Catering and Feasts
Any number of adversities might befall a guest to Ravenrook Manor: impossible selctions from endless menus, perilous distraction from excessive diversion - occaissionally even the nigh-terminal hangover - but not once has anyone gone hungry. Whatever the era, whatever the taste, our chatelaine promises to delight the palette and nurture the soul with culinary delights that defy description.

Food and dining customs define a culture as clearly as clothes or king. The Tudor banquet set itself apart with excellent meats and spectacular presentation while Victoria's reign distinguished itself with rich sauces and the grandeur of a formal tea. Every meal is painstakingly researched to be historically accurate and served forth with the grace and dignity appropriate to the age.

Whatever the palette, whatever the era, sit down to table and immerse yourself in a world of luxurious splendour and exceptional taste. Service and attention to detail are as critical to dining as the food and presentation. Our men and butlers are at your service to ensure a meal fit for kings should never go cold and no glass ever run dry.

A Sample Menu: The Elizabethan Table
Traditionally, each dish was announced with great pageantry and then presented first to the head table for approval. As the fork was yet some decades off in England, diners are encouraged to eat with their finger, aided by a sharp knife for cutting meat and skewering morsels from distant plates. Each course presents opulence and variety enough for a full meal, feasts in the reign of Elizabeth were for exotic extravagance and diversity. "Take small portions, there's more to come...."

I - First Course Rost Bef with Sauce Aliper (roast beef with pepper sauce) Fysh in Gelee (wine-poached fish in gelatin) Pigge in Sauge (cold pork w/sage sauce) Rostyd lamb with Sawse Camelyne (roasted lamb with cinnamon sauce) Grene Pesen (green peas) Musheron Pastys (mushroom tarts) Eggen wit mustarde (eggs in mustard sauce) II - Second Course Shred Pyes (mincemeat pies) Rys (rice pudding with almonds) Stwed Beeff (beef ribs roasted and stewed) Cock Y-rostyd Rosee (roast chicken with rosewater sauce) Black Porray (field greens with bacon) Tansy Cakes (spinach pancakes) III - Third Course Wardonys in Syryp (pears in spiced red wine) Tartys in Applis (apple and fig tarts) Payn Ragon (honey and almond candy) Pinappel (pineapple) Nutes (nuts in the shell . same)

Click here for images of past feasts.