“Renaissance Banquets – Cuisine and treasures of table art in the 16th century”

Cookery books, paintings, gold and silver plates, enamelwork, tableware, kitchenware and items of furniture are among the exhibits illustrating not only what meals of the day contained, but kitchen architecture, table manners and the pomp and ceremony of Renaissance banquets besides. The exhibition provides a close-up view of an era dominated by the renewal of French aristocratic cuisine with the rise of sweetmeats, refinement of table manners, and orchestration of the royal repast… 

The exhibition catalogue is the first overview of the subject to be published. Edited by Elisabeth Latrémolière and Florent Quellier, it contains the information posted for each exhibit along with a series of essays by specialists from the academic world and museum curators. 

Alongside the exhibition

A wide range of activities centred on the theme is scheduled throughout the exhibition’s run: 

• The palace of delicacies: tearoom with an opportunity to sample Renaissance-style specialities (Daily from 1 July to 31 August)
• Renaissance titbits: sampling/discovery of sweetmeats created or imported in the 16^th century (Daily from 1 July to 31 August at 4:30 p.m.)
• “At the Renaissance table” workshops – a “discovery/introduction” through the medium of a sensory and gastronomic game (Every Friday from 6 July to 24 August at 4 p.m.)
• Renaissance banquets: “At Maître Sausin’s table”

An international scientific colloquium will be tackling the question of Italian influence on French cuisine with the introduction of three major ingredients – vegetables, sugar, and table manners. 

13-14 September 2012 at Château Royal de Blois, in partnership with the Tours CESR and the IEHCA “Table culture: exchanges between Italy and France (15^th – mid 17^th century)”. 

On the web

• “Renaissance Banquets” exhibition (Château Royal de Blois)