birmingham soup - in the late 18th century poor harvests in england resulted in high food prices and the resultant opening of soup kitchens to provide cheap, nourishing food for the poor. in 1793 the inventor and industrialist, matthew boulton, noted a recipe in one of his notebooks for a soup was which intended to be sold for a penny a quart. this was a hearty broth made up of stewed beef and vegetables served with a slice of bread. in 2014 glynn purnell recreated the dish as a fine dining course and served it at his restaurant, "purnell's".