Cast Iron Ranges How AGA Became an Icon
DOROTHY BRADDELL
LAURENCE WRIGHT
MABEL COLLINS
On 9 May 1873, the reclusive Queen
Victoria made a rare public appearance.
She attended a cooking lecture held at
the exhibition grounds close to London’s
Albert Hall. The Queen and princesses
were ushered into the exhibition’s
School of Cookery to observe the
preparation of a savoury omelette by
a male chef and four kitchen maids.
It was one of the very first cookery
demonstrations and years later AGA
recognised its value to customers.
Today, thousands every year enjoy
cookery demonstrations at AGA shops
throughout the UK. Back in the 1930s
it was a new idea and it was Mabel
Collins – as head of the new AGA
Cookery Advisory Department – who
was charged with changing Britain’s
view on food and cooking.
The Cookery Advisory Department
was formally introduced in 1935 in AGA
Heat Ltd’s North Audley Street, London,
kitchen appliance showroom. A
contemporary brochure states: “This is
the test and demonstration kitchen at
London. The head of the department
(Mabel Collins) moved her desk from her
private office into the kitchen ‘because
it was less stuffy’.”
With the housewife now doing the
cooking the onus was on providing
achievable recipes for practical
everyday living and for entertaining and
that tradition continues today through
the AGA demonstration kitchens in
London’s Marylebone High Street and
Brompton Road.
Through Mabel Collins, AGA Heat Ltd
provided practical cooking information
to its customers. AGA Heat Ltd viewed
the provision of information for the
housewife as a major new avenue for
sales and owners of AGA cookers
received monthly or quarterly recipes to
reflect the time of year, with some of
these pictured (right)…
q
SERVING UP A NEW APPROACH TO
CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN LIVING
28 How e AGA Became An Icon
Today, thousands
learn more about
the AGA cooker
through instore
demonstrations.
It is a tradition
begun in the
1930s with the
launch of the
AGA Cookery
Advisory
Department
with renowned
food writer
Ambrose Heath
retained as its
Gastronomical
Adviser.
Painted by Lawrence Wright, this kitchen
is based on plans by a successor
or colleague of Dorothy Braddell –
Millicent Frances Pleydell-Bouverie
How e AGA Became An Icon 29
All from
V&A
museum
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