The Shadow of Great Britain

Capítulo 1661: Chapter 47: If You Spot One Hastings, His Friends Are Already All Over Kensington

The midday chimes echoed in from afar at St. Mary’s Church, as Arthur put away his lecture notes and gently placed a stack of paper containing selected poems in front of Victoria on her small desk: “Please refer to what I’ve taught today, and write a short review on these verses, sharing your understanding of the imagery within.”

Victoria nodded and bowed her head, beginning to write swiftly. It was evident she was still caught up in the thrill of receiving Tennyson’s handwritten poetry collection and wasn’t willing to waste even a minute to prepare herself for her enthusiasm towards this new pastoral poet.

Arthur turned around and seated himself opposite the Duchess of Kent, who was sitting on a sofa.

As soon as he sat down, he saw a gold-rimmed porcelain plate being steadily placed by an attendant on the table before him, containing several freshly baked scones, with steam still wafting off them, and cream and raspberry jam being neatly served in two small silver goblets.

Next to the teapot, a jar of Jasmine tea and a jar of Keemun tea were already prepared, and even whether the cup contained milk or lemon seemed to have been considered to suit his taste.

Arthur had no qualms about the flavor of these midday tea snacks, since even if Kensington Palace’s kitchen didn’t rank within London’s top three, it could certainly stand firmly within the top five.

The gentlemen and ladies of high society all knew that the banquets hosted by the Duchess of Kent were renowned for being grand and lavish.

Though Kensington Palace’s kitchen wasn’t as large as those of St. James’s Palace, Buckingham Palace, and Windsor Castle, it was advantageously well-equipped, and ever since the Duchess of Kent moved here, she applied annually for funds to renovate the kitchen.

However, the real turning point for Kensington Palace’s kitchen came in 1830 when Victoria was officially declared as the heir to the throne.

In the same month that George IV passed away, with King William IV succeeding the throne, and Victoria being established by Parliament as the presumptive heir, the Duchess of Kent saw her dream of marrying into Britain come true, for she finally acquired a stylish new kitchen equipped with cast iron stoves, ample hot water, and warming cabinets for keeping food warm.

Before this, the workspace for her culinary team was no far better than the one from the 17th century during the reign of William III and Mary II, and while that was indeed the royal standard 200 years ago, by the 19th-century standards, the old kitchen was undeniably outdated.

And over the next three years, a dessert room and a distillation room for preserves, jam, and wine were added here, and equipment for making ice cream, cake molds, jelly molds, and various dessert molds were gradually introduced to Kensington Palace.

The kitchen here was fully equipped, and the selection of chefs by the Duchess of Kent was notably rigorous.

The Duchess of Kent had only one requirement for the head chef: he must carry with him the faith to succeed, and every dish produced at Kensington must surpass the food brought by the noble guests to the Duchess. To achieve this, the dishes offered by Kensington Palace had to painstakingly excel in complexity of flavors and variety of ingredients.

However, an interesting point was that according to the information Arthur gathered from the maid Lizzy, although the menu provided externally by Kensington Palace was incredibly luxurious, the family dinners participated in by the Duchess, Conroy, his family, and a few close attendants were considerably less sumptuous.

As for the reason, it really wasn’t that hard to deduce, since the Duchess of Kent’s family hadn’t truly had a prosperous time, and at most, enjoyed financial ease for only three years.

Hosting grand banquets was a way to maintain dignity and win favor.

Whereas when it came to their own family, naturally, frugality where needed was in practice.

Of course, the frugality at Kensington Palace was relative to other royal family members, and compared to the meals during the days of the foul-footed patrol across Hastings, it was still quite luxurious.

Having a glass of cold beer at noon, a piece of pork rind jelly, and biting into a fried meatloaf mixed with scraps and batter, ah, it felt like a supreme indulgence!

Though life improved somewhat later, as far as food was concerned, it merely shifted from street food to housed dining.

The turning point for this Yorkshire to truly get a taste of fine fare was indeed the incident of rescuing Great Dumas on the high seas back then.

Once the French chef settled in at 15 Lancaster Gate, Arthur’s menu finally exceeded two pages.

Mary Best, “Our Restaurant in York,” illustrated in 1838

Just as Arthur took a bite of the thickly jam-covered scone, the Duchess of Kent spoke with slight concern.

“Do the snacks suit your taste?”

Arthur replied with a smile, “I’ve often heard people say that Kensington Palace’s desserts are the best in London, and in terms of baking and seasoning, even the French patisserie near Trafalgar Square, which boasts that ‘Napoleon himself came here to buy bread,’ has to graciously defer.”

The Duchess lightly laughed upon hearing this: “Being called the best in London is something we dare not assume. But if there’s an advantage of Kensington’s desserts over others, I believe it’s in the correct choice of materials and good attention to detail. For instance, the raspberry jam here is from Herefordshire. Though sunlight is limited there, the climate is moist, resulting in raspberries with a strong aroma.”

Arthur set down his teacup and remarked, “In matters of cuisine, you are quite the gourmet, reminding me of a friend of mine.”

“Are you referring to Mr. Zhongma?” The Duchess of Kent seemed somewhat proud, being one of the loyal readers of “The British,” she was slightly acquainted with the temperaments of the authors.