A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes

First published in 1852, Charles Elmé Francatelli’s “A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes” features 241 recipes suitable for small budgets. From the simple art of boiling potatoes to the more advanced Pumpkin Porridge, each recipe is described in detail by Francatelli to ensure a delicious dish every mealtime.


With recipes ranging from Sheep’s Head Broth to A Pudding made of Small Birds, Francatelli ably instructs even the most impoverished homemaker on how to prepare meals on a small budget. Accompanied by contemporary advertisements, this collection intends that ‘your families may be well fed, and your homes made comfortable’ with its handy hints for meals and cures for common ailments.


‘My object in writing this little book is to show you how you may prepare and cook your daily food, so as to obtain from it the greatest amount of nourishment at the least possible expense; and thus, by skill and economy, add, at the same time, to your comfort and to your comparative slender means.’

Charles Elmé Francatelli


Charles Elmé Francatelli (1805-1876) was an Anglo-Italian chef who was late Maître d’hôtel and chief cook to to Queen Victoria. His other works include “The Modern Cook” and “The Cook’s Guide”.