It wouldn’t be Christmas for many without the images of the steaming holly-bedecked Christmas pudding and roast goose with sage and onion stuffing made famous in Charles Dickens’s immortal holiday tale. In fact, it was A Christmas Carol that arguably established a number of Christmas traditions we celebrate to this day, including caroling and turkey in addition to goose for the holiday dinner. But, food in the world of Dickens wasn’t always so merry, as many will remember in thinking of poor Oliver Twist and his bowl of gruel. In between, there were meals of marrow pudding, steak and kidney pie, cod with oyster sauce and a grand variety of cakes and pastries of which even Queen Victoria would approve. In this illustrated talk, writer and food historian, Carl Raymond will take us on a tour through highlights of Dickens’ stories, focusing on how he portrayed food and what is said about his most famous characters.  Also, Carl will provide a general overview of Victorian food and dining, as well as some insights on how Dickens himself felt about what was on the table.

Carl Raymond is a food historian, writer and museum educator. He has worked at the Merchant’s House Museum as well as King Manor Museum in education and programming. Carl trained at French Culinary Institute as well as the Institute for Culinary Education and holds a diploma in Culinary Arts.

He has taught recreational cooking classes throughout New York City and has lectured on food history for the Merchant’s House Museum, the National Arts Club, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, St. George’s Society, Historic Royal Palaces and the English Speaking Union. He was a contributing writer on SAVORING GOTHAM: A Food Lover’s Companion to New York City (Oxford University Press) and is at work on his own book, a culinary history of the Gilded Age.

A part of Royal Oak Foundation’s new digital lecture series.

St. George’s Society members receive $5 OFF the standard ticket price! Contact us for discount code.

Top Image: A Christmas pudding. ©National Trust Images William Shaw

During America’s Gilded Age, everything was opulent and heavily decorated, and above all, meant to impress. From the early 1870s to the beginning of World War I, rich and ambitious families looked to England and France to define their sense of culture and taste. Sumptuous design also influenced the dinner tables of the newly wealthy. While contemporary novelist Edith Wharton was not a food writer, she describes food and table settings, along with fashion and architecture, to highlight significant traits about her fictional characters.

In this illustrated talk, food historian Carl Raymond will delve into the rich culinary history of Gilded Age New York using examples from Wharton’s life and writings, as well as from historical descriptions and menus. From grand dining in hotels such as, the Astor House and the Fifth Avenue Hotel, to the legendary restaurants Delmonico’s and Sherry’s, his lecture will cover the chefs and stories, the dishes and the drama.

He will provide a glimpse of Mrs. Astor’s famous ballroom—with opera suppers for the famous 400—and explore, using rarely seen archival material, what was served at Stanford White and J.P. Morgan’s grand salons. He will capture the Gilded Age’s obsession with the most extravagant food money could buy. From the meals served at lavish tables, to those given to the servants who performed pivotal roles at the grandest social events, Carl will describe the essence and elegance of a vanished era.

Carl Raymond is a food historian, writer and museum educator. He has worked at the Merchant’s House Museum as well as King Manor Museum in education and programming. Carl trained at French Culinary Institute as well as the Institute for Culinary Education and holds a diploma in Culinary Arts.

He has taught recreational cooking classes throughout New York City and has lectured on food history for the Merchant’s House Museum, the National Arts Club, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, St. George’s Society, Historic Royal Palaces and the English Speaking Union. He was a contributing writer on SAVORING GOTHAM: A Food Lover’s Companion to New York City (Oxford University Press) and is at work on his own book, a culinary history of the Gilded Age.

A part of Royal Oak Foundation’s new digital lecture series.

St. George’s Society members receive $5 OFF the standard ticket price! Contact us for discount code.

Top Image: Albert Sterner, Supper at Delmonico's, New York 1898

Journey through British food and dining traditions from the mid-19th century through the early part of the 20th century. Beginning with a look at food references in the work of Charles Dickens which helped establish some of Britain's most cherished culinary traditions, the talk will continue all the way thorough to the world of great town and country houses known to lovers of Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs, this talk will take a look at dining tables both upstairs and downstairs as well as inside and outside the house, including some National Trust properties such as Petworth House and Standen House. Carl Raymond will lead the audience on an illustrated tour of some of the classic dishes of the Victorian and Edwardian periods and discuss their background, how they were prepared and how they were served. In addition, he will discuss cultural and social trends and influences that affected eating and entertaining from the Industrial Revolution to the beginning of World War I.

Carl Raymond is a food historian, writer and museum educator. He has worked at the Merchant's House Museum as well as King Manor Museum in education and programming. Carl trained at French Culinary Institute as well as the Institute for Culinary Education and holds a diploma in Culinary Arts. He has taught recreational cooking classes throughout New York City and has lectured on food history for the Merchant's House Museum, the National Arts Club, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, St. George's Society, Historic Royal Palaces and the English Speaking Union. He was a contributing writer on SAVORING GOTHAM: A Food Lover's Companion to New York City (Oxford University Press) and is at work on his own book, a culinary history of the Gilded Age.

A part of the Royal Oak Foundation's Fall 2018 Lecture Series.

Registration opens 4 September.
St. George’s Society members receive $10 OFF the standard ticket price! Contact us for discount code.

Main Image: Dining Room at Standen House and Garden, West Sussex ©National Trust Images/Chris Lacey
Images (L to R): The Kitchen at Petworth House and Park, West Sussex; Victorian ice cream making utensils in the Larder at Petworth House, West Sussex; The kitchen at Lanhydrock, Cornwall - Copper containers sit on the range ©National Trust Images, Andreas von Einsiedel 

Dining with Mr. Darcy is an overview of the food world throughout the Georgian period and the Regency. The 18th century witnessed great changes in all forms of social life from the growth of the middle class, the of rise industrialization, to a rapid increase on the consumption of new luxury goods. Middle and upper class Georgian tables groaned with succulent roasts, savory puddings, and luscious desserts. With a special  focus on the writings of Jane Austen and food as presented in her novels, Raymond discusses in detail what was and wasn’t on Georgian tables, how it was cooked, as well as new inventions in the kitchen and garden, and even what Jane and her family cooked and ate themselves. Most of all, this talk will consider what one might have encountered should one have had the coveted opportunity to share a meal with Mr. Darcy, himself.

Carl Raymond, a food historian, writer and museum educator, returns to the ESU following his very well received previous talks, At the Queen’s Table and From Dickens to Downton. Carl has worked at the Merchant's House Museum as well as King Manor Museum but trained at the French Culinary Institute as well as the Institute for Culinary Education. He holds a diploma in Culinary Arts. Carl has taught recreational cooking classes throughout New York City and has lectured on food history at the Merchant's House Museum, the National Arts Club, the Metropolitan Opera Guide and the English Speaking Union.  Recently, he was a contributing writer on SAVORING GOTHAM: A Food Lover's Companion to New York City and is at work on his own book—a culinary history of the Gilded Age.

Presented by the English Speaking Union of New York

St. George’s Society members receive $10 OFF the standard ticket price!

For more information, please contact Ed Mohylowski at newyork@esuus.org or 212-818-1200, ext. 218.