Fifteenth century menu celebrates St George
'Stekys of bef' and grains of paradise were among the unusual ingredients on a special St George's Day menu served up by EBLEX.
Guests including catering managers from pub companies such as Young's, Orchid Group and Frederic Robinson sat down at Butchers Hall in London to a meal of 15th century specialities.
The menu was created for the occasion by Richard Fitch, a food historian based at Hampton Court Palace.
The dishes included:
- chawettys (pronounced chew-its), a venison pie with dates and currants
- beef ystyyd, or stewed spiced beef, served with rice of Genoa
- Stekys of bef - a main course of beef fillet served with a pea and onion puree
- applade ryalle - an apple dessert fortified with beef stock
The highly spiced nature of the dishes, using ingredients including cloves, ginger and cinnamon as well as those grains of paradise - a peppery spice from the West Indies - is an indication of the importance of the spice trade in the 15th century, when only the very wealthy could afford such luxuries.
Imported spices would have been beyond the budget of the average English inn of the day, said Richard. Fifteenth century pub cooks would have flavoured their beef stews with fresh herbs from the garden.
The kitchen staff at Butchers Hall did a sterling job of interpreting the recipes, but given that cooks of 500 years ago were a bit lax about recording quantities and cooking times, there was a certain amount of guesswork involved.
"I'm surprised at the way one or two of the dishes has turned out," confessed Richard, "it's been an interesting exercise." With plenty of English beer and wine to help the dishes along, St George would undoubtedly have been proud.
