Host and guest : a book about dinners, wines, and desserts / by A.V. Kirwan.

  • Andrew Valentine Kirwan
Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Host and guest : a book about dinners, wines, and desserts / by A.V. Kirwan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    like most apt pupils, surpassed their masters, we have yet to wait for the least glimmering of culinary art at Moscow, Kieffor Novogorod, or even at that fag end of Finland (which is not Russia) called St Petersburgh. An attempt was made a couple of years ago by Mr. Money to get up a sensation in favour of Russian cookery, but the attempt was a failure. It was under Henry III., about 1580, that the delicacies of the Italian tables were introduced at Palis. The sister arts of design and drawing were now called into requisition to decorate dishes and dinner-tables. How great was the progress in the short space of 150 years, may be inferred from an edict of Chailes VI., which forbad to his liege subjects a dinner consisting of more than two dishes with the soup: “ Nemo audeat dare prater duo fercula cum potagio.” At this period the dinner hour was ten o’clock in the morning, while the supper was served at four. The social, friendly, and agreeable humour of Henry IV., in a succeeding reign, contributed to the spread of a more kindly spirit, and a better cookery. This monarch was eminently of a frank and cordial j nature, and his personal qualities contributed to the ] security of his throne, to his successes both in neo-oti- • O f ation and war, and to the social comforts and material j prosperity of his subjects. Plis benevolent wish tha - every peasant in his dominions might have a fowl in the pot for his Sunday dinner, discloses a warm and
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