The Most Decadent Banquets in History

We may have our differences, but everyone likes the idea of a good meal. Whether the goal was to show off the most intricate and expensive dishes or keep house guests too occupied to stage a revolt, history is full of elaborate banquets. Hosts held nothing back when trying to impress their guests. They provided all kinds of entertainment, from musicians and actors to ladies of the night.
To read more about history's most decadent parties, go here:
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[@NASCARFAN93100]

It's always a good day when Weird History uploads

[@mercenarygundam1487]

Especially if it involves food

[@eleisatrujillo3398]

🎉 and parties 🎉

[@Dahlia-h5i]

iu reference😭😭

[@DragonKingGaav]

I love this narrator's voice!

[@ridureyu]

16 lbs of sugar? That’s just two bowls of breakfast cereal.

[@jessicajames6676]

That's one frap from Starbucks

[@kimmickal]

😂

[@nmarrs8539]

Ha!

[@alidaweber1023]

One more reason why I don't eat breakfast cereal.

[@kotaowens6978]

Laugh!

[@btetschner]

3:48 We had fish on Fridays during the lent season at my public school system (Burwell Public Schools).

[@btetschner]

A+ video! Fascinating history of those Banquets, no wonder people still talk about them!

[@JohnnyAngel8]

1:38 Hilarious interpretation of a German accent. Loved it!

[@NiiloPaasivirta]

Shah Pahlavi's Persian 2,500-years party at 1971 should've been in this video. It was the most expensive, decadent, and fateful party in recent history. It cost tens of millions of dollars and contributed to Iranian Revolution 8 years later. The menu: Quail eggs with caviar from Bandar-e Pahlavi (now Bandar-e Anzali) & Château de Saran champagne; Mousse of crayfish tails, sauce Nantua & Château Haut-Brion blanc 1969; Stuffed saddle of lamb roasted in its juice & Château Latife-Rothschild 1945; champagne sherbert & Moët et Chandon 1911; Peacock à l'Impériale dressed and surrounded by its court & Musigny Comte de Vogüe 1945; Salad composed according to Alexandre Dumas; Glazed oporto ring of fresh figs with cream, raspberry champagne sherbet and port & Dom Pérignon Rosé 1959; and Café Moka & (extremely rare) Cognac Prince Eugène. The coffee was actually Nescafé Instant coffee because they only had two small coffee makers for over 600 guests. None of them noticed it was just instant coffee. All the extremely expensive leftover liqueurs and wines were later poured into the ground by servants, who were muslims and did not drink a single drop of any of them. Also, they got the year wrong. The party was 2,520 years after founding.

[@TheCandiceWang]

Wow yum 🤩

[@anilachar323]

Did the Iranian Revolution spark get kindled after this French Versailles' kind of excess display? Or was it centuries of the Shah's ancestors' excesses?

[@seiph80]

I was thinking the same, should have been mentioned, especially since it was in modern times.

[@missyouwish88]

A salad made according to the author of The Three Musketeers?

[@homuraakemi493]

Poor people ruin everything good in the world

[@fredsanchez5470]

Thank you for coming back

[@CaedusRising]

So nice to hear a weird history with the real narrator

[@giselematthews7949]

William IV came to the throne in 1831, not 1931. 😂

[@Andrea.S.Alvey12]

Would have been impressive to see though, as Wiiliam 4 died in 1837, I think?

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

That had me going back to check what they said. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@liamobrien6151]

I think you meant 1831 for William IV. Also, if you could afford spices in medieval times, you could afford fresh meat.

[@egrintarg230]

Yeah, just put it in the fridge.

[@comusrules1244]

Glad someone else caught that. 1931??? For a minute there i stopped to think. But knew it was a boo boo.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

Not even poor people ate spoiled meat. That would make you sick or kill you. They knew how to preserve things.

[@_ksm0922]

‘Lewdly collected the chestnuts’ Yeah… I’m good without any elaboration.

[@asahearts1]

The spoiled meat thing is a myth. If you could afford saffron, you could afford fresh meat. 😂

[@Andrea.S.Alvey12]

I don't think he was speaking of saffron with that comment. Some herbs and spices could be gathered from fields, wooded areas and gardens. Meat was a huge part of the diet so those not as well off as a king or lord, used every scrap of meat. Nothing was wasted if possible.

[@DaveSCameron]

Indeed yes and for many of us it remains so. 👍 ​@@Andrea.S.Alvey12

[@ASRS-Ltd]

It was never about being able to afford meat.... If you can spend £250k on food then obviously it goes without saying they can afford it. It's more the storage and general accepted condition of the foods in those days I think your missing the point with your comment

[@DaveSCameron]

@@ASRS-Ltd respect

[@TopSecretInformations]

@@ASRS-LtdIndeed. I wondered if someone was going to post that. It was storage issues and being prepared for unexpected circumstances... rich ppl always have back-up plans.

[@hymiecostello6738]

I love this channel My man is a good narrator

[@Dexy83]

What I know about saffron, I learned from Tasting History with Max Miller... He needs to investigate this menu! 😂

[@Andrea.S.Alvey12]

Did you see when he recreated cooking a cockatrice? That was really weird!

[@DevonPerez-k1c]

Love Max Miller!

[@tinas_hotdog_sophie]

You had me at 00:43 (okay, yes, you always have me, but that song is my fave of always and forever)

[@michaelspreitzer5661]

What song is it?

[@ridureyu]

How long does it take for a Pearl to dissolve in wine?

[@justanothergrunt9053]

9 licks

[@btetschner]

2:24 My neighbor, who is from the Netherlands, worked at an egg factory when she moved here. If there was an award for the best new citizen (Pericle's Award?), she would win it.

[@sallykohorst8803]

Interesting stories thanks

[@phenghopeproductions]

It’s a great time when weird history posts

[@VoltasP]

The wealthy didn't use spice in their foods to mask the flavor of rotten meat. If you could afford spices, you could afford fresh meat. Instead, spices helped to preserve meats FROM going bad (many spices have antimicrobial properties) and presumably yes, stometime, somewhere, an unscrupulous chef would throw in an extra handful of spices hoping to cover for an 'off' flavor, but he knew that this was a risky gamble since rotten food is, y'know, a major health hazard and powerful men have a habit of not just firing people who poison them, but actually have them tried for murder. Never, not once in all of history, did a rich person buy spices thinking "Score! Now I can eat rotten food!". It's an old wives tale, PLEASE stop repeating it.

[@TheCandiceWang]

Thx 🙏🏼

[@kandipiatkowski8589]

I ate at Delmonicos in NYC while on a vacation in 2016. Between my adult son and I, our bill was over 200. It was good, but I'll take a 20 steak over the expensive stuff, even tho the atmosphere was nice.

[@JohnnyAngel8]

'son and me' (objects of the preposition 'between')

[@missyouwish88]

I'm jealous...I'm such a picky eater that I wouldn't find anything I liked on the menu 😆

[@locallegendprinting]

Best narrator EVER

[@Friendship1nmillion]

Although , the narrator on Nutty History ( KZbin channel ) whose also a radio DJ in America 🇺🇸 is pretty good too . ♑️✍️🇳🇴🇦🇺

[@btetschner]

11:09 My elder brother lived in an apartment complex named Chateau when he went to college at the University of Nebraska (in Lincoln).

[@aaronsakulich4889]

They didn't use spices to cover up the smell of rotten meat. They used a lot of spices to show off that they could afford a lot of spices. Hope this helps.

[@nala2839]

It’s a bit of both if that helps

[@btetschner]

1:30 Reminds me of all the dancing on the film Titanic (1997)!

[@temureviewer33]

Don't go away again it's like when dad goes to get the milk you never know if their coming back

[@dwaynegregorn]

love this channel.

[@madelinevanderbunny607]

Not to be pedantic well actually yeah this is admittedly pedantic but the popularity of spices had nothing to do with spoiled meat. They ate spiced food because they liked it just like we do. Spices were prohibitively expensive in the middle ages the only people who could afford to eat highly spiced food were very unlikely to be eating spoiled meat.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

Yes and it's not like humanity was clueless about how to prevent food from going bad prior to the invention of refrigerators. Nobody was eating spoiled meat.

[@btetschner]

6:41 Reminds me of the book A Sportsman's Sketches by Ivan Turgenev (1852). It is a collection of short stories.

[@btetschner]

4:03 Those are the types of conversations Aquaman probably has with the fish! lol

[@Friendship1nmillion]

I'd like to see a video ( IF it's possible to be made ) of history's most luxurious Christmas day celebrations . A video about the most gourmet last meals ( for a prisoner Or hostages during war ) wouldn't be bad either . ♑️✍️🇳🇴🇦🇺

[@videogamevalley7523]

damn they partied hard back in the day

[@btetschner]

1:39 Hahaha! Reminds of the NÜTRL girl who says "the one with the unlaut."

[@btetschner]

3:41 When we played as a Poker League (for Texas Hold 'em), I was dealt a King and Queen of diamonds and I flopped a Royal Flush. I kept the deck after the hand and framed the Diamond Royal Flush. Years later, "Diamonds" by Rihanna was the #1 hit song on my 33rd birthday.

[@julianaylor4351]

Pieces of Queen Elizabeth the second's wedding cake, who was married when she was still Princess Elizabeth, have also been sold at auction. I think because I have a sweet tooth, I would have loved to eat royal wedding cake or Elizabethan desserts.

[@IWillNvr4Get]

🎉🎉🎉🎉Love, Love, Love Weird History !!🎉🎉🎉🎉 (Info that makes you go hmmm)🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@vaibanez17]

Appraiser: It's an Entenmann's. Peterman: Do they have a castle at Windsor? Appraiser: No, they have a display case at the end of the aisle.

[@lukemn29]

Love me some "World History".

[@Electriceye1984bySam]

Love your humor😂

[@elizabeth_m687]

@weirdhistory Would it be possible to do a video on any interesting/notorious Maharajahs of India...?? Ive never seen any documentaries on such a subject (my surname is Maharajah too, so there's that 😂)

[@egrintarg230]

If only I had a time machine. I would love to have seen some of these.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

Most of it sounds very heavy but delicious!

[@btetschner]

1:04 The film Black Swan (2010) is on my January Watchlist, trying to figure out the best time to watch it!

[@StrangeHistory-tr2xs]

Got some great ideas for my wife’s birthday now

[@monkeygraborange]

Chestnuts?

[@StrangeHistory-tr2xs]

@@monkeygraborange 😂 no. The flower budget- she deserves the best

[@seekertosecrets]

2:33 But for 18 days? What is this? Woodstock? 4:40 Waaaaaaaay too much. You would have to dig your way through the layers to get to the meat! 4:45 Oh, come on! 12:02 That is dirty even for a king! 13:17 Now, that sounds like an orgy!

[@phabianmuok4066]

I'm new here. I like it here

[@madaro504]

I ordered 2 bigmacs once...ate them both... bang!!!!

[@btetschner]

8:14 Awesome story and idea!

[@ridureyu]

It’s scary how small Delmonico’s is by today’s rich people standards.

[@michellewilson6249]

Oh I love this one. Due to inflation high prices on food. I can live vicariously through my favorite weird history.

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Interesting. Thanks! 🍽

[@onetwothree9]

Really curious about which liquid is suppossedly strong enough to dissolve pearls yet still safe to drink.

[@lilitharam44]

Ready for the new Timeline series!

[@btetschner]

0:40 I am curious where the phrase "Tore up from the floor up" came from, awesome slang!

[@lb40713]

Yay! Richard!!!

[@gunhawk22]

Hello Weird History. Could you Please Do a(n) KZbin Episode on Ouija Boards. Where and When Did the Game Concept come From? Is it a Pathway to a world of Ghosts that’s used for Communication? Thank You for your time and KEEP the Episodes coming.

[@mercenarygundam1487]

Great, I'm hungry now....

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

Watching this video made me feel so hungry

[@JT-dc6ol]

this is my fav narrator voice on this channel

[@Fourwedge]

Great video

[@ASRS-Ltd]

William IV. 1931. Erm I think you may need to edit your video 🤣🤣🤣.

[@btetschner]

1:16 Mia Wasikowska plays Alice in the film Alice in Wonderland (2010). I watched the film Crimson Peak (2015) on New Year's Eve Eve (per a recommendation from The Cobwebs channel), awesome film!

[@-Thauma-]

Thanks Sweetheart ❤❤

[@samcyr7314]

I wouldn't mind attending the chestnut event.

[@Andrea.S.Alvey12]

Wasn't the son featured at about timestamp 12:16, the model for a few paintings such s Jesus in prayer in the garden before his arrest? ETA: correction time 12:35.

[@starflakey]

the star trek one! 🙄 😆

[@btetschner]

I am going to watch the videos: x What Medieval Junk Food Was Like (first thumbnail recommendation, second time to watch) x What People Ate To Survive The Victorian Era (Second Thumbnail Recommendation) x What the Average Medieval Diet Was Like x Frivolous Foods The French Upper-class Ate While The Peasants Starved

[@TheRealSuperShadow]

6:17 William IV wasn’t alive in 1931. He lived from 1765 to 1837. 6:44 George V not George IV.

[@julianaylor4351]

There was a fashion at late mediaeval banquets that persisted into the early Northern European renaissance, to create edible table pieces of animal parts, sewn together, cooked and stuffed, to resemble a heraldic creature. The most common one to create was a supposed Cockatrice, made of chicken and pork sewn together, cooked and stuffed. There are modern videos of this banquet set piece being created. Some pieces also featured venison, often because it was a meat like swan and large game birds, that only the rich ate. I once tried grouse, it was disgusting, I prefer duck and pheasant, none of which are now rich people's food, because both can be found in most supermarkets.

[@rickyspeople]

Chicken and pork co-mingling makes the BEST gravy!

[@paulpopielski5261]

A couple of bad puns but I loved them.

[@ivarkich1543]

0:45 What's the musical piece in the background here?

[@glennso47]

Herod had a banquet that cost John the Baptist his head.

[@user-chemistpharmacist]

Wow.

[@lavenderflowersfall280]

This was fun! 😂 Except Louie. He's mean.

[@TheCharityLin]

I’d love a video on the history of exercise! Like, where it “began” and how it’s evolved

[@Watch-0w1]

Definitely the last one

[@demonorse]

Congress of vienna. Went on for months.

[@Susieq26754]

They must of had some good amphetamines back then. To eat, drink and dance until 4:30 am.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

Enough booze will do that to people.

[@DaveSCameron]

No mention of the late 1944 get together of the remaining NSDAP glitterati and their firing off V2 rockets in the grounds of the Ardennes castle as they awarded Iron Crosses in here, I would have thought it was perfect for this upload. #OurHistory 📚

[@mikitz]

As if Richard III knew he would be killed two years in.

[@missyouwish88]

More like celebrating the death of 2 little princes, perhaps?

[@The7Reaper]

Itd be nice have this kind of money, at this point this feels like the kind of money you spend just to eat McDonalds now

[@NewMessage]

Geeze... Makes my bag of pepperettes look kinda measly.

[@josepha.r5839]

Capote's Black and White Ball

[@btetschner]

Eating ANOTHER Weird History meal! Eating RED BARON PIZZA* (supreme)...while watching this Weird History video! * From the Weird History video "The History of the Frozen Pizza"

[@ricklee5845]

Doggone! This is a far cry from the chuck wagon 'cuisine' of a cattle drive! 🤠

[@isabel_withonel9554]

lol why is nobody talking about the painting at the end of the video specifically around 13 minutes

[@user-chemistpharmacist]

Interesting.

[@sablewright8053]

It wasn't 1931 when king william iv was crowded king with his coronation. The documentary got this wrong I am afraid. You guys that made this probably meant 1831, not 1931. Both William IV and George IV were long dead by 1931. No disrespect of course.

[@cookedcandy3]

Del Monico (different spelling, but close) Here!!! 0:44

[@2000mday]

This guy sounds like the Scream killer.

[@lexigrimhaive]

@6:17 1931? What are you talking about?! William IV of England was king from 1830 to 1837. That’s literally a century different and is EASILY verifiable!!!

[@CwL-1984]

They didn't go to the sizzler, I'm shocked

[@MondoProducer]

Dry almonds? Non bene.

[@galloe8933]

See, that's where you're wrong OG host guy. Nero will always be a crazy Roman Emperor, and a Star Trek guy, but Nero is also CD/DVD burning software. Forget all of this, the comment was just a little food for the algorithm.

[@flowersforthedead5182]

Im so glad the spoiled meat thing is a lie. Everything sounds so good now. Thanks internet historians.

[@Rekshek]

William the IV is 1831*

[@gitgeronimo9375]

Ahhh, the old VO is back!

[@babygirl2638]

William IV was in 1831 not 1931

[@btetschner]

1:57 An 18 day festival! It is such a radical difference from today...where some people will cry about being uncomfortable at a party after 15 minutes!

[@btetschner]

8:14 Amazing costume, very hot!