Although Americans certainly have a well-deserved reputation for gastronomical excess (see: “Super Size Me” or any all-you-can-eat buffet), our friends abroad have a history of going overboard with food as well. A terrific article in last week’s London paper, The Times followed restaurant critic Giles Coren as he spent a week eating in the style of an Edwardian gentleman. Coren ate four meals a day and…well, they weren’t exactly small plates. On the first day alone, Coren consumed porridge, sausage, curried eggs, grilled cutlets, kidneys on toast, macaroni gratin, ox tongue, three different potato preparations, two kinds of cake, coconut cookies, oyster patties, steak, celery, goose, a vanilla soufflé, and what we are willing to bet was well more than a loaf of bread with butter. Although Coren gained a mere pound, his body fat went up by 10% and his cholesterol skyrocketed from an already-high 5.8% to 6.6%. Just an occupational hazard of being a restaurant critic, we suppose.
Coren undertook this mission for a BBC Four program called The Edwardians, but, tragically for those of us stuck Stateside, it doesn’t appear that BBC America plans to air it any time soon. In the meantime, if Coren’s article whets your appetite for Edwardian excess, try some of the recipes offered by period food expert Ivan Day. Mmm, roast mutton with oysters.
Appetite for Excess [The Times]
Edwardian Supersize Me [BBC Four]
Recipes [Historic Food]
[Photo: Virtual Tourist: sunshinejo]
