Regency Menu for Four by Susanna Ives

Susanna Ives, author, most recently, of Rakes and Radishes, provides us with the menu of a multi-course Regency meal for a party of four. This menu comes from Louis Eustache Ude’s The French Cook, which was first published in 1815. In addition, Susanna includes table setting diagrams for the first and second courses, which helps us to better understand how meals were presented at table during the Regency.

Do you think you would enjoy this meal, were you a guest at this table?


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I struggled writing this post. I wanted to simply list some menus and recipes from The French Cook, or, The Art of Cookery, by Louis Eustache Ude from 1815. Unfortunately, the recipes in the original book are difficult to locate because the dish names on the menus don’t match the recipes. After spending more time on this little project than I intended, I found a second addition of the book from 1822. Everyone must have complained to Ude, so he made an easy to read version. However, he used the same images for the courses as he did in the original edition, despite switching to English for the dish names, as well as changing some of the dishes. So, I doubt there is a direct correspondence from the French to the English in this post, but I have tried to blend the two editions together to match the illustrations.

Portrait of Louis Ude

I shall endeavor to include more menus in the coming days. If you want to look up the actual recipes, I suggest the 2nd edition of The French Cook on Google Books. Also, Nancy Mayer has a great explanation of table Settings and Removes on her site. Bill of fare for a dinner of four entries in summer time.

First course

  • Le Potage printannier, or spring soup.
  • Les tranches de cabilleau, sauce aux huitres, or crimp cod and oyster sauce.

Two removes

  • La poularde à la Montmorencie, or fowl la Montmorenci, garnished with a ragout a I’Allcmande.
  • Le jambon de Westphalie, à l’essence, or ham glazed with Espagnole.
Four entrées
  • La fricassée de poulets aux champignons, or fricassee of chicken and mushrooms.
  • Les côtelettes d’Agneau sautés, sauce à la Macédoine, or lamb chops saute, with asparagus, peas, &c.
  • Le sauté de filets de poulets gras, au suprême, or fillets of fat chicken, saute au supreme.
  • Les tendrons de veau glacés aux laitues, à l’essence or petits pdtes of fillet of fowl a la bechamelle.
Second course
  • Le chapon, or fowls roasted, garnished with water cresses.
  • Les cailles, or six quails.
Four entrées
  • Les pois à la Françoise.
  • La gelée de fraises.
  • Les asperges en bâtonets, or asparagus with plain butter.
  • Les puits d’amour garnis de marmalade, or orange jellies in mosaiques.

* Later edition includes Cauliflower with veloute sauce and Petit gateaux d’ la Manon.

Two removes of the roast.
  • La tart de groseilles rouges.
  • Le soufflé au citron, or souffle with lemon.

* Later edition includes Ramequin d la Sefton.

First Course

Diagram of first coure

Second Course

Diagram of second course

Ude writes, "From the above statement it will be easy to make a bill of fare of four, six, eight, twelve, or sixteen entrees, and the other courses in proportion."

© 2012 – 2013 Susanna Ives
Originally posted at Susanna Ives — Writer of Reckless Abandon
Posted at The Beau Monde by permission of the author.

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