Charles Darwin at the table

In the 19th-century English gentry, the day was structured around four meals: a hearty breakfast taken early (eggs, smoked fish, toast, marmalade), a light luncheon, afternoon tea, and then dinner served à la russe in several successive courses — soup, fish, entrées, the joint (roast meat), the sweet (dessert), and dessert proper. At Down House, Darwin's table followed this regular rhythm, as he loved order and unchanging habits.

Victorian taste was marked by the colonial pantry: Anglo-Indian curry powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and bitter Seville orange. These flavours from Asia and the Mediterranean perfumed both breakfast and Christmas pudding — a cuisine of an island that brought the world to the plate, much like a naturalist who collected its species.