Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Food in mid-18th-century England was a stark marker of social standing. The day typically unfolded in three meals—breakfast, dinner (the main midday meal), and supper (a light evening repast)—but the content varied dramatically by class.
Aristocrats and gentry dined elegantly. Breakfast might include bread, butter, cheese, fruit, and the newly fashionable tea or coffee. Dinner was a multi-course affair: soup, fish, roasted meats, vegetables, and elaborate desserts. Supper was light—bread, cheese, and ale—before retiring.
Merchants and professionals ate well but simply. Breakfast: porridge, oatmeal, or bread and butter. Dinner: a single main course of meat, fish, or poultry with vegetables and bread. Supper mirrored the poor—bread, cheese, and ale.
Laborers and the poor subsisted on staples. Breakfast: bread and cheese or oat/barley porridge. Dinner: meat or fish if affordable; otherwise, bread, cheese, or a thin soup (pottage). Supper: bread, cheese, and ale—often the only calories after a long workday.
Ale (fermented barley) was the universal daily drink, even for children. Beer (stronger, hopped) and cider (apple-based) were popular regionally. Wine remained a luxury import. Tea and coffee, introduced in the 1600s, were ascending rapidly, especially among the middling and upper sorts, reshaping social rituals.