Veronica, Lady Maclean ( Fraser, formerly Phipps; 2 December 1920 – 7 January 2005) was a Scottish food writer and hotelier. Her family owned Creggan's Inn on the shores of

Loch Fyne Loch Fyne ( gd, Loch Fìne, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound ...

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. Her first book pioneered recipes that she had collected from family and friends which she described as family or country house cooking, as opposed to the classical French

haute cuisine ''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is the cuisine of "high-level" establishments, gourmet restaurants, and luxury hotels. ''Haute cuisine'' is characterized by the meticulous preparation and careful presentation of food at a high pric ...

, which was the universal style in hotels and restaurants in the 1960s. Her first book, ''Lady Maclean's Cook Book'' (1966), was enlivened by such dishes as the Duchess of Devonshire's fish soup,

Lady Diana Cooper Diana, Viscountess Norwich (née Lady Diana Olivia Winifred Maud Manners; 29 August 1892 – 16 June 1986) was an English actress and aristocrat who was a well-known social figure in London and Paris. As a young woman, she moved in a celebrat ...

's blackcurrant leaf ice, Lady Lovat's oxtail, Fitz's " plov from Samarkand" - and went through several printings. Her other cookery books included ''Lady Maclean's Diplomatic Dishes'' (1975), ''Lady Maclean's Book of Sauces and Surprises'' (1978) and ''Lady Maclean's Second Helpings and More Diplomatic Dishes'' (1984).

Life

Veronica Nell Fraser was born in London on 2 December 1920, the fourth of five children of the 16th Lord Lovat. After service in a mobile ambulance unit in France at the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, she met and married in 1940

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Alan Phipps, who — after serving with distinction on the

Arctic Convoys The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...

and in the Mediterranean — was killed ashore at

Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flig ...

in 1943, leaving his wife a widow at 23 with two children. In 1946 she married Fitzroy Maclean, who had served as an officer with her cousin

David Stirling Sir Archibald David Stirling (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British army, a mountaineer, and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War. ...

in North Africa at the foundation of the SAS. After serving as MP for Lancaster from 1941, Maclean was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

in 1957, in turn making his wife Lady Maclean. Maclean then served as MP for Bute and North Ayrshire from 1959 until the February 1974 general election. Lady Maclean (a Roman Catholic) had two children from her first marriage to Alan Phipps, Susan Rose "Sukie" Phipps (born 1941) and Jeremy Julian Phipps (born 1942), who were brought up in their mother's faith. Sukie married the writer

Derek Marlowe Derek William Mario Marlowe (21 May 1938 – 14 November 1996) was an English playwright, novelist, screenwriter and painter. Life Derek Marlowe was born in Perivale, Middlesex, and lived there and in Greenford as a child. His father was Fr ...

, and is stepmother to

autistic savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...

Derek Paravicini Derek Paravicini (born 26 July 1979) is an English autistic savant known as a musical prodigy. He resides in London. Biography On 26 July 1979, Paravicini was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, He was born extremely prematurely, at ...

. Jeremy became a Major-General in the British army, having served in the SAS. Sir Fitzroy and Lady Maclean had two sons: Charles Edward (born 1946) and Alexander James Simon Aeneas (born 1949), who were not brought up in their mother's faith. Lady Maclean featured in an episode of

Keith Floyd Keith Floyd (28 December 1943 – 14 September 2009) was a British celebrity Chef, cook, restaurateur, television personality and Gastronomy, "gastronaut" who hosted cooking shows for the BBC and published many books combining cookery and t ...

's BBC cooking show ''Floyd on Britain and Ireland'' in 1988. The episode was filmed in May and broadcast in the winter.Scottish wild salmon recipe - Keith Floyd - BBC
- BBC Studios, YouTube Lady Maclean died at home on 7 January 2005, aged 84, at

Strachur House Strachur House is a Category B listed building in Strachur, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It dates from around 1770, and is a three-storey building, built mostly of coursed rubble.Strachur Strachur; ( gd, Srath Chura) and Strathlachlan; ( gd, Srath Lachlainn) are united parishes located on the Cowal peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Strachur is a small village on the eastern coast of Loch Fyne. Geography Cowal is the l ...

in Argyll. Sir Fitzroy had died of a heart attack on 15 June 1996 whilst visiting friends in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England.

References

External links

Obituary
''Daily Telegraph'', 12 January 2005
Obituary
''The Scotsman'', 12 January 2005
Obituary
''The Herald'', 13 January 2005

''The Independent'', 14 January 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Veronica 1920 births 2005 deaths Women cookbook writers Writers from London People from Argyll and Bute Scottish food writers British gastronomes Daughters of barons Wives of baronets Wives of knights

Life

References

Further reading

External links