The trifle was a hit, but the plum pudding took some getting used to when some Frankfort Junior High Schools students staged their own Victorian Christmas feast Monday.
As they read Charles Dickens’ classic tale “A Christmas Carol,” 8th graders in Sheron Bundy’s language arts class researched the lifestyles and holiday celebrations of Victorian England.
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In a classroom with posters depicting everything from hairstyles to recipes, youngsters feasted on roast chicken, ham, mashed potatoes and some traditional British delicacies, such as scones and sausage rolls.
The scones and sausage rolls as well as the trifle, a layered dessert featuring sponge cake, custard, fruit and whipped cream, were the real deal, prepared by Stephen Haar, 14, with help from his grandmother, Greta Haar, who grew up in England.
“I always try to do things the way my family did them,” said Greta Haar of Park Forest.
Even with a family connection to Dickens’ homeland, Stephen Haar encountered surprises as he researched the Victorian era.
“They didn’t have turkeys or anything like that,” he said. “They had to eat goose.”
And Christmas trees weren’t common until Queen Victoria introduced the German custom, he said.
“Take polite portions,” Bundy instructed as boys and girls filed by the buffet table. “Is no one being adventurous and trying the plum pudding?”
Even the unfamiliar dishes were preferable to cafeteria food, according to Jaclyn Wegner, 13. “It’s better than the lunch we usually have everyday,” said Wegner, who joined forces with Laura Severson and Lyndsey Whittingham to roast the chicken.
White chocolate cameos in pastel colors were among the best things on the menu, according to Katelyn Kappel, 13.
Cameo chefs Michelle Meyman,13, and Anna Trefil, 14, were happy to have their labors recognized. “It took us so long,” Anna said.
Jeff Knoll, 13, liked the variety of the menu. “There’s a lot of stuff,” he said.
When it came to Victorian lifestyles, he wasn’t too impressed. “Some of it’s all right,” he said. “I think you’d get used to it if you grew up that way.”