Introduction

The revival of the fortunes of British cuisine is a bit like the story of Adam and Eve. The Garden of Eden was the Mediterranean but the fruit of the tree of knowledge was less forbidden and more forgotten or ignored in a country which was still emerging from the deprivations and austerity of war. For in the beginning – and for my purposes this must be 1950 – two people lit a tiny flame which has grown to light, guide and influence profoundly British cooking and restaurants in the second half of this century. The first was Elizabeth David, a well-travelled and scholarly diplomat’s wife, whose first book – about Mediterranean food – appeared at the time and has continued to be republished since, most recently in 1988. Her writings inspired a new generation of cooks and her name is invoked frequently in the chapters which follow in this book. The second was an historian and political commentator called Raymond Postgate who appreciated his food and wine but who was outraged by the sheer gastronomic poverty of most British restaurants. He decided to take action by launching an informal club of like-minded individuals whose members were invited to file reports on their experiences and in 1951 he published the first edition of the Good Food Guide. Adopting the attitude that, to raise standards, it would be better to reward careful cooking rather than to condemn idleness and malpractice, Postgate’s Guide sold 5, 000 copies and listed 500 places which could be recommended with confidence. Today, the Good Food Guide’s campaigning spirit and the principles laid down by its founder still remain firmly intact, and the influence it has achieved far exceeds its annual sale of 65, 000 copies.