18 February 2020
Annie Gray’s Victory in the Kitchen is the story of a woman who was not royal, rich, or famous. And yet, Georgina Landemare was instrumental in the diplomatic success that led to victory in the Second World War. She started her career as a nursemaid, and ended it cooking for one of the best-known figures in British history, a man to whom food was central, not only as a pleasure by itself, but as a diplomatic tool in a time when the world was embroiled in a worldwide war. Our intern, Elizabeth Hitti, highlights five interesting facts about Georgina’s extraordinary life.
To learn more about Georgina Landemare, order your copy of Victory in the Kitchen today from Amazon, Waterstones or Hive.
1. Georgina cooked during two world wars and for 16 monarchs in her lifetime.
She began working in kitchens as a scullery maid at 15 years old and didn’t stop until she was 73, when she retired from her work for the Churchills. During this time, her guests included prominent figures, such as Lord Kitchener, Ian Hamilton and Charles De Gaulle.
2. Georgina was the Churchills’ longest-serving domestic servant.
She wrote to the Churchills in 1939 and offered herself as their wartime cook. She then worked for the family from 1940 to 1954, the entirety of which was during rationing in Britain. With her ability to create extravagant meals from rations and to adapt to Churchill’s hectic schedule, she was a highly valued member of the household. She was even included in the Churchills’ evacuation list, her cat, Smoky, was welcomed as family, and she was frequently seen admonishing Churchill for walking around 10 Downing Street naked.
3. Georgina almost died when the kitchen window of 10 Downing Street was blown up during the Blitz.
She was usually the last to enter the bunkers during bombings and Churchill often had to hustle her out of the kitchen, exclaiming “If Mr Hitler gets you, I won’t get my soup!” On one of these occasions, she was finishing a pudding when Churchill demanded that she leave and seek shelter. The 25-foot window in the kitchen exploded moments later and the pudding was, presumably, ruined.
4. On VE Day Churchill shook Georgina’s hand, brought her up to the balcony, and said he could never have achieved victory without her.
She was crucial in enabling Churchill’s dinner-table diplomacy. He believed that face-to-face contact, over good food and wine, was the secret to political success. Georgina thus provided the stage for Churchill’s rituals around food, often attracting repeated guests who returned for her cooking. Georgina’s ability to efficiently use rations was also key to protecting Churchill’s public image, as he was never seen to be receiving special treatment. Rationing worked because it was equal for all, and Georgina made sure of this.
5. Georgina destroyed most of her memoir, before her granddaughter stopped her and saved twenty-six and a half pages.
In despair after her daughter and son-in-law declared that no one would be interested in her life, Georgina tore her memoir apart and washed it down the sink. Twenty-six and a half pages remain, which Annie Gray has supplemented in her book with Georgina’s recipe book from 10 Downing Street and research from the time period.