MERRY GOURMET MINIATURES
1/12^th Scale miniature replica English
Food from the Medieval, Tudor,
Georgian and Victorian times.

Tudor Dining Foods


Tudor Kitchen Foods


Georgian Dining Foods


Georgian Kitchen Foods


Victorian Dining Foods


Victorian Kitchen Foods


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thru  the ages

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Articles and Social History Insights from Aileen
her latest is ........

Fit For A King
Food at the Court of Henry VIII

        

When Henry VII died in 1509 he was succeeded by his son Henry which, had fate decreed otherwise, should not have happened for Henry was his second son, the eldest son Arthur having died suddenly at the age of 15.  Henry was well-educated and destined for the Church until the untimely death of his brother made him heir to the throne.   The Court he was to establish became the most magnificent ever seen not only in England but all Europe, and Henry stood out among his courtiers not least because of great charisma as well as physical presence, he was 6ft 2" tall, broad shouldered and fair skinned with golden auburn hair, he was a fastidious man with highly refined table manners and,  unusual for the time very conscious of hygiene. Slim, handsome and talented he was the very embodiment of a Renaissance Prince, thought by all his contemporaries  to have all  the attributes needed for Kingship, charming, affable, open handed, generous, strong and courageous, much of his character was to change in later life but in the early years of his reign when perceptions were paramount,  the outward show of power and importance he created impressed everyone, for he was determined to outshine his European rivals.

               

Wealthy from his father with an estimated inheritance of £1,250,000 (£375 million today) he could afford to lavish extravagant sums of money on palaces, clothes, entertainments, life style including food, everything that was expected of a great prince.

The Court was not just the Kings residence at any one time but the people and household that surrounded him, the majority of which moved with him to each palace for it all revolved around the King and he was the centre of power and influence.  So Henry's court at any of the Royal palaces when he is in residence necessitated catering on a vast sale, for there could be between 1000 - 1500 courtiers present, never less than 800, plus all their retainers and servants.  The various departments that saw the smooth running of the daily life at Court and the business of government itself all had their comptrollers, staff and servants, the Queen's Household including maids of honour, ladies in waiting and servants numbered around 160, there was the Kings personal household, Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber, Ushers, advisors, all with their servants and sundry clerks, grooms, gardeners, carpenters, launderers, stable boys etc.  all being entitled to 3 meals a day at the monarchs expense, so each of the 3 main kitchens at any royal palace had 3 teams of kitchen staff which meant between 180 - 350 people were working there at any one time.

          

The staples of every meal were bread and ale, for before potatoes, rice or vegetables were served as an accompliment to meat, bread was the mainstay.   The Bakehouse baked approximately 200 "cheat" loaves, made form whole or wheatmeal flour, every day for the general court and around 700 white manchet loaves (like small rolls) made with the more refined white flour, for the upper courtiers, the king had a personal baker who baked the finest while manchet loaves for his use alone.  All the loaves for the court were brought from the Bakehouse to the Pantry and stored in wooden chests called "arks" along with the table linen and candles.

        

The main court drank ale and the Royal Brewhouse provided 600,000 gallons a year stored in barrels and brought up from the cellars to the Buttery and served at table in leather jugs.  The King and his senior officials drank wine, the drink of the upper classes and a status symbol imported from all over Europe, also stored in barrels called "tuns" brought up from the cellar in leather jugs and transferred to silver pitchers in the Buttery.
All Tudor food was organic and almost all only available when in season, there were few reliable methods of preservation so perishable food was supplied on a daily basis and stored in the Larder mainly in barrels, but also in sacks and baskets.   Royal palaces had 3 larders, Wet, Dry and Flesh, the Wet Larder was used for  fish and had their own cisterns as fish was generally kept alive till just before required.  The Flesh Larder held, among other meats, a wide range of raw game hung on ceiling and wall hooks, and the amount needed for the next days meals was cut every evening to go to the kitchen after 5am. Venison was hung for up to 6 weeks before being eaten and as it was a high status meat, was reserved for the King and his guests. Meat made up the bulk of the daily diet, mostly boiled or roasted on spits, the main kitchen held a huge copper cauldron set over a furnace for cooking beef and other meats for pies or stews and making stock for pottage, the cauldron at Hampton Court held 80 gallons enough for 800 meals.   Meat and fish were also fried in skillets or broiled on grid irons.  Many of the kitchen departments were staffed by specialists, the Pastry for instance, which had numerous ovens at Hampton Court the largest measured 12ft in diameters, (this was the oven not the kitchen,) made hundreds of raised pie crusts or "coffins" and tart cases from wholemeal or wheatmeal flour, but the kings pastry was made from the best unbleached white flour.   At a meal the pastry being quite solid was not eaten, it was there as a receptacle for the stew or filling and was discarded at the end of the meal.

Spices were used in dishes and sauces but coming from the meditterran were costly so their use was restricted to the upper ranks, the Spicery also held loaves and cones of sugar, another costly ingredient and fruit from the royal orchards.  Henry loved fruit and his orchards supplied pears, apples, plums, damsons,  and a particular favourite,  strawberries.  Peaches were grown at Richmond and later in his reign he introduced and grew apricots.  He loved oranges, especially in pies and preserves, citrus fruits were available but rare and expensive having to be imported from Spain.  He was often given gifts of fruit, pomegranates, apples, pears, dates even a melon but raw fruit was believed to cause fevers so it was usually served cooked in tarts, dried or made into a preserve or wet suckets (fruits poached in sugar syrup). Henry particularly liked quince marmalade.
 

General provisions were kept in the Dry Larders and the Dairy stored and supplied cheese, milk, butter and eggs.  Vegetables gained in popularity during Henry's reign and for the court were generally imported from Flanders, but the King employed a Flemish gardener to grow his salad vegetables which were often eaten cooked with sugar,  oil and vinegar, he was particularly fond of artichokes.   His other favourite dishes included Venison, game pies stuffed with oranges, haggis, fish such as eels, baked lamperies, salmon, sturgeon, ling; an early version of beef olives, custards, cream of almonds, fritters, tarts, jelly in particular one made with hippocras, a sweet spiced wine, which was served with special sweet wafer biscuits stamped with the Royal Arms made exclusively for him.

                    

Of the three meals a day for the main court personnel, breakfast was served around 7.00am of bread, cold meat and ale.  Dinner which was the main meal of the day was between 10.00am and 1.00pm and supper between 4pm and 7pm. An evening snack was distributed around 8pm-9pm of bread, ale, cheese and cold meat.  Dinner and supper consisted of 2 course, each with a certain number of dishes, your rank indicated what quality of food you received and what choices you got. The Lord Chamberlain for instance got 16 dishes at dinner and 11 at supper, graduating down to the lower orders who got 4.  For each meal trestle tables were set up in the various large chambers of the court, covered with white cloths and strewn with herbs and flowers to purify the air, each diners place was set with a trencher, goblet and sauce bowl, manchet or cheat rolls wrapped in a napkin and flagons of wine or ale.  Senior officials of the Household , the Nobility and the Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber ate from silver plates and dishes, significant courtiers had pewter, while the lowest ranks had platters of wood.

Food servings known as "messes" went to table on large dishes or platters sufficient for 4 people, every diner brought his own knife and spoon, the knife was used for serving and cutting meat or solid food which was then eaten with the fingers, spoons were for liquid foods and were wiped clean with bread several times during the meal.

      

Napkins were not placed across the lap but over the left shoulder and servants circulated with bowls of warm water to wash hands during the meal.  At the end of the meal, leftover food was gathered into platters for the servants meals and then anything left after that went to the poor waiting at the gates.
Henry's schedule meant that his meal-times were much more fluid than that of the Court. He had his own Privy Kitchens which served him the choicest food, for he had the best of everything available, and at all royal residences these kitchens were situated very close to the Kings apartments and connected, so his food arrived hot which was not always the case elsewhere at Court.  He had his own special Master Cook working alongside a personal French Chef  both highly skilled, and one of the few women employed at court, Mrs Cornwallis, was his pudding maker, so well thought of he bought her a fine house in Aldgate.

                        

Served by his Gentlemen ushers, the king dined in his Privy Chamber with great ceremony, his table was covered by the finest damask tablecloth embroidered with flowers, knots, crowns and fleur de lys.  On the table in front of him would be his splendid gold  nef, a prestigious piece of plate fashioned like a ship which held his knife, spoon, napkin and salt.  The basins and ewers would be of silver gilt, the rose water in his finger bowl having been heated in a chafing dish, his manchet roll wrapped in a cover of embroidered silk or linen was placed next to his plate which might be of silver gilt or marble. Thirteen dishes in two course were laid before him and checked for poison by the Master Cook and the Lord Steward.  His covered drinking cup could be gold, silver, mother of pearl, alabaster, porcelain or Venetian glass and was checked for poison by his Cupbearer who drank a few drops from the cup lid.  Sometimes late at night he would fancy a snack, he liked aleberry, a form of bread pudding made with ale, so his kitchen and servants always needed to be alert.

                 

The amount of food needed to support the whole court for one day alone was staggering.  In 1532 when Henry and his court were travelling "en route" to Calais they consumed 6 oxen, 8 calves, 40 sheep, 12 pigs, 132 capons, 7 swans, 20 storks, 34 pheasants, 192 partridges, 192 cocks, 56 herons, 84 pullets, 720 larks, 240 pigeons, 24 peacocks and 193 plovers and teals, so its not surprising that it cost Henry the equivalent of over £6 million pounds a year to feed the whole court.

Aileen Tucker
August 2009

                                 

All our miniature food items are hand made with slight variations in colour and texture. All items shown are for dolls house food and miniature food collectors, they are not toys and are not suitable for small children. care has been taken in the production of our replica food but some substances used may be harmful to small children.