Move over Mrs Beeton
Country Life UK|May 24, 2023
Credited as ‘the mother of the modern wedding cake’, the 18th-century housekeeper, caterer and confectioner Elizabeth Raffald should be better remembered for her great contribution to British cuisine, contends Neil Buttery
Neil Buttery
Move over Mrs Beeton

IF you were to imagine a key contributor to our national cuisine, the 18th-century cookery-book writer Elizabeth Raffald is unlikely to be the name that first springs to mind. Some people may perhaps think of Mrs Beeton, but not of Raffald—yet her impact cannot be overstated: her influential cookbook, The Experienced English Housekeeper, first published in 1769, ran to 30 editions. She was a household name and her then cutting-edge dishes are now our quintessential British ones, but, today, she is an obscure figure.

This story is from the May 24, 2023 edition of Country Life UK.

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This story is from the May 24, 2023 edition of Country Life UK.

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