Ham House: Aphrodisiac Pies and Tafferty Tarts: 17th Century food and drink London Luminaries s.4

Описание: This talk by Ham House is the second in the London Luminaries series 4 entitled Aphrodisiac Pies and Tafferty Tarts: 17th Century food and drink.

At Ham House, the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale lived in grand style – and a sure sign of fashionable status was their employment of a French chef John Blangy. We take you on a tour of the kitchen, stillroom and domestic offices at Ham and explore some of the recipes the Lauderdales and their royal guests might have enjoyed at a pivotal moment in English food history when aristocratic chefs were returning from exile in France with new-fangled ideas – like puff pastry. It is a time of novelty, new ingredients and new techniques – and surprises like chilli bread, made from diarist John Evelyn’s recipe, and an aphrodisiac pie made from sweet potatoes. Join us for a virtual tasting of some 17th century dishes, sharing the recipes for those who would like to recreate them at home.

Speaker Mari Smith has followed a long career in teaching, sharing her enthusiasm for the science of food and nutrition and her interest in the history of food and domestic life. More recently, she has taught children in the film and entertainment industry.

Mari is joined with Mary Greene who is a journalist and is passionate about historic baking and recipes.

Together, Mary and Mari are volunteer historic bakers at Ham House and Garden, presenting recipes adapted from 17th century cookery books. They have created spectacular sugar banquets and food displays in the Ham House kitchen and dining room, and seasonal displays using produce from the kitchen garden. This has inspired further research into 17th century food and domestic life, with particular reference to Ham House.

The Thames west of London has been the resort of royalty, aristocrats, artists, writers and wealthy property owners for centuries. As well as building elegant villas, they developed gardens which provided a feast for the senses and supplied food for the table.

In our own times, issues of the sustainability of food production and equity of its distribution are hot topics. In this series of 14 talks, we explore how food was produced and consumed in the past by our Luminaries to help inform discussions on the future of food and drink. Much food was produced locally; great houses such as Chiswick House and Fulham Palace had their own kitchen gardens and Alexander Pope boasted of the sources of his meat supply: ‘To Hounslow Heath I point, and Banstead-Down, / Thence comes your Mutton, and these chicks my own.’ Yet modern luxuries such as tea and coffee stretched supply chains around the globe. Wining and dining also provided hosts with opportunities to display their hospitality and particular taste through the choice of menu and table setting.

This varied banquet of 14 talks thus also explore cultural dimensions of food and drink.