The official Downton Abbey cookbook /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The 2020 IBPA Awards Winner! Bring an authentic slice of Downton Abbey into your kitchen with over 100 delicious recipes from this official cookbook.

Embrace Highclere glamor and the cuisine and customs of the Crawley household with The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook ! Whether adapted from original period recipes or replicated and inspired by the screen, all 100+ recipes of this book reflect the influences found on Downton Abbey tables. Food historian Annie Gray gives a rich and fascinating insight into the background of the dishes popular between 1912 and 1926--a period of tremendous change and conflict, as well as culinary development.

Featuring stunning photographs of dishes and the beloved series, plus notes on customs of the time, quotes from characters, and descriptions of scenes, this unique cookbook provides vivid context for the dishes and brings the show to life. Savor the rich traditions and historic flavors of Downton Abbey for contemporary palettes with Cornish Pasties, Jam and Custard Tarts, and more!

With these historic recipes--compelling to a contemporary palate and easy to replicate in today's kitchens--savor the rich traditions and flavors of Downton Abbey without end.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Food historian Gray offers an inventive way to bring home cooks into Downton Abbey, the series that captured so many hearts. While not the focus of the series's story lines, food was always in the background, a secondary character to the drama unfolding throughout. The long narrative reminds readers how food was present throughout the series, and occasionally offers historical context about the food culture of the time. Recipes in the cookbook are separated into two sections, Upstairs and Downstairs, which refer to the dining rooms where the dishes and meals would be served. Whether it's designed for Breakfast, The Still Room, or Supper & Tea, each recipe includes a few sentences of dialogue and the episode in which the dish appeared. Abundant photography, including stills from the show and recipe portraits, are beautifully stylized. Not everything is equally accessible; the average cook is more likely to make and eat scones or beef stew with dumplings than mutton with caper sauce. As the recipes are written with an assumption that the reader is already a cook, this book is not for beginners. VERDICT A beautiful book for Downton Abbey lovers and serious traditional cooks.--Sara Jurek, Children's English Lib., Stuttgart, Germany

Publishers Weekly Review

Food historian Gray (Queen Victoria: The Greedy Queen, Eating with Victoria) does more than simply collect recipes popular from 1912 to 1926 in this fun and astute tie-in to Downton Abbey. In a cogent introduction, she describes the technological advances of the era, such as the electric toaster and the move to a more "pared-down" cuisine, albeit one still lavish and complex to modern eyes: "sauces took only a few hours, rather than a few days, to prepare." Reflecting the class divisions depicted on the show, the selections are divided into "upstairs" and "downstairs" dishes, i.e., fare fit for aristocrats (truffled eggs; filet mignon) and a shorter selection of simpler options for the servants (Toad-in-the-Hole; steak and kidney pudding). Helpful lists of common ingredients and those that are less so (such as suet and mushroom ketchup, which can be purchased online) and sure-footed instructions ensure that the recipes are usable. There are methods for the lobster "cutlets" (croquettes with lobster legs inserted as bone stand-ins) from jilted Edith's wedding breakfast, as well as the deviled sheep's kidneys served to Cora's American mother (played by Shirley MacLaine) in season three. The volume is amply illustrated with stills from the TV production as well as snippets of dialogue, but Gray's thoughtful and informed prose elevates it from mere tie-in to a truly useful work of culinary history. (Sept.)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Annie Gray is one of Britain's leading food historians. She holds degrees fromt the Universities of Oxford, York, and Liverpool and is an honorary research associate at the University of York. She is the author of The Greedy Queen, Eating with Victoria, Victory in the Kitchen: The Story of Churchill's Cook, and The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook.