We’ve been looking for food-related items from the collections recently, in anticipation of our Taste Ayrshire / Doors Open Day event on Sunday 2nd September. The Book of Cakes was a great find, particularly with so many people talking about The Great British Bake Off.
The Book of Cakes by T. Percy Lewis and A. G. Bromley was published by Maclaren & Sons, London in 1903. The copy we have was presented to a student of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College Bakery School evening class, as a Special Prize for Confectionery in 1907.
Other items on display on Doors Open Day will be menus from public dinners in Kilmarnock in the late 19th century and illustrated advertisements of food, cafes and hotels from local magazines and newspapers. Local author Agnes Monaghan will be offering visitors some home-made Ayrshire baking from her book of recipes and recollections Milk and Two Sugars: Down Memory Lane.