On 31 May and 1 June expert food historians Marc Meltonville and Robert Hoare will be cooking food and preparing drinks that Handel would have shared with his friends and colleagues. Dressed in the uniforms of Georgian chefs, Marc and Robert will deliver an in-depth presentation into Georgian cooking and the sorts of food that Handel’s own cooks might have prepared for him and his guests.

There are many accounts of Handel enjoying good food with his friends and patrons. At one meal, he is known to have tucked in to ‘Rice soup with mutton in, petty patties, lamb’s ears, [and] an eel pye’ all accompanied by ‘French claret, rhenish wine, madeira’. With real dishes, made by hand in the run up to the event, Marc and Robert will talk about the Georgian diet, dining habits, cookery techniques and much more. As a sweet treat, the talk will end with a rare opportunity to taste an authentic 18th-century dessert: a rich syllabub made, of course, with Rhenish wine.

Handel’s cook provided tasty refreshments and sustenance for a steady stream of musicians coming to Brook Street to rehearse for Handel’s upcoming performances, patrons who came for a preview of the latest opera tunes, and numerous friends. It is even possible that music and cooking skills combined with bass singer Gustavus Waltz who sang for Handel and, for a time, seems to have served as Handel’s cook!

Visitors will be surrounded by the smells of 18th-century cuisine, while watching the cooking process up-close, and discovering the history of these fascinating dishes as the cooks explain their provenance and context.

Handel’s kitchen is part of the Handel Hendrix House Museum on Brook Street, Mayfair. As Simon Daniels, Director, Handel Hendrix House, explains: ‘It is a faithfully re-created Georgian townhouse kitchen and the only one of its type open to the public in London. This unique space is equipped with everything a Georgian cook would need to create the latest dishes which were arriving from France, and which changed the future of British dining. Visitors can explore the shelves lined with handmade pewter, ceramics, and discover what 18th century wine bottles looked like.’