We tend to think of the current era as the heyday for cookery so it comes as a surprise to discover that one hundred years ago was also a boom time for food manufacturers, publishers and authors and few were more prolific than Charles Herman Senn.

Charles Herman Senn was born in Switzerland, in 1864 and died in 1934. He received a classical cookery training in Europe and later under the renowned chef Francatelli at the Reform Club in London. Senn was one of the founders of the Universal Cookery and Food Association and edited the association’s year-book, The Cookery Annual, from its first publication in 1894. In 1892 he was made Consulting Chef to the National Training School for Cookery, one of the most influential schools of its time, he was also a leading light in the Westminster Technical Institute from its founding in 1910, creating the syllabus and establishing the examinations. He also lectured and gave cookery demonstrations to the wider community.

These are some of his books:

The amateur cook's manual

Ye art of cookery in ye olden time

Breakfast and supper dishes

Chafing dish and casserole cookery

Cookery for the sick and convalescent

Cooking in stoneware (casserole cookery)

How to cook vegetables

Ices, and how to make them

Ideal breakfast dishes, savouries and curries

Light fare recipes

The "Main" cookery book

Manual for diabetic diet and cookery

Meatless fare and Lenten cookery

The new century cookery book

The paper-bag cookery manual

The people's kitchen

Popular breakfast dishes and savouries

The popular cookery book of French and English dishes

The practical cookery manual

Practical gastronomy: French menus

The menu book and check-list of dishes

Practical household recipes from "Lessons in plain cooking"

Recherche2 entrees

Luncheon & dinner sweets including the art of ice making

Savoury breakfast, dinner & supper dishes.

Senn's culinary encyclopaedia

A pocket dictionary of foods and culinary encyclopaedia

Dictionary of foods

Senn's egg cookery

How to cook eggs and omelets in 250 different ways

Simple cookery for the people