Food

During the restoration the gentry's wealth increased, enabling them to spend more money on themselves (clothes, travel etc.). This in turn allowed them to visit larger cities to indulge in the social activities of the day.

London became known as the most fashionable place to be and to be seen, most of the country's business affairs being conducted in the capital. Food and drink businesses soon grew up to service this new wealth and London soon boasted arguably the finest food market in all of England.

When Charles II returned from his period of exile in France he brought with him many new French customs. French cuisine soon became very fashionable amongst the well off as fashion dictated that everyone should follow what the king did. and French cooks became a highly sought-after commodity.

Soon it was not only French cuisine that could be seen gracing the tables of the rich, but other European cuisines too, such as Spanish.

The meats of the time found gracing the gentry's tables were beef, mutton, lobster, oysters, herrings (bloat), pullets and veal. Fruit and vegetables were hardly ever eaten, resulting in the gentry having a very unhealthy meat-orientated diet.

Away from the tables of the rich, the majority of the population had a very different experience. Even after the restoration of the crown to Charles II, the poor were still suffering. Their diet was very deficient, and they hardly ever ate meat as they could not afford it. Even the slightly better-off members of society were able to eat it only once or twice a week. Instead, they ate vegetables, cereals, fruit and the like.

It is perhaps ironic that almost everyone ate an unbalanced diet - the poor because they had no choice and the rich through choosing their meat-saturated menus.