What The King’s Dinner can tell us about being British

What it meant to eat, dine and be British in the late 18th and early 19th centuries is uncovered in a major new book examining how royal food reveals the complex story of British identity.

The King’s Dinner, co-authored by Dr Lisa Smith from the School of Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies, is helping to uncover what was being served at two royal households by delving into the kitchen ledgers from George III’s Kew Palace and his son’s palace at Carlton House, before exploring the food people were eating at tables up and down the country.

As Dr Smith has previously revealed, royal dining in this period could also be surprisingly global, and Turkish Kebabs were one unexpected favourite on the menu. Ingredients, recipes and tastes were shaped by trade, travel and the British Empire, with spices, chocolate and coffee appearing regularly on the royal table.

Dr Smith said: “Food is a powerful way into the past because it connects something we all do every day with questions about identity, power and multiculturalism.”

This was a period of significant political, social and cultural change with Britain enjoying produce from across the globe. The cuisine that emerged was heavily influenced by European culinary traditions, particularly from France and Germany, while global and imperial connections also brought ingredients, techniques and tastes from the Caribbean and India into British dining.  Together, these influences show how ideas of Britishness were formed through everyday choices about food, from royal banquets to everyday meals.

Dr Smith added: “When we look at what was served at the royal table, we can see how ideas about taste, status and even national identity were being negotiated. It reminds us that ‘Britishness’ has always been shaped by a mix of influences, people and traditions.”

Dr Smith, is a co-author of The King’s Dinner, working alongside Professor Adam Crymble (UCL), Dr Sarah Fox (Edge Hill University) and Dr Rachel Rich (Leeds Beckett University), in a collaborative project, funded by the British Academy, and bringing together expertise from four institutions.

In combining quantitative data with the close reading of historical sources, the authors reveal how the royal household was both distinctive and deeply connected to broader patterns of everyday life in Britain.

Dr Smith’s contribution builds on her wider research into the social and cultural history of food and recipes, particularly how ideas about health, gender and the body were embedded in everyday practices.

The King’s Dinner is published Open Access by UCL Press and available now.