TEN LESSONS ON COTTAGE COOKERY

Roger Clarke thinks that Saltaire residents today are spoilt for choice when it comes to eating out and tells us that even in 1860 the situation in Saltaire was much better than in the rest of Bradford. Sir Titus' dining hall was one of the first buildings in the Village, and the meals which were sold there were heavily subsidized; or you could cook your own food free of charge. Shops included a butcher and several grocers on Victoria Road, with a fruit shop by 1871. In 1877, Elementary Classes at the Institute included the following:

SCHOOL OF COOKERY
A course of TEN LESSONS ON COTTAGE COOKERY
How to cook good and wholesome food in the best and cheapest way.
The lessons will be given on 10 successive Monday evenings at 7 o'clock.
Admission twopence.
Examples of the bill of fare include:
October 8th – Potato Soup, boiled fish, sausage rolls, invalid pudding.
October 15th – Dr Kitchener's broth, tripe in milk, suet puddings, Welsh rabbits.
November 5th – Mutton broth, baked ox cheek, orange fritters, parkin.
November 12th – Pea soup, baked herrings, arrowroot puddings, treacle pies.
November 19th – Beef tea, tripe, roly poly pudding, rock cake.

The dishes cooked will be sold at cost price.

Mrs Catherine Salt conducted these classes herself, and they were hugely popular with the womenfolk in the Village. Mrs Salt was the wife of Mr Titus Salt Junior, and together they became much more involved in Village life in the 1870s and 80s. Catherine was particularly concerned about the health, welfare and education of Saltaire families. As for Dr Kitchener's broth and Invalid pudding, we may never know what they contained – unless the cooks amongst Sentinel readers can enlighten us (or have a guess).