I’m pretty sure you are here because you have read the popular James Herriot Vet books or watched one of the fabulous TV series. His stories involve animals of course, but mostly they are about Dales folk. The way they lived, the way they worked and occasionally, what they ate – particularly during the wartime period when food was scarce. After a hard days toil on the farms Dales people built a huge appetite and relied on ingredients that were available, wholesome and simple to prepare. I liked that concept so I decided to try a few out during the Covid shutdown period which is the closest to wartime conditions as i ever want to get.

I looked at some of the recipes that were popular at that time including those mentioned in that magnificent book ‘The best of James Herriot’ and also those related to specific stories in his books. I will include one from a very well known Herriot Fan and TV celeb which I will keep till last as a surprise! I learned a bit of the history behind all of these recipes which I will share alongside each recipe. So even if you don’t fancy braving the kitchen you can still get some pleasure from them.

If you haven’t read the Herriot books then please give them a try! They open the door to a magical world which has enthralled so many of us and made our lives that much richer. And you will come across Mrs Hall – the housekeeper for the three Vets and an excellent cook. That’s why a fellow Herriot Fan suggested I create a section called ‘Mrs Halls Cookbook’.

Before you go there, a confession – I am no expert cook. Far from it. I had to learn as I went along – including some of those weird terms that cooks use. But as it turns out I didn’t need to worry because these recipes weren’t created for expert cooks, fancy ingredients or flashy kitchens.  And they weren’t created to win TV competitions either. They were created for and by simple hardworking country folk. They hark back to the simple and less complicated times that we have all yearned for during this quite extraordinary period in 2020/21.  If just one visitor makes just one of these recipes at home and feels connected with James Herriot and his Yorkshire Dales then it will have all been worthwhile to me.

I will add the recipes one by one so check them out as the list grows or subscribe to the blog which I will use to comment on each one as I post.

You can see the list of recipes by clicking ‘Mrs Halls Cookbook‘ in the menu at the top of the website and a full list of the recipes will appear for you …

Enjoy!