In May 1760, Lord Bessborough invited polymath Benjamin Franklin to dinner in
London. He later appointed him a postmaster in the “Northern District of all His
Majesty’s Provinces and Dominions on the Continent of North America”. Today’s
Bessboroughs support the restoration of Franklin’s London house says Hilaire
Dubourcq in his Benjamin Franklin: Book of Recipes, which mixes scenes
from Franklin’s life and quotations from his writings with recipes recreating
the flavours of the 18th century. Franklin cooked up a number of ways to feed
the hordes—economical recipes that advise boiling rice or pasta to a
wholesome sludge. But invited to the Royal Society because of his work on
electricity, he ate a delicious dinner on 11 August 1757—try the pigeon
with oyster stuffing. His advice to London printers, his co-workers, to give up
drink during working hours is fun, too. He said they’d get more nourishment from
wheat in the form of bread, not ale. And, among all his activities, he
invented—but failed to patent—a new stove. Published by Canopus,
£14.95, ISBN 0953786803.
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