Sam Bilton

A few weeks ago we were besieged by snow and freezing temperatures which inevitably drove me to cook something warming and sustaining....

There is something about figs even in this day and age that causes people to titter. With their curvaceous exterior and fleshy pink...

Apparently, the British are the only Europeans to differentiate orange marmalade from other fruit jams. On the continent marmalade can be...

The appearance of the first mince pies in our shops seems to get earlier every year. I spied a small display in my local supermarket in...

I made my annual batch of medlar mincemeat last week. As always I picked far too many medlars and as a consequence ended up with more...

Despite living in the intense heat the Victorians who had settled in India were still partial to a traditional British pudding after...

The story behind this dish is as follows. Apicius, the renowned Roman gastronome to whom the most famous book on Roman food is...

The Accomplisht Cook by Robert May (1660/85) is rather like those ‘antique’ shops you find in towns like Lewes stuffed with a fascinating...

Robert May’s Pompion Pie (The Accomplisht Cook c.1660) Take a pound of pumpkin and slice it, a handful of thyme, a little rosemary, and...

This recipe is adapted from the early 17th century recipe notebook kept by Elinor Fettiplace. Spiced Ale Pancakes Ingredients (makes...

This recipe is based on one provided by Mrs Beeton for vegetable marrow jam. The only changes I have made to the original are the...

It’s been a while since I last grew courgettes (or zucchini as our American and Italian cousins like to call them). Despite being a...

Cheesecakes are something of a stalwart in the dessert stakes. In their various guises they have graced culinary manuals for centuries....

This version of the classic frumenty takes on a sweeter guise than my previous offering. Frumenty could be made with stock or almond...

Frumenty or fermity is an ancient form of wheat pottage (it appears in the Form of Cury from 1390 but probably has much earlier origins)....

Pancakes and fritters must surely be amongst the most ancient recipes going. Nor should they be restricted to Shrove Tuesday (neither are...

Not everyone is a fan of Christmas pudding. Whilst tradition may dictate that the festive meal should conclude with a flaming cannon ball...

It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve been rather preoccupied with my supper club, Repast. But whilst my blogging may have been lax...

Bread has taken a battering in recent years. A host of ‘experts’ have been encouraging us to eschew the yeasty stuff in order to cleanse...

Baked Parmesan Custard (Serves 1 or more if you multiply the ingredients) Take parsel, myntes, sauery, & sauge, tansey, veruayn, clarry,...