 A First Class dinner menu from the Titanic. |
Edwardian era menus are fascinating, not only for the number of courses served but also for the staggering amount of fish and meat featured in the daily diet. It was nothing to find several fish courses followed by a variety of poultry, game, lamb and beef courses. A selection of elaborate sweet dishes rounded off the meal – all of which was accompanied by a series of fine wines. How the women managed to keep their hourglass figures is a mystery!
Behind the baize door, the staff ate very differently. Their food was plentiful and wholesome, washed down with ale, cider, beer or tea. It lacked the variety and quality enjoyed by their employers, although on occasion they were fortunate to enjoy leftovers. Given that those in service often worked repetitive 18 hour days for low wages with very little leisure time, the provision of food and board in those times was clearly very highly valued.
This lifestyle’s days were numbered. By the end of WWI, many of the servants had joined the forces; women had been recruited into factories and the Land Army; and death duties had started to put very real pressure on the ability of the large estates to survive. Shortages of staples led to food rationing in early 1918 and thereafter life in stately houses and the British diet changed forever.
 Edwardian photograph of the kitchen of Waddesdon Manor, one of the homes visited on our Downton Era tour. |
Find out about our 19 day tour of Britain's Downton Era departing August 2015. One highlight of the program is a guided tour of Highclere, which is already fully booked for group visits in both 2014 and 2015. In addition we will explore many of the other stately homes featured in the series and learn about life upstairs and downstairs in the Edwardian Era.
Visit Get Up & Go magazine for your chance to win two places on this unique tour !
