Menu
Consommé à la Castellane
Woodcock consommé garnished with diced royale and juliennes of roasted woodcock breast
Petits Homards Soufflés
Small lobster soufflés
Cotelettes d’Agneau à la Vicomtesse
Lamb cutlets dressed with a thick Vicomtesse sauce made from ham, mushrooms and eggs
Perdreaux en casserole à la Forestière
Caesserole of partridges that have been stuffed with morels
Gateaux Mazarins à la Brésilienne
Baba cake steeped in kirsch and maraschino, served with bananas and dressed in a Sabyaon sauce made from white-wine, egg yolks and sugar
Mousselines Diplomate a la Montmorency
Small cakes flavoured with orange-blossom water; filled with a purée of raspberries and strawberries flavoured with Curacao; surrounded with a ring of fresh berries; and served with a caramel and almond cream, pistachios and a splash of kirsch prior to serving.
Menu dated: 20th November 1909
Luncheon at Frogmore House, Windsor, hosted by Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales (future King George V and Queen Mary) in honour of a visit by His Most Faithful Majesty King Manuel II of Portugal.
Woodcock consommé, lobster soufflés and casseroled partridges were offered to the King of Portugal at this 1909 luncheon hosted by the future King George V of Great Britain at his family home, Frogmore House.
Earlier in the week the twenty year-old King Manuel II of Portugal commenced his state tour of the United Kingdom as the guest of King Edward VII and his wife Queen Alexandra.
On this day the Portuguese King was taken to Frogmore Estate, near Windsor Castle, to inspect the Royal Mausoleum where the late Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert, are interred. Afterwards, the royal party took this luncheon at Frogmore House, which was then one of the family homes of the Prince and Princess of Wales (the future King George V and Queen Mary).
The menu card for this luncheon is embossed with the Prince of Wales personal cipher and offers guests six courses commencing with a delicate woodcock consommé and lobster soufflés; and concluding with two ornate desserts.
The gardens at Frogmore were famous for supplying the fruits used at royal dinners and banquets to guests of great importance. It is therefore likely that the abundance of berries used in the desserts at this luncheon were 'home grown'.
During this tour the King of Portugal was invested with the insignia of the Most Noble Order of the Garter by Edward VII.
Just six months after hosting this luncheon, the Prince and Princess of Wales became King George V and Queen Mary. Their guest on this day, however, would not reign another year before being overthrown in the Portuguese revolution of October 1910.
(left) King Manuel II of Portugal with the Prince of Wales (future King George V) in London 1909
(right) King Manuel II of Portugal shooitng at Windsor Park with King Edward VII during his 1909 state tour
(Above photos: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2021)