Fanny Cradock

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Fanny Cradock

Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey , known as Fanny Cradock (born February 26, 1909 in Leytonstone , Essex , England - † December 27, 1994 in Hailsham , East Sussex , England) was an English restaurant critic , author and TV cook . Known and legendary it was in the 1960s with their BBC - cooking shows .

Life

Fanny Cradock is the daughter of the writer Archibald Thomas Pechey and his wife Bijou Sortain Hancock. She was born and raised in her maternal grandparents house at 33 Fairlop Road, Leytonstone, but the birth had to be officially registered in West Ham, London. The house where he was born was later given a plaque in memory. Her ancestors had a respected medium-sized trading company, a family tradition that Cradock's parents could not carry on. On the contrary, they had not managed their wealth well, because their mother lived extravagantly and their father had considerable gambling debts. To avoid their creditors, the family moved across the country, going to Herne Bay in Kent , then to Swanage and on to Bournemouth in Dorset , where Archibald's brother Richard Francis Pechey (1872–1963) served as Vicar of Holy Trinity Church in 1912 was standing. In Bournemouth, 15-year-old Fanny attended Bournemouth High School (now Talbot Heath School).

The family moved to Wroxham , Norfolk , in 1927 when creditors caught up with them again, tried it there in 1930 and the bankruptcy court found £ 3,500 in debt. Fanny Cradock worked in London for the next ten years, staying on doorstep selling cleaning products. After that she worked in a tailor shop. Fanny was financially better when she began to work in various restaurants, where she got to know the works of Auguste Escoffier . She later wrote passionately about the change from service à la française to service à la Russian and welcomed Escoffier as the “savior” of British cuisine.

Cradock married a total of four times. Their first son, Peter Vernon Evans, was born in 1927 and raised by his grandparents after his father, Sidney A. Vernon Evans, was killed in a plane crash. Thanks to Johnnie Cradock, he later became sous chef at the Dorchester Hotel . Pregnant again the following year, Fanny married Arthur William Chapman. Shortly after the birth of their second son, Christopher, the couple separated again and Cradock left their son and husband for a new life in London. Here she got married a third time in 1939, but this marriage to a racing driver (Gregory Holden-Dye) only lasted eight weeks. She found the love of her life with Johnnie Whitby Cradock. He was a major in the Royal Artillery , but already had four children and was married. After leaving his wife and children, he married Fanny on May 7, 1977. However, the then 68-year-old stated her age on the marriage certificate as only 55 years.

Fanny and Johnnie Cradock spent their final years in Bexhill on Sea , East Sussex .

Career

After Fanny married Johnnie Cradock in their fourth marriage, both began to write a restaurant column under the pseudonym Bon Viveur , which appeared in The Daily Telegraph from 1950 to 1955 . This sparked off a theater career for the two as Major and Mrs Cradock , which turned the theater into a "restaurant". The cradocks cooked huge dishes that were served to the audience. They are best known here for their roasted turkey with a stuffed head, tail feathers and wings. Fanny also wrote books under the pen names Frances Dale, Susan Leigh, and Phyllis Cradock.

Her first shows on English television began in the 1950s. Every year the BBC published a brochure detailing every recipe Fanny presented, which allowed her to say frequently in later years: "You'll find that recipe in the booklet, so I won't show you now." (You can find this recipe in the brochure. I'm not going to show you now). Fanny advocated bringing Escoffier-standard food into the British household and gave each recipe a French name. Their food looked extravagant but was generally inexpensive. Their catchphrases included “This won't break you” (This is also doable for you), “This is perfectly economical” (This is absolutely economical) and “This won't stretch your purse.” (It won't get into your wallet add too much). Over time, her recipes with her love for piping bags and vegetable colors seemed no longer in demand. Since Cradock often included relatives and friends on her television shows, she was temporarily replaced by a friend's daughter after a minor heart attack in the early 1970s.

The Cradock couple also worked for the British Gas Council throughout their television careers . They appeared at fairs such as the Ideal Home Exhibition , promoting the use of gas stoves aimed at cooking enthusiasts, usually newlyweds. Despite the BBC's advertising ban, Cradock only used gas stoves on her TV shows and often stated that she didn't like electric stoves.

Her career as a TV cook came to an end in 1976 when the housewife Gwen Troake asked her for assistance in a renowned amateur cooking competition (also a BBC show). During the show, however, Cradock was so venomous and condescending towards Troake that the audience complained. Your cooking show was therefore soon canceled. This was followed by small extra appearances, the last of which was at Jonathan Ross in 1987.

She died after a stroke on December 27, 1994. Both Fanny and Johnnie were cremated at the Langney Crematorium in Eastbourne . There is a memorial plaque and a rose bush for both of them on the grounds of the crematorium.

meaning

In the post-war years, Fanny Cradock went public and tried to inspire the “average” housewife with an exotic approach to cooking. In her TV programs she always worked in clothes without the usual cooking apron. She wanted to achieve that women should find cooking easy and pleasant and not intimidating.

In her early, lesser-known role as a food critic , working with her husband under the name Bon Viveur , Fanny introduced audiences to unusual dishes from France and Italy and popularized pizza in Britain. She is also known as the originator of the prawn cocktail. She and Johnny worked together on a touring cookery show sponsored by the Gas Council to demonstrate that gas is safe to use in the kitchen. As it became known, Fanny's shows were televised, with which she had success for 20 years.

In the course of her presence at exhibitions, Fanny made frequent concessions to the economic realities of the time and suggested cheaper alternatives that were also affordable for housewives. The BBC published its recipes and suggestions for dinner parties in a series of brochures, cementing its reputation as the leading chef of the day.

Economist Marguerite Patten has described Fanny Cradock as the “savior” of British cuisine after the war. British chef Brian Turner said his colleague Delia Smith owed her own career to the inspiration of the Cradocks TV shows.

Despite attempts to denigrate their methods and culinary skills by professional chefs like Graham Kerr, Keith Floyd, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall , Cradock's books sold at record highs.

Media presentations

Fanny Cradock's gruff voice and theatrical style have often been the target of comedians and parodists on BBC radio comedy shows.

Cradock's life was also featured in the plays Donuts Like Fanny by Julia Darling and Fear of Fanny by Brian Fillis. Fear of Fanny became a television drama starring Mark Gatiss and Julia Davis following a successful performance by the Leeds Library Theater Company touring the UK in October and November 2003 . The production was broadcast on BBC Four in October 2006 as a series of culinary dramas.

In 2018, the cabaret group "Duckie" staged Duckie Loves Fanny as part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest's program of events , which honors the location's status as the London Borough of Culture .

Filmography

  • 1958: Lucky Dip
  • 1960: Alice Through the Looking Box
  • 1965: The Eamonn Andrews Show
  • 1965: World in Action
  • 1966: Chan Canasta
  • 1966: Juke Box Jury
  • 1966-1972: Call My Bluff
  • 1968: Doddy's Music Box
  • 1968: Pick of the Year
  • 1968: Whatever Next?
  • 1969: Whatever Next?
  • 1970: Fanny Cradock Invites You To ...
  • 1970: Score with the Scaffold
  • 1971: Ev
  • 1971-1973: Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game
  • 1972: Parkinson's
  • 1972: Tarbuck's Luck
  • 1974: What's My Line?
  • 1975: Fanny Cradock Cooks for Christmas
  • 1976: Celebrity Squares
  • 1976: The Big Time
  • 1978: Those Wonderful TV Times
  • 1986: Wogan
  • 1987: The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross

bibliography

Autobiography

  • Something's Burning (1960)

Books

Cookbooks

  • Bon Viveur - Gala Christmas Dinner
  • Mainly For Women - Bon Viveur Cookery Club
  • Living Today
  • Kitchen party
  • Home Cooking
  • Adventurous Cooking
  • Christmas Cooking
  • Problem Cooking
  • Ten Classic Dishes
  • Fanny Cradock: Colorful Cookery
  • Giving A Dinner Party
  • Fanny Cradock Invites ....
  • Nationwide: Fanny Cradock Cooks Nationwide Into Europe
  • Fanny Cradock Cooks For Christmas
  • Chez Bon Viveur
  • Fanny's Kitchen
  • The Cradocks
  • The Practical Cook (as Frances Dale, 1949)
  • Cooking with Bon Viveur (Museum Press Ltd, 1955 - as John and Phyllis Cradock)
  • Bon Viveur Recipes (Daily Mail, c. 1960)
  • Daily Telegraph Cook's Book (Collins Fontana Books, 1964) by Bon Viveur
  • Daily Telegraph Sociable Cook's Book (Collins Fontana Books, 1967) by Bon Viveur
  • Fanny & Johnnie Cradocks 'The Cook Hostess' Book (Cookery Book Club, 1970)
  • Modest but Delicious (Arlington Books / The Daily Telegraph, 1973)
  • Common Market Cookery: France (BBC Books, 1973) ISBN 0-563-12586-1
  • Common Market Cookery: Italy (BBC Books, 1974)
  • 365 Puddings (The Daily Telegraph, Summer 1975) by Bon Viveur
  • The Sherlock Holmes Cookbook (WH Allen, 1976)
  • 365 Soups (The Daily Telegraph, Winter 1977) by Bon Viveur
  • Fanny & Johnnie Cradock's Freezer Book (WH Allen, 1978)
  • A Cook's Essential Alphabet (WH Allen, 1979)
  • Time to Remember - A Cook for All Seasons (Web & Bower, 1981)
  • A Lifetime In The Kitchen (Three books / WH Allen, 1985)
  • Home Cooking with Fanny Cradock (BBC, 1965)
  • Adventurous Cooking with Fanny Cradock (BBC, 1966)
  • Ten Classic Dishes (BBC Worldwide, 1967)
  • Problem Cooking with Fanny Cradock (BBC, 1967)
  • Eight Special Menus with Their Accompanying Wines for the Busy Cook-Hostess (Mendham Bros / Gas Council, 1967)
  • Colorful Cookery (BBC, 1968)
  • Giving a Dinner Party (BBC Worldwide, 1969)
  • Fanny Cradock Invites (BBC, 1970)
  • Fanny Cradock's Nationwide Cook Book (BBC, 1972)
  • Fanny Cradock's Christmas Cooking (BBC, 1975)

Web links

Commons : Fanny Cradock  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Secret drugs menu of TV chef Fanny -Drama tells how moody studio cook kept control , on The Guardian , accessed June 21, 2018.
  2. ^ GRO Register of Births: June Qtr 1909 Phyllis Nan S. Pechey, in W. Ham, Volume 4a, page 369
  3. ^ Crockford's Clerical Directory, 1923, pp. 1173-1174
  4. ↑ Bournemouth: a town with so much character! at bournemouthecho.co.uk, accessed March 5, 2019.
  5. ^ GRO death register: March 1927 2b 309 NEWHAVEN - Sidney AV Evans, 22 years.
  6. ↑ Marriage: 1977, June Qtr, Phyllis Chapman and John Cradock, in Surrey South Western, Vol. 17, p. 1154
  7. ↑ 'Something's Burning: The Autobiography of Two Cooks' by Fanny Cradock and Johnnie Cradock (1960)
  8. ↑ The Craddocks were still using this byline at the end of their Telegraph career (Daily Telegraph Cooks' book - London, WHAllen, 1978, ISBN 0-491-02472-X )
  9. ^ Fanny Cradock - a Christmas cracker at telegraph.co.uk, accessed March 5, 2019.
  10. ↑ Fabulous Fanny Cradock: The Outrageous Queen of the Kitchen on TV 'by Clive Ellis
  11. ↑ Something Burns: The Autobiography of Two Cooks 'by Fanny Cradock and Johnnie Cradock (1960)'
  12. ↑ The Daily Telegraph Cook's Book by Bon Viveur 'by Fanny Cradock and Jonnie Craddock (1964)
  13. ↑ Common Market Cookery: France 'by Fanny Cradock (22 Nov 1973)
  14. ↑ Time to Remember: A Cook for All Seasons' by Fanny Cradock and Johnnie Cradock (10 Aug 1981)
  15. ^ Giving a Dinner Party '(Publications / British Broadcasting Corporation) by Fanny Cradock and Johnnie Cradock (Jun 1969)
  16. ↑ Funny in Four at bbc.co.uk, accessed March 5, 2019.
  17. ↑ Cabaret group Duckie to honor TV chef Fanny Cradock at theguardian.com, accessed on March 5, 2019.
  18. ↑ Bon Viveur: Gala Christmas Dinner - BBC Television - December 11, 1956 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  19. ↑ Mainly for Women - BBC Television - September 11, 1958 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  20. ↑ LIVING TODAY - BBC Television - September 25, 1962 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  21. ↑ KITCHEN PARTY - BBC Television - October 14, 1963 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  22. ↑ HOME COOKING - BBC One London - April 25, 1965 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  23. ↑ ADVENTUROUS COOKING - BBC One London - April 17, 1966 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  24. ↑ CHRISTMAS COOKING - BBC One London - December 1, 1966 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  25. ↑ PROBLEM COOKING - BBC One London - March 2, 1967 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  26. ↑ TEN CLASSIC DISHES - BBC One London - January 16, 1968 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  27. ↑ FANNY CRADOCK - BBC Two England - October 1, 1968 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  28. ↑ GIVING A DINNER PARTY - BBC Two England - July 4, 1969 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  29. ↑ Fanny Cradock invites… - BBC Two England - July 22, 1970 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  30. ↑ Nationwide - BBC One London - March 8, 1972 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  31. ↑ Fanny Cradock Cooks for Christmas - BBC One London - December 15, 1975 - BBC Genome . Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  32. ↑ http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/fanny.htm
personal data
SURNAME Cradock, Fanny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pechey, Phyllis Nan Sortain (maiden name); Cradock, Phyllis (pseudonym); Dale, Frances (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English restaurant critic, author and TV cook
DATE OF BIRTH February 26, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Leytonstone , Essex , England
DATE OF DEATH December 27, 1994
Place of death Hailsham , East Sussex , England