Let’s keep the Sunday roast tradition alive!
Research suggests that wearing Sunday best, playing conkers and keeping a diary are among the traditions that will be lost within a generation. Only to be replaced by modern customs like blogging, social networking and computer ‘sports’ like Wii tennis. But, we are on a mission to prevent this from happening to the good old Sunday roast.
Why….?
It’s been a British way of life for as long as most of us can remember
It’s believed that the British love of roast dinners began during the reign of King Henry the VII in 1485. His royal guard would eat roast beef every Sunday after church, and it’s suggested that this became such a ritual that the guards were affectionately referred to as “beefeaters”.
Throughout the Industrial Age, almost every household would pop a roast on before heading to church on a Sunday. It had become an act with a kind of religious and social importance to it.
No doubt in those times, this was the best meal of the week and why the Sunday roast became so popular.
It’s good for you and it encourages family time
The Sunday roast at its best is a tasty meal that is, in nutritional terms, mostly good news. It can’t be wolfed down, either, so families are required to talk to one another. Another ‘tradition’ we are going to have to fight to keep alive with todays technology!
Eating a roast is eating the landscape
It is composed of what flourishes in the British climate and soil. The patchwork of small, hedged fields that still persist in parts of these isles would not be there if there were no farmers rearing sheep and cattle that need protection from the elements and the convenience of enclosure. The vegetables that go with a roast tend to be eaten in season.
This is something we are very passionate about – serving the good stuff. Our version of a Sunday roast is our Sunday Best menu. Think top quality beef, lamb or pork from Aubrey Allen, butchers to HM The Queen, crisp and golden (but not too brown) roast potatoes with a fluffy, white inside, a generous, well-risen Yorkshire pud, still soft at the base, roast carrots, parsnips and tureens of buttered green veg, horseradish, mustard and mint sauce ready on the table – and unlimited supplies of hot gravy.
You can eat your fill – but be warned, we will come round to tempt you with extra roasties and Yorkies. And to finish – fruit crumble, served at the table from a big dish, bubbling at the rim, with your own jug of custard.
Season to taste with your choice of family and friends – and when it’s finally time to go, all you have to do is wave to your waitress and leave us with the washing-up.
Now doesn’t that sound like a tradition worth saving?
