So, we know that Mrs. Bennet set an excellent table, but what would it have been like having dinner at Longbourn?

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You are all a’twitter as you have been invited to take dinner with the Bennets at Longborn today. But being a gal of the 21st century, it’s a little difficult to know what to expect, but never fear. I’m here to help!

One of the important things to realize about the Regency era is that much of life was driven on the availability of natural light.  We completely take for granted that you can have light at ay time of the day or night, but that just wasn’t so. Especially in the countryside, people would plan their day by the amount of light that would be available for the tasks at hand. . Candles were very expensive, so even social engagements were planned to minimize the need for them both in the kitchen and in the dining room. So dinner would likely be served at three or four in the afternoon and the meal itself would last about two hours.

In the dining room

Seats were not specifically assigned at dinner, and in general people did not walk into the dining room in a particular order. Usually the host, Mr.Bennet in this case,  would be the first into the room, escorting the ‘senior’ or highest ranking lady . He would sit at the foot of the table. The hostess, Mrs. Bennet, would sit at the head of the table, usually with the highest ranking guests nearest her.

 The meal itself would be organized a little differently than you might expect. Instead of featuring many course with servants bring in and serving the food, most of the dishes would already be on the table to start with. Since this would be a fancier meal than one for just the family, one might anticipate two courses plus dessert. Courses could consist of as few as five to as many as twenty or more dishes, sometimes with removes–one dish being replaced by another before the next course was brought in.

If that sounds like a lot of food, yes, it was. 

What’s for dinner?

Period cookbooks give us some idea of what might have been served at Mrs. Bennet’s table.  Mrs. Rundell’s New System of Domestic Cookery, 1807 offers a number of menu suggestions, including this meal of two courses of five dishes each.

The first course: Mackerel broiled with Herbs and Butter, Bacon, Boiled Chickens, Greens and Carrots. The Second Course: Beef Cecils, Salad, Fruit Pie, Potatoes in a shape, Forequarter of Lamb, Roasted. 

Honestly, I have no clue what ‘potatoes in a shape’ means. There’s not much in her cookbook to explain it, except possibly putting mashed potatoes in a shaped dish and browning the top.

Here are her recipes for French Salad and Beef Cecils, to give you a sense of the meal, (as if noticing that half the ten dishes were meat dishes wasn’t enough):

Other suggested menus often include sweet dishes served alongside savory items. May were dishes we consider for dessert: trifle, lemon pudding, fruit tarts and pies, fruit jellies and creams . Personally I’m not so certain about putting raspberry cream and lemon pudding alongside hare, but it was a commonly done thing during the Regency era.

Mrs. Rundell also suggested, that when ‘accidental visitors’ might arrive at dinner, additional dishes of “such articles as are in the house” like “pickled things, fritters, fried patties or quick-made dumplings” would be appropriate to add to the table as well. 

Serving Dinner

At the start of the meal, Mr. Bennet would carve the joints of meat and/or supervise the serving of the soup. Afterwards, the gentlemen would serve the ladies nearest them from the dishes nearest them. (Honestly, I’m not sure how this would work if there were only a single gentleman at the table, as might be in the case of Mr. Bennet. But moving on…)

A servant might fetch a dish from the far end of the table, but they did not serve food. Happily, one was not required to eat a little of everything on the table. Rather, one ate from what was nearest them. It would be entirely proper for a guest to eat from a few of the many dishes available. I’m sure that’s a relief to know.

 After diners had eaten as much as they wanted from the first course, servants would clear the table, including the tablecloth (a table was usually set with two cloths at the start to facilitate getting a clean cloth on the table) and set it an equal number of dishes (more or less) to the first course. Then the diners would begin again. Liberal amounts of ale, beer and wine would be served to help wash it all down. 

Suddenly two hours for dinner makes a great deal more sense doesn’t it?

Dessert 

Once diners were sated from the second course, dessert would be laid out either on the bare table or another clean tablecloth.  Remember sweet dishes would likely have been presented throughout the meal already. So conceivable, an individual could contrive to have nothing but what we would consider dessert for dinner. Something to think about–no?

Dessert consisted of fruits and nuts, perhaps ice-cream or sweetmeats,  usually accompanied by port or Madeira. 

After Dinner

After lingering over dessert, the ladies would withdraw to the drawing room. There, they would entertain one another with conversation, music,  fancy sewing (embroidery), or even reading aloud. In the meantime, gentlemen enjoyed more port, manly conversation and tobacco in the dining room.  When the party was particularly small, the whole group might withdraw together.

After an hour or so, company would reconvene over tea and coffee. Parlor games, music, reading and maybe even a little dancing  would serve as amusements for the evening. Unless there was a full moon to facilitate travel home, diners would usually leave while there was still sunlight .

So there you have it, a quick guide to dinner at the Bennets. Are you ready to partake?

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If you’d like to read more about food and drink in the regency era, click HERE

If you’d like to read more about dinner parties in the regency era, click HERE

If you’d like to read more about Georgian Recipes in the regency era, click HERE

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References

Bennetts, M.M. Nom nom nom~ Regency Style. English Historical Fiction Authors. July 25, 2012. Accessed October 1, 2018. https://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2012/07/nom-nom-nom-regency-style.html

Rundell, Maria Eliza Ketelby.  A New System of Domestic Cookery: Formed upon Principles of Economy, and Adapted to the Use of Private Families. A New ed. London: Printed for John Murray …, 1807.