Lobster à la Riseholme

Lobster à la Riseholme /ˈrɪzəm/ 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

Tilling (Rye), where Lucia served Lobster à la Riseholme

Lucia first serves Lobster à la Riseholme in Tilling to her friend George ("Georgie") Pillson in Mapp and Lucia (1931) to cheer him up after he discovers that his housemaid Foljambe intends to marry. It then appears at a luncheon party a few weeks later. Lucia resists attempts to reveal the recipe, despite the custom in Tilling of sharing favourite recipes. Lucia's cook refuses Elizabeth Mapp's bribe of half a crown (two shillings and sixpence or 12½ new pence) to provide a copy. Elizabeth attempts to create the recipe—"Lobster à la Riseholme à la Mapp", as Benson called it—at a party of her own but it is not a success.

In Gerald Savory's adaptation for television (London Weekend Television 1984) Lucia's guests vie with each other to guess the additional ingredients—shrimps, cream, tomato, cheese and Marsala are all suggested—but this does not happen in the book.

On Boxing Day 1930, Elizabeth enters Lucia's kitchen at Grebe, on the outskirts of Tilling, and is able, in Lucia's absence, to transcribe the recipe. Lucia discovers her in the act, but before excuses could be given, the sea wall breaks and Lucia and Elizabeth are swept away on the flood, clinging to the kitchen table. They languish for some weeks on an Italian fishing vessel on the Gallagher Bank, eventually returning to Tilling, where Elizabeth discovers that the recipe has survived the ordeal.

Elizabeth subsequently serves Lobster à la Riseholme—correctly—at her wedding breakfast, at which point the reason for her being in Lucia's kitchen becomes clear.

The dish is served again in Lucia's Progress (1935) at Lucia's housewarming party following her move to Elizabeth's former residence, Mallards.

Second World War: Corned beef à la Riseholme

Lobster à la Riseholme reappears 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.^[1] Georgie's triumphant preparation of Lobster à la Riseholme, using a number of substitute ingredients, leads to his expertise being commended to the Ministry of Food. As a result he is conscripted for a BBC radio broadcast during which, among other things, he provides a recipe for corned beef à la Riseholme. This follows speculation in Tilling as to whether he would reveal the secret of the celebrated lobster dish.

Later in the novel, Holt uses the term, "humble pie à la Riseholme" with reference to a likely need for humility.

Recipes for the dish

Various attempts have been made to create a Lobster à la Riseholme' recipe, including one by a contributor to the website of TV's "domestic goddess" Nigella Lawson.^[2]

References