With the last of about 40 bags of leaves contained, my driveway has reappeared and the bare trees echo that winter now feels imminent and unavoidable.  With that thought comes the warming knowledge that thick soups, lamb shanks and “meaningful” puddings are back on the menu.  In fact we finished last nights meal with crepe suzette, which in itself is nothing out of the ordinary, but we did have 10 young (in the 23 -25 year bracket)  people dining with us – none of whom had the faintest clue what crepe suzette was.  It brought me to thinking about “old foods” and the chance that, without education are they at risk of being lost?

For the recent royal wedding, chicken a la king and queen pudding made it on to the seek go eat household menu.  How long is it since you’ve had those treats?  Perhaps you are not even familiar with these dishes?

For us, the 60’s and 70’s uniquely provided a clean slate for the introduction of the new food revolution, leaving behind the challenging 50’s post war “be grateful for what you’ve got” period.  We were exposed to such international  culinary wonders as sweet and sour pork and spaghetti bolognese.  There was a modicum of curiosity about vegetarianism with the hippy revolution bringing with it the lentil revolt.  Anyone who was anyone had a fondue set and regularly  inflicted Friday night Fondue on their guests!  Salmon tetrazzini, carpet bag steak, waldorf salad and knickerbocker glory were all on the menu.  You have to love the drama of those names.  Today, menu’s have gone to the other extreme, losing the sense of theatre and getting straight down to business – twice cooked pork belly served on a bed of cauliflower puree with caramelised apples.  Yum – but there’s no longer that excitement in anticipation of what will appear on the plate…..  Definitely a sign of the times.

I fear for ingredients such as mutton, quinces, sago, curd, barley,  treacle and molasses, swedes, parsnips and smoked cod to name a few as they are often, not so much forgotten, but passed over for more trendy ingredients.  Don’t get me wrong, I adore the chic ingredients that artisan producers offer in our modern day market and I make the most of them, but for me, I love to introduce or reintroduce the great flavours and textures of old foods to my guests.                                                                                                                        My point I guess, is that we don’t want to forget the foods that (some of us) grew up on, the foods that brought us to where we are today, the dishes that we honed our culinary skills on and the tastes that conjure memories of days gone by……it’s like not forgetting where you come from and the appreciation of where you are now.

Just for fun, here’s a simple recipe for cheese fondue:

Serves 4