The times they have changed
"I, self-created Pied Piper of Gastronomy, happily tootled a bemused public into the glamorous by=ways of the greatest recipes of the world. ... I got a reputation for being outrageous. I was even pilloried by Private Eye. But the outrageous cooks of Britain followed me enthusiastically, with quiches, soufflés, separate vegetable courses, open-fire grilled meats, slow-simmered ragouts and daubes and rich puddings laced with Calvados and cream."
Robert Carrier - Introduction to New Great Dishes of the World
This is my last go at my Robert Carrier book Entertaining.
I have been thinking about how old-fashioned, and dated it appears to be and also how one could be put off by the 'posh' vibe that it gives out. I think the two photographs above are examples of all the things that have been brought back into focus for me on reading this book. On the left you have Sliced egg appetiser from Entertaining and on the right you have Devilled Thai eggs from the latest Woolworths magazine, Fresh. Really they are both just hard-boiled eggs accompanied by other things. But there is such a world of difference in styling, and the 'other things' between 1977 and 2019.
But even so the two main ingredients - mayonnaise and eggs are shared. Robert Carrier's eggs sit on mayonnaise, Woolworths' have the mayonnaise mixed with the yolks, some fish sauce and chilli sauce and lime juice which is then stuffed back into the eggs and garnished with coriander and sliced chilli. Yes I know - quite different - but also showing the way the world has changed both in the culinary influences and the way things were/are styled to make them look tempting. Which is perhaps a little unfair on Robert Carrier. Obviously they cared about appearance too, but the style of 1977 now looks dated in comparison to the 2017 update.
But actually it is not, of course, as simple as that. Here is another comparison between the two publications.
On the left Robert Carrier's coffee granita - a recipe that would well be able to stand its ground in today's world. On the right Affogato trifles. Both based on coffee. Both extremely simple and actually not looking very different style wise. There's still a dollop of cream and some crunchy things on top to contrast with the dark coffee colour underneath. And actually in this instance the Entertaining photograph is not so very different to a modern photograph of a similar dish.
As well as the Fresh magazine I also looked at Robert Carrier's own much more recent book New Great Dishes of the World, which was published in 1997 - twenty years after Entertaining and much more lavishly photographed. The photographs are by Carrier himself, which makes me wonder whether he did the photographs for Entertaining too as the credits simply say 'extra photography by Rod Shone'. Who did what I wonder and were his photographs in the later book edited by others, because they are in a different class. Or is it just that style in taking photographs changed too. Here is an example of crusted, roasted lamb - basically an identical recipe but looking very different in their incarnations in the two books.
We zoom in close these days don't we? Take these flowers at left. In Entertaining we had those rather splendid table settings of silver and crystal with flowers. Here, at the beginning of the Classics section of New Great Dishes of the World we have just the flowers - and the cut crystal, standing on an opulent tablecloth. And yet we get the same feeling of luxury, of slight excess, of a kind of perfection. Maybe it's an expression of the Robert Carrier persona.
And yet, in spite of all that excess his recipes are mostly extremely simple. He was guilty of duplicating recipes from one book to another, sometimes with absolutely no changes at all, and sometimes with changes that show a nod to the times. Here are a few examples from the two books.
Gratin dauphinois - another relatively modern looking photograph from the older book. Perhaps the sprig of parsley is dated. Nowadays there might be a drizzle of oil on top. Well I saw that Donna Hay had deconstructed the dish somewhat by placing the sliced potatoes vertically in the oven dish and with no liquid, so not the same dish at all, but maybe you could say it is an evolution of it. In 1977 Robert Carrier's liquids consisted of a mix of milk and single cream. In 1997 when the dish was so well-known that it had been designated a spot in his Basics section, the liquid had been upgraded to all double cream. Which is interesting considering that superficially Entertaining would seem to be aimed at the more prosperous in the community. We were well out of rationing by the 70s so that could not have been the reason.
Spaghetti Bolognaise. No pictures here but by 1979 there were a few more lavish touches - pancetta rather than green bacon or salt pork - well we didn't know about pancetta back in the 70s did we? Then the mince is minced sirloin, not just mince, and some wine and crushed dried chillies have been added - and to finish some double cream. All of which is interesting. Does it indicate that we have all become more prosperous - pancetta, sirloin, double cream? Does it indicate that we have become more Italian - maybe even Siciilian - why else add dried chillies? He does admit that it's his version though - not an authentic one.
Apple pie. Again the photograph is one of the more modern ones from Entertaining. This is one of my very favourite recipes. We make it quite often and I think it must be one of his favourites too because not only is it in his New Classics section in the later book, but the recipe is completely unchanged. I first came across it in his Cookery Cards, but it appears in several, if not all, of his cookery books. You can find the recipe online here. My children love this too, although I have to leave out the sultanas and raisins when I am making it for them because my older son doesn't like them. This is Robert Carrier and English food at its very, very best.
Moving on to two dishes that are really not at all the same but demonstrate how times have changed.
First of all the way in which we treat those Mediterranean vegetables.
On the left Sautéed courgettes and tomatoes from 1979 and on the right Char-grilled Mediterranean vegetables with lemon and pepper oils from 1999. Not the same I know but I think it demonstrates the difference between then and now - not just in the cooking methods but also in the photography. And note - we sautéed back then. Now we char-grill.
And then Tortellini in brodo. No picture in 1979 and a much simpler recipe - the stock/soup was very simple and he used bought tortellini. By 1999 he was telling you how to make the tortellini - pasta and filling - and the broth is rather more elaborate too but it has been given a very modern new title which plays on nostalgia - Italian Mama's comfort soup. So maybe this indicates that in 1979 we didn't really know how to cook and needed simple stuff, but by 1999 we were prepared to make our own pasta. Although I'm sure that both the Coles and Woolworth's magazines would probably have versions that used bought tortellini and maybe bought stock/soup base too.
There are some really simple and utterly delicious dishes in Entertaining, but I fear that today's readers will be put off by its old-fashioned images, layout and concept. Besides it's out of print. There are dishes in there that you would never see these days - like Tomato aspic:
And yet. Maybe you would but not like this. You might be presented with it as one of those 'free' amuse bouches things that you get in posh restaurants, or it might be one tiny element on an artfully designed plate of food.
Or has it morphed into things like this vegan dish - a vegetable terrine from Woolworth's Fresh Magazine?
Maybe times haven't changed all that much really. We just have more choice of ingredients, more gadgets and appliances to cook them with, and more short cut products to help us out. Maybe we have more confidence. But then again maybe we don't. Why else would Jamie, Donna Hay et al. be stressing fast and simple.
Anyway I am so grateful to Robert Carrier, Elizabeth David et al. for showing us how to cook wonderful things so easily. Without them we would not be looking at such elaborate dishes as the vegetable terrine.
Neither of the Carrier books that I have been talking about today illustrated every dish. Lots of them were left to your imagination. Which can be good and can be bad. When something looks as good as the Thai devilled eggs for example, you feel tempted to rush in - particularly when you then see that it is really very simple to do. Without a picture it's a little harder to get excited about Cold cucumber soup with yoghurt for example. I picked that one at random from Entertaining and am amazed really at how modern/ancient a dish it is, but I'm thinking I would not have been that tempted to have a go back in the day. So I looked for a modern version and here is one - very modern, very trendy and very beautiful. Now you might be tempted by that. Perfect for an alfresco summer lunch perhaps. But would you be disappointed when your version didn't look as pretty?
I must browse through Entertaining some more. No doubt I will have seen some of the dishes in his other books - he did plagiarise himself a lot - but there are probably some worth looking at. And I must certainly do some more entertaining. Thank you Monika. You'll be first on my list.
