A rapper who swapped milkshakes for Cordon Bleu, a notorious artist’s view of café society and a bolognese with a characteristic twist from ‘a cornerstone of modern British cooking’.
Just some of the delights that 21 August brings to the food and drink table. Click on the links for more information.
1938
Kenny Rogers
American country and western singer, cookbook author, Cooking with Kenny Rogers
1948
French-born professional chef, former head chef of Koffman’s, Berkeley Hotel, Knightsbridge, one of only a few chefs in the UK to have gained three Michelin stars for his establishment.
"The number of Britain’s top chefs who have trained under Pierre Koffmann is truly incredible – Tom Aikens, Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White, Marcus Wareing, Bruno Loubet, Tom Kitchin, Jason Atherton, to name but a few. His protégés have now amassed more than 20 Michelin stars between them. . . Pierre
set new standards, using simple, classic ingredients to create extraordinary dishes. . .”
Squid Bolognese. . . one of Pierre Koffman's extraordinary dishes
1979
American rapper whose milkshakes brought all the boys to the yard with her 2003 mega-hit single and who followed it up by studying to become a chef at Le Cordon Bleu
1874
A revered, some would say scandalous, English artist who was a major figure in the Aesthetic movement with Oscar Wilde and James McNeill-Whistler
"Aubrey Beardsley shocked and delighted late-Victorian London with his sinuous black and white drawings. He explored the erotic and the elegant, the humorous and grotesque, winning admirers around the world with his distinctive style"
Garcons de Cafe by Aubrey Beardsley
1740
A long-standing British Naval ration of a gallon of beer a day per man is changed to half a pint of rum
"Vice Admiral Edward Vernon — respectfully nicknamed “Old Grog” after a grogram cloak that he preferred to wear. . . issued Captain’s Order No. 349 on August 21st of 1740 which stated that all rum provisions must be mixed with water. And those members of the crew “which……are good husbandmen may from the saving of their salt provisions and bread, purchase sugar and limes to make it more palatable to them.
"This modification to their ration was nicknamed “Grog” after the admiral. Served twice a day with the call of “Up spirits!” the ship’s purser would deliver the ration until the practice was ended on July 31, 1970."