Author reveals 200 years of Manx culinary history

Author Sue King has catalogued 200 years of Manx culinary history

From turtle soup to chips, cheese and gravy, the culinary history of the Isle of Man is as varied as it is fascinating.

Going all the way back to foods popular in the 1800s, author Sue King has used her research to write an illustrated book listing menus and recipes as well as the history of many dishes.

Over the last five years she has explored dishes from turtle soup - a delicacy from the 1830s when saw live turtles were imported from the Caribbean - to how chips and ice cream were brought to Manx shores by Italian people in the 1880s.

Ms King said that while meals eaten in Manx homes such as bonnag and spud 'n herring were well documented, "little was known" about what people liked to eat when they were out.

The book includes pictures of places where people used to eat out, including the Cosy Nook in the 1990s

She said her book, Ham and Egg and Turtle Soup - A Slice of Manx Culinary History, "highlights" a lot of the heritage "we have lost, but also elements that are continuing and evolving".

"I would like to think it has a place in our cultural history", said Ms King.

She said the idea for her book came from seeing a collection of menus that her father had from his work in Manx hotels in the 1960s and 70s.

She said it sparked an interest in what people on the island used to like eating.

The author combed through the Manx National Heritage archives and asked around for old menus and recipes.

The social history book looks at what was eaten in the island's cafes, restaurants, picnics and holiday camps over 200 years... as well as in its schools, prisons and internment camps.

It contains snippets from newspapers and hundreds of images.

The new book looks at the history of Manx cuisine that has been eaten outside the home

"In the 1930s on the Isle of Man, everything was really simple," she said.

"So you had bread, butter and tea or salmon sandwiches and tea.

But as the island's financial sector started to grow in the 1980s, so did the demand for haute cuisine.

Ms King said: "The Isle of Man has been very open to outside influence, and even looking at the internment camps [during the world wars], you had quite a few people who stayed on."

The author said she hoped her book would "strike a strong cord of nostalgia with people", adding "there is something there for everyone".