Updated article as of June 2024.
In September 1939 Britain formally declared war against the Axis powers. Much was to change and quickly. Many individuals and organizations immediately strove to find ways to support the war effort. While it is well known that later in the war, Agatha Christie's home in Devon - Greenway - was requisitioned by the U.S. Coastguard for six months, her cookbook contribution is certainly less well known.
A Kitchen Goes to War - 1940
In 1940, John Miles Ltd. (UK) published A Kitchen Goes to War with the subtitle Famous People Rontribute 150 recipes to a Ration-Time Cookery Book. While food rationing did start in Britain in January 1940 many of the recipes in the book appear to have been provided well in advance of this and it is likely many of the recipes would have been hard to complete! However, 150 recipes were collected from 'Cabinet Ministers or their wives … famous chefs and food experts have sent the recipes'. Amongst the contributors was Agatha Christie who provided two recipes. Other notable contributors included the actor and comedian Arthur Askey, Wimbledon finalist Henry "Bunny" Austin, former world speed record holder & racer Sir Malcolm Campbell, author Stella Gibbons and the actor Sir John Gielgud.
The book was published in stiff boards with a promotional dust wrapper that stated "War charities receive a royalty on every copy of this book sold." It's unclear how many were sold or how effective it was in raising funds but given the books scarcity, I expect it was fairly minimal.
Christie's Two Recipes. The two recipes Agatha Christie submitted were 'Mystery Potatoes' and 'Omelet Agatha Christie'. For the first, the publisher stated 'Agatha Christie appropriately supplies a mystery recipe'. In effect it is akin to a twice baked potatoe with chopped anchovies inside the mash but as one might expect for a Christie recipe it includes tablespoons of cream!
For the second, the publisher states 'Agatha Christie has invented this method herself' - thus its eponymous name. While the recipe doesn't include cream, Agatha does add that you can add a small tin of cream of mushroom soup that you thicken into a sauce!
Value: This book rarely ever shows for sale and if one did I would expect it would likely sell for £100-200 if in very good condition given its uniqueness and the contributions by Christie.
Thank you to John Perry, a highly knowledgeable Christie fan and supporter of this website, for providing many of these details about this book which was previously unknown to me.
Celebrity Cooking - 1961
In 1961, Celebrity Cooking for You was published by Andre Deutsch (London) and edited by Renee Hillman. It contained recipes provided by various celebrities including Walt Disney, Otto Preminger, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Peter Sellers. It also included Ian Fleming's recipe for scrambled eggs - which he uses in his James Bond short story 007 in New York.
In 1967, Miss Hillman put together a revised sequel, sourcing additional recipes from many other celebrities including numerous golden age crime writers - amongst them Agatha Christie. It was published by Paul Hamlyn (London) and included a forward by A. Dickson Wright and a preface by The Honourable Angus Ogilvy. Both books were charitable endeavours which is why the celebrities participated. Profits from the book sales went to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in the UK.
The book is a veritable who's who and is great fun to peruse, though I speculate as to how many recipes truly came from the donor's hand versus their agent or publicist. The recipes range from starters to mains to desserts and even drinks. Sample menus are also provided. There is certainly many items in this book you will find yourself preparing which makes this book great fun.
Christie's contribution is a fairly straightforward 'Hot bean salad'. Given her love for cream the fact that the recipe includes bacon and pouring hot fat from the frying pan onto the salad it makes me believe it likely was a favourite of hers!
In the brief bio the editor includes, you can see Christie is referred to as 'The playwright and mystery writer, creator of Monsieur Hercule Poirot - the detective to end all detectives. Miss Christie's best known book is 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' which she wrote in 1926, and which sold over a hundred-million copies. As a playwright Miss Christie is equally gifted. 'The Moustrap' enjoys the longest run in British stage history.'
While there are too many celebrities to list them all - literally hundreds - a few of note for mystery fans include Ngiao Marsh's Steak en casserole, Margerey Allingham's Salad Cream and Daphne DuMaurier's Sloe Gin. I appreciate her loyalty to the local Plymouth Gin. Copies of their recipes are below.
Other recipes include (pre-President) Richard Nixon's 'Meatloaf', Bing Crosby's 'Minute Steak Gourmet' and The Right Hon. Harold Wilson's 'Old-Fashioned Gingerbread'. It's all great fun to read.
Value: The book is fairly easy to find, though jacketed copies are scarcer and you may need a little patience to find one. Pricing is as to be expected for an out-of-print used book., likely up tp £40 for a very good first printed copy.
Closing Thoughts:
Initially this was a briefer article focusing just on Celebrity Cooking. Then I learned about the 1940 wartime book. So perhaps there are other cookery books out there that Christie contributed to. Do let me know if there are.
Perhaps a creative person will put these on the menu somewhere - for example at the food concession at the International Agatha Christie Festival!
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If I'm not mistaken, A. Dickson Wright is the father of Clarissa Dickson Wright, better known as one of the "Two Fat Ladies" of British television cookery fame.