1 - Winston Churchill

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Woods Cupboard:Churchill CookeryR. ALAN FITCHFORMER CHEF DE GARDE MANGERIfirst met Fred Woods, the famousChurchill bibliographer,at the 1992 ISC 25th anniversaryconference in Washington.During the pre-dinner cocktailhour on Saturday evening, my wifePat and I had the opportunity tospend some time with him. I wasnot surprised to find that he didnot wish to talk about Sir Winston,as he had given a lengthy speechjust a few hours prior. What didsurprise was that he wished totalk about food, and proceeded todo so.I said very little, only encouragingand probing the conversation,for I, in fact, did not wish to talkabout food. I had just finished adifficult week of exams and wishedto forget (more difficult for the studentsthan for me). Moreover, I recalledsome wag had once said orwritten that the tongue is the onlyorgan that, when engaged, prohibitslearning.Dr. Woods had more than apassing interest in food, andseemed to know a great deal aboutit. There was a point where hebegan a discourse on some casseroleor such with a rich creamsauce and that much malignedvegetable, broccoli. As he describedhis method of preparationand cooking, I interjected at onepoint, "If you do that, you willovercook and ruin the broccoli."Fred paused, got a somewhat hostileglint in his eye and asked, "Isthat a professional opinion orsheer arrogance?" I smiled andMr. Fitch spent the better part of thelast decade as Chef de Cuisine in finerestaurants in Baltimore and New Orleans,and on the faculty of a prominentculinary college. In 1992 he metPat Peschko on the Sixth ChurchillTour, and they are just celebratingtheir first wedding anniversary, thesecond (that we know of) couplebrought together by ICS.The author and Pat Fitch withFred Woods at the 1993 Conference."Fred's knowledge was staggering;he often described elaboratedining scenes, and thoughtWSC ripe for a culinary book,given his refined tastes."said, "as a matter of fact, it is professional;I am a chef." It was apriceless moment for he had beengoing "quite on" about food withoutrealizing. He actually doubledover with laughter. It was apoignant beginning to a friendshipwhich lasted until illness robbedhim of his strength and powers.It is this memory of Woods theconnoisseur of food, not the bibliographer,that causes me to proposea series of articles onChurchill-related cuisine. WereFred still with us, he would wishto establish a few ground rules,the foremost being: it must be fun.I do not recall meeting anyone inrecent years who so genuinely enjoyedworking with, eating or talkingabout food. It was not uncommonfor me to get a call at somebizarre hour from Fred with an energeticinquiry about some methodor recipe, or just seeking newideas. His enthusiasm was contagious.Many approaches and topicsmight serve. We could adopt a systematicapproach regarding cookingmethods, equipment, recipes,menus, what works, what doesnot, and most importantly, why itdoes or does not. The possibilitiesare endless. One could take theArthur Haley approach to restaurants(as he did for Wheels), oreven food critics, which would beunpleasant and violate rule #1. Itmight be enjoyable to do some culinarytrivia. Who cooked the onlyhot meal prior to the only Frenchvictory during the Franco-Prussianwar? Who created Melba toast?Who cooked Churchill's and LloydGeorge's vegetables when theydined at Carlton House on 3 August1914, the night war was declared?(The answer, Sir MartinGilbert revealed, was Ho Chiminh,we kid you not, and a plaqueattesting to the revolutionary'stime in London is affixed to NewZealand House, which stands onthe old Carlton site).It will not be difficult to achievea Churchillian air to these proceedings,given WSC's love andpassion for food and dining. Onemight even consider decipheringMrs. Landemare's cook book,Recipes from Number Ten, forthose "lacking a classic Sorbonnianeducation." I do believe it is stillpossible to enjoy food without becominga slave in the kitchen, evenin this cybernetic, interlocked, microwave,off-line world we live in.In fact I know it, cooking as I doonce or twice a week, and diningdaily apolaustically when themood serves.Editor's note: Recipes from NumberTen, the book of Churchill favoritesproduced by his longstandingcook Mrs. Landemare, has recentlybeen examined jointly byLady Soames and Barbara Langworth,with a view to interpretingsome of its recipes in modern context,using contemporary ingredients,measures and cooking methods.What this will lead to we're notsure, but you will be the first toknow. In the meantime, commentaryon Churchill cuisine is welcomefrom all comers. $?FINEST HOUR 89/50
EDITED BY BARBARA LANGWORTHTEST your skill and knowledge. Virtuallyall questions can be answered in back issuesof FINEST HOUR or other ICS publications(but it's not really cricket to check).Twenty-four questions appear in each issue,the answers in the following issue. Questionsfall into six categories: Contemporaries688. How did Churchill get his first racehorse?(P)(C), Literary (L), Miscellaneous (M), Personal(P), Statesmanship (S), and War (W).673. "He was a man without a countryyet he acted as if he was head of state"was said by WSC about whom in 1943?(C)674. What was the subject of Churchill'sfirst commercially published writings?(L)675. What famous landscape architectwas responsible for the gardens atBlenheim Palace? (M)676. Where and when did Churchill firstuse paper money (and disliked it)? (P)677 WSC was twice Prime Minister ofBritain. What other cabinet positions didhe hold? (S)678. Churchill blamed "chemists in spectaclesand chauffeurs pulling the leversof aeroplanes or machine guns" for thedemise of what traditional military maneuver?(W)679. "All my thoughts are with you onthis day which is so essentially yourday. It is you who have led, uplifted andinspired us throughout the worst days"was written to WSC by whom and onwhat day? (C)680. How much did WSC earn with hisfirst attempt as an author? (L)681. What institution awarded Churchillhis first honorary degree? (M)682. What were Churchill's "belly-bandos"?(P)683. What was the "Stalingrad Sword"? (S)684. What is the Churchill connection withthe Staats Model School in Pretoria? (W)685. Who owned the villa La Capponcinawhere Churchill often visited? (C)686. WSC's The World Crisis consists offive volumes published over a period ofeight years. Name each volume title. (L)687. Why did the First Duke of Marlboroughname his palace "Blenheim"? (M)689. What was the KGB's codename forChurchill? (S)690. What was the "Morgenthau Plan"that Churchill rejected at the secondQuebec conference? (W)691. What position did Churchill's goodfriend and counsel Jan Smuts hold duringWWII? (C)692. How many copies of the original, twovolume,River War were published? (L)693. What was special about the swimmingpool WSC designed and built atChartwell? (M)694. What was Winston's favorite brandof Cognac? (P)695. "It may well be a blessing in disguise,"said Mrs. Churchill, to whichWSC replied, "At the moment, it seemsquite effectively disguised." What was"it"? (S)696. After what incident did FDR say toWSC, "We are all in the same boatnow."? (W)ANSWERS TO LAST TRIVIA649. "[The West Point Cadets] are not allowedto smoke or have any money . . .nor are they given any leave except twomonths. [I think those] who would resigntheir personal liberty to such an extentcan never make good citizens orfine soldiers." 650. The "Official Biography"of Churchill by Randolph Churchill/MartinGilbert is the longest biographywritten at over 20,000 pages. 651.A time capsule, to be opened by thePresident of the US in 2063 on the 100thAnniv. of WSC's honorary citizenship, isburied under his statue in Washington.652. To Clementine's annoyance andCHURCH1LLTR1VIAWinston's amusement, Brendan Brackenliked to hint that he was Churchill's illegitimateson. 653. Churchill made hisfirst public speech at the Empire Theatre(now Equinox) in Leicester Square, defendingthe pleasures of the music hall.654. WSC said, (1945) ". . . to fight thisgreat war at the other end of the world[the Pacific] at their [United States] side."655. King Leopold, Belgium; Queen Wilhelmina,Holland; and Grand DuchessCharlotte, Luxembourg were heads ofstate of the "low countries" when invadedby Hitler. 656. Churchill waswriting The Gathering Storm when hegave his speech at Fulton. 657. Macaulay'scollection of poems in balladform (retelling legends of the beginningof the Roman republic) were the Lays ofancient Rome. 658. Winston Churchill isburied in St. Martin's ChurchyardBlandon, Oxfordshire. 659. Churchill feltthat ... all my past life had been but apreparation for [Prime Minister]. 660."Churchill's sharpshooters" were theMaritime Royal Artillery founded byWSC in 1940. 661. Kay Halle, an Americanjournalist who met Churchill whenshe was based in London, was chieflyresponsible for his honorary Americancitizenship. 662. Step by Step is a collectionof artilces (most from the EveningStandard from 1936 to 1939). 663. In 1965the United States issued a 5
Page 2 and 3: THE INTERNATIONAL CHURCHILL SOCIETI
Page 4 and 5: FINEST HOURISSN 0882-3715Richard M
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Page 9 and 10: RECORD MEETING OF THE ICS LEADERSHI
Page 11 and 12: 1996 CHURCHILL TOURFILLING UP FASTO
Page 13 and 14: special Churchill birthday cake.The
Page 15 and 16: Riddles, continuedhitherto secret d
Page 17 and 18: crowds, who objected to his declara
Page 19 and 20: THE CHURCHILL CENTERReport for trie
Page 21 and 22: almost singlehandedly campaigned fo
Page 23 and 24: LEFT: "Randy, you're soaked through
Page 26 and 27: Why Churchill Still Fascinates, con
Page 28 and 29: THESINEWSOF PEACE19461996ANNIVERSAR
Page 30 and 31: Americans, who believed the Second
Page 32 and 33: FULTON +50very unfortunate for the
Page 34 and 35: THIS is Winston Churchill speaking,
Page 36 and 37: My father, however, could not make
Page 38 and 39: VE-Day: One More MemoryA meeting of
Page 40 and 41: BOOK REVIEWS"Glory that ShinesUpon
Page 42 and 43: mous expressions throughout his wri
Page 44 and 45: fax or Chamberlain once France fell
Page 46 and 47: Jl-The Great Invasion:Churchill in
Page 48 and 49: RECAPSSalisbury Hall, the Pike and
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1 - Winston Churchill

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