Consuming a Tradition

In those rare, spare moments, in which he would run out of eligible brides or stop being generally mean to his children, the red-bearded English king Henry VIII (1491-1547) was a real gourmet.

He loved being served a wide array of foods -- ornate sweet or savory pies, quivering molded gelatins, rich puddings, tangy artichoke, roast pheasant and turkeys from newly discovered America, seasoned with funky spices from the orient -- and in such enormous quantities that even his mighty, royal tummy occasionally had to give up.

This meant, of course, that his fun-loving kitchen staff would from time to time be allowed to scrape off the leftovers and feel -- in a 15th century version of the 15 minutes of fame -- grateful to divine providence.

Roast meat became at the time a feature of every dinner. Oftentimes it was a piece of game, especially boar or venison, from an animal brought down by the king during his armed frolicking in the country. ("Try to lay low today," his iconoclastic servants used to say. "The fat one is going on a shooting spree again.")

Good, old days

In those days, a Sunday roast was truly roasted -- on a spit, turned slowly over an open fire and marinated continually by loyal servants. A similar procedure was applied to witches and political opponents, but those were usually not served for dinner.

Today's "roast," which is prepared in an oven, is really nothing more than a glorified bake. It lacks the delightful smoky taste that used to make Henry VIII jump up and down with pleasure after running his greasy fingers through his red beard. It is nonetheless, a traditional British meal -- served with potatoes, peas and carrots -- and one of the truly universal traditions in Anglophile culture.

Now, an enterprising young scholar from Germany, continuing an ancient academic tradition, has decided to mix business with pleasure. Communications student Rebecca Carl, 26, from Leipzig in former communist East Germany, has turned her research project into a respectable way of getting free food. She is asking British families to open their hearts and hearths, and invite her to their homes on Sundays.

A unique tradition?

Carl is planning to eat a Sunday lunch with a different family each week until she gets her master's degree in visual communication at Swansea Institute, in south Wales. She will document her visits, write down her observations, take digital photographs and tape conversations in order to get to the bottom of this "uniquely British-origin ritual."

"My goal is to get around 10 families to take part," Carl said. "Back in Germany, Sunday lunch is nothing special. Here it is traditional."

Many a German traditionalist will beg to differ. Germany is no stranger to roasted meat, and Sunday lunch is not exactly a hot-dog matter in most German families. But it is always good to appeal to the British sense of tradition -- especially if one expects to get a free lunch of total strangers.

Carl is particularly interested in the social aspects of the Sunday roast meal.

"It's not just about the food," Carl said. "It's about the communication and the pictures. These things are important to me."