Free All the King's Cooks by Peter Brears

woodyard brought his mallet and chopping block, the King’s master cook brought his knife – and the sergeant of the poultry brought a cock which would have its head cut off with these items so as to check that they were in good order. The sergeant of the larder, with his great knowledge of butchery, was there to set the knife in the best position on the wrist, and the sergeant farrier brought his searing irons – for sealing the veins – these first being heated in a chafing dish and their ends cooled in a dish of water brought by the yeoman of the scullery. The sergeant surgeon was in attendance with his instruments to close up the wound, which would then be dressed with ‘sear-cloth’ brought by the yeoman of the chandlery. In addition, the sergeant of the cellar brought wine, ale and beer, and the yeoman of the ewery, deputising for his sergeant, brought a ewer, a basin and towels for hand-washing.
    Fortunately, Sir Edmund’s appeal to the King was successful, and he both kept his hand and received a full pardon. But this description clearly shows how closely the surgeons and the household staff were expected to work together, and suggests how useful they would all be when on active military service.

    32.   Wafers Here iron wafer-tongs cut with the Tudor royal arms are being filled with an egg, flour, sugar and rosewater batter before being cooked over the chafing dish.
    The last room in this first-floor area that should be mentioned isthe Wafery. This office produced wafers – broad discs or rectangles of thin, crisp, delicately-flavoured biscuit, made only for the King, dukes, earls, the White Sticks, the cofferer, and a privileged few as authorised by the Counting House. Lesser mortals might only enjoy them at the four great feasts of the year. 22 The yeoman of the wafery, assisted by a groom skilled in wafer-making and, at the discretion of the Counting House, a page to learn the craft and give general assistance, were solely responsible to the clerk of the spicery. The sugar, eggs and baking irons they needed came from the Spicery, while the flour was obtained from the sergeant of the bakehouse either daily or weekly. A sweet spiced batter would be made, then small quantities ladled on to the ‘irons’ – flat plates engraved with various patterns and mounted on long handles like tongs – which had been pre-heated over a charcoal-fired chafing dish. Having closed the irons together, the batter cooked rapidly, sending jets of rosewater steam spouting from the edges. After this, the irons were opened, and the crisp wafers removed. The newly baked wafers would be carefully locked away in fine coffers. When the time came, they would be delivered to the sewer of the privy chamber, for the King’s mouth; to the sewers of the presence chamber, for distribution as directed by the Counting House; or to the sewer of the hall – to be served there only on the important feast days.

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Dining in Chamber and Hall
Etiquette and Ritual
    The Lord Great Master, with a number of other lords, dined in the King’s Council Chamber, where they were attended by two of his gentlemen, a gentleman usher, a sewer, the hamperman, and grooms and pages of the chamber, with one yeoman usher to guard his door and another to bring up the food from the Lord’s-side dressers. All these servants ate the food left after the nobles had dined at 10 a.m. and taken their supper four hours later. 1
    The Lord Chamberlain, meanwhile – unless dining in the Presence Chamber – took his meals in the Great Watching Chamber with other lords and ladies, the Vice-Chamberlain and the Captain of the Guard, as well as the King’s cupbearers, carvers and sewers, esquires for the body, gentleman ushers and sewers of the chamber who were not on duty that day. Here they were served by a gentleman usher, a sewer, a groom and pages of the chamber, a yeoman of the chamber to bring up the food from the