Читать книгу The World of Downton Abbey Text Only - Jessica Fellowes - Страница 10

LIFE IN THE KITCHEN

The kitchen staff worked the longest hours of all the servants, from the early morning start baking bread and preparing a cooked breakfast, until the servants’ supper late at night, not to mention the washing up of pots, pans and crockery in between. In every large house, the kitchen was the workplace of the cook and her ‘family’, who discouraged the interference of other servants; neither the butler nor the housekeeper, nor indeed any of their staff, were welcome within it without a good reason.

Although hard on her staff in the heat and bustle of the day, Mrs Patmore has her moments as a caring matriarch of her kitchen family, dishing out advice to Daisy, as the youngest member of her staff. The division between the servants applies to meals, too, with Mrs Patmore and her kitchen staff always eating separately in their own dominion; there they can all finally put their feet up in an atmosphere that is less stuffy than that of the servants’ hall, where the butler is on alert for any cheekiness and the housekeeper keeps a beady eye on any flirtation, poised to stamp it out with a fierce glare.

Lesley Nicol is Mrs Patmore

‘The basis for everything is something the historical advisor said to me: “Consider this like a show. It’s got to be the best show.” Then I got it. When someone comes to stay, they’ve got to leave saying it was perfect. My character has enormous pride and commitment. It just can’t go wrong, she can’t allow things to go wrong. But what else has she got? That’s her life.’

Alongside the endless cooking, the cook has to supervise the preparation of everything that comes out of her kitchen. She has an army of kitchen maids to help her, as everything from consommé to horseradish sauce must be made from scratch, not to mention the constant baking – every loaf of bread, cake and biscuit is homemade, ready for elevenses as well as afternoon tea.

MRS PATMORE

‘No! Listen to me! And take those kidneys up to the servery before I knock you down and serve your brains as fritters.’

Dinner is the big event for everyone in the house. Dressed in white tie, the family would assemble in the drawing room, where they would talk but not drink. In London there is a growing fashion for cocktails before dinner, but it hasn’t reached Downton yet. At dinner, with three courses at the very least – five if there are important guests – Mrs Patmore does her best to show off her culinary finesse (for the family anyway; the servants make do with simpler fare such as lamb stew and semolina, prepared by the kitchen maids).

At the table, Lord Grantham sits in the middle on one side, his wife opposite, as the Royals do. His mother, Violet, sits at his right as the next grandest woman in the room. Carson pours the wine and Thomas and William, wearing gloves (only footmen wore gloves and only to wait at table – never for any other task), serve the food, à la Russe. They begin by serving whoever is sitting on Lord Grantham’s right and work their way clockwise around the table, men and women alternately. The modern restaurant fashion for ‘ladies first’ is continental. The serving dish is held on the diner’s left while they help themselves. Finished plates are collected from the right-hand side. Only when Lord Grantham has the decanter of port and glasses (he will pour it himself) in the dining room and the women have been served coffee in the drawing room, may the servants have their supper. It is their first chance to relax since they started their working day.