Penguin Cordon Bleu Cookery

Penguin Cordon Bleu Cookery (1965) – Rosemary Hume & Muriel Downes
(Penguin Books)

From the genteel days when aspic was an acceptable food group and dinner parties demanded more soufflés than sense, comes this mid-60s Penguin paperback, courtesy of Rosemary Hume (yes, the co-creator of Coronation Chicken) and Muriel Downes.

Penguin Cordon Bleu Cookery is a slice of culinary history – packed with French-inspired recipes, careful instructions, and the occasional whiff of post-war austerity chic. Expect to find plenty of classics (soups, sauces, pastries, poultry, and puddings) explained in the no-nonsense prose of two women who truly believed anyone could turn their draughty English kitchen into a miniature Parisian restaurant.

This isn’t flashy modern “foodie” nonsense with glossy photos and Instagram plating. It’s a trusty Penguin paperback – yellowing pages, mid-century fonts, and recipes that sometimes assume you already own a copper saucepan, a soufflé dish, and infinite patience.

Perfect for:

• Vintage cookbook collectors.

• Nostalgists who like their béchamel with a side of cigarette smoke and sherry.

• Anyone who enjoys the phrase “serve immediately, lest collapse ensue.”

At Crappy Old Books, we can’t guarantee your boeuf bourguignon will impress the neighbours, but we can promise this is a charming, slightly battered, and utterly authentic piece of cookery history.

Fine condition.

Keep browsing: See more Food books Other books by Rosemary Hume and Muriel Downes