Meal fit for a king

Modest manor turned royal hunting lodge and party palace, Schloss Moritzburg and its park attracts Germans as well as tourists to the rolling hills near Dresden in the Free State of Saxony.

Many spend a day touring its rooms and wandering its gardens, but I found the kitchen displays most fascinating. Especially the menus.

A summer party in 1718 required "8 adipose deer, 8 fawn, 8 roe deer, 24 hares, 30 pheasants and 50 partridges" daily in addition to fish, veal, beef and poultry.

On April 10, 1705, the following meal was brought to the table of Augustus the Strong.

1st Course
Pastry of 4 pounds of pike
Herb soup with eggs
Soup of 3 pounds of carps
Ragout of 1 1/4 pounds of crabs
3 pounds of cod
2 pounds of salmon
3 partridges
4 fried pigeons


2nd course
Entree of salads
2 pounds of salmon tail
7 1/2 pounds of venison joint
1 capon and 1 pheasant fried
42 pounds of oysters fried
1 1/4  pounds of crabs, hard boiled pancakes
14 pounds of calf's milk (thymus or breast gland of the calf) with truffle

Remember that next time cooking for a crowd or just your family has you frazzled!

To read more about Moritzburg and Saxony, go to
my blog at Travel on the Level.