All the King's Cooks : The Tudor Kitchens of King Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace

by Peter C.D. Brears

Highlighting the world?s first professional kitchen, this volume showcases the massive galleys at Hampton Court Palace. Illustrating how kitchens originally built to supply the entire household of King Henry VIII were run, this guide dispells many of the misconceptions about the table manners, quality of cooking, and serving of meals in Tudor England. Authentic recipes-adapted for modern kitchens-from the period are featured, including Chicken Farced, Smothered Rabbit, and White Leach. Accentuated with striking visuals, this history revives the sights, sounds, and smells of the Tudor kitchen while conveying the daily life of the era?s rich and poor.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Food, Cookbooks, Food History, Food and Drink, Cooking

191 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1999

About the author

Peter Brears was director of both York and Leeds' City Museums, is a consultant to the National Trust, English Heritage, the Historic Royal Palaces, the winner of numerous prizes including the André Simon award for his book, Cooking and Dining in Medieval England, the standard text on the subject, and Britain's leading authority on jelly. He has written extensively on traditional foods and cookery in Yorkshire, as well as a groundbreaking illustrated catalogue of domestic and farmhouse materials in Torquay Museum. He supervised the reconstruction of several important historical kitchens, including those at Hampton Court, Ham House, Cowdray Castle and Belvoir Castle.

Reviews

[Kavita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book for several years, and I expected it to be like a lovely Ruth Goodman book. The only reason I have not rated it 5 stars is because it is not as delightful and fun as a Goodman book. But on it's own merits, it's a wonderfully detailed and beautifully researched book about the history of Henry VIII's kitchens at Hampton Court. However, it is rather dry when compared to other books on a similar topic - namely Goodman!

All the King's Cooks covers a wide variety of topics, starting from the actual structure of the kitchens and why they were built in a certain way. The first half of the book mainly discusses the functions of the various rooms, the supply chain management, logistics, and the authorities in charge of various tasks. There is a very detailed plan of the kitchens in HC, which I continuously referred back to since the whole thing was a very complex operation.

I found the second part of the book more fun because now we get to the topic of what the people actually ate, how they ate, what formalities were observed, and the class distinctions in food habits and the food itself. Henry's table manners were discussed in detail and I could almost picture him eating food delicately with his hands, which kind of warms my heart.

The last section contained recipes that are modified for modern taste. Yet, I somehow don't think I'll try cooking a peacock, not the least because it's a protected species in India. The whole thing contained too much meat, too much sugar, and had no respect for modern dietary ideas of micronutrients and calorie intake. No wonder they had "fish" days! Often, two meals were served in the guise of a first and a second course. Just way too much food for the aristocracy.

If you like to know about food and historical European food habits, this is a wonderful book.

[Redsteve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book. The author specializes in the restoration of historic kitchens and was involved in making the kitchens at Hampton Court Palace once again produce amazing feasts. This book contains everything from the budgets and management of the various departments, to serving and dining at various levels in the household and a selection of recepies. Maps, period illustrations, tools. Extensive use of contemporary documents from the period as well as practical details gleaned from reproducing early/mid-16th Century feasts.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part history, part archeology and part cookbook, the book covers the logistics of people, supply chains, equipment, technology, fuel, and recipes needed to make the magnificent feasts of the Tudor court.

[Rio (Lynne) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars This was a very dry read. Having visited Hampton Court this book sounded very intriguing about how the kitchen's were run back in Henry VIII's days. Some pages I found interesting, example the way birds were skinned, cooked and then had their skins reapplied for presentation. How the humidity from boiling water caused snow to appear inside the kitchens during winter, making horrendous working conditions. There were detailed maps of the areas. Lots of medieval recipes, but overall I found it dry and not as interesting as I thought it would be.

[Joshua Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the author being somewhat humorless, this was a wonderful book. It was fascinating to read about what a hive of activity the Hampton Court kitchens were, how they were organized, how they procured, measured, paid for, prepared, and served food, all the people involved in all these processes. It really emphasized how tightly organized everything needed to be to make sure that the palace ran smoothly and provided for it's inhabitants. There's a map with specific marked rooms thoughout the kitchens and what they were for and who was in charge of them and who worked in them. The ettiquette for dining and serving was interesting, as was their spoon and bread method of eating. After all of this wonderful information there's recipes! Actual recipes from the time, updated for quantity size and modern kitchens, some of which I'd love to make (strawberry tarts) and some I wouldn't (peacock royal).

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. I've tried some recipes with good results. Even if you don't try the it's really interesting how the kitchens worked.

[Edith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good! I liked the recipes. You can try them if you like.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this gem completely by accident at the library and now must have a copy for myself if I'm ever to attempt any of these recipes.

This is a fantastic glimpse into what seems like a very mundane task - serving food. But it's not just any food, it's fabulous and seemingly never-ending courses in Henry VIII's court at Hampton. One doesn't realize just how much work, or how many offices were necessary, to feed the King and his court twice daily. What a daunting task!

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book follows the course of the food from the arrival by river or road to the kitchens of Hampton Court thru the offices of the kitchen and to the dining halls. The end of the book has some recipes for food served during the period of Henry VIII during his Christmas stays at Hampton Count.
Interesting and readable.

[Melissa Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wealth of information can be found in this unusual cookbook. There are more than recipes to found on its pages. The history, rituals and routines of the Tudor kitchens make up the bulk of this book. This is great for anyone interested in history of the Tudors, their cooking & dining, as well as recreating it today.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic little book, it describes an often over looked piece of material culture: the food of a time period, and means of cooking it. With the eye of a cook and an expert in kitchens Brears helps bring a time to life.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this Christmas present!
Now I want to go back to Hampton Court and pay more attention to the kitchens!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

impressively detailed and illustrated, but yes... a bit on the dry side.