BOOK TALK & CULINARY DEMONSTRATION | Mrs. Dalgairns's 1830 Kitchen – Mary F. Williamson with Elizabeth Baird

Tickets & Details

Join Mary Williamson for a talk about the extraordinary mix of cuisine and culture in the unusual 19th century cookbook, The Practice of Cookery, in celebration of her latest book, Mrs Dalgairns's Kitchen: Rediscovering "The Practice of Cookery."

Mary Williamson will be joined by Elizabeth Baird, who adapted some of the recipes in the book for modern kitchens. Baird—who found Dalgairns's recipes extremely practical—will demonstrate two of the updated recipes from the book. A Question & Answer with both women will follow.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When The Practice of Cookery first appeared in Edinburgh and London editions in 1829, reviewers hailed it as one of the best cookbooks available. The book was unique not only in being wholly original, but also for its broad culinary influences, incorporating recipes from British North America, the United States, England, Scotland, France, and India.

Catherine Emily Callbeck Dalgairns was born in 1788. Though her contemporaries understood her to be a Scottish author, she lived her first twenty-two years in Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown was home for much longer than the twelve years she spent in London or her mere six years' residency in Dundee, Scotland, by the time of the cookbook’s first appearance.

In Mrs Dalgairns's Kitchen, Mary Williamson reclaims Dalgairns and her book's Canadian roots. Both an enticing history of the seminal cookbook and a practical guide for readers and cooks today, Williamson offers an intimate look at the tastes and smells of an early nineteenth-century kitchen.