Sunday 7 January 2024

My discovery of Gastronomy.


After I left school I commuted by train to The City for 6 months from the south coast. It took its toll, and I seemed to be permanently travelling. Getting up at all hours, and returning home not long before catching the train back to London again. It really was a nightmare.

So, I then took a bed-sit in Bayswater. I never bothered with breakfast, I ate lunch thanks to a 4/6d daily Luncheon Voucher, and in the evenings I would regularly visit a 'restaurant' in Queensway called 'The Golden Egg'; egg-n-chips cost almost nothing. I NEVER cooked at home.

When I later became the manager of a West End gallery, I took a flat just north of Marble Arch, and again never cooked at home. I had my breakfast at Selfridge's, my lunch often at Odin's in Devonshire St (next door to the gallery), and an evening snack was usually supplied by a Pub' somewhere.

Then I moved to Lillie Rd Fulham, and on to Bramerton St Chelsea. Never did I cook, or even make coffee, at home. My flats were simply a place to sleep and store clothes. I moved around a lot in those days so ate wherever I found myself; although the restaurant 235 on the King's Rd was always a favourite.

During my college years we had a decent Cafeteria for lunch, and in the evenings I mostly ate greasy Chicken and Chips from a newspaper package. 

Once graduated I bought an ancient granite house on the Shropshire/Wales border, and it was here where I first started to take an interest in cooking. We would visit the nearby town once a week on Market Day, and buy vast amounts of vegetables for £1. They lasted us a week. We'd already had our oldest son by this time and we tried to follow Dr Bircher-Benner's 'Children's Diet' book, which was mostly veggie.

Then, when I bought our first big farmhouse in France I became totally fascinated by 'food'. Everything was so different to back home, and I found it all totally delicious. I was suddenly eating things I'd never eaten before, and I was hooked. I grew as much as possible, I had hens, ducks, and guinea fowl, and we suddenly became 'foodies'. I grew a field of Wheat, and another of Maize; I became a mini-farmer.

Since then I have preserved large amounts of my own vegetables, paté, and jams. I made hams, bacon, and various forms of charcuterie. I never looked back; until Brexit came, and now no longer have the luxury of a full growing season in S France.

During my 50 year absence, the gastronomy of the UK has changed hugely, and there is no question that we have overtaken most of mainland Europe. I am now very happy to have the huge choice of wonderful foods on offer here. France now seems very 'stuck in its ways'.

22 comments:

  1. Egg n chips. The food of my youth.

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  2. Egg and chips - I lived on them for months when ex-husband and I bought an old house which was a major renovation job. The kitchen had a cooker on which one ring worked, and nicotine stained walls that would run brown with any amount of steam. We couldn't do any work to the place until the planning came through. Happy Days!

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    1. We've all been through those days. Our first house in Shropshire/Wales had no bathroom, or proper kitchen, but it did have a wonderful orchard and outbuildings. It took us a year to make it livable-in; then we moved to France.

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  3. Interesting to hear about French cuisine. They probably think they have the best and why change it. Do they need nouvelle cuisine?

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    1. Absolutely correct. They sit back on their laurels and allow the quality to collapse. It used to be that we could eat really well EVERYWHERE. Now it's difficult to find ANYWHERE that's good.

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  4. When I was living in a hostel in London it was a treat to go to the Golden Egg in Oxford street to eat occasionally. It felt a very wicked thing to do actually at aged just 17. But it wasn't a lot of money as you say but then I didn't have much anyway.

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    1. My salary as a 'blue button' was 10 guineas a week. After my rent and tube fares there wasn't a lot left.

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  5. Egg, chips and mushy peas, I could just fancy that now. Brings back lovely memories of my late husband and lunch we had on the day trips we sometimes took to the coast. Tastes even better by the sea.
    Jean.

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    1. I only discovered mushy peas last year, and am now addicted.

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  6. The food in England changed a lot over the last 30 years. I look forward to seeing how France is doing next spring.

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    1. There are still excellent restaurants throughout France, but where we live they are now a rarity. They used to be so wonderful.

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  7. Oh Cro .... we led parallel lives in certain ways. I trained at The Royal Dental Hospital in Leicester Square. We also used to get Luncheon vouchers and, I often frequented The Golden Egg in Leicester Square. The hospital is something else now and I'm pretty sure The Golden Egg doesn't exist anymore !!! When I worked in Mayfair, I was introduced to so many restaurants and different foods by my boss who was also a keen cook. He taught me many culinary things including how to clean squid ! XXXX

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    1. I can't remember who taught me how to prepare squid, but I have been eternally grateful. I love it, and eat frequently (in France).

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  8. Just reading Jackie's comment makes me think we were probably all sitting in a different Golden Egg simultaneously, Jackie in Leicester Square, me in Oxford Street and you in Queensway!

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    1. What a totally wonderful idea.

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    2. There is a very good chance we passed each other at some point ! { with egg on our faces 🤣 } XXXX

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  9. Wonderful memories. You ultimately became a gourmet connoisseur of fine food.

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    1. I don't know about that, but I do love both cooking and eating.

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  10. I cooked for myself from an early age, if you can call making toast and adding a can of warmed baked beans cooking, but I soon graduated to frying and scrambling eggs as well, these things were lunches during school holidays while dad was at work. He always did dinner when he got home, he'd put a joint in the oven, usually a leg of lamb, and surround it with potatoes and carrots and two hours later we'd make gravy and eat.
    I can't imagine eating out for every meal for years, though I know people who do that even now.

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    1. I had one friend who bought a very expensive flat in London's Park Lane, and removed the kitchen completely, in order to make another bedroom. As you can imagine, he NEVER ate at home.

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