History on a Plate

If you think ‘doing history’ just means reading books and writing essays, think again! As part of the ‘Heritage 360’ OxNet programme, students attended a medieval food experience at Blackfriar’s Restaurant in Newcastle. We learned about the history of medieval food across Europe, and asked questions about the sources we have and how we interpret recipes that have been discovered – who were the recipes for? Were they medicinal? What would they have tasted like? Using some not-so-medieval ingredients and equipment, we cooked a series of dishes: whitebait, roast chicken with a sauce, a rack of lamb with sourdough, a bean broth, a chickpea stew and a milk custard.