Events

LECTURE: SIPPING LUXURY

DRINKING CHOCOLATE IN THE ROYAL COURT AND BEYOND

The chocolate drunk in early Georgian England differed radically to today’s cup of cocoa. Heavily sweetened and spiced, and often mixed with wine, it was inherently luxurious as well as delicious. Thinkers and businessmen populated coffee houses, genteel ladies drank tea but chocolate houses were the decadent playgrounds of “noble rakes and cullies”. Exploring chocolate’s history from the courts of Europe to the streets of London, Polly Putnam (Curator of Collections, Historic Royal Palaces and lead curator in the recent restoration of Hampton Court’s Chocolate Kitchens) delves into the rich material culture surrounding this luxury item and the culture of its consumption.

Ticket includes glass of wine.

To book, please call us on 01904 655543 or visit the Gift Shop.

< Back to events calendar