Michelle Broadbent is a Recycling Project Officer at the PCC has recently spent some time with the Catering team at City Services. Over the last few weeks she has been completing general administrative duties. To allow Michelle to get a real flavour for the Catering department they decided to assign her to a four day “Tudor Days” event at Peterborough Cathedral. This event is an educational trip that school children attend.Here is Michelle’s account of the event; the week was from 5th – 9th July, I assisted the catering team at a Tudor event held at the Cathedral. To be able to do this I had to complete the ‘Basic Food Hygiene Certificate’ which lasts 3 years.
All the days generally went like this:
8am: I got picked up from the office by Lorraine and went to the school kitchen at Dogsthorpe Primary. We counted the food needed and boxed it up; we also counted and cooked the pasties ready to box up. I then washed all the boxes and the baking trays after the pasties had been cooked. Once all the food was cooked and packed we loaded it into the van ready to take to the Cathedral.
11am: I got changed into my wench outfit which consisted of a long black skirt, plain white top with a corset style top on top with poufy sleeves and a mop cap.
11.15am: We left to go to the cathedral and set up the food ready for the children to serve.
12-1.30pm: We filled up the Tudor jugs with juice and half filled all the goblets that are on the table. We then filled up plastic jugs and place them under the table ready for refills. We put bread rolls into baskets for the children to serve to the other children and the abbot. Once the children have got places the Abbot enters the room followed by a procession of lord and ladies (some of the children and dressed as lords and ladies, some as servers and the rest are in normal Tudor dress) After the bread rolls had been served we put the pasties into the baskets ready for the next course, then they had ginger biscuits and an apple each to finish.
1.30pm-2pm: Someone is pulled up for having an English Bible and/or teaching from an English Bible. They are then taken round the corner and “spanked” for punishment, the children look stunned when they hear the screams (its all pretend and to entertain the children of course). Next a play is performed showing the story of St. George; a few of the teachers from the schools take part and some of the children too. Then when we were finished we put the boxes back onto the van ready for the next day.
The whole week was very enjoyable and different. It was good to experience in a kitchen environment and from the catering side of the PCC. On the Friday, when the meal finished, me and Lorraine were called up to see the Abbot, we both thought we were going to be told off for having English Bibles. I was very much surprised and grateful when we were given a beautiful bouquet of flowers each with a butterfly in. I wouldn’t say no to doing this again.
