Countryman’s Cooking is a cook book like no other; opinionated and archly pedantic, yet it is also probably the funniest and most heartwarming cookbook you’ll ever read.
William (Bill) Menzies Weekes Fowler (1914-1977) Was a bomber pilot in WWII, he carelessly got shot down in ’41 and ended up in Stalag Luft III of The Great Escape fame. As he neither escaped or got shot he returned after the war to Eskdale, Cumbria and settled down to farm mink and daffodils (pretty badly). He had become friends with another larger than life character as a POW, Hugh Falkus, the author of the all time classic books on Salmon and Sea Trout fishing. Their friendship continued for many years. You can imagine the pair of them in the pub. Bloody loudmouths to everyone who didn’t know them, yet the life and soul of the party to their friends.
A review in the Telegraph by Elizabeth Grice neatly sums up the books appeal:
“So red-blooded, so gloriously politically incorrect and so unfashionably informative that it slices clean through the genre like a meat cleaver.”
Bill Fowler pointing at lunch
The book is chiefly concerned with obtaining your meat or fish (not much here for a vegetarian), by whatever means necessary, shooting, snaring or catching, and then its preparation and cooking. It is actually stuffed with country lore and practical advice; whether you need to skin and bone a hare, joint a lamb or cook a cormorant*, you can find it here.
The recipes are down to earth and straightforward, yet they result in dishes crammed with flavour. Running through the book are his reminiscences and anecdotes, all centering around country lore and customs, fishing, shooting and his advice for living a full life.
An example of his practical advice is to not bother shooting wild goose, as they are generally inedible, and go instead for a reared one. His advice continues “If you possibly can, get your goose ready plucked and dressed. The worse that can happen is to be given a sack with a live goose inside. So we’d beter start there. First of all, unless you really want a pet goose, don’t open the sack. Otherwise you, or some other mug, will say ‘ah, the poor thing, it seems a shame to bump it off’, and you’ll be lumbered with the great stupid dirty brute plodding around your garden for the next two decades.” Sage words indeed.
Originally published in 1965 to little success, the Countryman’s Cookbook was republished in 2006, after Fowlers death, to surprising acclaim. Fowler was not backwards in coming forward with his opinions, and he had some pretty far fetchced views for the 1960’s , ones that have turned out to be surprisingly prescient. He abhored intensive agriculture and was aghast at the damge insecticides, pesticides and artificial fertilisers would cause to the soil. He scorned farming for its obsessive short term profit mentality. All of which would have him labelled a crank in the ’60s but have turned out to be all too true.
Fowlers’ book is a treat, easily read from cover to cover it will make you laugh out loud as well as being highly informative. I have used many of his recipes over the years and find them highly reliable. You can find second hand copies quite easily online.
* His spoof recipe for cooking a cormorant is priceless. At least I hope it’s a spoof, you wouldn’t set fire to it with petrol, bury for a fortnight, soak in lime and cover in a rub made of methylated spirit and curry powder would you?
Tou can pick up a copy on Amazon
Cover pic: Iain Hazlewood – Other images: wikipedia
