3 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

John Slater. Appointed messenger to the Navy Office in July 1660; it was he who usually collected the traveling charges of the Principal Officers from the Navy Treasury.

L&M Companion

Third Reading

Kentish Karen  •  Link

Re. Slater the messenger / cook: I wonder if he ever served in the navy & could have learned his culinary skills there? I have no idea a) if he did, & b) what the state of food / cooking onboard ship was actually like in the 17th century... presumably the captain / officers / VIP passengers at least required some sort of decent meals? It can't always have been just weevil-y biscuits? (I think I remember Sam dining in cabins on his sea-going travels a few months ago?)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Kentish Karen -- A description of Adm. Montagu's kitchen aboard ship in May 1660 can be found at https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

I think the level of food served on board ship would be vastly different when moored in a port, from being on a month's long sea voyage. They did take livestock and throw in the occasional line to catch fish, but that only gets you so far.
Notes on Navy Victualling at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

And as to how Slater learned his culinary skills, we will never know.

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References

Chart showing the number of references in each month of the diary’s entries.

1661