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Event Description
A short history of British food - what we ate, how we prepared it, and what it showed about our society – seen through the immortal drama, poetry and prose of its most famous writers.
14th October: Cakes and Ale
The man who first used phrases like ‘in a pickle’ and referred to eating someone ‘out of house and home’ was reflecting all the extremes of Tudor and Jacobean England, from beggars on the street to exotic foods from the New World. But what did William Shakespeare himself eat and drink?
28th October: Samuel Pepys on Food
Along with his other appetites, Samuel Pepys relished his meals, and recorded the choosing, buying, cooking and eating of food and drink in hundreds of diary entries. Join us to enter his culinary world, featuring period dishes such as salmagundi, apple and orange tarts, and sack posset.
11th November : Tea with Mr Darcy
Apart from £10,000 a year and his good looks, the Regency hero’s attractions include the best in genteel cuisine, offered to his guests at Pemberley. We’ll explore what his creator, Jane Austen, knew about food – and how she used it in her novels. Expect (virtual) syllabub, rout cakes and ratafia biscuits.
25th November: Christmas Dinner with Dickens
The writer most associated with food, especially at this time of year, delighted in lavish entertaining but also created timeless scenes of scarcity – who can forget Oliver Twist asking for more? Less well known is the menu and recipe book published by Dickens’ wife Catherine under the name of ‘Lady Maria Clutterbuck’. Laughter, pathos and online over-consumption guaranteed.
- Duration: 60 mins x 4
- Online Zoom event: Join from your computer, phone or tablet (a recording will be available)
Meet the Host, Judith
Judith loved history and literature equally at school, and hated having to choose between them – but opting for an English degree led her on to further studies at the Shakespeare Institute, based then in Birmingham. Since then a career in secondary teaching has developed beyond retirement into teaching adults. Judith has given dozens of courses in the novel, poetry, social history and the history of food, and delivered popular talks on everything from Georgian cartoons to poets laureate.
"There’s so much to learn, and more and more ways to do it", says Judith. "When I find something fascinating I want to share it, and to find the best way of bringing history and literature to life. Learning and entertainment needn’t be mutually exclusive."
More Information
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