The Remembered Kitchen
Not everything forgotten is ancient. These are the kitchens of the last two centuries — the ones our grandparents cooked in, whose habits were so ordinary that nobody thought to write them down until they had almost gone.
Frequently asked questions
- What was a Victorian Christmas dinner like?
- The Victorians largely invented the Christmas dinner we picture: roast bird (goose giving way to turkey), rich puddings and pies, and a sense of ceremony popularised by a newly sentimental, and newly commercial, view of the holiday.
- Why are Sunday lunch traditions fading?
- The Sunday roast and its European cousins grew from a week's rhythm of church, family and a single big cooked meal. As those rhythms loosened, the ritual thinned — close enough to remember, already slipping away.
- What are heirloom vegetables?
- Heirlooms are open-pollinated varieties passed down for generations, kept for flavour, story and resilience rather than shelf life. Saving their seed keeps tastes alive that commercial breeding left behind.