after graduating, she joined the london museum (later the museum of london) as curator in the tudor and stuart department, from 1966 to 1972, and as head of department from 1972 to 1980. her interest in the history of food was stimulated in 1968 by curating a london museum exhibition on tudor food celebrating 400 years of ownership of loseley park, surrey by the more-molyneux family. in 1980 she moved to the victoria and albert museum as an assistant in the metalwork department, of which she was chief curator between 1996 and 1999. she was encouraged by the director, sir roy strong, to study the social history of silver and the hierarchy of status. this led her increasingly to examine the uses of silver at the table. among her accomplishments at the v&a, she redisplayed the museum's silver collection to reveal how historic meals were served. on leaving she was appointed academic director at waddesdon manor, the former rothschild seat in buckinghamshire, where she remained until 2003. there, she created exhibitions that placed objects in situ, sometimes with elaborate recreations of the foods served in them by the historian ivan day. these included a display in the dining-room intended to show how baron rothschild might have dined in the 19th century, when he resided there; as well as an exhibition showing the use of french 18th-century porcelain, one of the strengths of the collection.