An Elizabethan Dinner.

Queen Elizabeth I made many ‘progresses’ around the country during her long reign. Progresses were massive undertakings. Virtually the whole court and the key administrators of the country, representing hundreds of people, decamped from the royal residences of London and moved for weeks or months to a provincial location. There were several reasons for these trips, but a significant benefit to the royal purse was economic. It was an honour to accommodate the Queen and her retinue, and naturally she was not charged for rent and meals by the aristocratic subjects and towns who provided this service. The costs were staggering, of course, and it is said that some were bankrupted in the process.

Some expenses were paid, however, and the records give an idea of what was served at dinner in the sixteenth century. The following account suggests that several gentlemen of the Exchequer sat down to a very fine meal indeed. Note that the spices cost more than the cooks wages for the day.

A Dinner for Mr. Chanceler, my Lorde Chefe Barron, the Barrons, and others the Officers of Thexchequer, upon the 11^th daye of Februarye [1573]

                                                                       

	s	d
Imprimis, for breade, ale, and beare	13	4
Item, for a surloyne and a doubble  rybbe of byeffe.	8	0
Item, for a loyne, a breaste, and a legge of veale	5	6
Item, for iii capons	7	0
Item, for a lambe	5	0
Item, for two teles	1	4
Item, for two woodcocks	2	0
Item, for iii plovs	2	0
Item, for five snipes	2	2
Item, for a dozen of larkes	1	6
Item, for butter	3	4
Item, for eggs	1	6
Item, for sauce	0	8
Item, for oringes	0	8
Item, for marybones	1	0
Item, for bacon	1	0
Item, for spice	6	0
Item, for frute	1	4
Item, for white wyne in kytchen	0	6
Item, for a pottle and a quarte of sacke	1	6
Item, for rose-water and swete water	0	6
Item, for fyer in the parlers and kytchen	6	0
Item, for cooke’s wages	4	0
Item, for occupyenge of plate, naperie, and other necessaryes	5	0
Item, for boote hier	0	8

I would love to know what was covered by the 8 pence-worth of sauce. Does it mean that the sauces were bought in from an outside sauce-maker? And I wonder what, exactly the sauce or sauces were.

To get some idea of sixteenth century sauces, I went to

A Book Of Cookrye, Very Necessary for all such as delight therin, gathered by A. W. And now newlye enlarged with the serving in of the Table, With the proper Sauces to each of them convenient.Printed by Edward Allde. 1591.

For the capons, perhaps this:-

To make sauce for a capon another way.

Take Claret Wine, Rosewater, sliced Orenges, Sinamon and ginger, and lay it upon Sops, and lay your Capon upon it.

The various joints of veal would probably have been baked in pies:-

For fine Pyes of Veale or Mutton.

Perboyle your meat and shredde it fine, and shred your Suet by it selfe.  When your Suet is fine shred put it to your Mutton or Veale and mince them togither, put therto halfe a dozen yolkes of Egges being hard sodden and fine minced, small Corance, dates fine minced, season it with cloves and mace, Sinamon and Ginger, a very little Pepper, a handfull of Carowaies, Sugar and Vergious, and some Salt, and so put it into your paste being Chewets or Trunk pyes.