Author(s): MCLELLAND Margaret

Regional

Scrumptious: Fabulous Food from the Birthplace of the Ashes reveals the great dishes cooked at the house when the first owner Sir William Clarke was entertaining family and guests - the same kind of fabulous food served in the Rupertswood Mansion hotel and conference centre today. Here are savoury soups and delicate mousses, roasted meats and fish, delicious vegetable fishes and salads, luscious trifles and sweet souffles, and sorbets and fruit salads. Cocktails and cricket are still popular at Rupertswood, along with scrumptious picnics and teas of finger sandwiches and freshly baked scones with cream and strawberry jam. And the pantry is stocked with bottles of preserved fruit, pickled vegetables, spicy relishes and sweet and savoury sauces. It is impossible not to be bowled over.