Mass spluttering at the breakfast table of gentlemen across the land results from announcement that Patum Peperium is no longer available.
Shocking news came last week when the manufacturers of Patum Peperium: the Gentleman’s Relish announced they would be ceasing production. Patum Peperium has been gracing the hot buttered breakfast toast of gentlemen from Kolkata to King’s Lynn for nearly 200 years. Gentleman’s Relish was created in 1828 by English grocer John Osborn, who used a blend of anchovy fillets, rusk, butter and a secret combination of herbs and spices, launching it at the at the Paris Food Show in 1849.
James Bond creator Ian Fleming regularly ordered Patum Peperium at London restaurant Scott’s. He would take it on toast as part of a dish named Scotch Woodcock, served with scrambled eggs. More recently, Nigella Lawson cited Gentleman’s Relish as one of the ten foods she simply could not live without. “I love Gentleman’s Relish on generously buttered toast,” said she with a winsome smile, “I think of it as the savoury version of cinnamon toast, and it is just as comforting, particularly if served on white sliced bread.”
Other noted chefs who reacted with horror to the news of Patum Peperium’s demise included Michelin starred Tom Brown: “It is such a shame, it is a really versatile British product, like Worcestershire sauce or English mustard. If they aren’t going to make it any more, they should release the recipe.”
According to manufacturer Associated British Foods, the Gentleman’s Relish recipe is a closely guarded secret, with no single member of John Osborn’s descendants ever knowing the full complement of herbs and spices. Osborn’s great-great-great-grandchildren, Georgina and Giles Hamilton-Fletcher, confirmed this and urged AB World Foods to reveal the secret ingredients to the world.
Now, in a dramatic turn of events, AB Foods are said to be in talks with another food producer to keep Gentleman’s Relish on the shelves. The story was first aired by Olivia Potts at the Spectator –coincidentally, like Patum Peperium, also nearing its 200th anniversary. Until then, dedicated spreaders of Patum Peperium can only resort to online auction sites, who are now offering pots of Gentleman’s Relish at prices that make you feel as though anchovies are pouring out of your eyes.
