Hooked on Downton Abbey? Curious what food was like during the Edwardian Period? Tune in to an especially historic episode of A Taste of the Past with Linda Pelaccio as she is joined by Cathy Kaufman, chair of the Culinary Historians of New York. Find out why English food has a rich tradition and why it gets such a bad reputation these days. Learn about early haute cuisine, table settings, cookbooks and the important of the dining room as it relates to the period of time featured on Downton Abbey. This program is sponsored by Cain Vineyard and Winery. English food at that time [The Edwardian Era] had fabulous butter, cream and meats. The houses all had wonderful gardens. There was no reason for the food not to be good. English food gets its bad reputation because of the true hardships with food rationing that the population underwent after World War I, The Great Depression and World War II. In England unlike in the US, while you would have some flowers and silver candelabra, it would not be overly profuse. I think theres an interesting juxtaposition between American and English tables at this time. The American table is rather gaudy by comparison. --Cathy Kaufman, Chair of the Culinary Historians of New York on A Taste of The Past