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Elizabeth David Classics: Mediterranean Food, French Country Cooking, Summer Cooking
This is a cookbook of recipes made by the famous french cook Elizabeth David. She was famous before Julia Child.
244 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
3 people are currently reading
311 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth David
105 books102 followersBorn Elizabeth Gwynne, she was of mixed English and Irish ancestry, and came from a rather grand background, growing up in the 17th-century Sussex manor house, Wootton Manor. Her parents were Rupert Gwynne, Conservative MP for Eastbourne, and the Hon. Stella Ridley, who came from a distinguished Northumberland family. They had three other daughters.
She studied Literature and History at the Sorbonne, living with a French family for two years, which led to her love of France and of food. At the age of 19, she was given her first cookery book, The Gentle Art of Cookery by Hilda Leyel, who wrote of her love with the food of the East. "If I had been given a standard Mrs Beeton instead of Mrs Leyel's wonderful recipes," she said, "I would probably never have learned to cook."
Gwynne had an adventurous early life, leaving home to become an actress. She left England in 1939, when she was twenty-five, and bought a boat with her married lover Charles Gibson-Cowan intending to travel around the Mediterranean. The onset of World War II interrupted this plan, and they had to flee the German occupation of France. They left Antibes for Corsica and then on to Italy where the boat was impounded; they arrived on the day Italy declared war on Britain. Eventually deported to Greece, living on the Greek island of Syros for a period, Gwynne learnt about Greek food and spent time with high bohemians such as the writer Lawrence Durrell. When the Germans invaded Greece they fled to Crete where they were rescued by the British and evacuated to Egypt, where she lived firstly in Alexandria and later in Cairo. There Gwynne started work for the Ministry of Information, split from Gibson-Cowan, and eventually took on a marriage of convenience, more or less as her aunt, Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, had done. This gave her a measure of respectability but Lieutenant-Colonel Tony David was a man whom she did not ultimately respect, and their relationship ended soon after an eight month posting in India. She had many lovers in ensuing years.
On her return to London in 1946, David began to write articles on cooking, and in 1949 the publisher John Lehmann offered her a £100 advance for Book of Mediterranean Food, the start of a dazzling writing career. David spent eight months researching Italian food in Venice, Tuscany and Capri. This resulted in Italian Food in 1954, with illustrations by Renato Guttuso, which was famously described by Evelyn Waugh in The Sunday Times as one of the two books which had given him the most pleasure that year.
Many of the ingredients were unknown in England when the books were first published, as shortages and rationing continued for many years after the end of the war, and David had to suggest looking for olive oil in pharmacies where it was sold for treating earache. Within a decade, ingredients such as aubergines, saffron and pasta began to appear in shops, thanks in no small part to David's books. David gained fame, respect and high status and advised many chefs and companies. In November 1965, she opened her own shop devoted to cookery in Pimlico, London. She wrote articles for Vogue magazine, one of the first in the genre of food-travel.
In 1963, when she was 49, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, possibly related to her heavy drinking. Although she recovered, it affected her sense of taste and her libido.
She studied Literature and History at the Sorbonne, living with a French family for two years, which led to her love of France and of food. At the age of 19, she was given her first cookery book, The Gentle Art of Cookery by Hilda Leyel, who wrote of her love with the food of the East. "If I had been given a standard Mrs Beeton instead of Mrs Leyel's wonderful recipes," she said, "I would probably never have learned to cook."
Gwynne had an adventurous early life, leaving home to become an actress. She left England in 1939, when she was twenty-five, and bought a boat with her married lover Charles Gibson-Cowan intending to travel around the Mediterranean. The onset of World War II interrupted this plan, and they had to flee the German occupation of France. They left Antibes for Corsica and then on to Italy where the boat was impounded; they arrived on the day Italy declared war on Britain. Eventually deported to Greece, living on the Greek island of Syros for a period, Gwynne learnt about Greek food and spent time with high bohemians such as the writer Lawrence Durrell. When the Germans invaded Greece they fled to Crete where they were rescued by the British and evacuated to Egypt, where she lived firstly in Alexandria and later in Cairo. There Gwynne started work for the Ministry of Information, split from Gibson-Cowan, and eventually took on a marriage of convenience, more or less as her aunt, Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, had done. This gave her a measure of respectability but Lieutenant-Colonel Tony David was a man whom she did not ultimately respect, and their relationship ended soon after an eight month posting in India. She had many lovers in ensuing years.
On her return to London in 1946, David began to write articles on cooking, and in 1949 the publisher John Lehmann offered her a £100 advance for Book of Mediterranean Food, the start of a dazzling writing career. David spent eight months researching Italian food in Venice, Tuscany and Capri. This resulted in Italian Food in 1954, with illustrations by Renato Guttuso, which was famously described by Evelyn Waugh in The Sunday Times as one of the two books which had given him the most pleasure that year.
Many of the ingredients were unknown in England when the books were first published, as shortages and rationing continued for many years after the end of the war, and David had to suggest looking for olive oil in pharmacies where it was sold for treating earache. Within a decade, ingredients such as aubergines, saffron and pasta began to appear in shops, thanks in no small part to David's books. David gained fame, respect and high status and advised many chefs and companies. In November 1965, she opened her own shop devoted to cookery in Pimlico, London. She wrote articles for Vogue magazine, one of the first in the genre of food-travel.
In 1963, when she was 49, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, possibly related to her heavy drinking. Although she recovered, it affected her sense of taste and her libido.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 13, 2021
Always so reliably good
October 18, 2012
This is a cookbook for people who are reasonably competent cooks and can deal with "cut a chicken in four pieces" or "let it reduce" or "if you add cider to the stock, you will have the basis of an excellent sauce" (with no sauce recipe). Given that, it is full of simple recipes that make good ingredients shine. I found my first really tasty mackerel recipe in here, and new recipes for chicken (shock) and many that made me wonder why I never saw that combination and method before.
It's also beautifully written in a very pleasant direct style, with little stories about the origins of recipes, so if you enjoy reading cookbooks for pleasure, this collection is a good choice.
Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson are two of my favorite cookbook authors. They wrote their books decades ago, but if you read a lot of cookbooks and recipes, and then read those two, you'll realize how much the current crop of celebrity chefs has lifted from them.
It's also beautifully written in a very pleasant direct style, with little stories about the origins of recipes, so if you enjoy reading cookbooks for pleasure, this collection is a good choice.
Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson are two of my favorite cookbook authors. They wrote their books decades ago, but if you read a lot of cookbooks and recipes, and then read those two, you'll realize how much the current crop of celebrity chefs has lifted from them.
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November 13, 2015I like the insight into the uptake of Mediterranean food in the post- war English diet.
January 21, 2024
Mnjaa, see ei ole lihtsalt kokaraamat. Otsisin klassikat, mis oleks ajale vastu pidanud ja mis oleks veel saadaval. Minuni jõudis raamat, mis oli kellegi jõulukink 1983. Raamat ise esmatrükki näinud 1950. Mis saab sellest täna kõnetada kui puuduvad isegi pildid? Kõik, just seetõttu ta klassika ongi. Ridade vahelt loed ka eluolu kohta: A la peale maailmasõda on kõik hall – UK kööki on vaja tuua värvi Vahemere köögist. Ning igapäeva pattude hulka hakkavad kuuluma või, vein ja oliivõli. Kirjastiil on mõnusalt optimistlik ja edasijõudnule, st mõisted redutseerima, karamelliseerima, peavad olema selged. Retseptid on lühikesed ja konkreetsed. Eriti hea on võrrelda meie nõukaaja kesise lauaga nt desserte - ei mingeid kompotte ega kisselle, vaid tagurpidi õuna-, aprikoosi vms prantsuse stiilis kook, grillitud aprikoosid (kreeka) jogurtiga, Austria liivakook ehk keeks, Vene puuviljasalat (puuviljasalatile käib peale kaste püreestatud maasikatest ja champagne'st), toorjuust veiniga (mikserda toorjuust suure klaasi valge veini, suhkru ja sidrunimahlaga ning serveeri küpsistega). Kas pole muhe? See raamat läheb köögis käiku!
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April 4, 2021This is more about the quotes and writing in between the recipes, although the recipes are appealing too. A delightful visit to another time and place.
January 1, 2024
Reference. Cooking. One of Ina Garten's favs. An anniversary present to her from Jeffrey. ANY recipe from this book is worth the time
Want to read
April 29, 2024Best Bologneses sauce
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August 9, 2011Nice chatty overview of Mediterranean food.
May 11, 2012
First cookbook I ever bought and still some of my favorite recipes.
June 15, 2014
Love all her cooking books - classics.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews