Jacob Jordaens - The Feast of the Bean King - Google Art Project

A bean-feast, also known as beano in Britain, is an informal term for a celebratory meal or party, especially an annual summer dinner given by an employer to their employees. Its probable origin is the

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

festival from the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. By extension, colloquially, it describes any festive occasion with a meal and perhaps an outing. An alternative derivation refers the name to the eating of a dish of beans and bacon, and seems to trace to 1725, when Daniel Day of

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...

, London began to entertain friends near his estate at

Fairlop Fairlop is a district in the north of Ilford, part of the London Borough of Redbridge in east London. The district consists of fields, forestry and open land providing space for sport/ activity centres (Redbridge Sport Centre), some houses, far ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

on the first Friday in July. A goose, which is the ''raison d’être'' of the feast, has been dropped out of the name, though a goose was always the staple of the entertainment. A

bean goose The bean goose (''Anser fabalis'' or ''Anser serrirostris'') is a goose that breeds in northern Europe and Eurosiberia. It has two distinct varieties, one inhabiting taiga habitats and one inhabiting tundra. These are recognised as separate spe ...

is a migratory bird, arriving in UK in autumn and going northwards in April. It takes its name from the likeness of the upper part of the bill to a horse-bean. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the beanfeast often took the form of a trip to some beauty spot, where the meal was provided. (e.g. "I want a feast, I want a bean feast. Cream buns and doughnuts and fruitcake with no nuts, so good you could go nuts. " — Veruca Salt, ''

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' by Roald Dahl. The film ...

'') It is derived from the Twelfth Night feast, at which a

king cake A king cake, also known as a three kings cake, is a cake associated in many countries with Epiphany. Its form and ingredients are variable, but in most cases a () such as a figurine, often said to represent the Christ Child, is hidden insid ...

or pie with a special object or "favour" buried in it was a great feature. This remains a common custom in much of Europe and former European colonies; in the US mainly in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Elsewhere the favour took various forms, including metal tokens and small pottery figures. In the Low Countries a bean was usual. The bean king for the rest of the night was the person who had the slice of cake containing the bean. The king (or queen) was given a paper crown to wear, and appointed various court officials. When the king took a drink, all the party shouted "the king drinks". The subject was often painted by Flemish Baroque and

Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republ ...

, especially

Jacob Jordaens Jacob (Jacques) Jordaens (19 May 1593 – 18 October 1678) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and tapestry designer known for his history paintings, genre scenes and portraits. After Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, he was the leading Fle ...

and

Jan Steen Jan Havickszoon Steen (c. 1626 – buried 3 February 1679) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour. Life ...

.Hermitage Museum''Beans: A History''
Ken Albala, p. 45

References

{{reflist Traditions Dining events Iconography

See also

References