Kitchenalia

By their very definition, hobbies are fun but some are expensive, some damaging to the planet, some are time consuming and some... horror of horrors... involve getting up early on a Sunday.

But I have a hobby that is fun, inexpensive, very green, takes up minimal time and ensures I don't need to be up with the lark on a Sunday. And is actually quite useful.

What is it I hear you ask?

Simple really... I collect kitchenalia.

I'm not sure what it is but there is something very romantic about historical kitchens. Maybe it is that it was from a simpler time, when the kitchen was the centre of the home, when we had time to cook, valued the food we cooked and ate, knew where our food came from, grew our own out of necessity, and bought what food we couldn't produce ourselves at the local shops. Making a meal for the family involved more than a microwave and a tray in front of the TV. In fact, it involved doing all the things we should be looking at today to make our lives more sustainable.

Also there was no stigma attached to being ‘just a housewife'. Given the choice between fending off abusive customers at work or cooking and baking away in my kitchen and being home for my children... well I know what I'd prefer. I love being in my kitchen and am proud of it!!

So, back down from my soap-box - my little hobby is also very environmentally friendly as it means I re-use pre-loved kitchen items. They are not thrown away and I get to appreciate and use them. It also gives my kitchen a slightly quirky and unusual feel - which is no bad thing.

It all started a few years ago when I acquired a few odds and ends of Cornishware from my grandparents. I loved it and made a point of looking out for it everywhere I went - boot fairs, charity shops, eBay and so on.

After the Cornishware I acquired a couple of pieces of blue Denby and the bug had set in. My collection built up and gradually I learnt a little bit more than ‘Oh that's pretty.' TG Green made the original Cornishware but there were many companies making similar items. If I were a true collector I would stick to buying only TG Green stuff but I am very fickle with my affections...

My most prized possessions are some lovely Mason Cash mixing bowls (the type you can buy replicas of these days), my grandmother's wooden pastry cutter and a TG Green Elizabeth David lasagne dish.

This led me on to a whole new area - I discovered old cookery books. I now have many books by Mrs Beeton and Marguerite Patten as well as Elizabeth David, who I think is just inspirational. These are more than cookery books, they are valuable pieces of social history.

Now, I am not into antiques as such, or 100% perfect items; most of my treasures have the odd chip, scratch, mark, etc. and none of it really matches but it doesn't matter. Some were given to me, some I paid a few pence for. The monetary value is irrelevant, it is the fact that this item has been used and loved before and I am cooking with someone's treasures. Given the choice between new mass-produced, will-last-five-minutes chain store rubbish and something original and beautiful that has already lasted decades and with a bit of love will probably outlive me... well, it's hardly a choice is it?

Jo

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