Perhaps the most influential cookery writer of the 20th century lived and worked right here. The Elizabeth David Plaque commemorates Elizabeth David who lived and worked at 24 Halsey Street from 1947 until her death in 1992. English Heritage erected the Elizabeth David Plaque in 2016. It stands as a tribute to her significant contributions.
Elizabeth David changed Britain’s tastes forever. She is largely credited with introducing Mediterranean food to the UK. The Elizabeth David Plaque is part of the 150th anniversary of the London Blue Plaque scheme.
Jill Norman, Elizabeth’s editor at Penguin books, noted that the Elizabeth David Plaque rightly recognizes the quality of her writing. It also celebrates her impact on British food.
Elizabeth David championed new and exotic ingredients. Aubergines olives and saffron became staples thanks to her. Her books captured the imagination of cooks across the country. They sold over a million copies worldwide.
Rosemary Hill a member of the English Heritage Blue Plaques Panel, said that Elizabeth David was taken seriously. She turned the traditional image of Mrs Beeton into a more glamorous cosmopolitan idea of cooking.
Born Elizabeth Gwynne into a wealthy Sussex family she first tasted good French food while studying in Paris in the 1930s. Her real food exploration began in 1939. She set off for Greece with her then-lover, Charles Gibson Cowan. David discovered the markets and restaurants of southern France. She met Norman Douglas who became a mentor until his death in 1952. David and Cowan settled on the Greek island of Syros. Elizabeth delighted in cooking local produce.
The couple fled to Egypt when Germany invaded Greece in 1941. David spent the rest of the war in Alexandria and Cairo. She socialized with Lawrence Durrell and Robin Freddon. Following her split from Cowan she married Lieutenant Colonel Ivor Anthony David in 1944. They later divorced in 1960.
David returned to England in the freezing winter of 1946. Rationing was still in full force. She began writing about food. She aimed to work out an agonized craving for the sun. It was a revolt against that terrible cheerless heartless food. She described Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking.
Her articles appeared in Harper’s Bazaar. They were later included in her first book A Book of Mediterranean Food published in 1950. The articles read more like travel pieces. The recipes were simple and interwoven with evocative memories. They were laced with quotations from literary observers of the Mediterranean. Henry James Norman Douglas and Lawrence Durrell were among them.
Four other books followed. French Country Cooking came out in 1951. Italian Food was published in 1954. Summer Cooking appeared in 1955. Her best-known book French Provincial Cooking was released in 1960. She continued writing articles. She moved from Harper’s to Vogue in 1956. She also contributed to the Daily Express the News Chronicle and The Sunday Times. In 1960 she was taken on by the Spectator.
Through these works David developed an aesthetic approach to marketing cooking and presenting food. This approach continues to have a strong hold in cookery today.
Number 24 Halsey Street is a grade II-listed terraced house. It has three storeys and dates from the 1840s. David initially let out the third and attic storeys to friends. Much of David’s part of the house was eventually taken over by her books. She increasingly confined herself to her bedroom on the first floor and her kitchen.
From 1948 until the 1980s the kitchen was in the back extension. It was there that she wrote cooked and entertained. She often had a glass of good wine and a Gauloise. Many friends remember the room. It had a big pine table a French armoire and several dressers. There was a chaise longue a butler’s sink and a gas stove. Masses of pots pans plates and bowls were on display.
The Elizabeth David Plaque serves as a reminder of a culinary pioneer. Her passion for Mediterranean flavors and her dedication to quality ingredients transformed British cooking. Take a moment to appreciate the legacy of Elizabeth David.