Shakespeare's Kitchen : Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook

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Summary: Shakespeare's Kitchen : Renaissance Recipes for the Contempo
Review: British food, renowned for its lack of appeal, provokes gentle chortles of derision when mentioned in juxtaposition with a word like extraordinary. These two books disabuse readers of the notion that this has always been the case. British Food describes the glories-and the decline-of the nation's cuisine over the centuries, while Shakespeare's Kitchen translates a particular era for modern cooks. Spencer, former food editor of the Guardian and author of several cookbooks, intriguingly suggests that early modern British cooking was more influenced by Mediterranean and Arab fare than French. For example, the technique of cooking with almonds to create white dishes was the gift of returning Crusaders. Spencer traces the country's lamentable decline in cuisine through the Reformation, Puritanism, and the Industrial Revolution, noting that Britons gradually lost a knowledge of wild foodstuffs and the time in their day to gather and cook more than the most convenient foods. Modern Britons would not recognize the impressive lists of ingredients their ancestors used. Readers may, thus, find the glossary and appendixes of British edible flora and traditional dishes to be particularly valuable. Segan, a food historian and contributor to the New York Food Museum, offers a lavishly illustrated cookbook that goes beyond the usual ingredients and step-by-step instructions. Drawn in by a photograph, readers will not only encounter a tempting recipe but also an accompanying text on the provenance of the dish and how it was modernized. Better still, Segan frequently offers the original recipe from Elizabethan texts, allowing one to compare the styles of written recipes. Name-dropping Shakespeare is a marketing gimmick, perhaps, for while the recipes include quotations from the Bard, the book is about Elizabethan cooking, not food from Shakespearean works. The reader who has first enjoyed Spencer's book will recognize much found in Segan's book and likely appreciate it all the more. British Food would fit well in academic and public libraries for its unique view of British history, while Shakespeare's Kitchen is recommended for public libraries.-

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Summary: Not Completely Shakespeare's Kitchen
Review: Close but not quite there. As a member of a rather heralded Guild of (amatuer - we do it for love not money) Medieval and Renaissance Cooks, I was anticipating less 'making it up as I go along" and more true redactons of the books Ms Sagan references.

I was delighted that in roughly half the recipes, she quoted the original recipe and acknowledged the source. I was less delighted when she deliberately changed ingredients, left ingredients out or in one case where it was clear that the intent of the recipe was for periwinkles (snail like mollusks greatly esteemed in Elizabethan and slightly post Elizabethan times) and she admits that in a fit of whimsy, she substituted periwinkles the flower.

Not having hauled out the books and done the research I cannot attest that the unattributed recipes come from period, nor may I suggest that they do not. Where I to serve these unattributed recipes, I would label them as "peroid" (period like) rather than period.

For the most part even those period-like recipes do sound delicious!

This is a nice book, and if it piques an interest in Medieival and Renaissance cookery,then it has served its purpose.

Do NOT take her redactions as Gospel - read them, think of the aim of the dish you are making and consult other sources, both modern and medieval period. If you need help google MEdieval Food....

The photos and garnishes are lovely however.




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Summary: Shakespeare's in Love with this Kitchen
Review: Francine Segan's new book, Shakespeare's Kitchen, is more than a cook book. I found it vastly entertaining, as well as beautifully presented. The original recipes that Ms. Segan updates are facinating, and totally unexpected. My preconceived notions of what people ate in Elizabethan times were very inaccurate. What flavors they combined! It could put to shame many of today's innovative chefs. I am looking forward to more books by this author, who wonderfully combines the art of cooking with fastidious academic research.

Rating:
Summary: Shakespeare's in Love with this Kitchen
Review: Francine Segan's new book, Shakespeare's Kitchen, is more than a cook book. I found it vastly entertaining, as well as beautifully presented. The original recipes that Ms. Segan updates are facinating, and totally unexpected. My preconceived notions of what people ate in Elizabethan times were very inaccurate. What flavors they combined! It could put to shame many of today's innovative chefs. I am looking forward to more books by this author, who wonderfully combines the art of cooking with fastidious academic research.

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Summary: Great Gift and You'll Want One for Yourself
Review: Francine Segan's Shakespeare's Kitchen is a beautiful book filled with fascinating snippets of history and intriguing recipes. I orignially bought it as a gift but couldn't part with it. It does make an excellent gift too! I highly recommend this book for serious cooks, history buffs and for people who just want to enjoy meals with flavors that are delightfully different.

Rating:
Summary: Great Gift and You'll Want One for Yourself
Review: Francine Segan's Shakespeare's Kitchen is a beautiful book filled with fascinating snippets of history and intriguing recipes. I orignially bought it as a gift but couldn't part with it. It does make an excellent gift too! I highly recommend this book for serious cooks, history buffs and for people who just want to enjoy meals with flavors that are delightfully different.

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Summary: A winning recipe
Review: I bought this book for my husband, who loves Shakespeare's works, history and cooking. This book is perfect for anyone with those passions (especially all together). A bit of history is included throughout, along with original recipes gleaned from Renaissance texts. Quotes from the Bard's plays are peppered about, before each recipe, etc., and most of the recipes have been beautifully photographed, just another way to whet the appetite. The recipes are fun, do-able, a little different, yet not so far out there that you'd never try them. And in the back are suggestions for parties, invitations and so on. A delight for fans of cooking, cookbook collectors and for bibliophiles with taste.

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Summary: Shakepeare's Kitchen
Review: Simply the best! Awesome recipes -- I've already tried some and expect to continue my exploration. Beautiful presentation, well-organized, informative and interesting. A recommended read for all!

Rating:
Summary: Shakepeare's Kitchen
Review: Simply the best! Awesome recipes -- I've already tried some and expect to continue my exploration. Beautiful presentation, well-organized, informative and interesting. A recommended read for all!

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Summary: A Restoration of the Renaissance Table
Review: The author approaches each recipe with both passion and care, as if she were restoring an antique. Much more than a cook book, Shakespeare's Kitchen is both insightful and innovative. It is such a treat to discover something new by journeying back four hundred years.