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Recipes from Disaster - Conclusion - Page 4

© John Barham

Russell's attitude to Alexis was two-faced. Hail-fellow-well-met' and eager to praise, and partake of, his culinary skills in public, he was equally quick to make snide comments about him, behind his back,to his editor Delaine: 'Soyer is here eating whatever he can get and obstinately deaf to all hints that he ought to come in time to cook the dinner'. Later, he tucked away in a routine report to the 'Times', a comment to the effect that that it was a pity that the famous Soyer stove could neither bake nor roast. This was made known to Soyer, who replied in a letter published in the 'Times' that an accessory was available, already sent with the stoves to Aldershot, for baking and roasting. The priorities in the Crimea, he explained, had been to pass on the basics of boiling and stewing, and it was unrealistic to try to teach more in a short course to inexperienced soldier cooks. There was no doubt a combattive element in their relationship; Alexis maintained a habit of writing long letters to the Times describing events and background from a personal viewpoint, and which Delaine was happy to publish uncut.

In June both Soyer and Russell were part of a small tourist group visiting Odessa, a trip facilitated by the Russian General Luders. On return they found that Cathcart Hill had been evacuated by 4th Division Headquarters, as vacated premises in Balaklava were now available. General Garrett had also thoughtfully provided accommodation for Soyer's group in the General Hospital area, away from the ravages of the Tartar pillagers who now held sway in the vacated camps. Russell's 'iron castle.. (of) farmhouse, stables, garden and dependencies' was less lucky and he wrote to Soyer 'What do you think? I am now a houseless, homeless wanderer: they have pulled down my house..so I must hang out on Cathcart's Hill, in the old cave where Sir John Campbell lived long ago.' Soyer's reply is not on record, but dare I suspect that if there had been one, it would have been on the lines of 'Tough.'?

Alexis was hanging on in the Crimea to ensure that his precious stoves, which attracted covetous glances from military and locals alike, were all shipped back through official channels to England. There were VIP dinners to give and to enjoy cooking for, but his priority was to make sure that his cooking principles would not die with the ending of the War but would gain sufficient influential support to become the norm throughout the British Army, and hopefully the French as well. His final demonstration to Codrington and the remaining generals had two newly trained soldier cooks from 56th Foot cooking an appetising meal from rations on Soyer stoves for the entire Regiment. As at all Soyer demonstrations, everyone was suitably impressed.

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