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FOREWORD

One of my abiding childhood memories was the digging up and bringing in of the

Christmas tree (this was in the days before the roots were habitually cut off). It

would later be replanted in a grove of past holiday trees at the end of the kitchen

garden. Of course, in those days, Christmas did not begin until December—late in

December—but when it did, it was the most wonderful time of the year.

We made five Christmas specials for Downton Abbey, each a feature-length

episode with its own story arc.They all contained crucial plot points for the overall

story but also allowed us to meet new, sometimes one-off characters and experience

the wider world of Downton. Some will remember them best for such momen-

tous events as Matthew’s snowbound proposal to Mary; the birth of Matthew and

Mary’s son, George; or Matthew’s death.Others will remember the release of Anna

from prison and her reunion with Bates; the birth of Edith’s daughter, Marigold;

or the departure of Tom and Sybbie for America. But around these deeply moving

scenes we also see the future Edward VIII saved from scandal, we shoot grouse in

the Highlands, and we dance with the bright, young things in the beautifully lit

ballrooms of the London season.

Christmas would be nothing without its food, of course, and indeed its drink.

Flemish food writer and culinary historian Regula Ysewijn has brought to life not

only the dishes of the Downton era but also some of the magnificent edible delights

of earlier centuries. It is a brilliantly researched book full of tasty treats. I do hope

you enjoy it.

Julian Fellowes

London, 2020