ABOUT THIS COOKBOOK

My main memories of Anni's cooking are from family trips to Wootten Courteney in Exmoor.

As a restless grandchild, I probably didn't appreciate the food. Ham cooked in cider, served with red cabbage and mustard. Apricot crumble for pudding. All washed down with little bottles of Schweppes bitter lemon pinched from the mixer cupboard.

Anni must have cooked us hundreds of breakfasts, lunches and dinners - quick bites, picnics, and big Christmas feasts. The recipes in this book all bring back memories of what we ate.

In December 1974, Anni was 56 years old. She was busy with her work, and must have been enjoying the steady arrival of new grandchildren. Her introduction to the book suggests she was in a reflective mood - looking back at the stages of her life, the places and kitchens she had made her own, and the 'memorable meals' along the way.

Anni was also a historian. She would later dedicate many years to researching and documenting her own family history. Maybe this cookbook was a first dabble in that work - a way to capture and share something about her story.

But mainly, I guess she just wanted to share some favourite recipes. She certainly succeeded. The copies of her book have been handed around and travelled the world. The recipes have been cooked many, many times. Most copies are worn down, butter-splattered, and fading.

When Kathy (my mother, Anni's daughter) gave me one of the last, remarkably crisp copies - I thought it would be good to do my bit to preserve Anni's work, to make it more easily available to family and friends around the world.

I hope you might be inspired to cook porridge (the one and only way) for breakfast next weekend, with some kippers à la Malcolm. Maybe next Christmas you will make your own mincemeat. Maybe you will throw a pancake party so big that it requires two cooks. Or you might just enjoy the idea of a slow, family holiday in Corsica - working your way through a friend's cookbook.

Joe Blair, December 2019