Introduction

Over the last two decades, we have rediscovered the pleasures of eating and cooking in this country. In general, we have become more knowledgeable about all sorts of food – thanks to food writers, TV chefs, supermarkets and specialist food stores, regular foreign holidays and adventurous new restaurants. Until recently, at least, this revolution has largely been based on foreign cuisines and newly imported ingredients from afar. Many of our own traditional fruits and vegetables, rare breeds of cattle and poultry, and artisan food products like cheeses and hams have been overlooked. Now, fortunately, our finest indigenous foods are being revived and reintroduced into our diets, in the wake of our rediscovery of cooking in general.