17 MAY 1986, Page 24

Sauce source

Sir: Pot and kettle department: Sheila Hutchins (Letters, 10 May) takes the otherwise excellent Jennifer Paterson cor- rectly to task on the latter's recipe for Cockaleekie. But Ms Hutchins then goes on to burden poor M. de Talleyrand with the old canard about the English, their many religions and their single sauce. The ODQ, in common with all other sources I know of, attributes the aphorism to Prince Francesco Caracciolo (1752-1799), some- time supreme commander of the Neapoli- tan navy. The Prince had the unenviable fate of being court-martialled on board Nelson's flagship and hanged from the yardarm by his own officers — truly hoist with his own petard.

Elisabeth Luard

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