Victorian Picnic

What an amazing season so far.  We have made Georgian Ice Cream, Edwardian hors'doeuvres, Medieval delicacies, and are now getting ready for the challenges of the late season!  After the Edwardian music hall this weekend, we are going to put together a wonderful Victorian picnic for the reenactors  in Buxton for the ending of the Gilbert and Sullivan Festival the final weekend of July.  We'll be demonstrating and giving samples as usual.... possibly with our Boston Brown Bread, a game pie, potted tongue, three or four different cakes, a salamagundy, and of course, Lemonade.  Come have an audience with Queen Victoria and her mistress of Robes, and try our victorian food!  See you there!

Medieval cooking at English Festival

We had a wonderful weekend at the English Festival, and our Andalusian Lamb recipe, redacted from a 13th century recipe was as usual luscious  Thank you to all of the 4and20 team who made the displays of grain milling, bread kneading, and butter churning come to life!

Living History 2012

The new year begins on Sunday, with a Victorian Language of Flowers, Afternoon tea, and all of the preparations, both upstairs and downstairs at the lovely Ayscoughfee Hall museum in Spalding, Lincolnshire.
Museum opening times are 10:30-4 pm, and admission is free.

Come taste Victorian loves wells, a lemon and chocolate cake, help grind sugar and freeze icecream, make valentines for your sweetheart, and find out what you are really saying with that bouquet of flowers!
Meet Mrs Baxter our cook, Mrs Gibson, the housekeeper, Branston the butler, Morgan the underbutler, Yarp the dogsbody, Oliver, the boy of all work,Mrs Norman, and Mrs Brennan.  Ambrose Pratt, yes that is a Pratt with two t's, will be calling on Mrs Norman and Mrs Brennan...let's see how his valentine's schemes play out!

Campaigning for Spalding: 4and20 Blackbirds Group visit us at Ayscoughfee Ha...

Campaigning for Spalding: 4and20 Blackbirds Group visit us at Ayscoughfee Ha...: "I took an afternoon off from lobbying our Spalding Councilors today to take a short trip from my home in the Wygate Park Ward to visit the 4..."

our website is up

Another Milestone.  Our website at 4and20blackbirds.co.uk is now up and running, and you can find us on facebook: 4and20blackbirds,bringing historic cookery to life!

Medieval Food for Modern People__Our paper for the International Medieval Congress

Great News!!! Medieval Cooks Jenny and Julia have been selected to present their paper "Medieval Food for Modern People, Opportunities and Obstacles in Preparing Food from the Re-enactors Point of View" at the International Medieval Congress to be held in Leeds in July 2011

We are so excited and honoured to have been selected to present.  We will be demonstrating our bread process, from grain to bread oven as a static display, and discussing our challenges and successes in creating food in the medieval display weekends.

Eighteenth International Congress in Leeds July 2011

The International Medieval Congress (IMC) is organised and administered by the Institute for Medieval Studies (IMS). Since its start in 1994, the Congress has established itself as an annual event with an attendance of over 1,500 medievalists from all over the world. It is the largest conference of its kind in Europe.
Drawing medievalists from over 40 countries, with over 1,000 individual papers and 375 academic sessions and a wide range of concerts, performances, readings, round tables, excursions, book fair and associated events, the Leeds International Medieval Congress is Europe's largest annual gathering in the humanities. Next year's Congress will take place 11-14  July 2011.

Contact details:

 International Medieval Congress, Institute for Medieval Studies, Parkinson Building 1.03, University of Leeds, LEEDS, LS2 9JT, UK

Tel.: +44 (113) 343-3614

Email: imc@leeds.ac.uk,