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Lobster à la Riseholme (pronounced "Rizum") was a famed (ultimately infamous) gastronomic dish served by Lucia (Mrs Emmeline Lucas) in two of the "Mapp and Lucia" novels of E F Benson (1867-1940).
The recipe was never revealed, but, in the manner of Mrs Beeton, began with the words "Take two hen lobsters ..." It took its name from the village of Riseholme, where Lucia lived before moving to Tilling, on the Sussex coast, although the dish did not appear in either of the two novels set while Lucia was at Riseholme.
Lobster à la Riseholme in the Benson novels
Lucia first served Lobster à la Riseholme in Tilling to her friend George ("Georgie") Pillson in Mapp and Lucia (1931) to cheer him up after he discovered that his housemaid Foljambe intended to marry. It then appeared at a luncheon party a few weeks later. Lucia resisted attempts to reveal the recipe, despite the custom in Tilling of sharing favourite recipes. Lucia's cook refused Elizabeth Mapp's bribe of half a crown (two shillings and sixpence or 12½ new pence) to provide a copy. Elizabeth attempted to create the recipe - "Lobster à la Riseholme à la Mapp", as Benson called it - at a party of her own but it was not a success.
In Gerald Savory's adaptation for television (London Weekend Television 1984) Lucia's guests vied with each other to guess the additional ingredients - shrimps, cream, tomato, cheese and Marsala were all suggested - but this did not happen in the book.
On Boxing Day 1930 Elizabeth entered Lucia's kitchen at Grebe, on the outskirts of Tilling, and was able, in Lucia's absence to transcribe the recipe. Just as Lucia accosted her and before excuses could be given, the sea wall broke and Lucia and Elizabeth were swept way on the kitchen table by a flood. They languished for some weeks on an Italian fishing vessel on the Gallagher Bank, eventually returning to Tilling where Elizabeth discovered that the recipe had survived the ordeal.
Elizabeth subsequently served Lobster à la Riseholme - correctly - at her wedding breakfast, at which point the reason for her being in Lucia's kitchen became clear.
The dish was served again in Lucia's Progress (1935) at Lucia's house warming party following her move to Elizabeth's former residence, Mallards.
Second World War: Corned beef à la Riseholme
Lobster à la Riseholme re-appeared in Tom Holt's pastiche, Lucia in Wartime (1985), set early in the Second World War. Having mastered "Woolton pie" (an officially-sanctioned vegetable dish named after the wartime Food Minister, Lord Woolton: see Marguerite Patten (1985) We'll Eat Again), Georgie's triumphant preparation of Lobster à la Riseholme, using a number of substitute ingredients, led to his expertise being commended to the Ministry of Food. As a result he was conscripted for a BBC radio broadcast in which, among other things, he provided a recipe for corned beef à la Riseholme. This followed speculation in Tilling as to whether he would reval the secret of the celebrated lobster dish.
Later in the novel, Holt used the term, "humble pie à la Riseholme" with reference to a likely need for humility.
Eggs à la Capri
Another dish that appeared in Mapp and Lucia was eggs à la Capri, served by Susan Wyse in honour of her sister-in-law, Amelia, Contessa di Faraglioni, whose visit from Italy caused Lucia to feign illness and George Pillson to decamp to Folkestone to avoid their being unmasked as only rudimentary speakers of Italian. The Contessa's title was taken from the Faraglioni rocks, off the coast of Capri, an island much visited by Benson. In Tilling the Contessa was often referred to as the "Faradiddleony".
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- * A possible interpretation of Lobster à la Riseholme.
"Lobster à la Riseholme"