_The Georgians: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry_ looks at our eating and drinking habits in the 18th century. It describes the range of food and drink available to rich and poor alike, from the frugal fare of the urban poor to the exotic excesses of Regency banquets. It looks at how cooking moved out of the living room hearth and into the designated kitchen and at how ‘fine dining’ evolved, largely thanks to French influences. It introduces the reader to the celebrity chef – men such as Antonin Carême, who designed sumptuous feasts for the Prince Regent at his Brighton Pavilion. It shows how eighteenth-century recipe books brought English female cooks such as Hannah Glasse and Elizabeth Raffald into the public eye – they were the Delia Smith or Mary Berry of their day. It reveals the extraordinary range of foodstuffs available – a veritable cornucopia of comestibles. It also looks at where food was actually eaten, in shops, in taverns, in Gentleman’s Clubs, as well as in homes, both large and small. It considers the role of street hawkers and hot food stalls (Georgian fast food) and describes the etiquette of large formal dinners. Separate chapters consider the development of different beverages, from whisky to sherry, from port to arrack, and from gin to lesser-known drinks such as negus, shrub, and orgeat.
