This series has been quite hit-and-miss. For example, in this week's episode they did the 50's and they covered early 50's rationing through to the introduction of American fast food and Italian bars in the late 50's, and it covered most of the bases - admittedly, this may be because it's within living memory (some of the kitchen equipment used is stuff in our kitchen!), but so is the 80's, and they really messed that one up.
There was so much they could have done with this period if they'd left Versailles for more than 5 minutes - it's hard to think of a period when food was such a political issue, but we only got a hint of that - a mention of chestnuts without mentioing they were a subsistence diet for some, no mention of rationing - which is something that many British viewers would remember from their own lifetime, and give them more of an understanding of the pressures the regime was under - the order to plant potatoes in the Tuileries gardens imediately reminded me of the 1940's Dig for Victory campaign (public gardens dug up for veg, park railings and aluminium pans melted down for armaments) but it wasn't even mentioned! And there was a man who invented a method to 'can' (bottle) vegetables in Paris in the early 1790's - no mention of him, either.
I presume it's been an editorial decision, because there clearly have been some good food historians at work on this series generally - it's just that they must have decided the viewer would enjoy seeing the presenters dressing up and eating foie gras and frogs legs more than getting a history lesson - the episodes with less chance for dressing up and going to fun locations (like the 50's) have been more informative than the ones filmed in castles.
Good to see the White Terror get a mention - food and fashion historians note it, even though so many political historians neglect to mention it!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-07-23 12:24 pm (UTC)There was so much they could have done with this period if they'd left Versailles for more than 5 minutes - it's hard to think of a period when food was such a political issue, but we only got a hint of that - a mention of chestnuts without mentioing they were a subsistence diet for some, no mention of rationing - which is something that many British viewers would remember from their own lifetime, and give them more of an understanding of the pressures the regime was under - the order to plant potatoes in the Tuileries gardens imediately reminded me of the 1940's Dig for Victory campaign (public gardens dug up for veg, park railings and aluminium pans melted down for armaments) but it wasn't even mentioned! And there was a man who invented a method to 'can' (bottle) vegetables in Paris in the early 1790's - no mention of him, either.
I presume it's been an editorial decision, because there clearly have been some good food historians at work on this series generally - it's just that they must have decided the viewer would enjoy seeing the presenters dressing up and eating foie gras and frogs legs more than getting a history lesson - the episodes with less chance for dressing up and going to fun locations (like the 50's) have been more informative than the ones filmed in castles.
Good to see the White Terror get a mention - food and fashion historians note it, even though so many political historians neglect to mention it!