Wortes and All: Medieval Cooking

Food was as important a part of daily life in the Middle Ages as it is today. In this book food historian Emma Kay examines what people were eating and drinking in England from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the 1500s. We not only discover what people were cooking and how they cooked it, but also the influences on their cuisine and sources of food, home and abroad, as society changed in this period. Alongside the history of various types of food and drink in mediaeval England, the author has added mediaeval recipes discovered in the writings of the time, including the first known cookery books produced in England, The Form of Cury (1390) and Liber Cure Cocorum (1430), and other later writings and mediaeval manuscripts. Some of these dishes would have been produced for important events, others feature in the literature from the time. From soups, stews and salads, meat and fish, eggs and fruit to sauces, drinks and confection, this cornucopia of medieval food and drink will fascinate all of those interested in the story of England’s cuisine through the ages as well as those interested in the history of the Middle Ages.

Emma Kay is a post-graduate historian and former senior museum worker. Now, food historian, author, and prolific collector of Kitchenalia. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband and young son. Her articles have appeared in publications including BBC History Magazine, The Daily Express, Daily Mail, Times Literary Supplement, and the Victorian Review (Johns Hopkins University). She has contributed historic food research for a number of television production companies and featured several times on Talk Radio Europe, BBC Radio programs and LifeFM. Emma has recently collaborated on several projects with former U.S. Democratic member of Ohio State Senate, turned cook and author, Capri Cafaro.