YE OLDE CHESHIRE CHEESE

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 56, 29 November 1929, Page 10

YE OLDE CHESHIRE CHEESE

FAMOUS LONDON TAVERN BISHOP OPENS THE PUDDING SEASON Dominion Special Service. [By Nellie M. Scanlan.] London, October 16. The Cheshire Cheese is the most famous tavern in London. Turn to the left out of Fleet Street, into the narrow Wine Court, and you will find its bar crowded with a cheerful group of journalists, snatching a hasty meal and a glass of beer. The Cheshire Cheese is famous for its pudding, and the pudding season was opened last night with much ceremony, by Dr. Ingram, Lord Bishop of London. He sat in what is known as “Johnson’s Corner,” in Dr. Johnson’s chair, and the portrait of this man of brilliance and bulk looked down upon the Bishop. You could almost imagine there was envy in his glance, when the pudding was served. A Distinguished Company.

All the guests crowded into the little Chop Room, on the ground floor, wore full evening dress, and it was a distinguished company. The room, with its low white ceiling, and dark oak beams, was lit by tall, white candles, in silver candelabra, and their flickering light fell on the dim oak walls. The floor was spread with sawdust. That, too, is part of the old tradition, from, which they never depart. Grace was sung, a male voice, unaccompanied chant, unlike the usual theme of their singing in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.

With much ceremony the great pudding was brought in by white-coated cooks, and the Bishop, knife in hand, cut a deep gash into its savoury surface. The pudding contained steak and kidney, mushrooms and plover, oysters, and, it is said, larks also. Appreciated Fragrance.

As the waiter heaped huge portions on to each plate, the fragrance was wafted out through the open windows, and it is said that the policeman on duty outside the door took a deep, deep breath. Even the busmen in Fleet Street drove a little slower past Wine Court, to catch an echo of its fragrance.

The Bishop, tall, handsomer, with a gentle, humorous smile, replying to the toast of his health, suggested that the Tavern might in future be known as “A good pull-up for Bishops.” But he asked them not to display the legend too prominently outside the door, as Bishops were not allowed to advertise. It is always difficult to guess what a Chinaman is thinking, but I was curious to know what impression all this made on the dignified young Chinese, in immaculate evening dress, who sat there with impassive face. It has been said, by dyspeptics mostly, that the Cheshire cheese pudding is not so much a pudding as a penance. But I have survived many a helping of the famous mixture, and hope to go back for more. Try it for yourself, and the home-made version may not be so far behind the culinary miracle that has stood the’ test of centuries at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.