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'Wyvern'

Notes from Madras

  • Notes from Madras

  • Colonel Wyvern, stationed with the army in Madras during the height of British imperial rule, opened a cookery school upon his return to England and was a passionate enthusiast for both European and Indian cuisine. In these vivid, common-sense and entertaining writings, he gives advice on re-creating French classics in the steaming heat; describes tiffin parties and cooking while at camp; and laments the declining popularity of curry in the Raj, providing foolproof recipes for curry powder, tamarind chutney, korma and 'mulligatunny' soup. With devotees including Elizabeth David, Wyvern's unique brand of anglo-Indian cookery is still reflected in the way we eat today.

Colonel Kenney-Herbet 'Wyvern' greatly influenced Elizabeth David in her studies of spices in the English kitchen. Wyvern's Culinary Jottings for Madras, first appeared in 1878 and was written to instruct memsahibs in India on how to produce good Anglo-Indian food in the Victorian style with the ingredients available and also to instruct mystified native cooks on the English appetite. He returned to Britain to set up a successful cookery school in London.

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