Edwardian Promenade

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, meals could be obtained at chop houses, coaching inns, hotels, and coffee houses, yet all these ways of eating were deemed unsuitable for respectable women, who generally ate at home. This situation changed in the 1860s with the arrival of better railway hotels, who welcomed women in the [...]

After reading The New York Magazine’s list of the Top 20 Chef Empires, and perusing a few culinary books I’d borrowed from the library, I was struck, dumbstruck actually, that all save one of those twenty names are those of men. Many would argue that the age of modern cookery was of the turn of [...]

The evolution of formal dining begins in the medieval era, where dining became a sign of social status. At that time, the table setting included the Salt Cellar, which was the first thing put on the table. The salt was far more than a condiment–to sit above the salt was to sit in the place [...]

More than one’s residence, food and fashion greatly demarcates the wealth–or poverty–of the individual or family. During the Edwardian era, this was never more true, though, with the introduction of mass produced foods in America, those with less wealth could now afford to eat a bit more healthier.
Starting at the top, the upper classes or [...]

As “First Family,” the President, his wife and children, and any other dependents, had their needs and cares were catered to by a bevy of secretaries, secret service agents, and most important of all, domestic servants!
According to Helen Taft, “the management of the White House is a larger task than many women are ever called [...]

“Those meals! Those endless, extravagant meals in which they all indulged all the year round!…First two soups, one hot and one cold were served simultaneously; then two kinds of fish followed, again one hot and one cold. Then came an entrée, then a meat dish, followed by a sorbet. This was followed by game — [...]

As the boulevards are associated with Paris, Hyde Park with London and Fifth Avenue with New York City, so also is the cafe entwined with the city of Vienna. Such was the renown of the Viennese cafe, Mark Twain was moved to rapture: “that unapproachable luxury–that sumptuous coffee-house, compared with which all European [...]

“A glass of absinthe is as poetical as anything in the world. What difference is there between a glass of absinthe and a sunset?” –Oscar Wilde
Invented by a Frenchman towards the end of the eighteenth century, absinthe was not originally known as the swirling, intoxicating drink favored by boulevardiers and artists. Dr. Pierre Ordinaire meant [...]