First published in 1947, Good Food is no ordinary cookbook. Its author, P.C.B. Newington, compiled the recipes while interned in Japanese prison camps during World War II. As rations dwindled to a daily bowl of rice, Newington and fellow prisoners formed a “Gourmets’ Club,” gathering to discuss meals remembered from home. They shared recipes, cooking methods, and menus in imagination — a ritual of survival, hope, and community.
The book includes hundreds of recipes ranging from soups, curries, meats, vegetables, chutneys, sauces, and even cocktails, drawn from both European and Malayan traditions. More than a manual, it is a cultural document, capturing the adaptability of cooks forced to rely on memory, conversation, and the scant ingredients at hand.
Illustrated by Beryl Irving, this edition is both practical and collectible: part cookbook, part memoir, and part historical artifact.
Highlights
- Compiled in Changi & Sime Road internment camps, Singapore (1942–45)
- Includes traditional European and Malayan recipes
- Illustrated by Beryl Irving
- A unique record of survival through food and memory
- Originally published in Ipoh, Malaya (1947)
Pages: ~247
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.