Current
Research
The role of food history in museums and heritage interpretation
My core area of study encompasses around 200 years from a dining perspective, witnessing the introduction of such modern fundamentals as the fork, and the gradual development of layers of etiquette. By the late Victorian era the dinner had changed almost beyond recognition, with huge changes in food production, preparation, methods of serving and ways of eating driven by both technological change and the social upheaval of the Industrial Revolution.
From c.1660 the publishing industry realised the potential of advisory books, both on cookery, and on etiquette, aimed at the nascent middle classes. This proliferation of print culture is another characteristic of the period. Food and drink are present in everybody’s lives – we all eat, whether we regard ourselves as the contemporary classic ‘foodie’, or pay little attention to what we introduce into our bodies. Food references abound in fiction, in satire, and in almost every sphere of life, both past and present. As food, by its very nature, is ephemeral – it reaches the table, it is consumed, and it is gone – it is the ideal medium for communicating fast-changing cultural references. The way in which past food and drink was consumed was – and is – redolent in cultural meaning. It is, therefore of crucial importance to any student of the past. At the same time, while recipe books and etiquette advice yield valuable information, it is impossible to fully appreciate the sensory experience of the meal without studying its material culture. Furthermore, as so much of what we recover from the archaeological record is related to the consumption and preparation of food and drink, a better understanding of the issues involved afford us even greater insight into the societies we study.
Changing methods of dining encouraged compartmentalisation and categorisation of foodstuffs and dining wares, in line with broader trends in Victorian society. Meanwhile, agricultural change and urbanisation affected food supplies across society. A detailed study of the layout of cookbooks the bills of fare – ideal and real – will elucidate the mental landscape of food and the equipment required to consume it. The Victorian Age was one of enormous social tensions, and the way in which these were negotiated at the table will shed light on the methods used for coming to terms with them in everyday life. Additionally, this data set will contribute to consideration of the role of cookbooks as liberators – or captors.
A Practical Art’: Material Culture and Cookbooks, an archaeological perspective.
The Tea Ceremony
Taking tea became, by the end of the nineteenth century, a quintessentially middle class, female experience. Yet when tea was first introduced to England, along with chocolate and coffee, it was far from clear that any of the three new beverages would become popular. A consideration of the development of tea will involve considering themes of class, gender, emulation and luxury. Just how did this exotic import become the staple drink of the British working class?
York Castle Museum (YORCH2006.110.18 & 2006.110.3) Spode, 1770s
York Castle Museum (unaccessioned) nd. travelling teapot?
York Castle Museum (YORCH332.79) commemorative teapot showing Queen Victoria, the Prince Consort, Prince of Wales and Princess Royal, unknown maker, 1840s
‘The proud air of an unwilling slave*’:
Tea, women and domesticity, c.1700-1900
The dining room is often seen as masculine space, while the (with) drawing room is linked to women. Yet this presumed dichotomy exists within the domestic space of the home, by the nineteenth century viewed as essentially feminine. Concepts of home, meanwhile, relate to and exist within the patriarchal society of Victorian England. How are these tensions negotiated and - possibly - resolved in the context of the dinner table?
Food is, by its very nature, ephemeral. It is produced, it is prepared, it is eaten and it leave only traces of its everyday existence. Yet it is one of the most universal aspects of the human experience. It is more sensory than any other easily reproduced potential visitor experiences, and easier to fit into health and safety requirements. Smell, sight, touch, hearing and – for interpreters rather than the public – taste all combine to make food a natural area for exploration within an interpretive context. The range of aspects of the past which can be explored through sharing the act of cooking with the public is immense: the physicality of life in the past; hierarchies in society and relative social status; the interaction of national and local events; the changing nature of gender roles and, topically, the food journey and accompanying concerns over health and welfare. By demonstrating the reality of the meal an understanding of the nature of society can be reached which is – as it should be – intimately tied to the material environment.
Discipline and control at the dining table
Both self discipline and the control of others were important themes in late C18th and C19th England. The flourishing market in self-help books promised to give individuals the means to better themselves socially and in the workplace, while growing industrialisation and urbanisation increased the drive towards time rather than task-based working and regimentation through the built environment. Using table plans and dining equipage I plan to consider the ways in which mental and physical control was exerted and enacted at the dining table, and the relationship of this to the wider world.
Experimental Research:
Chocolate
Chocolate has been a drink for much of its existence, and was not eaten in great quantities before the end of the nineteenth century. Between its introduction to England in the mid-seventeenth century, and its decline as a popular drink in the early nineteenth century, its ingredients and therefore taste and texture underwent significant changes. Plus, this way you get to drink it in the name of research.
The Chicken Pie Project
I’m collecting and cooking chicken pie recipes from 1660 onwards. Ingredients, techniques and tastes have changed, but within the limits of my 21st century kitchen, the great chicken pie project soldiers on. I have tasting notes. If you want to learn about the past and have fun while doing it, I strongly recommend it. We forget people in the past had senses of taste and smell at our peril.
Cut Section of Chicken Pie
(Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861).
Chocolatada! Sensing the Past: Recreating Eighteenth Century Chocolate.’