Image: Hannah Glasse · Public domain
The London Art of Cookery
- Year
- 1783
- Era
- 18th century
- Origin
- England · Europe
- Language
- English
- Category
- English pre-1800
The London Art of Cookery, attributed to John Farley, principal cook at the London Tavern, ranks among the most popular English cookery books of the late eighteenth century, going through numerous editions into the nineteenth. Drawing heavily on Hannah Glasse and Elizabeth Raffald, it codified fashionable tavern and household cookery for a broad middle-class readership. Copies are frequently found wanting the engraved frontispiece portrait of Farley, which should be collated when present.
Cooking from this book
Beef à la Mode
Signature dishA larded and slowly braised joint of beef, richly seasoned and cooked with wine and aromatic vegetables until meltingly tender, then served with its own dark, glossy gravy. This dish became a hallmark of Farley's compendium, which gathered the best of late Georgian tavern and household cookery for a rising urban middle class. As principal cook at the London Tavern, Farley championed such substantial set pieces of refined English dining.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
