not a single recipe has disappointed.
Despite British food’s reputation for being dull, Walden manages to highlight the versatility of the British people and their ability to make the best of the ingredients at hand. Steve Baxter’s photographs, albeit a bit dated in styling with the oversaturated warm tones and bold patterns, transport you to a cozy English cottage and serve as a reminder to “keep calm and carry on,” a welcome and safe vacation from the reality of the pandemic.
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