| Sumari: | “Close, but no cigar” and “Close but no coconut” are two popular phrases that originated on the fairground in the UK, around the turn of the 19th century. At the time, prizes, including tobacco and coconuts, were offered to those who won the games on the fairground stalls. At the coconut shy, for instance, a large number of coconuts were mounted on stands, and ‘punters’ would have been invited to try and knock them off for a small fee. The prize, in this case, was to win any coconuts so dislodged. We discuss the introduction of the coca-nut, as it was then called, via the British fairground (originally in Mitcham Fair, London), in the latter part of the 19th century. Thereafter, we introduce a new modernist dessert incorporating pieces of what looks like broken coconut shell. This piece of culinary tromp l’oeil is served together with edible tobacco (referencing the phrase, the prize, and the name of the dish). This dessert has been designed to provide a route in to discussing the recent history of ‘humble’ foods (in Lauden’s terminology) here in the UK with the diners at the table.
|
|---|