A beef stew long-simmered in red Burgundy wine, with bacon lardons, pearl onions and mushrooms. Tender meat, a dark and deep sauce — the festive dish she served at her London table.

Why this dish? During her three years at the Central Laboratory of State Chemical Services in Paris (1947-1950), Rosalind fell in love with French cuisine and learned to stew. Back in London, she loved to entertain friends and serve them French dishes brought back from that happy Parisian period.

Paris taught me patience in the kitchen, something rationed England had never taught me. You brown the meat until it takes colour — never rush it — then drown it in a good Burgundy and forget it for two or three hours by the fire. When my friends came to dinner in London, I served them this: it was a little piece of my Parisian joy set on the table. Science demands rigour; a bourguignon does too, you see.

How it was made : A peasant dish from Burgundy elevated by haute cuisine in the 19th century, bourguignon was at the heart of French bourgeois cuisine that foreigners like Rosalind discovered with delight in post-war Paris, where the black market gradually gave way to renewed abundance.

The contemporary twist : Served in an individual cast-iron pot, with a crusty bread crouton rubbed with garlic planted like a flag in the sauce.

Rosalind Franklin · Charactorium