Thursday, June 24, 2010

Mansfield Park: Lady Charlotte

Lady Charlotte - present time


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by Lady Charlotte
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Hello everyone, nice to meet you all on this festive occasion.

I am Charlotte, a 25 year old girl living in France. My main job and passion in life is being an actress. I am also a bilingual reader for Hachette Jeunesse, which made me start a book blog (The Book On The Hill) almost a year ago. At home, I am a Cook-a-holic. Especially when it involves sweet things : cookies, cupcakes, cakes, pies, I love to make and bake them all ! But I love everything salty too, and can spend hours thinking about new recipes to surprise my friends, family and boyfriend.

Things changed a bit for me on the cooking front this year. Indeed, I’ve recently acquired a very special power : time-traveling. It gives me the ability to cook during very glamorous events, may it be in Whatsitland, the Donwell Gardens, steam trains, or the infamous Pemberley estate. Traveling to these amazing periods and places made me discover the thrills of old cuisine. The most exciting part is that I am able to use the fabulous kitchens of these past centuries, while still be considered as a Lady. I love chatting with the servants in the kitchens, and I also enjoy spending time with the beautiful and rich, who are very agreeable. Gossip in the kitchens ? All true. Gossip during the meals ? All true too. See, I get to enjoy both sides of the world ! How fun is that ?!

Lady Charlotte during her time-travels

In order to please the guests with recipes that are contemporary to their time (I forced Mr Darcy to taste a Mars bar one day, he had a bit of a shock) and learn how to cook like in the old times (no electric oven or KitchenAid out there), I look for old recipes online and sometimes play around with them a bit.

I am always accompanied by my boyfriend, Mr Illustrator, whose goal is to put on paper everything that happens during my time-travels. I can’t bring my camera out there (it would feel out of place for some reason), so he brings his sketch book with him and draws the dishes I cook or some situations that are worth remembering.

It is an honor to cook for all of you who are attending these events. I hope you will enjoy my recipes and stories, and that you will try them at home !

Bon appétit !

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by Lady Charlotte
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* side note from vvb: I first encountered Lady Charlotte and her wonderful recipe posts from The Neverending Shelf's Alice in Wonderland Week last year.

~ Mansfield Park schedule ~


 
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