Louis XIV (1638-1715) has gone down in history for his legendary reign from the palace of Versailles, and also for his legendary appetite. This king loved to eat!
Breakfast
Louis XIV began his day with a solemn, private breakfast in his bedchamber. Although he only sipped two cups of broth or tea each morning, he was already thinking ahead to his next meal. Servants waited expectantly as the king gave the orders for lunch.
Lunch
At Versailles, lunch was called le Petit Couvert, which means "the Little Service." There was nothing little about this meal, however. At 1:00 each day, the Sun King sat at an enormous table in his bedchamber as servants presented him with a feast. His lunchtime menu included:
- Four different bowls of soup
- A whole, stuffed pheasant
- A partridge, chicken, or duck
- Mutton with garlic gravy
- Two pieces of ham
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Three heaping salads
- A plate full of pastries, fruits, and jams
Louis devoured it all. Men from the court stood and watched with amazement, and the royal doctors watched with worry. (Later, after the Sun King's death, doctors would discover that his stomach and intestines were twice the normal size.)
Dinner
At 10:00 p.m., it was time to eat again. Dinner was called le Grand Couvert. The king did not eat as much at dinner as he did at lunch. Nevertheless, he still managed to sample many of the forty dishes served each night.
Louis XIV dined in his antechamber with the royal family. Plates and utensils made from the finest gold and silver adorned the table. Louis and his queen sat on luxurious red, velvet chairs that faced out to the crowd of spectators.
Dinner at Versailles was au public, a sign of authority in France since the Middle Ages. Although the room was filled with people, no one talked or laughed. Louis XIV did not like to be distracted while he ate, so he forbade all dinner conversation.
Dinner was well-rehearsed and lasted for 45 minutes. Louis employed 498 people for each dinner. Just bringing one course to the table required a procession of fifteen Officers of the Household, along with guards for protection. Anyone seeing the procession was required to stop and bow to the food.
The Maître d'Hôtel and the Officer of the Kitchen had to taste each dish before serving it to the king. If the king wanted something to drink, the Principal Cupbearer would cry, "A drink for the king!" Three servants would then spend the next seven to eight minutes ceremoniously bowing and tasting the king's wine and water before offering him a drink.
Louis XIV truly enjoyed feasts fit for a king.
Sources:
Aliki. The King's Day: Louis XIV of France. Aliki Brandenberg, 1989.
Apsler, Alfred. The Sun King: Louis XIV of France. New York: Julian Messner, 1985.
Levron, Jacques, and Engel, Eliane (translator). Daily Life at Versailles in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. New York: The MacMIllan Company, 1968.
Mitford, Nancy. The Sun King: Louis XIV at Versailles. New York: Harper & Row, 1966.
