Henry VIII

As the ruler of England, Henry VIII had access to some of the richest, most expensive dishes in the kingdom.

Some of his favourite dishes included venison, and pies stuffed with oranges.

With so many mouths to feed, the great kitchen's in his many palaces, featured six open fires with spits constantly roasting pig and venison.

It was estimated they burned six to eight tons of oak in the fireplaces daily.

For breakfast, he often ate pike, plaice, roach (The fish, not the bug lol) butter and eggs.

Whilst the majority of food at court was cooked in the main kitchens, the King’s food was prepared by his personal chef, a Frenchman called Pero Doux.

He earned a whopping £23 16s 8d, (£7,150 in modern terms), with all the king’s food being cooked in a private kitchen below, or near to, his privy suite rooms.

Surprisingly, Henry also loved fruit.

Cherries and strawberries were particular favourites, which he enjoyed raw, while most other fruit (apples, pears, plums, damsons, peaches and later in his reign, apricots) were eaten cooked in pies, tarts, jellies or preserves.

Citrus fruit (oranges and lemons) were extremely expensive because they had to be imported.

Grilled beaver’s tails was usually served on Fridays, this was the day when only fish was supposed to be consumed. Conveniently, medieval people classified beaver as a fish back then.

Whale and porpoise were favourites of Henry’s first wife, Katharine of Aragon, and were also served on Fridays.

They were either boiled or roasted, and being as one could serve a lot of people, they were considered a 'cheap' meal.

Spit-roasted meats were central to the daily diet, with pork or mutton eaten on a normal day, and peacocks, herons, egrets, deer and swans served up on feast days.

Henry was not a fan of vegetables, and he considered them peasant food.

But they were always on the banquet table, usually cabbage, broad beans, peas, leeks and onions.

Banquets were 14-course show stoppers, with peacock often being the star.

After roasting, it was presented on the table with its blue feathers and gold gilded beak in place.

Of course, not every day was a feast day.

But Henry nonetheless liked to indulge in decadent dishes even on so-called "fast" days, when certain foods could not be consumed.

On one fast day in 1526, he consumed lobster, seal, and crabs, and a great deal of custard....among other savory and sweet treats.

To wash it all down, vast quantities of beer and wine were served with every meal.

Historians estimate that 600,000 gallons of ale (enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool) and 75,000 gallons of wine (enough to fill 1,500 bathtubs) were consumed annually at Hampton Court.

Henry's diet wasn't particularly balanced by modern standards - about 80% of his food intake would have been meat and other proteins.

His eating habits eventually resulted in gout, and most likely Diabetes, which only added to his general poor health later in life.

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https://www.hrp.org.uk/.../hist.../tudor-food-and-eating/...

https://thetudortravelguide.com/.../29/dine-like-henry-viii/

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https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders