Brigadier-General Arthur Robert Kenney-Herbert (1840–1916) was a British soldier who served in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

, and wrote on cooking.

Life

He was the son of the Rev. Arthur Robert Kenney (1805–1884), son of

Arthur Henry Kenney Arthur Henry Kenney (c.1776–1855) was an Irish priest who was Dean of Achonry from 1812 to 1821. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin, where he was elected a Scholar. He was the incumbent at Kilmacrennan before his years as Dean; and Re ...

and rector of

Bourton-on-Dunsmore Bourton-on-Dunsmore is a small village in Warwickshire, England. It is within the civil parish of Bourton and Draycote, along with the nearby hamlet of Draycote. Bourton is part of the borough of Rugby and is located around south-west of the tow ...

, and his wife Mary Louise Palmer. Rev. Arthur Robert Kenney changed his name in later life to Arthur Robert Kenney-Herbert, his mother, Mary Lusinda, being daughter of Robert Herbert, of that family of Castle Island, a branch of that of Muckross,

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, where the Herbert family, originally from Wales, had been settled since the 1600s. Of this family were the Anglo-Irish politician Henry Arthur Herbert, whose namesake grandson was also a politician, and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer Thomas Herbert. Kenney-Herbert entered

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

in 1855 as Arthur Robert Kenney. He served in the Indian Army from age 19. A cornet in 1859, he served in the

Madras Cavalry Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, having arrived in India on 31 October of that year. He reached the rank of major in 1875, at this rank serving as

deputy assistant quartermaster general Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

at Madras until 1881, then as military secretary to the governor of Madras from 1881 to 1884. In 1885, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in the Madras Cavalry. He retired in 1892 with the rank of colonel. He died on 5 March 1916 at 19a Sinclair Gardens, West Kensington, London. Kenney-Herbert wrote regular articles about Indian cookery for ''

The Madras Mail ''The Mail'', known as ''The Madras Mail'' till 1928, was an English-language daily evening newspaper published in the Madras Presidency (later Madras State, and then, Tamil Nadu) from 1868 to 1981. It was the first evening newspaper in India w ...

'', ''Madras Atheneum'' and '' The Daily News'', using the pen-name Wyvern. These were collected and published in 1878 as ''Culinary Jottings for Madras, Or, A Treatise in Thirty Chapters on Reformed Cookery for Anglo-Indian Exiles'' which went through seven editions. Upon retiring from the army and returning to England, he started a cookery school – the Common-sense Cookery Association – in June 1894. Its premises were at 17

Sloane Street Sloane Street is a major London street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about halfway along. History Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Han ...

in London. Kenney-Herbert was not a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

but he did author the cookbook, ''Vegetarian and Simple Diet'' in 1904. The book espouses

ovo-lacto vegetarian Lacto-ovo vegetarianism or ovo-lacto vegetarianism is a type of vegetarianism which forbids animal flesh but allows the consumption of animal products such as dairy and eggs. Unlike pescetarianism, it does not include fish or other seafood. A ...

recipes. It was positively reviewed in ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

'' journal, which noted that "we are glad to welcome the appearance of a book which will teach householders that appetising dishes can be made from vegetables with the aid of eggs and milk products." Kenney-Herbert was fond of

kedgeree Kedgeree (or occasionally ) is a dish consisting of cooked, flaked fish (traditionally smoked haddock), boiled rice, parsley, hard-boiled eggs, curry powder, butter or cream, and occasionally sultanas. The dish can be eaten hot or cold. Other ...

. His recipe consisted of boiled

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, chopped

boiled egg Boiled eggs are eggs, typically from a chicken, cooked with their shells unbroken, usually by immersion in boiling water. Hard-boiled eggs are cooked so that the egg white and egg yolk both solidify, while soft-boiled eggs may leave the yolk, ...

, cold minced fish that is heated with herbs, pepper and salt.Leong-Salobir, Cecilia. (2011). ''Food Culture in Colonial Asia: A Taste of Empire''. Routledge. p. 18.

Family

Kenney-Herbert married Agnes Cleveland, daughter of General John Wheeler Cleveland. Arthur Cleveland Herbert Kenney-Herbert of the Northants Regiment was their son.

Selected publications

''Culinary Jottings for Madras''
(1878)
''Sweet Dishes''
(1884)
''Vegetarian and Simple Diet''
(1904)
''Common-Sense Cookery for English Households''
(1905)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenneyherbert, Arthur Robert 1840 births 1916 deaths British chefs British food writers