Café Nineteen20 team picks items for cooking themed mini exhibition at National Civil War Centre, on Appletongate, Newark

A new mini exhibition is now on display, offering an insight into how food and drink has been prepared throughout the decades.

On display at the National Civil War Centre, from now until March, is located in the foyer between the museum and Café Nineteen20 and can be viewed for free.

The Café team also had a hand in forming the mini exhibition, with members of staff selecting catering themed objects from the museum stores with the help of collections and exhibitions colleagues

The items, which span the last century, all have a catering theme and take visitors on a journey through the evolution of cooking equipment.

Joanne Brooks, café catering supervisor said: “Coming from a long line of homemakers and women passionate about producing home-baking in their daily lives, many of the items in the display have fond memories for me.

“I recall helping both my Granny and my mum in the kitchen using many similar items, some of which have been passed down to me or which I have bought modern versions of over the years.”

Objects include everything from tea infusers and caddies, sugar nippers, enamel tea containers, an icing set and a rotating cake decorating stand, to a hand-driven coffee grinder, a rotary whisk and a handheld pastry blender.

Some objects will bring nostalgia, such as a Camp Coffee bottle, while others open our times to war time living, with a ‘gas-proof’ Mazawattee tea container, or a tin of powdered eggs.

A number of the objects also tell unique and personal stories, from wedding presents and anniversary giftrs, to a Newark cookbook dating from the 1920s featuring community recipe including a Christmas pudding instruction from Palace Theatre founder Emily Blagg.

Glyn Hughes, collections and exhibitions manager, said: “It’s really wonderful to see the collection through other people’s eyes and hear the personal stories which these objects evoke.

“Seeing the enthusiasm people have for these exhibits reminds us how privileged we are to do what we do and inspires us to go on to curate more exhibitions from the collection.

“Some of the objects you can enjoy in this display haven’t been on public view in over 10 years and it’s fantastic that we are enjoying more opportunities to share these.”