What did William Shakespeare have for breakfast, lunch, and supper? This question depends on which Shakespeare we are talking about: is it the poor boy whose father was still in heavy debt and bombarded by moneylenders, or is it the ‘upstart crow’ who earned big money and sat comfortably at New Place, one of the rich houses in his birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon? The middle-class Shakespeare definitely would have eaten more meat and vegetables than his younger self. Well, let’s start with breakfast.
Bread and butter is basically what you eat for breakfast across the social spectrum. Poor people, however, may eat the third quality brown bread (bran bread); the white bread is served among the well-to-do households. If you are a gentleman, you will also consume sage (a leaf) to sharpen your brain. Some gentlemen may add variety to their first meal, energising themselves with a sweet omelette (eggs, butter, sugar, and currants) and meat. Not many people eat meat at breakfast though.
For the midday meal around 11 am -12 pm, known as ‘dinner’ in Shakespeare’s time, the middle class have a selection of meat and vegetables to choose from. You can still see bread and butter at the table but the meal is generally meat-heavy. If there is a guest joining a middle class couple, usually they throw up a feast; when there is not much festivity, the couple eat humbly, as Ian Mortimer recounts:
On the other hand, if he and his wife just dine by themselves, they will be served a first course of ham and pea pottage and perhaps powdered (salted) beef with mustard, followed by a second course of one or two roast meats, bread and butter, a custard tart and fruit. (Mortimer, 254)
Vegetables are expected on the table as well. ‘Cabbages, parsnips, carrots and turnips are cultivated around London — the largest cabbages weighing up to 28lbs — and all of these are boiled and eaten with butter.' (Mortimer, pp 257-28)
Supper, usually at 5 or 6 pm, is generally lighter than the midday meal. You can expect something similar to the counterpart, though lighter — perhaps salad with some meat. The herbalist John Gerard points out the benefits of salad:
Herbalist John Gerard confirmed in his Herball of 1597, that ‘salad is served in these daies in the beginning of supper and eaten first before any other meat … for being taken before meat it doth many time stir up appetite’. He also observed, that ‘if eaten after supper it keepeth away drunkennesse which cometh by the wine’. (Webster, 90)
Apart from breakfast, the poor’s diets differ significantly from those of the middle class, though both eat lots of cheese. Pottage is their staple; they basically put whatever they have in it. Very likely Shakespeare ate this sort of pottage during his father’s financial ruin.
It might be cooked with a modicum of bacon or the leftovers of a chicken: these are boiled in a cauldron over the fire, and garlic, oats, cabbages, radishes, pumpkins, coleworts, peas, beans or lentils added from her garden. (Mortimer, 259)
For treats, Mortimer cites a real historical figure to shed light on the matter — Joan Mychel.
When entertaining, Joan will take a pumpkin, remove the pith and seeds, fill it with apples and bake it. (Mortimer, 259)
A pumpkin with apple filling is a bit too much for my imagination; but it would be interesting to try it out if I ever stumbled upon a Tudor themed restaurant. Hopefully my essay has provided an overview of food in Shakespeare’s day. If you want to look further into the food culture, the books on my reference list, along with other good quality blogs out there, may interest you.
Reference List
Ian Mortimer. The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England (2012). Vintage.
Brigitte Webster. Eating with The Tudors (2023). Pen & Sword Books Ltd.