Report on the Kitchen and Refreshment Rooms. April 24th 1863.
REPORT FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE KITCHEN AND REFRESHMENT ROOMS (HOUSE OF COMMONS); WITH THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE, AND AN APPENDIX. Ordered by The House of Commons, to be printed, 24 April 1863.
320x200mm. Title page. p2 Committee names. 3-7 Report with a large folding plate of a lovely unusual coloured drawing on the various proposed changes for the New Palace of Westminster refreshment rooms. 8-14 Proceedings of the Select Committee. p13 is miss-bound after p14. [1] Last page is a small copy of the title page. It has 2 menus enclosed. The first one is a one page white cardboard Luncheon menu from the House of Commons members dining room on 14th July 1960. The second menu is for a dinner at 10 Downing Street for the President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat and his wife on 7th November 1975. Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister at the time. The report is bound by a thread. All items are very clean and in good condition.
- The report consists of a full review of the current (1860's) operational inefficiencies for dining in the House of Commons during the House sessions. Based on members complaints the report also reviews dinner numbers, wage comparisons and wine suppliers. Page 14 is a comparison of current prices at London clubs including The Reform Club, which covers the time of the tenure of the famous chef, Charles Elme Francatelli, who had taken up the position of Chef de Cuisine after the equally famous chef, Alexis Soyer, resigned from the Club in 1850. With the menus, this is a very interesting look at the Catering department and dining setup at the Commons and the Prime Minister's official residence.
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Ephemera category
ref number:
11139