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Black-eyed beans

Black-eyed beans

They have come a long way, these beans with a black eye. They were domesticated millennia ago in West Africa, according to the latest scientific insights in what is now called Nigeria. The official name in Latin is Vigna Unguicalata. The wild version is a bit smaller than the one

À Table in Versailles

À Table in Versailles

The pictures of the state dinner that French president Emmanuel Macron offered to king Charles III and his entourage surprised me. The menu was good – no oysters, no foie gras – maybe a little trolling with the lobster, but the food is not what this blog is about. It’s about

A Royal Banquet

A Royal Banquet

It’s january 1378. The royal kitchen is busier than ever as the French king Charles V has important visitors. His imperial uncle Charles IV, of the Holy Roman Empire (of the German Nation) and his son Wenceslas, king of Bohemia. In the palace kitchen rules Guillaume Tirel, dit Taillevent,

Lupercalia or Valentine's Day?

Lupercalia or Valentine's Day?

Valentine is a figment of imagination of Christian origine. As usual, our festive days are rooted in pre-Christian traditions. As is the case with Valentine. We must travel back in time to the Roman Lupercalia festival. Are we actually celebrating the wolf on this day? The word Lupercalia is related

Poor Knights

Poor Knights

Poor Knights, Arme Ritter, Pain Perdu, Wentelteefjes The Dutch court, mid-19thcentury. The two little princes ate sober, pretty monotonous but well. Once in a while they were ‘spoiled’ with a sweet. Often a dish of seasonal fruits. Occasionally ‘Arme Ridders’. A word not used in the Netherlands, but no doubt

New Book - Servants

New Book - Servants

Latest addition to my library Lucy Lethbridge Servants : A Downstairs View of Twentieth-century Britain from 2013. I'll share my views and some titbits later. Here an interview with the author Visible And Invisible: ‘Servants’ Looks At Life DownstairsAuthor Lucy Lethbridge explores the history of British servants through their

New old book - A Provencal Table

New old book - A Provencal Table

Prolific food writer and painter Richard Olney published his book on the French Provencal cuisine in 1995. It finally found it's way to my home library. Recipies by Lulu Peyraud, proprietor - together with her husband Lucien - of the Domaine Tempier. Am still reading, so more will