Thank you to all who came out for the first in our 2016 series Evening with the Experts with Mr. Ivan Day, one of Britain’s foremost food historians. Day is particularly noted for his reconstructions of period meals and has curated exhibits in many museums in the US and Europe including the Getty Museum, the New York City Metropolitan Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Ivan Day (left) explaining the tricks and tips of “period” foods.
In Royal Ragoos: Courtly Dining and the Cookery in Early Georgian Britain, Day took us back to a time where food was not only for fuel, but for presentation and a statement of wealth. The craftsmanship of the dishes presented to 17th Century royalty were incredibly and painstakingly beautiful—and all done without electricity! They even had ice cream..and molded it to look like vegetables and fruit!
If you look closely you can see whole crayfish in the mold.
We thank Mr. Day for taking time out from his holiday to give this lecture. We should also point out that he is the elder brother of Grand Turk residents Seamus and Paul, who are our friends and neighbors.
Open spit cooking was done on a different scale than your back yard bar-b-que grill. It all looks good enough to eat!
This Twelfth cake, served on the feast day of the Epiphany, was intricately iced with two gilded sugar crowns, for the king and queen of the evenings events.
Ivan Day in a typical kitchen of the period.
For more about the work of Ivan Day see the following links:
NY Times: Setting a Place for History
BBC Country File: The Evolution of the Country Christmas Dinner
Historic Food: A Feast for the Eyes
The Getty Museum: Celebrating Sugar in The Edible Monument
As a member, you can have a front row seat to these special events. Join the Museum today so that you too can experience this wonderful series for free! Non-members $10.
