The Food Of Downton Abbey

If you have not yet heard of "Downton Abbey," we want to know: where have you been hiding? This British series period drama has taken television viewers by storm. Originally aired on British TV in September 2010, it has recently gained widespread popularity in the U.S. (we at Kitchen Daily suspect that its recent release on Netflix instant streaming has something to do with that). Nearly everyone we talk to has just finished or is nearly done with Season One, and we are all excited about the release of Season Two on PBS.

There is a lot to love about the show. The characters are all compelling in their own way, and it is fascinating to watch a household that functions as a tiny town. But what we particularly love is how much cooking and eating takes place during each episode. Meals were a big part of life during the Edwardian period. The noble class used it as a way to, quite literally, taste their social status. They ate four times a day -- breakfast, lunch, teatime and dinner. And the dinners were particularly elaborate, ranging from six to 22 courses!

While we can't say for sure how big their portions were (we hope not too big), we do know that meat and poultry was heavily featured. Click through the gallery below to see what you might be served at a dinner party for eight during this time period. While the recipes offered below are not exactly the same dishes as those from the Edwardian era, they provide an idea of what one could expect. And if you should choose to host your own "Downton Abbey" dinner party, feel free to leave out a couple of dishes -- or five or six. (I mean, really, who needs to eat chicken, lamb, filet mignon, and quail all in one dinner?)

What is your favorite British food? Leave a comment below!

Comments

[downtongiftshop]

09:03 AM on 01/31/2012

We've opened a gift shop featuring classic one liners & zingers from the Countess Dowager of Grantham. Who's the Countess, you ask? Only one the best characters on the ITV/ #BBC & #PBS presentation of #Masterpiece Classics: #Downton Abbey.
Mugs seem to be a big seller as well as lounge wear and t-shirts, but please check out out all our offerings.  Each item features a quip from the Countess, aided by our own designs that are clean & crisp.  
Feel good about your purchases from our gift shop:
http://www.cafepress.com/DowntonGiftShop
the prices listed in our site our cheaper than buying through CafePress.com eg: our large mugs with our designs: $15.00  Cafepress charges $18 for same large mug with our exclusive designs.
2) we are donating 10% from EVERY sale to a #HudsonValley non-profit/charity shop which designates families/individuals/community organizations at risk and assists them in their time of need. If you'd like more information about this charity/non-profit feel free to contact us via this site.
Thank you for helping fight the war on poverty by enjoying (just as much we are) the class warfare courtesy of #Downton Abbey.
The #Grantham's...keeping it class warfare, classy.
New products are being added daily, some prints features quips from episodes not yet aired on American TV, be assured no spoilers though.
http://www.cafepress.com/DowntonGiftShop

[John E Priegnitz]

06:08 PM on 01/30/2012

I know what theme my next party is going to be, :).

[adu1tmike726]

12:14 AM on 01/29/2012

British food is not all that fancy on a daily basis. I'd have to say that Scottish salmon and the haddock they use for fish and chips is the best in the UK for a meal

[Dave Ryan MD]

10:11 PM on 01/28/2012

My wife got me hooked on the first DA episode. We're digital recording the current one to have a Downtonathon beginning tomorrow night. This article gives me pause, though. I know already and without a doubt that she is going to want to serve an Edwardian dinner like this, probably using some of these very recipes.

[Kellybelle22]

10:59 PM on 01/28/2012

You've recently eaten a meal like that, babe. Christmas dinner, only you didn't recognize it because I spread the sous and planning out over days and weeks. I'm going to get you again on Valentine's Night, though. No asparagus, though. Sorry.

[Bellanova]

10:03 PM on 01/28/2012

First and foremost, one needs household staff, including a trusted butler, competent cooks, and devoted servants. With that requirement met, the rest is a piece of cake. I will gladly host my DA dinner as soon as my butler and his brigade materialize in my life.

Till then.

[TheBookBooth]

08:08 PM on 01/28/2012

nothing food related, although I can make a mean Victoria Sponge cake. I did want to let Downton Abbey lovers know that we have set up a gift shop called "Quips from the Dowager Countess". Mugs, t-shirts, magnets, thongs(?!) all with quotes from the Countess.
While Downton Abbey fights class warfare in a very classy way, we are donating 10% of our profits to a local Hudson Valley charity organization in a very real way. This group funnels financial assistance and goods to local families/individuals/community groups that are having a rough go of it. We hope you visit the shop: http://ow.ly/8JShK or http://www.cafepress.com/granthamdowntongear thanks for your time.

[Grape Friend]

11:30 AM on 01/27/2012

And the wines that go with them! http://grapefriend.com/2012/01/27/drinking-in-downton-abbey/

[splenetic]

04:22 AM on 01/26/2012

No wee hour comments here. But, then again the rest homes probably have early lights out rules.

[PeanutButterJellyGirl]

01:07 AM on 01/26/2012

I really don't know what it is that I find so appealing about seeing the lives of English servants and their masters in the Edwardian period , but I have never been able to get enough of it. The Duchess of Duke St, Upstairs-Downstairs, The Grand, Downton Abbey, Lillie. The time period is so romantic and tumultuous. It makes me think of a classier 1960's; artists and poets abound, women's rights, class warfare, war and the aftermath all front and center. It's a fascinating time period that I've appreciated more the older that I get.

[Kellybelle22]

11:56 PM on 01/28/2012

I'm the same way, PBJGirl! Have been fascinated since a kid. Among other things, their clothes and jewelry were fabulous.

[Kaila]

06:36 PM on 01/29/2012

You know? I've thought about that myself and I think it has something to do with the atmosphere of the wealthy estates of the time period being so cozy and insular, as if nothing could ever upset the delicate nature of them. There is something to be said for people putting on their best clothes and their very best manners and pretending that they've somehow managed to overcome the animalistic nature of true humanity (while roiling with lust and passion underneath).

[MishMish7]

03:51 PM on 01/30/2012

The intricacy of the class difference and the lives of upstairs versus downstairs is really what is most fascinating to me. How they all have impact over each others' lives for better or worse is kind of what makes it so appealing to me.

[anneeger]

11:30 PM on 01/25/2012

I do not know. I spend a few months in an upper class British home in the sixties and the food was bland and boring. Lots of roastbeef and overcooked vegetables. And terrible fish for breakfast.
Nothing to write home about. The worst food in Europe I have eaten.

[Dave Ryan MD]

10:18 PM on 01/28/2012

It's gotten a lot better since then, especially in restaurants, and even more recently in private homes. This is good because we'll be there in June eating in one.

[garystartswithg]

11:28 PM on 01/25/2012

Many of these ingredients wouldn't be available -- it was an era before Whole Foods. Things we take for granted like capers would have been extremely expensive delicacies. Refrigeration was really a remarkable invention, refrigerated transportation even moreso.
British food is based around the same ingredeients over and over again because it was what was readily available. Cold crops like kale, cabbage, lamb's lettuce. Things you can stick in a cellar -- root vegetables, apples, etc. Grains, and meat and dairy as a product of those grains. A pickled salmon perhaps, a fresh steak, i doubt it unless they could fish it out of the Thames.
I would suspect a French chef would be around as an exotic import, and the food would be dripping in mother sauces, not a creamy picatta.

[Cynth]

01:44 AM on 01/28/2012

Exactly. This article is ill-informed and misleading.

[garystartswithg]

07:35 AM on 01/28/2012

I think we forget all too often the difference between then and now -- the author mentions larded meat and opts for a filet mignon, not the same, not even close to the same. And thank Sam Walton for that filet, his distribution methods revolutionized the way we eat.
I just had a British staple last night, carrot soup, something they probably did eat . Guess its lacking the romantic notion of people that eat caviar and sip champers all day.
If you are eating asparagus, watercress and tarragon in January thank modern production and shipping methods, unless you live in Mexico or S Florida where it came from.
Can you fish oysters out of the English channel? Would you want to?

[HRH]

10:46 PM on 01/25/2012

Disappointed there's no mention of wine.

If they're like the Bellamys, most of it came from France (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alsace, Champagne)

The Champagne they so often drank was a lot softer (bordering on sweet) than the crisp, lemony type popular now. Korbel makes a few cases of one such they call "Sec." It was the first sparkling wine they made, back in the late 1800s.

For those who don't much like the pucker effect of contemporary sparkling wines (1%-1.5% residual sugar), this creamy bubbly (about 2.25% residual sugar) may appeal to you. Not to be confused with really sweet stuff. Nasty.

[liberalbug]

09:50 PM on 01/25/2012

Just added to the netflix instant streaming cue. I look forward to watching!

[msjimmied]

12:21 AM on 01/26/2012

I watched the first season all on one day couple of weeks ago and realized I was hooked! You can watch the latest on PBS the next day after it airs.

[hugatree]

09:47 PM on 01/25/2012

I am truly enjoying this show and really can't see what all the complaining on these posts is about. The Edwardian period of excess among the upper classes in Great Britain was matched equally by Americans, only we were selling our daughters(via hefty dowries) to the men in Great Britain with the heftiest titles. Critics are raving about the series; it's been heavily nominated for awards. The characters are snapshots of the time. Season Two was actually forced into existence by the clamor for more after Season One.

[Mary Poe]

09:45 PM on 01/25/2012

I have not paid one bit of attention to the food in this remarkable series. There is too much drama and excitement to captivate one's attention!

[moonstruck10]

12:55 AM on 02/13/2012

So true.