Mind-blowing historical “time capsule” discovered in café rafters
When workers were peeling back the old walls of the Liverpool eatery, they weren’t expecting to find a fragile piece of culinary history.
The menu, dated from Wednesday, 15 January 1913, belonged to the former Yamen Café in Bold Street and was just one of the artifacts found in the rafters of LEAF, the caé that now occupies the same site on Bold Street.
Staff of the LEAF Café in central Liverpool said the discovery had “blown their minds”.
The historical menu offered an appetising selection of “refreshments, luncheons and afternoon teas”.
LEAF founder and owner Natalie Haywood told CNN that the discovery was almost “creepy” since LEAF sells specialty teas just like its predecessor.
Specials of the day included sweetbreads and peas, irish stew, and banana fritters, and the set menu featured boiled fowl, tournedos bearnaise, and meringues chantilly with pears, reflecting the cosmopolitan character of the port city at the time.
A bowl of tomato on the menu cost four old pennies, the equivalent of £1.20 (AUD$2.14) today.
Haywood said, “When I saw it I was staggered, it’s like a time capsule hidden in the walls.
“To see what they were doing then, how forward-thinking and creative as a restaurant, is so inspiring.
“We have always known this is a historic building but having the menu in our hands has made it all feel real, something dating back to the First World War.”
According to a food historian, the menu wasn’t the typical fare for average working class Liverpudlians of the time and the prices were out of reach for most.
Bryce Evens, associate professor in history at Liverpool Hope University, said it was aimed at an “upper middle class clientele” and that the “meaty” menu had a continental influence “typical only of the better-off in Britain at the time”.
As a bustling maritime city, the foreign dishes and wider use of vegetables on Yamen’s menu illustrated Liverpool’s “cosmopolitanism” and “status as a major city of empire and trade and exchange”, Mr Evans said.
Though the area now has a “bohemian” feel, Bold Street was the equivalent of London’s Bond Street in 1913, boasting car showrooms, high-end clothing stores, and fine dining.
Along with the 108-year-old menu, other finds included a waiter’s hat with “Yamen” embroidered on the rim, instructions for the English card game whist, and a packet of playing cards.
Haywood said the items were found in the rafters of the mezzanine, which was being transformed from an office space into an area for private events.
“Down came fluttering from the ceiling this menu from 108 years ago. It’s in absolutely unbelievable condition,” Haywood said.
With this find, LEAF now plans to recreate some of the dishes as a tribute to the Yamen.
Two permanent additions to the menu will be the Irish stew and Welsh rabbit.
Once lockdown restrictions are lifted in England and the refurbishment is complete, Haywood also plans to host a special evening where a more extensive range of the menu items will be served.
Image credits: LEAF