Books
A Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook Exists & Mrs Patmore Would Love It
Almost as good as sitting around the festive dinner table with the Crawley family.
Christmas wouldn’t be complete without eating far too many seasonal treats and watching all of the cosy specials on TV. If you’re super organised and like getting into the spirit as early as possible then you may have already thought about what you'll be eating this festive season. For fans of the Crawley family there should be one book at the top of your list for recipe-planning. A Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook is coming out this year, plenty of time for the festive season.
With wide open fires, snowy scenery, and Lady Violet Crawley giving her entire family a scolding, Downton Abbey embodies everything right about Christmas. And you might be able to try some of Mrs Patmore’s speciality dishes this year. The Downton Abbey Cookbook will feature starters, mains, deserts, and decadent sides particularly popular in the Edwardian era. Belgian culinary historian, writer, and photographer Regula Ysewijn had the dreamy job of curating the dishes for the book. She specialises in the social history of Britain, so if anyone knows what would get the green light from Lord Grantham to sit pride of place on the Crawley Christmas table, it’s her.
The description of the book reads, “this coffee table cookbook highlights the luxe and elegance of the Christmas at Downton Abbey and features a collection of traditional British holiday recipes, from appetizers to desserts, that were popular during the Edwardian period. Take a seat at the Christmas table of Downton Abbey, the historic British estate at the heart of the popular series.”
The book includes 85 recipes typical of the time alongside pictures from the show. Some of the dishes include pheasant soup, game bird pie, chestnut pudding, and it wouldn’t be a Christmas cookbook without Yorkshire puddings and mince pies. This might not be Christmas as you know it but these dishes would fit right in at Downton.
The description continues, “Downton fans will appreciate this enticing collection of classic British holiday recipes from the Edwardian era, evocative narratives about Christmas traditions, and seasonal anecdotes from the award-winning series. Colorful photographs of finished dishes, fan-favorite moments from the Christmas episodes, and excerpts of character quotes bring the spirit of the holidays to life.”
The Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook is a must-have for fans of Lady Mary and co. It’ll be available for Oct. 21 and you can pre-order it now from Amazon and WH Smith.
