21 October 2014 ~ Henry VIII's Kitchens

Listening to: Ben Howard ~ In Dreams

These kitchens are the largest surviving Renaissance kitchens in Europe; a vast food factory that once served the Tudor court with 1200 meals a day!

The Fish Court was a central set of store rooms in the middle of the complex allowing for the storage of raw ingredients. The space is narrow, running north to south, so the sun does not shine here but open to the air so that the stones stay nice and cool.

They even provided "fish aroma" to make the scene more realistic. Yuck!

A range of charcoal stoves was used as well for boiling and poaching mostly. A bread oven is in the corner but cut off from view.

Here is a Tudor roasting fire in full swing. Most of the heat goes up the chimney and the man responsible for turning the spit had to be paid.

A sample serving. At the end of the kitchen are hatches through which the finished dishes passed. Another army of servants carried the food to the Great Hall and other chambers. Clerks from the nearby office kept a close eye on the proceedings, counting the dishes that passed out, and ensuring that the valuable pewter serving dishes, cups and bowls all came back again.

And finally, the wine cellar. Six hundred meals twice a day is a lot of thirsty people! To keep the court in beer, wine and ale (water, although safe to drink, was not very popular) barrels of drink would be delivered to the palace and rolled into the cellars.

From here it was poured into jugs to be served at table.