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The Copper Pot
Purveyors of fine historical foods
The Copper Pot is all about food from history, bringing recipes to life so that you can enjoy a real taste of the past, at home. We specialise in recreating authentic recipes from historical records that range in date from Prehistory through to the Victorian era.
We currently produce a variety of products, such as an Elizabethan stew mix, spice mixes for wines from the kitchens of King Richard II, a very early medieval Icelandic mustard, a 17th century Spanish hot chocolate, and another from 18th century English hot chocolate, the earliest English curry recipe, refreshing cordials, and many other delicious treats.
At The Copper Pot, we stick as close as is possible to the original recipes, using such exotic spices as Grains of Paradise, Galangal and Cubebs to ensure that when you try our recipes they evoke the pleasure and majesty of the King’s table at a medieval feast, or the exotic delights of an 18th century household.
Like the itinerant merchants of the past, The Copper Pot can be found at historical events across the country, but we also have an active online shop for those who fear to tread the medieval roads.
A Taste of Chocolate
A bit of background to our historical chocolates
Chocolate or cacao originates from central America, and was being consumed at least as early as 2000 BC.
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Aztec chocolate was generally drunk cold, with chilli, vanilla and other locally available flavours and spices.The first European contact with chocolate was on 15 August 1502, when Columbus and his son seized a canoe containing Cacao beans.
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The earliest written record of chocolate in Europe dates to 1544 with a gift of cacao beans to King Philip II of Spain.
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The Spanish dominated chocolate for the first hundred years or so, and adapted the Aztec recipes to suit their palette and supplies. The early chocolate recipes include our 1685 Hot Chocolate.
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Chocolate becomes publicly available in England around the 1680s, and were similar to the 1685 recipe, but soon changed to be more like our 18th century recipe.
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The Victorians reduced the use of spices in a lot of foods, and so were the first to produce what we might call a ‘plain chocolate’, although this still contains vanilla.
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Chocolate remained predominantly a drink up until the development of the chocolate bar in the 19th century.
Nick Trustram Eve
Nick Trustram Eve is an experienced food historian and historic interpreter, with a background of working with the National Trust, other national organisations, universities and schools. He has given lectures, talks, demonstrations and tastings to groups of all sizes and ages.
He is an archaeologist by background, so brings an academic element to his research into historic foods. He is particularly interested in exploring how and why flavours have changed over time.
Handmade in Shropshire
The Copper Pot is based on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border, near the market town of Bewdley. All our food products are handmade in our dedicated kitchen at home, using as many homegrown ingredients as possible.
We research and develop every product from genuine historical recipes, keeping them as close to the originals as possible, without changing the ingredients, so that you get to experience a real taste of the past.
