Mrs Penrose’s Cornish Kitchen by Bob Heinicke and Sheri Gray

Mrs Penrose’s Cornish Kitchen

Cook Book

by Bob Heinicke and Sheri Gray

South Coast Media, c1970s, [First Edition], black and white illustrations in text, staple bound paperback

Very Good Condition, minor edge and shelf wear, no inscriptions (see photographs)

“Mrs. Penrose, “the mother of Cornish pasties”, perpetuated a heritage for Cornwall that is perhaps better known than the famous Cornish mining industry whose husky workers were first to sample her famous recipes.
In the 1840s the hefty Penrose sons made their somewhat frugal livelihood working in the mines.  The manual labour of the day created voracious appetites to be appeased by foods that could easily be eaten by hand.  To nourish the lads Mrs. Penrose packed substantial lunches of big Cornish pasties made with fresh vegetables from her home garden.  Mrs. Penrose found herself in great demand, baking pasties and other delicious pasties for the family tables of the village and a small shop soon to be established.  As her wholesome food range grew, so did Mrs. Penrose’s fame.  Each recipe was meticulously recorded by hand in her recipe book.  Around the turn of the century Mrs. Penrose recipe book found its way to Australia – it is thought that her granddaughter whose family originally  bound for Moonta headed south instead along with many other Cornish folk to seek work in the slate mines.
This book of recipes, among other things then considered worthless, was salvaged from the “mud” Cornish miners’ village (some of the walls are still standing today) lying near the bottom of the Delabole slate quarry in Willunga.”