Victorian cuisine facts for kids
Victorian cuisine was the food and cooking styles popular in England when Queen Victoria was queen. This time, called the Victorian era, lasted from 1837 until 1901. During this period, food and dining became very important, and cooking even started to be seen as a form of art!
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Cooking as an Art Form
In Victorian times, many people believed women should mostly focus on their homes. However, some women, like the writer Elizabeth Robins Pennell, thought that cooking could be a creative and respected activity. She believed that making delicious meals was like creating a work of art.
Pennell suggested that if people enjoyed their food together, it could even help solve problems in their relationships! She wanted cooking to be seen as more than just a chore. She thought it was a skill that deserved admiration and respect.
Because of this new idea, cooking and dining became popular hobbies. Kitchens became safer, and more ingredients were available. This allowed middle and upper-class Victorian women to show off their cooking skills and creativity, just like male artists could express themselves through painting or music.
Dinner Parties and Fancy Meals
Hosting dinner parties became a big deal in Victorian England. It was a way for families to show their social standing and artistic taste. Instead of just having servants cook, women in middle and upper-class families started making complex dishes themselves to impress their guests. This made cooking and eating much more exciting and artistic.
Meals often had many courses. People used "bills of fare" (like menus) to plan their dinners. A fancy three-course meal might start with soup and fish. Then came meats, roasts, or stews, followed by game (like wild birds) and pastries. The meal would often end with salads, cheese, and drinks.
Setting the table was also a very important part of the dining experience. People used expensive silverware and china. They decorated tables with beautiful glass, linen, fruits, flowers, and special lighting.
Meals at Home
Many Victorian meals were eaten at home with the family. For middle and upper-class families, breakfast often included porridge, eggs, fish, and bacon. Everyone ate together. Sunday lunches usually featured meat, potatoes, vegetables, and gravy. These family meals became important events that connected the comfort of home with the new idea of cooking as an art.
Royal Family's Chef
Alphonse Gouffe, a chef from Paris, France, became the Head Pastry Chef for Queen Victoria herself! He worked at famous places like Buckingham Palace, Osborne House, and Windsor Castle. His brother, Jules Gouffé, wrote a famous cookbook that Alphonse helped translate into English.
Food and Morality
Not everyone loved Victorian food. Some people in Europe thought British food was often plain and not very tasty. Chefs like Agnes Marshall encouraged boiling food until it lost its original taste and look. Many housewives cooked this way because they thought it was the safest method.
However, Elizabeth Robins Pennell, who we talked about earlier, encouraged women to be creative in the kitchen. She believed that cooking was "the ultimate form of art," meaning it was a very high form of artistic expression.
