Love tea? Love "taking tea"? Love the idea of something fun to do this summer with friends? Want to support food history and a really lovely person? Join @theregencycook.bsky.social for this online class! (Video will be available afterward if you can't make it!) www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/taking-tea...

Scones. Fresh from my oven. Are you a scone lover too?

You may be, like me, fascinated by these brother grocers, the Polite Grocers who ran a shop in London's Strand in the early eighteenth century. Notice the sugar cones behind & above them & see the containers of tea. They are weighing out coffee. From British Museum collection. Adorable isn't it?

A place to ponder. It’s my allotment just 7 minutes from my home. Could you see yourself sitting here under a blossoming damson tree?

Find yourself on the streets of London in the eighteenth century? Hungry with little money? Eating-cellars will serve you cheaply a shin of beef, tripe, cow-heel or sausages in the company of hackney coachmen, draymen & out of place footmen. Would you dare to join me?

Which FOODS go well with a cup of tea? I'm partial to a teacake. Not a cake at all but a sweet bread roll, with dried fruit, often toasted. Which food do you like with your cup of tea? Do let me know.

Only a fool would fail to fift their fine fugar.

I wish to travel to Lewes, East Sussex in 1759 and feast upon Apple-fritters a la Bavarre as found in William Verral's book A Complete System of Cookery. Will you join me?

Paul is a treasure. Any time you want to clear your head, breathe, return to a slower and simpler era of friendly conversation, and look at and learn about delicious and also curious food, take a peek at his thread and give him a follow!

I’m trying to see how many active followers I have interested in Georgian & Regency cookery. So, if you see this post and you follow me, do drop anything (gif, words, kind words, etc) down below.

A tip. Be careful eating Milk Gruel as a servant in 1770. A farmer may have put arsenic in a batch of oatmeal that you may end up eating. Pleased to read that no lives were lost this time but do be careful when time-travelling... Seen in the Chester Courant, 25th Sept. 1770.

My next online class: How the poor ate frugally and the rich feasted lavishly. From sumptuous suppers to humble pie. Enticing social history and historic food. Tempting? Find out more & join in here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/feeding-th...

It is 1805. Your cook has made the following dishes illustrated below from your new cookery book, The Housekeeper's Domestic Library by Charles Millington. Two courses. Which dishes tickle your fancy? What would you eat? Do let me know.

You may like to celebrate Valentine’s Day in a historic & cooking kind of way. If so you are warmly invited. Details here. Please share. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/love-and-l...

A manuscript cookbook from the 1830s appeared. My mission? To cook recipes from it in a 1830s kitchen. A good idea? Love to hear your thoughts. paulcouchman.co.uk

If wandering the streets in the 1700s do not be fooled by 'Taverns'. Now associated with dingy, small drinking places from the mid-18th century some taverns were elegant & spacious with banquets & even music. An example is the London Tavern on Bishopsgate, London. Interesting?

A tavern, a lady and Mr Farley’s cookery book. The connection? All revealed in my newsletter. Are you subscribed? You may do so here: paulcouchman.co.uk

Every week I sit behind my desk & send off another missive about food & history. You may wish to be entertained by my words. You may subscribe here: paulcouchman.co.uk/newsletter/

If you find yourself in the eighteenth century do not be confused by the catchup. Although similar in name to ketchup it will be a thin brown liquid, often made with mushrooms, walnuts, oysters or anchovies. Worcestershire sauce could be seen as a catchup. Interesting?

If wandering the streets in the 1700s do not be fooled by 'Taverns'. Now associated with dingy, small drinking places from the mid-18th century some taverns were elegant & spacious with banquets & even music. An example is the London Tavern on Bishopsgate, London. Interesting?

My delight at finding a recipe for Lady Leicester's Spanish Pap. It is a rich rice pudding. Boil cream with mace, add rice & cook 'to the thickness of a jelly', add sugar & eat it a shallow dish, cold, with cold cream. Discovered in Elizabeth Price's 1769 book. Tasty?

NB: while they were often eaten directly, the purpose of biscuit was to extend flour shelf life. So, they would be crumbled into rendered fat for roux sauces, or put into soup for thickening, and similar.

Are you free to join me on Valentine's Day? www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/love-and-l...

For Twelfth Night, I made Twelfth Night buns, which were available on the streets of eighteenth-century London for those who could not afford the huge decorated cakes. Could these be a hit in our bakeries today? Please bring back the Twelfth Night bun I say. Who's with me?

Ship’s biscuits. Flour, salt & water. Bake until rock hard. 5 hours or more. Useful for long sea voyages & conquering the world. In the 15th century activity in the naval bakehouses looked on as a sign of impending military action. Interesting?

I am so looking forward to this event - it starts in an hour, so there is still time to get your ticket! If you can't go, still follow Paul Couchman - he is all sorts of awesome and his classes are amazing! #regencycooking #twelfthnight #cookingclass

Behind-the-scenes at my traditional (3rd year) Twelfth Night class. Starting at 7pm. Will you be attending?

A freezing but glorious visit to my allotment. Dreaming of which plants & flowers I will grow in 2025.

A short stay in the countryside of South Wales in a rather lovely cottage to start 2025. Happy New Year.

Today’s post is inspired by the upcoming Curious Descendants club Christmas party, which in time honoured tradition features the culinary delights of the past with @theregencycook.bsky.social. Looking forward to Friday night! #Genealogy #FamilyHistory

A late-night very much behind the scenes of my preparation for two online presentations tomorrow. I do feel it may be time for bed :)

In this week's email, I speak of Pepper Cake & a family who are trying to get from London to Whitby onboard a trading brig in time for Christmas. Will they succeed? To find out, join my email list via my website: paulcouchman.co.uk Subscribers. Did you enjoy this week's missive?

Who can help Mary-Anne in her quest?

Two words for certain types of people, should you need them: microlipet: one who gets all worked up over nothing. struthonian: the person who buries their head in the sand and says ‘Problem? What problem?’.

Christmas in the Victorian workhouse in summary: we wealthy people will make ourselves feel better by providing the poor with a nice meal on one day of the year. For the other 364 they can live off skilly and bread and we can pretend we've improved their lives.

Christmas Day in the Workhouse "To smile & be condescending, Put pudding on pauper plates, To be hosts at the workhouse banquet They've paid for—with the rates." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christm... Do read.

Very much enjoyed @theregencycook.bsky.social insight into eating out in Recency London, and look forward to his next 'Forgotten Festive Fare' in December. members.sog.org.uk/events/661fb... pondering that fast food has always been around and the innovative ways it has been delivered over time...

Are you eating out in Regency England? Don't be afraid of Zoobditty Mutch. It is a prepared sauce for fish described as 'a Curious East India Fish Sauce, for which its peculiar rich Flavour exceeds EVERYTHING of the kind hitherto made use of'. The ingredients remain a mystery.

I’ve discovered my local library. It’s tiny but I pay £1.20 to order a book from Brighton’s extensive collection instead of paying to own books I’d later have to get rid of. Now I read I help authors too.

If you're interested in food and social history and cooking Paul's emails are a bright spot in the inbox!

Over Christmas I'll be sharing lots of festive suggestions from the past so if you'd delve into that with me I suggest joining my email list. Just scroll to the bottom of my website here: paulcouchman.co.uk

My favourite class of the New Year! Do join me & social historian Sarah Tobias for a celebration of the almost-forgotten Twelfth Night. Do you celebrate the 5th of January too? If not learn why you should. Link here: eventbrite.co.uk/e/twelfth-ni...

This is so wonderful

Check out this online class on January 5th about the food of twelfth night: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/twelfth-ni... I took a class with @theregencycook.bsky.social a while back about Regency cooking and it was excellent. There is an early bird special for this class right now!

"The number of eating houses in London is immense. You can hardly pass through a street without finding one…I went into the first house of this description I saw." Eating out in 1806 London as reported by American Benjamin Silliman. Love to try an 1806 eating-house. You too?

My allotment tells me that it indeed approaching wintertime. Do you feel wintery?

I wish to travel to London in 1815 & visit New Chapter Coffeehouse. It is 'literally a coffee & tea-house, where those articles only with muffins, bread, toast & cold bread & butter are served up at very easy charges. Here most of the morning & evening papers are taken in'. Tempting?

Two words to know & then quickly forget. Callipash & callippe are parts of a TURTLE. The calipash is meat next to the upper shell, calipee the meat next to the bony plate under the turtle's shell. Thank goodness we don't eat them like they were eaten in the Regency?

I’ll take the comparison to the wonderful Zack Pinsent as a huge compliment!