breakfast menu. Ribs of beef, pickled oysters, shrimps, radishes, plovers, oeufs cocottes, a piece of salmon au bleu, a Bayonne ham, Russian caviar, croquettes of fish, grilled sheep’s kidneys, patties of chicken, mayonnaise of turbot, raised pie of pigeon, blanquette of lamb and broiled fillets of mackerel were all on one suggested menu for a party of ten to twelve people in 1865. A menu like this certainly required a later dining hour. Even if the servants woke at 5 a.m. to clean and light the ranges, the kitchen staff would have needed to work incredibly hard to produce such a spread by 10
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