Lady Clark of Tillypronie collected and made notes on hundreds of recipes between 1841 and the day she died in 1897. Her well-travelled childhood and life as the wife of a diplomat exposed her to a wide variety of foods and influences before she moved back to Scottish Highlands. Geraldene Holt is an internationally acclaimed food writer. The distinguished American author, M.F.K.Fisher, has written: "I can think of only three English women who write even comparably well about a common subject, food. They are, of course, Elizabeth David, Jane Grigson and Geraldene Holt." She is Chairman of the Jane Grigson Trust, an educational charity, and in 1999 she was elected Vice President of the Guild of Food Writers.