At Cambridge, a fellow's life is governed by the college ritual: a hearty breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast, marmalade), afternoon tea around 4 p.m., and then the ceremonial dinner at the High Table, the raised dais where college members dine in gowns after the Latin grace. The cuisine is classic interwar English: roast meats, sauces, and steamed puddings. A bachelor, Hardy relied entirely on this communal catering.

Shredded beef kidney fat (suet) mixed into flour is THE secret of British pudding cookery, both savory and sweet: it melts slowly in the steam, yielding a moist, tender crumb impossible to achieve in an oven. This signature technique links the Christmas plum pudding to the entire collegiate tradition.