Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary

Recipes, travel & adventure from the wild and remote Shetland Islands

Shetland Food & Cooking by Marian Armitage

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Celebrating Shetland food.

Shetland Food and Cooking by Marian Armitage

Cookbooks are a dime a dozen these days. As a food blogger I get sent cookbook after cookbook for review. Many get a cursory look through, a quick write up and then get banished to the bookshelf to rarely see the light of day again. Some I may make a recipe or two before giving the book away, and others become firm favourites, referred to time and time again.

Every now and then a cookbook comes along that’s completely different, the kind of cook book you want to read, cover to cover, like a novel, comfortably in bed with a cup of steaming hot chocolate as the winter gales blast outside.

Marian Armitage

MARIAN’S HISTORY

Author Marian Armitage is a native Shetlander  educated at the Anderson Educational Institute in Lerwick, Shetland’s main town. Encouraged by her mother, a traditional Lerwick housewife, and by her domestic science teacher, she knew by the age of 12 that she wanted to be a cookery teacher.

Summer holidays were spent working with various food producers in the town, from Willie Robertson’s grocer shop to the Queen’s Hotel kitchen to kippering herrings with the Herring Industry Board. She studied at the Edinburgh College of Domestic Science, learning both the course content and skills to teach it at the same time. After finishing her studies she taught cookery first in Norwich and then to inner city sixth formers in London, a teaching career spanning 35 years.

PURPOSE OF THE BOOK

In 2012 Marian saw a gap in the market. Other than the 1925 book Cookery for Northern Wives by Margaret B. Stout, she realised there were no contemporary books describing Shetland food and cooking. Although Cookery for Northern Wives gives a fabulous historical snapshot into the eating habits of post-war Shetlanders, many of the old recipes do not translate well into modern kitchens with modern tastes.

Marian wanted to create something highlighting the wealth of quality Shetland produce and producers available and to encourage people, Shetlanders and visitors alike, to use more of this produce in easily reproducible recipes, so she set to work researching and writing Shetland Food and Cooking.

Shetland Food and Cooking by Marian Armitage

THE BOOK ITSELF

In this book, Marian combines her Shetland heritage with the colours and flavours she’s experienced through her life’s journey as a cookery teacher, where her students came from a diverse background.

In this book you will find traditional Shetland recipes such as bannocks, sassermeat clatch, rhubarb chutney, taatie soup with reestit mutton and a whole host of seafood recipes, but you will also find more contemporary recipes such as Armenian lamb, bobotie, ceviche and a beremeal flat bread recipe, made with a heritage barley grown here in Shetland since the time of the Vikings.

The book is conveniently divided into five sections, fish, meat, fruit & vegetables, dairy and home baking. Each section includes a historical background, musings on the current production situation, stories on the people and organisations involved in Shetland food production and promotion.

Written in the first person Marian’s recipes are accompanied by light-hearted personal anecdotes and full colour photographs, most taken by herself in her own kitchen. She wants to encourage a new generation of home cooks to experiment with the wealth of produce available to them.

Marian is passionate about Shetland and Shetland food. She believes the food is the best you will find anywhere.

“This book is about Shetlanders, the food they grow, rear, catch and sell; the traditions and historical influences as well as newer trends.”

Retailing at £20 this soft back book is printed and published by The Shetland Times. You can buy a copy through the Shetland Times Bookshop.

Marian Armitage

GIVEAWAY

I was at the official book launch last night (which you will be able to read all about shortly over on A Taste of Shetland) and I bought myself a copy of Marian’s new book. I also bought one of my lovely readers a copy and Marian autographed it!

HOW TO ENTER

For your chance to win an autographed copy of Shetland Food & Cooking by Marian Armitage enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Come back and tweet about the giveaway every day for more chances to win!

TERMS & CONDITIONS

This giveaway is open to worldwide entries. Entrants must be age 18 or over. The winner will need to respond within 7 days of being contacted; failure to do this may result in another winner being selected.

The prize is offered and provided by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary. The prize is an autographed copy of Shetland Food & Cooking by Marian Armitage . There is no cash alternative and the prize is not transferable.

If you need some help using Rafflecopter, here’s a quick clip to show you how. Rafflecopter will pick the winner at random from all the entries received. I will be verifying entries and any automated entries or those who have claimed they have made the mandatory blog post comment and really haven’t will be disqualified. It’s mandatory!

Closing date is midnight on Monday 8 December 2014 (GMT)  and the winner will be announced that day.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to visit my Giveaways page for some other fab prizes!

If you want to be kept up to date on my recipes, occasional craft tutorials, adventure stories and giveaways then please subscribe to my weekly newsletter; it gets sent out every Monday morning if there is new content. Your email address won’t be passed on to anyone, you will never be spammed and you are free to unsubscribe at any time, no questions asked. Make sure you confirm your subscription or you won’t receive the newsletter – if it hasn’t arrived check your junk mail folder.

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Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary bought this book with her own money. This is not a paid post and all thoughts and opinions expressed are our own.

Comments

  2. Seems like a great book. Good that it is relevant, up to date, local :- Yet historical, retaining the heritage of the area. Wonderful Scottish produce.

    Reply

  13. I am intrigued by Shetland Cooking ,I think it would introduce me to lots of dishes I have never heard of . very exciting!

    Reply

  15. I did a Highlands and Islands road trip this summer and have discovered so many wonderful foodie treats! Would love to win this.

    Reply

  16. sounds like my kind of cookbook I absolutely love a cook book you can curl up and enjoy reading as well as loving to cook from the recipes within it,those are the ones that get used most in this house

    Reply

  27. I live in a rural town in Australia. My grandfather came from Fetlar and I am passionate about my Shetland heritage including being one of the eagle bairn 🙂 I collect cookbooks and love sharing my baking with my family and friends. I have been on the hunt for Shetland recipes for years and would cherish a copy of this book.

    Reply

  38. As an American i would love to have recipes to cook for my family when they visit from England. This would be a great cookbook to help me do that. 🙂

    Reply

  43. I would love the book. In fact I want to come and live on Shetland. I think my Scottish Heritage is calling to me – that or my wildly romantic imagination. You do make everything sound so appealing though.

    Reply

  55. Lovely book and after we visitied shetland for the first time this year, it would be the perfect gift fpr christmas.

    Reply

  64. There was a fisherman named Fisher
    who fished for some fish in a fissure.
    Till a fish with a grin,
    pulled the fisherman in.
    Now they’re fishing the fissure for Fisher.

    Reply

  78. I appreciate any help that cooks and cookbooks can give me to help with providing a variety of different meals. Thanks for the chance to win this cookbook it would be a great addition to my collection.

    Reply

  83. That looks like a lovely book. I really like cookery books that incorporate background and history. I’ve made a note of this one for gift ideas.

    Reply

  96. Visited the Shetlands about 10 years ago and stayed at The Busta House Hotel – had the best sorbet I’ve ever tasted…had it EVERY night I was there as it was made by the owner’s wife.

    Amazing…

    Reply

  104. I really enjoy recipe books that tell me more about the places, people and background behind the recipes. So much more interesting and engaging than a list of ingredients and a method. I would love this book.

    Reply

  113. I agree, so many cookbooks are redundant. I want something new, and a fresh approach to cooking. Shetland Food would be just that for this California native! A fabulous introduction to the work of Marian Armitage!

    Reply

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