History: Cookery through the ages

A look through the history of British food, from the point of view of a reenactor rather than a historian. We’ll start with how cooking has altered the way we speak (if we still ate raw meat, you wouldn’t be able to say “Norfolk”), some Stone Age techniques that are also the height of recent fashion, and move on through prehistory discovering what was introduced when, and how archaeology is probably lying to us. Then we get some documentation as the Romans arrive (no, I don’t expect you to read Latin). They brought in new foods, and so did the Normans – you’ll be surprised at how many of our “native” species aren’t. The Middle Ages bring us the first real cookery books (no experience of reading Middle English required, but we’re going to have fun trying). And we move on through the centuries, looking at American imports (how the potato first reached Europe is a fun story, as is how the French persuaded people to eat it), the East India Company that helped us conquer half the world in pursuit of interesting food, and various Napoleonic and Victorian innovations. Finally a brief look at the Second World War will explain why Norfolk is full of sugar beet and blackcurrants.