Banana  Group

The first meeting of the History Group for 2022 took place in February today at the East Town Park Visitor Centre.

Jackie Tatam gave an illustrated talk entitled a ‘Salmagundi’. This is either a collection of articles, subjects or qualities, or a dish of chopped meat, anchovies, onions etc.

It gives a good indication of the subject of the talk which was about various foods and food producers and their histories.

We heard about the beginning of Kellogg’s in America, the reason for Tottenham cake with its lurid pink icing (being a Tottenham lad I remember it well), where Hamburgers originally came from (the Mongols!), Bombay Duck, Oyster Sauce and Lee Man Tat, who heads the family business of LKK which has a net worth of twenty billion pounds.

We then moved on to Fisherman’s Friends originally made for a few North Sea fisherman with sore throats and which are now being produced at over 5 billion each year. The audience were then introduced to traditional recipes for Bukkkenade and Wet Nellie as recommended by the National Trust.

This was followed by a short history of Fortnum & Mason before we were told about the life of the Tunnock family and their tea cakes; the owner rises at 05.15 and is in work by 05.50 at the age of 88!

The meeting finished with tea and a chance to try a Tunnocks Tea Cake or Caramel Wafer.

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