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MEDIEVAL TO MODERN (THE LAST THOUSAND YEARS) 1000 - 2000 A.D. (Continued) The French provided a serious threat in 1746 when they seized Madras not returning it until 1748. Hostilities continued 1756 - 1763 as an extension of the Seven Years War in Europe. Britain won many victories but it was Robert Clive’s victory at Plassey making Britain the masters of Bengal with the French reduced to a few trading posts. Europe France had gradually taken over the mantle of cuisine leader of Europe. From 1400-1800 AD, much of the world ate mainly vegetables, with the exception of Europe, which enjoyed meat eating from the Middle Ages due to a relatively low population density. From the seventeenth century, the amount of meat eaten by the lower classes fell as the population increased, to be reversed in the middle of the nineteenth century as meat came from America and refrigeration was introduced. Luncheon only became recognised as a mid-day meal in the early nineteenth century. Before this was nuncheon, a snack between early breakfast and afternoon dinner, which gradually moved from around 3:00pm to 8:00pm.The characteristic meal in France in the Middle Ages was the feast, which changed to a collation in the sixteenth, the fête in the seventeenth and the intimate supper in the eighteenth century. With the Renaissance in Europe, the French bean was an immediate success, but the tomato only took off in Italy; corn and potato were seen mainly as foods for livestock or the poor. Salads became popular around 1700 and the French decreed the rule of fruit at the start of the meal and salad at the end. Vegetables became dishes, rather than garnish, from the seventeenth century, due to the fasting period of Lent, although this did not apply in England. Much is made by some historians of the move by Catherine de Medici and her entourage to France as Queen in 1530 and have even attributed the growth of French cuisine from this time on to the influence of her Italian cooks. Influence she certainly did have but there is little evidence to suggest it was of the kind popularly attributed to her. She was just fourteen when she became Queen of France and had a very small entourage, most of whom were not even Italian. Catherine’s main influence was on feasts and major gatherings. The style of cuisine through out France showed no change in the 1530’s and 40’s but certainly did so after the two year tour of the country in 1564 when she introduced her son to the people of France and gave so many the opportunity to experience Court cuisine. The evidence suggests it was left to Catherine’s third son Henri III to introduce the fork to France after a trip to Venice. Even then the fork had the specific purpose of allowing those adopting the neck ruff to dine properly by spearing the food and putting it into their mouths from above, clear of the ruff. Knife, fork and spoon did not appear together until the sixteenth century and the earliest printed reference to them was in Scappi’s cookbook of 1570. Meanwhile, in China, which was reaching the height of its influence under the Manchu Dynasty (1644 - 1911), reaching out to Tibet, Mongolia, Burma, Korea, Vietnam and even Nepal, the humble chopsticks remained the eating implement as they had since the time of Confucius. It was he who argued that no weapon of agression should grace the dining table, thus ruling out knives as used elsewhere in the world. Gradually French cuisine developed with Francois Pierre de la Varenne developing the first real French sauces in the 1600’s. Printing proved to be very important to this development as it gave access to the recipes of Greece and Rome. Le Viander was the first printed cookbook in 1490 followed by Apicius in 1498 and the The Deipnosophists by Athanaeus in 1514. It was not, however, until the late seventeenth century that French cuisine took on its present character. London Meanwhile, in London the population had increased in the sixteenth century up to 250,000 with cookshops, inns and alehouses. Bread was still the staple and ten commercial bakeries were set up in 1516. The cookshops were the forerunners of the snack bar and restaurant and were located in Bread Street, Eastcheap and similar areas. Lavish meals were organised by the livery companies and the Dinner Book of the Draper’s Company contained complete menus from 1564 - 1602. From small beginnings the City of London alone had 1000 alehouses by 1613. The seventeenth century saw the change from medieval. Business was concluded in taverns and, later, coffee houses though poor people stayed with the cookshops and street hawkers. Luxury Eating Houses began to open, especially after the influx of Hughenots from France in 1680. Lunch remained the main meal but by 1660 it had moved to mid/late afternoon. The first hallmarked fork appeared in 1632 and ‘ordinaries’ open with fixed price meals. The first London coffee house opened in 1652 in St Michaels Alley, Cornhill and by the following year there were 63 in the City serving coffee from Turkey and the Middle East. It is for this reason that many establishments were called The Turks Head and tipping is said to have come from putting money in a box to ensure prompt service. During the seventeeth century punch was very popular containing arrack from Goa and in 1650 chocolate was introduced. Meanwhile, in America, Britain was faced with rebellion in the American Revolution 1775 - 1783. Up to modern times Continual wars saw the map of the world change on a regular basis as Imperialism grew, introducing an ever increasing array of cuisine influences to the older European nations. In the Orient, Hong Kong became a British Dependency after the First Opium War in 1842, opening up the way for Chinese cuisine to travel to Britain and in 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry opened up the USA link with Japan who had been insular for so long. In Europe Napoleon Bonaparte struck at British trade in Egypt when he attacked in 1798 but was defeated by Nelson. His army failed to take Syria but beat the Turks at Abi Qir in 1799 when he returned to seize power in France. He defeated the Austrians in 1800 and a worried Britain resumed the war in 1803. In 1806 Napoleon seized Naples and blockaded British goods before finally being beaten at Waterloo in 1815. Elsewhere in the world the first horse-drawn omnibus was seen in 1828 and Antoine Careme was appointed cook to Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Baron de Rothschild. Henry Jones of Bristol produced the first self raising flour in 1845 and the first gas cooker was introduced in the 1850’s and the electric cooker in the 1890’s. In 1853-56 Europe was rocked by the Crimean War and then came the American Civil War 1861 - 1865. By the mid nineteenth century the French had plunged themselves into the joys offered by food and its preparation and all the great houses in Europe and America boasted French chefs. In 1870 - 1871 Russia besieged Paris and the Parisians starved whilst in 1875 Remington was introducing the typewriter and Alexander Graham Bell the telephone in 1876. Karl Benz revealed his three wheeled car in 1885. In America, Chili con Carne was first written about in The Camp and Fields in 1857 by S. Compton-Smith and in 1896 Chop Suey was created in New York by Li Hung-Chang. In India, Britain had gained complete mastery from the other European powers with the last Nawab of Bengal being killed at Plassey in 1757. At this time India adopted the chop (although it became a round potato cake with stuffing), and the cutlet, consisting of meat, chicken or prawn pounded to a flat oval with the bone sticking out. In 1838 Lea and Perrins launched Worcestershire Sauce, the recipe for which had been brought back from India in 1835 by Lord Marcus Sandys. Curry powder had been invented along the lines of garam masala long before in the seventeeth century and was very similar to ‘Kitchen pepper’ which was noted in English recipes around 1682, including ginger, pepper, cloves, nutmegs and cinnamon. In 1809 Dean Mohamet (or Mahomed) from Patna in Bihar, India, opened the first 'Indian' restaurant dedicated to Indian cuisine. The Hindostanee Coffee House in George Street, London offered meat and vegetable dishes with Indian spices and seasoned rice. The restaurant was very ornate and costs were high such that he had to apply for bankruptcy in 1812. By 1850 curry was well established. Queen Victoria, who had a Indian confidant, Abdul Karim (1887), is said to have had a curry prepared every day by two Indian chefs in the event she had a visitor from India. Abdul Karim became the Queen's favourite and most favoured servant, often being referred to as "her Munshi". He remained close to her during all her travels until she died in 1901 when he was allowed to walk with the funeral procession.He finally returned to Agra where he died at the age of 46 in 1909. During this century migrating Hindus took the curry to the West Indies creating the influences on Caribbean cuisine we see today. As the nineteenth century progressed, unrest emerged through India resulting in the revolts by the Sikhs of Punjab in 1845 and 1846 causing 2500 British casualities. They were eventually defeated in 1849 but this saw the beginning of disenchantment back in Britain with the sub-continent. In 1857 the famous Sepoy Mutiny near Delhi began under the banner of Bahadur Shah II the last of the Mughal Emperors. Europeans were massacred and siege was laid to the British Residency in Lucknow. The uprising was put down in 1859 ending the final chapter of Mughal history in India and the British Government assumed control from the East India Company. This further alienated British public opinion which was heightened by the spread of Indian nationalism with acts of terrorism by a few and acts of repression by the British. In 1885 the India National Congress was founded to further fan the flames and by the early years of the new century British goods were being banned in India. Thus the love affair with all things Indian, particularly the food, which had been so obvious up to mid nineteenth century gave ground to the total influence of French cusine and virtual disappearance of spicy food. Service à la Russe was introduced into England around 1850 from Russia via France, leading eventually to the three course meal of today. Each country developed a style to suit its own requirements. Denmark had the Smörrebrod for lunch, (open sandwich), plus an evening meal with fruit or cake; an enormous breakfast was the habit in Norway with a sandwich for lunch and a two-course dinner; in Sweden, smorgasbord originated for the pooling of resources; in Finland, a simple breakfast was followed by a soup and a main course for lunch and a three-course dinner; Spain and Portugal enjoyed foods rather more sober and conservative, undisguised by sauces and dressings; North Africa kept alive the feasting ritual and great desserts; and in France, it depended upon where you lived as to whether you cooked in olive oil, goosefat or butter and used garlic, shallots or onions. Restaurants were not important in France until after the Revolution and the earliest use of the word was by Clement Marot in the early sixteenth century to refer to a group of fortifying meat broths. In 1765, however, a man named Boulanger set up a business to avoid the Guild monopoly on the sale of broths by offering 'restaurants' - ragouts on his own premises on little marble tables without cloth with a choice of poached poultry with coarse salt, fresh eggs and broth. Restaurants had arrived, and one of Paris’ three Michelin star restaurants still operating today, Le Grand Vefours opened by 1800. Britain in the eighteenth century was a time of new money and flourishing commerce. Recipe books were published, Eating houses flourished and Coffee Houses offered food. Chop Houses opened and beef was considered a sign of strength and prosperity. Even then weight was considered a problem and moderation recommended although the diet for the poor was still bread, cheese and pie. Inns became unisex but taverns remained men only. The London Tavern, for instance, was known for its food and association with politics with John Wilkes as a regular customer. Chop Houses were popular and turtle was considered a high status food with those that could not afford it having mock-turtle made from calves head. In 1830 Alexis Soyer was one of the many French chefs who came to Britain and his thinking influence British dining for many years. The nineteenth century saw the arrival of restaurants and hotels in Britain with celebrity chefs such as Ude, Francatelli and Escoffier, who started the a la carte style of dining during his twenty years at the London Carlton from 1899. Three establishment in Leicester Square in 1815 were described a ‘French restaurants’. Concern about food adulteration led to the 1875 Sale of Food and Drugs Act with a great improvement in quality by 1880. Sandwiches became very popular and some eating houses started to specialise in fish and baked potato leading to the famous British fish and chip industry. In 1851 the Great Exhibition helped people forget the tragedies of the Irish potato famine and poor corn harvests of 1845 - 1846 but it took until 1880 before women began to join men in restaurants. J. Lyons opened in Piccadilly with Welsh rarebit, canned spaghetti, toast, cakes and buns in 1894 and by 1900 there were 150 restaurants in London growing to 5700 eighty years later. In 1900 Coca Cola came into Britain with Charles Candler after being introduced in America in 1886 at Jacobs Pharmacy in Atlanta and Britain was pre-occupied with the Boer War 1899 - 1902. The War Years The war years of the twentieth century completely reversed natural cuisine development with many on an almost starvation diet and most meals “bulked-out” to compensate for lack of meat and dairy produce. Few exotic foods or spices were available in Europe and vegetables predominated with bread, tea and potatoes. J. Lyons & Co Ltd opened their first establishement in Coventry Street in 1907 and the Strand in London in 1912. Such was the success of their simple concept that Maison Lyons was opened near Marble Arch in 1933 seating 2000 people and employing 1000 staff but even at that it did not equal the 4000 seating at Coventry Street. The cream of Britain's and Europe’s men had been lost in the 1914-18 war and the depression of the twenties added to the misery but the Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 put on a brave imperial face and did much to legitimise ethnic foods. The great exhibition boasted a Mughal palace (operated by the man who went on to open Veeraswamy in London), a Nigerian fortress, a Hong Kong street and even a Samoan house. In 1927 Charles Lindbergh flew to Paris and in 1937 Xavier Marcel Boulestin became the first TV chef. The beginning of the Second World War put Britain back to subsistance eating and food rationing of bacon, ham, butter, sugar, cooking fat, meat, tea, cheese, jam, eggs and sweets was introduced in 1940. Lemons and oranges disappeared overnight and luxury fruits sold at amazing prices. Bananas also disappeared as did, strangely, onions and in 1941 melons were selling at £2 each. Just when people thought the hardships were over, bread rationing was introduced in 1946 until 1948. However, the Second World War did introduce an enforced understanding of the need for a nutritionally balanced diet. The post war years gradually saw the return to restaurant dining, with groups like Berni (first one opened in Bristol selling steak, chips and peas) and Beefeater and a gradual international influence in the foods eaten in Britain. The Good Food Guide was established and Elizabeth David wrote her famous ‘Book of Mediterranean Food & French Country Cooking’ and Wimpy opened in 1954 and by 1956 Britain boasted 3000 self service stores as food shopping changed its style. In the mid fifties the package tour began to show itself, becoming the accepted form of overseas holiday over the following ten years and the process of British people learning overseas cuisines at first hand began. Immigration became an important factor as peoples from British interests all over the world arrived seeking a new life and bringing their culture and cuisines. Political changes in India with Partition into India and East & West Pakistan on August 15th 1947 caused great upheavals as did the Independence of East Pakistan (originally Bengal) on 26th March 1971 to become Bangladesh. Between 1951 and 1961 the number of Pakistanis in Britain grew from 5,000 to 24,000 - Indians from 38,800 to 81,400 - West Indians from 25,300 to 171,800 - East Asians from 12,000 to 29,600 and West African from 5,600 to 19,800. Fast food appeared with Pizza Express starting in 1965 and McDonalds in 1974 and the 1960’s saw a veritable feast of new foodstyles with ethnic food becoming very popular in some sections of the community. By 1966 the retail emphasis had moved from the self service store to the supermarket with 2500 outlets available to the British public. Only in the last fifteen years has the world become a global food market and, for the first time since agriculture started, some ten thousand years ago, people in the West can readily enjoy foods from all over the world, economically and of a high quality. The culinary phenomenon of the second half of the twentieth century in Britain was the growth in ethnic restaurants and the booming retail market for ethnic foods. The phenomenon was heralded as an inexplicable occurance by many who had long considered British food to be bland and boring - that is until they dipped into history.
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