Time to Read: 2 minutes
There’s nothing better than mixing Shakespeare with sweet and savory delights! That’s exactly what John Tufts, actor, playwright and now culinary dramaturg has done through the release of his Shakespeare-influenced cookbook titled: Fat Rascals: Dining at Shakespeare’s Table. Through Tufts’ career as a Shakespearean actor, he’s found hundreds of references to food hidden in the lines of masterful verse. In Fat Rascals, John Tufts resurrects over 100 recipes from Shakespeare’s Folio.
A friend of Play On Shakespeare, Tufts’ artistic home is the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where he’s performed in 22 of Shakespeare’s 39 plays and has been a company member for 13 years. Tufts will be back in the Rogue Valley for a 14th season as a cast member in Much Ado About Nothing. From small bites to colossal cakes, join along as we uncover hidden recipes within Shakespeare’s world-renowned classic texts.
Check out a few of our favorite recipes below:
Oxfordshire Cake, Inspired by Twelfth Night
A sweet cake, leavened with yeast and filled with dried fruit, the Oxfordshire Cake inspired the single most famous food reference in Shakespeare.
Chewets, General Shakespeare References
He used it as a metaphor for insults, his characters dreamt of eating it, and he even baked a couple of his characters into food.
Unfortunately, Fat Rascals is currently sold out as Tufts finds it hard to keep the published work in stock. For more information or to be notified when books are back in stock visit john-tufts.com
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