OP: Kenya Cookery Book and Household Guide

Kenway Publications, 1994. Paperback. Very Good.

This book was first published in 1928 as the Kenya Settlers’ Cookery Book. Its aim, as the original title implies, was to supply British colonial households with recipes executable with ingredients available to them in Kenya. It is a curious community cookbook that favors the users’ comfort over challenging them to explore new dishes or ingredients.

British and western European fare (Scotch eggs, treacle duff, marmite sandwiches) prevails, but other colonial influences appear in the numerous Indian dishes like fish kedgeree and samosas. Recipes like those for irio—a Kenyan dish of mashed potatoes with peas and corn—and groundnut soup are few enough to suggest that cultural interchange was not a two-way street, at least for the women of St. Andrews.

Household tips and a glossary of Swahili words are also included. Our copy is from a 1994 printing, demonstrating the book’s longevity and usefulness to the community. Only issued in paperback; a Very Good example of a colonial cookery book.