“My grandma is an exceptional cook. I frequently ring her for cooking advice and she used to make wedding cakes. I once stole the iced roses she had made for a cake, causing a bit of a panic,” says Nathalie, “and she always made my birthday cakes.” I’ve tested two recipes which caught my eye in Thelma’s book. One was for cheese frizzles, which were so delicious my family begged me to make more. They cook up like a cheese crisp and I’ve doubled the original recipe so that you have plenty to go around. They should make a comeback as the perfect nibble to have with drinks. I also made potato parkins – spicy little biscuits which are lovely spread with butter and jam. They’re a great way to use up leftover mashed potato. I hope you enjoy trying out Thelma’s recipes from 1944 and if you know someone with a lovely old notebook full of recipes, why not ask if you can look after it for them and pass it down the generations? Nathalie says she’ll be keeping Thelma’s notebook as part of her legacy. “It tells me another part of her story.”