We haven't seen a glimpse of sunlight for days, the skies are unremittingly grey and dull. The nearest I can come to some sunshine is this old recipe book, every recipe contains mustard, Colman's, of course.
The booklet was part of a very clever advertising campaign started in 1926, when Dorothy L Sayers was a young advertising copywriter. She wrote most of the copy for the campaign, which was based around the fictional Mustard Club.
President of the club was Baron de Beef, other members were - Miss Di Gester, Lord Bacon, Augustus Gusto KC, Signor Spaghetti, Lady Hearty, and Master Mustard. People were encouraged to apply for membership of the club and at one time 10 women were employed to deal with the 2,000 applications for badges, which were received each day. By the time the campaign came to an end there were 500,000 members of the club.
The 32 page booklet has sections of recipes for fish, pig, mutton and beef, game and fowl, cheese, sandwiches, sauces and pickles, with mustard being used in all of them.
The rules of the Mustard Club were quite simple.
1. Every Member shall on all proper occasions eat Mustard to improve his appetite and strengthen his digestion.
2. Every Member shall once at least during every meal make the secret sign of the Mustard Club by placing the mustard-pot six inches from his neighbour's plate.
3. Every Member who asks for a sandwich and finds that it contains no Mustard shall publicly refuse to eat same.
4. Every Member shall see that the Mustard is freshly made, and no Member shall tip a waiter who forgets to put Mustard on the table.
5. Each member shall instruct his children to "keep that schoolboy digestion" by forming the habit of eating Mustard.
The East Anglian Film Archive even has a spoof film - .Archive film reel showing members of the original Mustard Club.
