Willie Fowler's Countryman's Cooking was written for men. He joined Bomber Command in WW2, flew Lancasters, was shot down by the Germans and ended up in Stalag Luft 3. When he returned to Cumbria after his release in 1945, he took to farming mink, then daffodils, while rediscovering the delights of hunting, shooting and fishing, not to mention cooking, eating and womanising. We have three extracts read by Rupert Baker to whet the appetite…
Cormorant: under the heading of 'Wigeon', Fowler lists those birds he considers edible and those that are not. Cormorant features in neither category but deserves a unique recipe—not for the faint-hearted.
Salmon: in one of the most poetic pieces in the book, Fowler vividly describes the run of the salmon on a mid-summer evening.
Roach and Gudgeon: in an evocative and nostalgic passage, Fowler talks about his fishing exploits in Norfolk as a young subaltern and the dubious merits of fried roach for breakfast. He muses on the delights of a Victorian gudgeon party.
Countryman's Cooking is published by Excellent Press
