A form of shallot-based store sauce made at the many cab driver's shelters in the days of Hansoms and Growlers. 'Food in England' by Dorothy Hartley (Hartley 1954) gives; 1 pint shallots, 1 clove of garlic, salt, pepper, sugar and spices "to the host's opinion", boiled, sieved and bottled with vinegar. It was commercially available until (2010) very recently.


Cabmen's shelter Kensington Road, London
Image: Jongleur100


The Malaysian/American perfumers Crabtree and Evelyn registered the name 'Cabshelter' for a sauce brand, and our correspondent Nils Bernard tells us (2016) that "there was some Cabshelter sauce produced by C&E. It was delicious! I was very sad, when it became unavailable. It may have been around 1996-98, when they discontinued the product."

Because city cab drivers were forbidden to leave their vehicles, the Earl of Shaftesbury created a fund in 1874 to provide shelters and refreshment stops for them, many of which still exist.