n 1965 Elizabeth David opened a shop in Pimlico, London, where she sold Le Creuset pans and other hard—to—get—hold—of kitchen utensils. The store, with its marvellous window displays, was as influential as her books would eventually be, pioneering a new generation of shops devoted exclusively to kitchenware. Rosi Hanson, who worked in David's shop for two years says, 'She was good fun, and the shop was magical. She rather loved being a shopkeeper, perhaps because it gave her a rest from writing. If someone wanted some very specific piece of equipment, I often heard her say: ;If you could come back, I think I may have one at home. On evenings when we stayed late to do the windows, she would make a picnic for us all to eat: terrine, things in jelly.'
While she was still involved with the shop which bore her name, Elizabeth David Ltd, she produced a series of four little booklets: The Baking of an English Loaf, Dried Herbs, Aromatics and Condiments, English Potted Meats and Fish Pastes and Syllabubs and Fruit Fools which were sold exclusively in the shop. They were simple black and white productions which have now become rare, highly sought—after and very expensive collector's items. So Grub Street is delighted to have acquired the rights to these booklets from the David Estate and we are redesigning them as four hardback books in a slip case with specially commissioned beautiful artwork making them the perfect gift item. So for the first time in over 50 years these charming works will be available once again.
Individual Titles:
The Baking of an English Loaf
Dried Herbs, Aromatics and Condiments
English Potted Meats and Fish Pastes
Syllabubs and Fruit Fools
With new glossy, overdesigned cookbooks appearing on the market almost every week could there ever be a more appropriate time to consider the words of Jane Grigson when she said 'Every time we begin to feel fussed by the cookery elaborators with their flashy tricks and colour photos, we can restore our confidence by returning to Elizabeth David.'
Her life was remarkable and her legacy astonishing. Her brilliant writing stems from a genuine love of food and an intellectual interest in how and why it is prepared. For her food and living were inseparable. Drawing on dishes she had eaten and learned from cooks in France, Italy, Greece and North Africa, her books are evocative pieces of travel writing, creating an instant connection with the places she had visited, and hence her recipes are like a diary and have stood the test of time. Practically all of today's serious food writers have acknowledged her influence (and continue to do so).
Grub Street is delighted to be the publisher of all her major works in beautiful hardback editions as befits a peerless writer who demands to be read time and time again and whose books continue to delight generations of cooks.
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