If you like curry, you have more in common with the Victorians than you might think. Their love of Indian dishes began with the officers and officials of the East India Company. These men enjoyed spicy meals in India, and still wanted to eat their favourites when they returned to Britain. Queen Victoria helped to further popularise the craze for all things Indian, regularly enjoying curries cooked by her own Indian chefs.

This short guide will take you to the cigar-filled gentlemen's clubs and the elegant, high-class hotel restaurants serving curries made by Indian chefs; the noisy, aromatic warehouses where Indian entrepreneurs stored their imported spices; the sell-out audiences watching demonstrations of curry-making by experts in Indian cooking; and the cookery schools where domestic cooks employed in middle-class homes learned how to make curry. You'll also learn how curry powder made Indian-style meals more affordable (and less authentic), and why it could be a health risk.

Curry in Victorian London was not available to everyone; it very much depended on your social class, gender and wealth. Spices were too expensive for the working classes, and only middle- and upper-class men were welcome in gentlemen's clubs and hotel restaurants (it was not socially acceptable for women to dine out without a male escort until the 1880s). But the British love affair with curry is firmly rooted in the Victorian period.

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Trailblazer, innovator, entrepreneur. Agnes Marshall was as famous in her day as Mrs Beeton, but she has largely been forgotten, aside from a few passing references to her role in improving ice cream-making. But Agnes's story and her significant achievements in the world of cookery deserve far greater recognition. Now David Smith has re-examined her contribution to food history, busting some myths about her origins along the way.

Starting out as a lowly scullery maid, Agnes worked her way up to be a cook in gentlemen's service. Then, with true entrepreneurial spirit, she and her husband, Alfred, opened a cookery school that became renowned across Britain and beyond. Spotting further business opportunities, Agnes was endorsed by royalty; became the author of four best-selling cookery books; invented numerous improvements to ice cream-making machinery; established and contributed to a weekly newspaper, The Table; and undertook lecture tours in the UK and overseas. According to Oscar Wilde, "Mrs. Marshall's brilliant lectures are, of course, well known."

All this Agnes did with grit, determination and extraordinary stamina, while also fulfilling her traditional role as a wife and mother. She is a fascinating example of Victorian social mobility: how hard work, business acumen and a bit of good luck could lead to a successful career and helped her and Alfred to climb the social ladder.

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The Cooking Colonel of Madras

Arthur Kenney-Herbert was a cavalry officer who served in India during the British Raj. Using the pen name "Wyvern", he wrote Culinary Jottings for Madras in which he gives instructions to British memsahibs on how to give refined dinners, manage their servants and make Anglo-Indian curries. The book was a great success, and made Wyvern famous in colonial India.

When he retired to England at the rank of colonel, Wyvern built on his reputation as a culinary authority. He founded a cookery school, gave cooking demonstrations, and wrote books and articles for prestigious magazines.

Food writer and author of The Curry House website David Smith charts Wyvern's life and times, recreates his classic recipe for Madras chicken curry, and considers his legacy as a Victorian celebrity chef.

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Quick Meals from The Curry House

The cookbook contains over 50 recipes for making Indian restaurant-style meals at home. Most of the recipes can be made from scratch in under one hour.

The book has six chapters of recipes - House Specials, Curry House Favourites, Tandoori-style Dishes, Vegetable Bhajis, Rice & Breads and Dips & Relishes. The recipes make dishes that bridge the gap between restaurant meals and supermarket ready-meals.

The book has other useful chapters with extensive cooking notes, advice on ingredients and what kitchen equipment you'll need.

Many of the House Specials and Curry House Favourites are made with chicken but there is a chapter with easy instructions on how to make the recipes with lamb, prawns or a vegetarian alternative.

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