From traditional seaside holiday treats like candy floss, ice cream and
fish 'n' chips, to the British fascination for baking, the Victorian era
has shaped British culinary heritage. Victoria's austere attitude after
an age of Regency indulgence generated enormous cultural change. Excess
and gluttony were replaced with morally upright values, and Victoria's
large family became the centre of the cultural imagination, with the
power to begin new traditions. If Queen Victoria's family sat down to
turkey on Christmas day, so did the rest of the nation. Food was a
significant part of the Victorians' lives, whether they had too much of
it or not enough. The destitute were fed gruel in the workhouses - the
words of Dickens's Oliver are forever imprinted on our minds: 'Please,
sir, I want some more.' The burgeoning street traders spilling over from
the previous century devolved into a whole new culture of 'mudlarks',
trotter boilers and food slop traders, to name but a few. Wealthy
Victorians gorged with the newly emerging trend for breakfast, lunch and
tea. Public dining became de rigeur, and the outdoor 'pique-nique',
introduced a new way of eating. Victorians also struggled against many
of these trends, with the belief that denial of food was a moral good.
This was the era of educating and training in food management, combined
with the old world of superstition and tradition, that changed British
society forever.
