author
Mary Eales
One of the earliest named women in English cookery publishing, this confectioner is remembered for a slim 1718 collection that helped preserve the sweet-making tastes of Queen Anne’s era. Her book is especially famous for including one of the earliest printed English recipes for ice cream.
1 Audiobook
Mrs. Mary Eales's receipts. (1733)
by Mary Eales
About the author
Very little is known for certain about Mary Eales's life, which makes her all the more intriguing. She is identified on the title pages of her book as "Confectioner to her late Majesty Queen Anne", linking her to the royal household and to the elegant dessert culture of early 18th-century England.
Her reputation rests on Mrs Mary Eales's Receipts, first published in 1718. The book gathers recipes for preserves, candies, cakes, creams, jellies, and other sweets, and it later appeared in revised editions under the title The Compleat Confectioner. It has remained notable not just as a cookbook, but as a rare surviving glimpse into the work of a professional woman in the world of Georgian food.
Modern readers often remember Eales for one recipe in particular: an early English recipe for ice cream. Even with so few personal details surviving, her work has given her a lasting place in culinary history.