Cecille Snaith-Simmons enjoys the food and the camaraderie of Cup Match but what she really loves is chatting to older folk about what it was like in years past.She’s amassed a pile of interviews through her chats and plans to do something with them someday.“I am very interested in cricket, but I have always been particularly interested in the food of Cup Match,” said Mrs Snaith-Simmons, who wrote a traditional Bermuda cook book in the 1980s. “Every year I interview a senior citizen about the food of Cup Match and their memories of the event.”She has learned that Cup Match was simpler in some ways in the past, and much more complicated in others.“My husband Lionel’s aunt said 70 years ago, they would take sandwiches,” said Mrs Snaith-Simmons. “In order to keep the food they were selling at Cup Match cold, they had to bring in cart loads of ice in the dead of night because it was cooler then and the ice wouldn’t melt quite so fast. There was no refrigeration. Several people said they took their lunch, and didn’t buy food at the game because it was too expensive so that hasn’t changed any.”Cup Match was first played at the Royal Naval Field in Somerset on June 1902. St George’s won that year. The game started as a way for lodges to commemorate the emancipation of slavery in Bermuda on August 1, 1834. Cup Match moved to its current location in Somerset in the late 1940s. It was also around that time the event was made a two-day holiday.Those who attended would dress to the nines; men wore hats and ties.“The older people tell me that there was a vendor at Cup Match called Cleavie who was blind,” said Mrs Snaith-Simmons. “He sold things like coconut cakes, chewing gum and cracker jacks. Then there were people who sold hot dogs. In one interview I did 25 years ago this lady said her parents made codfish cakes. At that time you did not buy the codfish boneless and skinless so it was a big process preparing the fish.“People also made lemonade to sell at the game. They made it in kegs that the salt beef came in. It was a penny for the lemonade and a penny for the codfish cakes. The lemonade didn’t taste of salt, because they scrubbed the kegs well beforehand. Another lady said she worked for a woman who had the contract to feed the policemen. She also fed other people, but it involved roasted beef, lamb and pork. Animals had to be slaughtered. It was a big thing.”Coconut cakes were another much-loved treat at Cup Match games in the past. These days they might be daunting for people more used to microwaving or using ready-made mixes to make cakes and brownies.“I don’t think young people today would be making coconut cakes,” she said. “They are a lot of work. There is a lot of grating, boiling and mixing involved. I like them myself but my weight is not conducive to coconut cakes.”Like many Bermudians, Mrs Snaith-Simmons and her family have their own Cup Match traditions developed over the years. Her daughter, Alicia, celebrates her birthday around Cup Match, so they usually held her birthday party on the second day.“I can remember my obstetrician saying ‘now look girl, you better hurry up and have this baby because I am going on my yacht for Cup Match,” said Mrs Simmons. “We always used to entertain for her birthday. We always had a cake, which was always bought from Shabazz Bakery in Somerset.”People would often stop by their house as it was close to Somerset Cricket Club, for a break from the match. Mrs Snaith-Simmons always had a big spread. Her children particularly loved her jerk chicken, but she also made traditional Bermuda dishes such as cassava pie, rum punch, potato salad and macaroni and cheese.“I like jerk chicken because you can make it ahead of time and you can still have it tasting fresh when you eat it,” said Mrs Snaith-Simmons. “With some chicken recipes, you can tell it was made the day before.”Some people thought she was crazy but she always entertained with china plates as she thought they were classier than disposable dishware.These days she and her husband Lionel take on Cup Match in a more low-key fashion, at Somerset Cricket Club.“My husband and I give an award to the club in memory of my father, Charles Snaith,” said Mrs Snaith-Simmons. “It is an award for the most disciplined player. My father didn’t play, he was the principal of the West End School. He liked cricket very much and we felt that was what we would do for him.“At the game I always go for the muscle pie. I love that. My husband likes the conk stew. We also like the fried fish. Is there any particular vendor we prefer, we don’t know. We sort of look at the crowd and make a decision.“If you are making mussel pie, I used to get them steamed on the shell, but now they are extremely expensive that way. You have to cook or steam them well because they can be tough. Most people now go for the frozen ones because the work is already done for you.”