Food & drink takeaways - 3 September
A curated taster menu of every day’s food & drink associations
The duchess who is said to have invented afternoon tea, a realist artist’s portrayal of after breakfast and English villagers savour the world’s biggest meat and potato pie.
Just some of the delights that 3 September brings to the food and drink table.
Click on the links for extra helpings.
Food birthdays
1783
Anna Maria Russell, 7th Duchess of Bedford
Said by many to be the originator of afternoon tea during the late 1830s {header photo}.
"Sometime around 1840, Anna Russell, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, complained of a “sinking feeling” and requested that some light food and a pot of tea (usually Darjeeling) be brought to her private living quarters to help ward off her mid afternoon hunger. This light food probably included bread, butter, and perhaps biscuits.
The idea proved so successful that it soon became routine, and the Duchess decided to invite a few of her friends to her private rooms for tea in the afternoon. A new social event was born in which the invited guests would have an opportunity to meet with friends, catch up on the latest news, discuss recent events, etc.
The service would normally take place in the lady’s parlour, or withdrawing room, or boudoir and be served on low-decorative tables."
1928
French restaurateur who, with his brother, invented "Escalope de saumon à l’oseille Troisgros," or salmon with sorrel sauce, which became their signature dish
"A precursor of Nouvelle Cuisine, Pierre Troigros took over the reins of the family establishment in Roanne in 1954 with his brother Jean. The restaurant has shone for 52 years with three stars in the MICHELIN Guide."
1970
American chef
"One of the few American sushi masters, James Beard Award‑winning chef and owner Tyson Cole is a passionate student of the Japanese tradition."
Food in art
After Breakfast by Finnish realist painter Elin Danielson-Gambogi, born on this day in 1861.
Food records
2000
Villagers in the Yorkshire village of Denby Dale bake their tenth giant pie in a tradition going back 200 years – this time to celebrate the millennium. The pie is 40ft long, 2ft wide, 3ft deep, weighs over 13 tons and wins its place into the Guinness Book of Records at the time as the biggest meat and potato pie in the world.
A two-day event at the Pie Hall saw 60,000 people served the first day and 30,000 the second. There were 170 servers and people paid £1 for a slice.
"Its contents included 3000kgs English beef, 3000kgs potatoes and 700kgs onions. . . The meat was cooked in steam kettles in ¼ tonne batches and then placed into the pre-heated dish."
Wearing the white rose of Yorkshire and wielding a Kaskara sword used by 19th century Sudan warriors, ex-cricket umpire Dickie Bird performs the pie-cutting ceremony. Picture: Yorkshire Live
