You will all have heard of the saying food fit for a king.
Well, one hundred years ago this month a discovery was made that attracted the fascination of the world and continues to do so today.
For even a century on, we continue to learn new things about the history of mankind thanks to the treasures of the tomb of the teenage pharaoh known as Tutankhamun.
King Tut died aged 19 after a reign of ten years. He was laid to rest in a tomb of several chambers, cut into the rockface, a recent practice to replace the spectacular pyramids which had proved easy targets for grave robbers.
Though afforded the usual burial splendour reserved for rulers, he did not live long in the memory of ancient Eqyptians and as the shifting sands of the desert covered his tomb he lay in peace, undisturbed for over 3,000 years.
Then on November 4 1922 the English archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered the first step of the staircase that led to the burial chamber.
King Tut would gain the immortality all Eqyptian rulers had craved and though he would not get to enjoy the splendours he was buried with, the hoard of over 5,000 items, including food intended to sustain him through the afterlife, would educate the world on early civilisation.
Though the nearby Nile was teeming with life, fish was not considered fit for Eqyptian Kings. It was seen as the fare of common folk so none made it to posthumous pantry and neither did the peoples meats of chicken or pork.
Instead, carefully stacked beneath a ritual couch in the shape of a spotted cow, Carter and his team unearthed 48 boxes of the finest food known to the ancient world – including cuts of beef, gazelle, veal, duck, goose, and pigeon.
There were also dozens of woven baskets containing bread, figs, pomegranates, dates and melons and for the teenager’s sweet tooth, liquorice root and honey. One part of the chamber was given over to a wine cellar with each bottle labelled with the year and vineyard of origin as well as the name of the chief vintner.
Nowadays you don’t have to be royalty or fabulously wealthy to enjoy the best of world food, thanks to the SK range anyone can pick it up from their local supermarket. The wide range available may not feed a craving for immortality, but it will satisfy your hunger.
