Yesterday was bright and warm(ish) in the north-east of England; and a perfect day for a class on medieval cookery. Led by Blackfriars’ new Cookery School Chef, Anthony O’Shaugnessy, whom you may remember as a semi-finalist in series 14 of MasterChef; with help from Andy Hook, Giles Gasper, Florence Swan, and Mollie Hook, the class time-travelled between the 13th and 15th centuries. Food from medieval Catalunya and medieval England formed the basis of the dishes prepared which ranged from vegetable sides to fish versions of meat dishes for Lent (only a few weeks late!), chicken, and a host of delicious desserts, including Creme Bastard. With historians on hand and a tour of Blackfriars this was cooking with context, and with some very interesting questions and conversations on the way. We’ll have more classes over the course of the summer and autumn so do keep an eye out on the Blackfriars website for bookings.
We have lots more on over the summer – our next lecture and lunch on May 14th on Food and the Baltic region in the Middle Ages, and then our in-person Summer School in September (12th-17th), timed around the much-anticipated exhibition of the Lindisfarne Gospels at the Laing Gallery in Newcastle. We’ll have some more events on that theme over the autumn for school groups and for grown-ups, and we’ll keep you up to date on this blog.
eatmedieval 