The kitchen is the domain of Marmaduke Scarlet, together with the stone-vaulted larder where he stashes his culinary supplies. This is a dream kitchen perfect for tea and toast on a winter’s day. However, not a place to hang out if you’re watching your figure.
And since I was a child, and discovered at the age of 11 the existence of cornucopian cubby holes with row upon row of food and crockery stocked shelves, I have believed that a walk-in larder or pantry should be a standard feature of any self-respecting kitchen.
‘Then he went through one of the doors in the wall, through which Maria could see a cool stone-vaulted larder, and came back with a big blue bowl of eggs and a blue jug of cream; and, mounting once more upon his stool, he proceeded to make a syllabub. Twelve eggs went to the making of the syllabub, a pint of cream, and cinnamon for flavouring.’
Source: Elizabeth Goudge, The Little White Horse, illus. C. Walter Hodges (Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2011 (1946)), p. 102
