Victory in the Kitchen: The Life of Churchill's Cook

Review Deliciously entertaining ― Daily MailEngaging ... appeals to three national obsessions: the preparation and presentation of food; the lost world of great households, above and below stairs; and the private life of a national hero, Churchill ― The TimesGray is an inventive researcher ... she likes to get close up to the everyday past ― SpectatorThe queen of food historians -- Lucy WorsleyAnnie Gray is a brilliant writer and scholar who brings a glorious combination of enthusiasm and greed to every subject she tackles. In the field of food history she leads the pack -- Jay RaynerPopular history at its very best ― Daily MailVictory in the Kitchen ... recreates a corner of early 20th-century domestic life ― SpectatorGray writes with great authority, verve and confidence ― The Times Product Description This is the story of a woman who was not a royal, not rich, not famous; someone who simply worked hard and enjoyed her life. But while Georgina Landemare saw herself as ordinary, her accomplishments were anything but. Georgina started her career as a nursemaid and ended it cooking for one of the best-known figures in British history: Winston Churchill.To him, food was central, not only as a pleasure but as a diplomatic tool at a time when the world was embroiled in war.With this eager eater and his skilled cook, ranging from rural Berkshire to wartime London, via Belle Epoque Paris and prohibition-era New York, Annie Gray shows how life in service - and food - changed during the huge upheavals of the twentieth century. Book Description The story of the twentieth century through one woman's life and the food she cooked for our most famous Prime Minister, Winston Churchill About the Author Annie Gray is an historian, cook, broadcaster and writer specialising in the history of food and dining in Britain from around 1600 to the present day, conducting her research both in libraries and in kitchens. She has worked at Audley End amongst other historical kitchens, and gives lectures all over the country. She has presented TV history documentaries including Victorian Bakers and The Sweetmakers, and appears on BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet. She lives in East Anglia.