Henry viii’s kitchens at Hampton Court Palace: an introduction to food archaeology

The kitchens of Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace are the largest surviving Renaissance kitchens in Europe. Occupying nearly one third of the ground floor of the Palace, 36000 square feet they have become internationally famous as the home of Tudor food. Today they are home to a unique project; a team of Food Historians who have been given the challenge to learn from actually using them as they would have been 500 years ago. Here, Marc Meltonville, Project co-ordinator for the Historic Kitchens Team, gives an introduction to Henry viii’s infamous food factory…