Royal Banquet

by order of

King Henry VIII of Englandin the presence of

King Francis I of France

Hampton Court Palace

History Enrichment Project by Ben H-H

First Remove~ Enormous spiced eel pie (100 eels), decorated with the coat

of arms of King Francis I of France~ 150 miniature beef marrow pies~ Large cuts of roasted and boiled meats: 4 cows, 6 calves,

11 sheep, 8 red deer, 20 rabbits, 10 hare~ Ornamental roasted poultry: 4 peacocks, 6 swan, 4 stork, 8

geese, 20 chickens ~ 200 marrow fritters~ Custard~ Salt water fish: 50 mackerel, 30 kippers, 20 cod~ 50 gallons chicken broth~ 150 loaves of bread

Second Remove~ Decorated whole roasted meats: 5 wild boar, 6 kids, 6 roe

deer, 11 pigs~ 10 chickens covered with egg yolks and sprinkled with

powder de duc~ 100 Bream, eel and capon pasties~ Bird meat spectacular (including live doves flying around the

hall): 6 gosling, 4 heron, 10 partridge, 6 pheasant, 15 pigeon, 20 quail, 20 lark, 15 gull, 12 bittern, 10 plover

~ 70 jellies in the colours and shape of the coat of arms of King Francis I of France

~ 50 gallons of bacon broth~ Fresh water fish: 11 pike, 10 salmon, 20 trout, with parsley

sauce~ 10 gallons of spiced wine and almond cream

Third Remove~ 12 roasted fallow deer

~ 20 gallons of frumenty

~ Roasted fish: 20 lamprey, 10 sturgeon, 15 bream with hot sauce

~ 150 miniature vegetable darioles

~ 120 apple fritters

~ 50 redcurrent jellies with wafers

Fourth Remove

~ A mountain of 250 strawberries

~ 100 plums stewed in rose water

~ 50 gallons of cream with duc powder covered with fennel seeds preserved in sugar

~ Cheese in slices: cheddar, gorgonzola, grana,

Fifth Remove

~ 100 gallons of red wine

~ Fruit preserves in honey: 50 quince, 20 figs and 50 apples, 100 cherries

~ 200 small raspberry pastries

Roasted Swan - Research File

Recipe: (Source - Utilis Coquinario)

For to prepare a swan:

Take and undo him and wash him and do on a spit and lard him fair and roast him well; and dismember him on the best manner and make a fair carving and the sauce thereto shall be made in this manner and it is called Chaudon.

For to prepare chaudon sauce:

Take the issue of the swan and wash it well and scour the guts well with salt and boil the issue all together ‘til it be enough and then take it up and wash it well and hew it small and take bread and powder of ginger and of galingale and grind together and temper it with the broth and colour it with the blood. And when it is boiled and ground & strained, salt it, and boil it well together in a small pot and season it with a little vinegar.

Background information:

Roasted swan was a treat saved for special occasions, mainly because swans were considered too noble and dignified for normal meals.

The bird was often presented to the table redressed with feathers and a gold crown upon its head.

To this day, English law stipulates that all mute swans are owned by the Crown and may not be eaten without permission from the Queen.

Roasted Lamprey - Research File

Recipe: (Source - Du fait de cuisine)

For to prepare the lamprey:

Let them be in fair hot water; and clean the slime off them very well and scrape out the throat strongly with a good little knife so that there remain none of the little bones which are there, and split them below the throat, and take the bones out and take care that none remain.

When you set them at the fire to roast take fair silver dishes or fair and clean pans and divide the said wine and blood among.

For to prepare the sauce:

Put bread into the dishes or pans which are under the said lampreys; and then afterward take the said dishes or pans and put everything which is in them all together into a large and fair bowl. Then take your spices: white ginger, a great deal of cinnamon according to the quantity of the lampreys which there are, grains of paradise, cloves, nutmeg, mace, galingale and pepper - and not too much - and strain all of this very well, and put in vinegar and salt; and when this is well and properly strained take the fair and clean pan for boiling it, and in boiling arrange that you have an assistant who stirs it continually with a fair spoon so that there is no danger from the fire.

Background information:

Lamprey fish are sometimes mistaken for eels, but they are actually parasites that suck the blood of larger fish.

They live in the sea and spawn in rivers and were often caught in river traps.

Frumenty- Research File

Recipe: (Source - Curye on Inglysch)

For to prepare the frumenty:

To make frumente. Tak clene whete and braye yt wel in a morter tyl the holes gon of; seethe it til it breste in water. Nym it up and lat it cole. Tak good broth and swete mylk of kyn or of almand and tempere it therwith. Nym yelkes of eyren rawe and saffroun & cast therto; salt it: lat it naught boyle after the etren ben cast therinne. Messe it forth with venesoun or with fat moutoun fresch.

Background information:

Frumenty is a thick wheat porridge. It was made with boiled, cracked wheat - hence its name, which derives from the Latin word frumentum, "grain“.

Before potatoes became a staple food, frumenty was served as the carbohydrate part of the meal. Roast and boiled meat, fish and game were all served with frumenty.

Frumenty was a staple food for thousands of years. The earliest versions were probably made by early farming communities with dried grains. Frumenty was still being commonly referred to in Victorian books, although it had fallen out of favour as a dish by then.