Fanny Cradock (February 26, 1909 - December 27, 1994) born Phyllis Primrose Pechey, in Apthorp House, Leytonstone, London, was a British writer, restaurant critic and television cook who mostly worked with John "Johnnie" Cradock, whose surname she adopted long before they married. She was the daughter of novelist and lyricist Archibald Thomas Pechey. February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (362nd in leap years). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... Leytonstone is a place in East London, England in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Scribe Writing Writing, in its most common sense, is the preservation and the preserved text on a medium, with the use of signs or symbols. ... Toms Restaurant, a restaurant in New York made familiar by Suzanne Vega and the television sitcom Seinfeld A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to order, to be consumed on the premises. ... Cooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. ... John Johnnie Whitby Cradock, 1912 - 30 January 1987, cook, writer, broadcaster and former British Army Major; the third husband of the legendary and redoubtable Fanny Cradock. ... Archibald Thomas Pechey, often credited simply as Valentine, was a British lyricist and novelist. ...

Marriages

Fanny was married a total of four times, the first in 1926 was to an RAF pilot named Sidney Vernon Evans. The marriage was short lived as he died in an air crash after only a few days. This left Fanny as a pregnant widow. Within a year of giving birth to her son Peter, Fanny married again, this time to Arthur Chapman. Another child was born, Christopher, and when Christopher was four months old, Fanny abandoned him and Arthur for a more exciting life in central London. In September 1939 she married again whilst still legally married to Arthur, but the new marriage only lasted eight weeks. By that time she had met Johnnie Cradock. Johnnie was already married with four children. He left his wife and family and had no contact with them for the rest of his life. Fanny and Johnnie finally married in 1977 after the collapse of her television career. John Johnnie Whitby Cradock, 1912 - 30 January 1987, cook, writer, broadcaster and former British Army Major; the third husband of the legendary and redoubtable Fanny Cradock. ...

Early career

The first ten years of her life in central London began with her living in destitute, selling cleaning products door to door. She then worked in a dress making shop. Things finally picked up for her Fanny when she began to work at various restaurants and was introduced to the works of Auguste Escoffier, which would prove influential. She later wrote passionately about the change from service à la française to service à la russe and hailed Escoffier as a saviour of British cooking - although she would fiercely defend her opinion that there was no such thing as British cuisine; "Even the good old Yorkshire Pudd'n comes from Burgundy". It is believed that Fanny met Johnnie Cradock at a food exhibition but this is uncertain. They began writing a column under the pen name of "Bon Viveur" which appeared in the Daily Telegraph from 1950 to 1955. This sparked a theatre career, with the pair turning theatres into restaurants. Cradock would cook vast dishes that were served to the audience. They became known for their roast turkey, complete with stuffed head, tail feathers and wings. Complete with French accents, their act was one of a drunken hen-pecked husband and a domineering wife. At this time, they were known as Major and Mrs Cradock. She also wrote books under the names "Frances Dale" and "Phyllis Cradock". Georges Auguste Escoffier (28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. ... Service à la française is the practice of serving all the dishes of a meal at the same moment. ... Service à la russe (French, literally service in the Russian style) is a manner of dining that involves courses being brought to the table sequentially. ... This article deals with The Daily Telegraph in Britain, see The Daily Telegraph (Australia) for the Australian publication The Daily Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper founded in 1855. ...

Television

Fanny Cradock's Adventurous Cooking (BBC, 1966)

In 1955, Fanny recorded a pilot for a BBC television series. It was a winning format and each series came with a printed booklet that gave a detailed account of each recipe Fanny demonstrated. In later years, she would simply say, "You'll find that recipe in the booklet so I won't show you now". Cradock's TV programmes were extremely popular in the late 1950s. Fanny advocated bringing Escoffier-standard food into the British home and gave every recipe a French name. Her food looked extravagant but was generally cost effective and Fanny seemed to truly care for her audience. Regular catchphrases were; "This won't break you", "This is perfectly economical", "This won't stretch your purse". She insisted that "Everyone [was] entitled to a piece of really good cake at least once a year". Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (800x1280, 250 KB) Cover of Fanny Craddock (BBC 1966) Adventurous Cooking This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned either by the artist who created the cover or the publisher of the book. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (800x1280, 250 KB) Cover of Fanny Craddock (BBC 1966) Adventurous Cooking This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned either by the artist who created the cover or the publisher of the book. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion... // Recovering from World War II and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ...

As time went on, her food became outdated. Her love of the piping bag and vegetable dyes meant that her television show began to border on farce. As she got older, she applied more and more make-up and would wear vast chiffon ballgowns on screen. She became a figure of fun and the BBC was aware of it. An inexpensive pastry bag, with a variety of plastic tips. ... Food coloring spreading on a soap bubble. ... Chiffon is a sheer fabric made of silk or rayon. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion...

Fanny had always included her relatives and friends in her television shows. Johnnie suffered a minor heart attack in the early 1970s and it was the perfect opportunity for the BBC to request "Fanny-only" shows. Johnnie was replaced with the daughter of a friend - Jayne. Another was Sarah and there was a series of young men who didn't last very long. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...

Her series Cradock Cooks for Christmas is the only one of her programmes to have been shown in the past decade - enjoying an annual Christmas re-run on the UK digital television channel UKTV Food. UK Food was launched on 5th November 2001. ...

Gwen Troake

In 1976, Devon housewife Gwen Troake won a competition called "Cook of the Realm", the prize being to organise a banquet to be attended by Edward Heath, Earl Mountbatten of Burma and other VIPs. The BBC filmed the result as part of a series called The Big Time, and asked Fanny Cradock to act as one of a number of experts giving Troake advice on her menu. The result would bring about the end of Fanny Cradock's TV career. Mrs Troake went through her menu of Seafood Cocktail, Duckling with bramble sauce and Coffee Cream dessert. Fanny told her that her menu was too rich, and while accepting that her dessert was delicious, insisted it was not suitable, declaring: "You're among professionals now". She grimaced, acted as if on the verge of retching, and pretended not to know what a bramble was. She suggested that Troake use a small pastry boat filled with cream and covered with spun sugar. It was completed by an orange slice and a cherry through a cocktail stick, giving the dish the look of a small boat, which Fanny thought was quite suitable for the naval guests. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005), soldier and politician, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... The title Earl Mountbatten of Burma was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1947 for Louis Mountbatten, 1st Viscount Mountbatten of Burma, the last Viceroy of India. ... The Big Time was a British documentary and reality television series made by the BBC, which ran from 1976 to 1980. ...

In the event, the pudding was a disaster and couldn't be served properly. Robert Morley had also been consulted on the menu and had said that he felt Troake's original coffee pudding was perfect. However, so insistent was Cradock that she won. When the pudding failed to impress, the public were annoyed that Cradock had seemingly ruined a potential success for the Devon housewife. Coupled with the rude manner in which Fanny had spoken to Troake, the public demanded her shows be axed from the BBC. Fanny wrote a letter of apology to Troake but the BBC terminated her contract just two weeks after the programme was broadcast. She would never present a cookery programme again. Robert Morley (May 26, 1908 – June 3, 1992) was an Oscar-nominated British actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment. ...

Later Years

Fanny and Johnnie became regulars on the chat show circuit and appeared on programmes such as The Generation Game and Blankety Blank. Fanny appeared alone on Wogan, Parkinson and TV-AM. In earlier years her husky voice and larger-than-life personality lent itself to mimicry: for example, on the 1960s BBC radio comedy show, Beyond Our Ken, Betty Marsden could regularly be heard in the guise of "Fanny Haddock". A talk show (U.S.) or chat show (Brit. ... The Generation Game is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two (usually people from the same family, but different generations) compete to win prizes. ... Blankety Blank was a British game show based on the American game show Match Game. ... Wogan was a chat show on British television, hosted by Terry Wogan. ... TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1992. ... Beyond Our Ken (1958-1963) was a radio programme, the predecessor to Round the Horne (1964-1969). ... Betty Marsden (1919–1998) was a British comedy actress. ...

In 1987, Johnnie died. She wrote several novels, the Castle Rising series which had recipes as footnotes but they were not well received. When she appeared on the television chat show Parkinson. Her co-star was drag artist Danny La Rue. When it was revealed to her that La Rue was actually a female impersonator, Cradock stormed off set. This was her final BBC appearance. Her appearance on television show The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross, would become her last time in the public eye. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Drag queens Luc DArcy and Jerry Cyr and friend at Montreals 2003 Divers/Cité pride parade. ... Danny La Rue was born on July 26, 1917 (although his official birth year is usually given as 1927) as Daniel Patrick Carroll in County Cork, Republic of Ireland. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion...

Fanny spent her final days living in Eastbourne, East Sussex. As her health began to fail, she was forced into a residential home in Hailsham, East Sussex She died on 27th December 1994. Shown within East Sussex Geography Status: Borough Region: South East England Historic County: Sussex Admin. ... East Sussex is a county in South East England. ... Statistics Population: 19,658 (2001 Census) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: TQ590095 Administration District: Wealden Shire county: East Sussex Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: East Sussex Historic county: East Sussex Services Police force: Sussex Police Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South... East Sussex is a county in South East England. ...

Culinary Legacy

Marguerite Patten has spoken about Fanny Cradock being the saviour of British cooking after the war. Brian Turner has said that he respects Fanny's career and Delia Smith has attributed her career to early inspirations taken from Cradock's television programmes. Despite her extravagant appearance and novelty value, her recipes were extremely well used and her cookery books sold in record numbers. Fanny's huge legacy was not multi-coloured foods - rather, she is attributed with the creation of the modern prawn cocktail which became extremely popular in 1970s Britain. Marguerite Patten - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Brian Turner (born 7 May 1946 in Morley, Leeds, Yorkshire) is a British celebrity chef, based in London. ... Delia Smith on the cover of one her popular books, Delia Smiths Cookery Course. ... Cooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. ... Prawn Cocktail is a seafood dish, which is usually served as an Entrée (Appetizer); it consists of prawns, leaf salad and Marie-Rose Sauce. ...

Stage and Screen Adaptations

She and Johnnie would be parodied by The Two Ronnies, Benny Hill and most famously by Betty Marsden in Beyond Our Ken with the character "Fanny Haddock". Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker The Two Ronnies was a British sketch show that aired on BBC One from 1971 to 1987. ... Alfred Hawthorn Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992), better known as Pulle Hill, was a prolific English comic, actor and singer, best known for his television programme, The Benny Hill Show. ... Betty Marsden (1919–1998) was a British comedy actress. ... Beyond Our Ken (1958-1963) was a radio programme, the predecessor to Round the Horne (1964-1969). ...

Fanny's life has also been the subject of two biopic dramas; Doughnuts like Fanny's written by Julia Darling and Fear of Fanny written by multifaceted DJ/ vocalist/ maths teacher/ playwright, Leeds University graduate Brian Fillis [1] A biographical film or biopic is a film about a particular person or group of people, based on events that actually happened. ... Julia Darling (b. ... DJ or dj may stand for Disc jockey, dinner jacket The DeadJournal website, or Djibouti. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... ... A teacher writes on a blackboard in an American college. ... Template:Unsourced A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is someone who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... University Tower, University of Leeds The University of Leeds (United Kingdom) is amongst the largest of British universities and the most popular by applicants, with 52,444 applicants in 2003 for 7,228 places (UCAS). ...

Fear Of Fanny was originally a touring UK stageplay. Brian Fillis formed the NRG Theatre Company with several friends, and together they toured the Edinburgh Festival in 2002, to rave reviews. There is no one Edinburgh Festival but those using the term are usually referring to the collection of various festivals in August and early September of each year in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

"A deft piece of theatre that avoids easy laughs...with something more poignant which exposes the unhappy woman who hid behind the exuberant evening gowns and alarming eyebrows", said The Sunday Times, "Don't miss what might be a future classic", said [edinburghguide.com]. Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... The Sunday Times is the name of several Sunday newspapers. ...

After a successful run touring the UK in October and November 2003 with the Leeds Library Theatre Company, the stageplay was turned into a drama starring Mark Gatiss and Julia Davis (playing Fanny Cradock), and was broadcast in October 2006 on BBC Four as part of a series of culinary-themed dramas. It was filmed in high definition and also broadcast on BBC HD. Mark Gatiss (born October 17, 1966) is an English actor and writer. ... Julia Davis (born 1966, Bath, Somerset, England) is a British comedy writer and performer. ... BBC Four Ident BBC Four is a BBC television channel available to digital television (Freeview, satellite and cable) viewers in the UK. The successor to an earlier digital channel called BBC Knowledge, BBC Four began on March 2, 2002 – its first evenings programmes being simulcast on BBC Two. ... Food from plant sources Food is any substance normally eaten or drunk by living organisms. ... Generally, high-definition refers to an increase in resolution or clarity such as in: High-definition television (HDTV), television formats that have a higher resolution than their contemporary counterparts High-definition video, which is used in HDTV broadcasting, as well as digital film and computer HD video file formats HDV... BBC HD is the high-definition television channel launched by the BBC on a trial basis from May 15, 2006, with the first HD originated programme, Planet Earth, shown on May 27. ...

"Alan Bennett would have appreciated the poetry of Fanny's hostess instruction to Johnnie to "mingle with the melon balls", reviewed The Independent. Published by Faber/Profile Books in 2005 Alan Bennett (born May 9, 1934) is an English author and actor famous for his work, schoolboy-like appearance and his sonorous Yorkshire accent. ... The Independent is a British compact newspaper published by Tony OReillys Independent News & Media. ...

Books

Autobiography

• Something's Burning (1960)

Novels

• as Phyllis Cradock
  • Gateway to Remembrance (1949)
  • The Eternal Echo (1950)
  • The Lormes of Castle Rising ISBN 0-8415-0437-7
  • Shadows Over Castle Rising (1985) ISBN 0-491-03184-X
• as Fanny Cradock
  • The Windsor Secret (1986) ISBN 0-352-32064-8

TV shows

• Fanny's Kitchen
• Chez Bon ViveFur
• The Cradocks
• Dinner Party
• Fanny Cradock Invites
• Cradock cooks for Christmas

Cookbooks

• Cooking with Bon Viveur 1955 Museum Press Ltd (writing as John and Phyllis Cradock)
• Bon Viveur Recipes circa 1960 Daily Mail
• The Daily Telegraph Cook's Book by Bon Viveur 1964 Collins Fontana Books
• The Daily Telegraph Sociable Cook's Book by Bon Viveur 1967 Collins Fontana Books
• Fanny & Johnnie Cradocks' The Cook Hostess' Book 1970 Cookery Book Club
• Modest but Delicious 1973 Arlington Books/The Daily Telegraph
• Common Market cookery France (1973) BBC, ISBN 0-563-12586-1
• 365 Puddings by Bon Viveur 1975 The Daily Telegraph
• Fanny & Johnnie Cradock's Freezer Book 1978 W H Allen
• A Cook's Essential Alphabet 1979 W H Allen
• Time to Remember - A Cook for All Seasons 1981 Web & Bower

BBC all rights reserve.

Booklets

• Home Cooking 1965 BBC (TV Series April - June 1965)
• Adventurous Cooking 1966 BBC (TV Series April - June 1965)
• Ten Classic Dishes 1967 BBC (TV Series January - March 1968)
• Problem Cooking 1967 BBC (TV Series 1967
• Eight Special Menus for the Busy Cook-Hostess 1967 Gas Council
• Colourful Cookery 1968 BBC (TV Series Oct - December 1968)
• Giving a Dinner Party 1969 BBC (TV Series July - October 1969)
• Fanny Craddock Invites 1970 BBC (TV Series July - October 1970)
• Fanny Cradock's Nationwide Cook Book 1972 BBC
• Fanny Cradock's Christmas Cooking 1975 BBC (TV Series November - December 1975)

Works about Fanny Cradock

• Doughnuts like Fanny's - play by Julia Darling, 2002. Later renamed Fanny Cradock - The Life and Loves of a Kitchen Devil
• Fear of Fanny - play by Brian Fillis, 2002, adapted for BBC4 in 2006 starring Julia Davis as Fanny Cradock