English Cookery Books of the 18th Century

Cookery-book production in England during the first thirty years of the 18th century was dominated by the professional cooks who worked for the aristocracy and even, in the case of Patrick Lamb, for royalty. The most important names are those of Lamb (Royal Cookery, 1710), Henry Howard (England’s Newest Way, 1703), John Nott (The Cook’s and Confectioner’s Dictionary, 1723), and Charles Carter (The Complete Practical Cook, 1730). These male authors saw themselves as purveyors of the art to noble patrons, and their works tend to reject the more mundane aspects of household management, in order to place due emphasis on the prestigious dishes of the ‘court style’ of cuisine which was now fashionable amongst the élite in Britain. This style owed much to the influence of the French, who had developed court cookery following the revolution in flavours (separating sweet from savoury) inaugurated by la varenne. In England, the most influential French author was Massialot (see french cookbooks): his Cuisinier roïal et bourgeois (1691) was translated into English in 1702 under the title The Court and Country Cook. The key elements of this court style were the grosses entrées, the olios, the bisques, the terrines—all complicated dishes involving several meats with a strong, broth-based sauce and an elaborate garnish. This style is clearly part of a baroque aesthetic of the table which corresponds to a highly codified system of manners, in which protocol and precedence reigned supreme.