So dated…

In 1942, a book was published and “All profits from the sale of this book will be devoted to The British Women’s War Fund’; it was written by Claire E Willets and published by the Baptist Mission Press, Bolobo, Haut Congo, Congo Belge, for Usines Textiles de Léopoldville, Cong Belge, or ‘Utexleo’ as it was also known. The book was ‘The Congo Cookery Book’ and it is full of fascinating recipes for the Europeans who lived in West Africa at the time, but it is incredibly dated, referring in terms which are no longer acceptable to the Congolese people who were servants to the Belgian rulers and their officials.

Looking down the index which is at the front of the book opposite an advert for Hardy Taxis of Kinshasa, most of the items are what you might expect from any cookery book; the fruit recipes include those for cashew apple, carambola, Brazil cherries, maracoudja, pai pai and star apple. On the next page which continues the index, there is a section on ‘things useful to know’, including substitutes for cooking utensils, stains and home nursing of fever. This page is opposite an advert for Nogueira et Cie, a general provision stores and also European Outfitters. This company boasts of being founded in 1912 and having thirty years experience in native trade goods…  Interestingly the company also has two floating stores, the ships S/W Beira, and S/W Zaire.

There are all sort of interesting little nuggets as you flip through the book… the fact you should mince hippo and buffalo meat twice because it is tough; “if wanted for a meal in  a hurry, the cook can kill a young fowl and cook it at once…”; Leg of Antelope – “skin and remove foot…”; to make ‘mock fish’ take 1 unripe pai pai, butter, milk, gelatine, onion juice and anchovy essence… I think not, I think I can do without mock fish!

I don’t know how old Ms Willets was when she wrote the book, but it is mentioned in the introduction that she has been in the tropics for thirty years. We are so used to international travel, quick and cheap air flights, glimpses into other worlds through film, TV and above all the internet, it is easy to forget that seventy years ago travel would have been difficult, domestic technology primitive, and most of the women who would be using this book would have come the thousands of miles from Europe to a totally alien place and probably in total ignorance of what to expect.