The Thousand Dollar Dinner: Culinary Contests of the Gilded Age (Re-Air)

Tickets: $18.88 ( incl. $3.88 fees ) (includes access to the full replay for one week)

Click the link below to officially register for this experience:

https://www.nyadventureclub.com/event/1985067657801

This is a re-aired recording of this program’s most recent live webinar. Once the viewing period ends, this recording will not be offered again for at least one year.

Culinary competitions, where one chef tries to top another through over-the-top dishes and techniques, are a common fixture on today’s reality television cooking shows. But did you know that these contests became all the rage during the fine dining revolution that swept the United States in the mid-19th century? It's time to uncover the era of grand banquets of the Gilded Age, and perhaps the most famous of them all — The Thousand Dollar Dinner of 1851.

Join New York Adventure Club as we delve into the driving forces behind the culinary contest phenomenon of the American Gilded Age, which fueled excessive displays of wealth by the uber-rich and helped redefine class structures throughout 19th century America.

Led by author and food historian Becky Libourel Diamond, our fun and informative virtual experience will include:

• A look at the vast number of culinary technological changes and developments that exploded during the Gilded Age, which ushered in unique types of food that forever changed dining habits
• An in-depth look at the 12-hour, 17-course feast known as The Thousand Dollar Dinner, which took place at James Parkinson’s Philadelphia restaurant in 1851 — from its significance within culinary history to its role as a trailblazing force in these type of dining competitions
• A discussion behind what types of foods were typically served at these dinners and why, such as oysters, turtle, game birds and fancy desserts
• A look at common wine pairings at the time and how and why they might seem odd or different to our modern palates
• An explanation of dining à la française (French style), which was used for centuries versus the new way of dining à la russe (Russian style)
• The role presentation played in these extravagant dishes, and the training and technique behind them
• Why the settings for these contests varied — some were at the mansions of the ultra-wealthy while others were at restaurants
• The men who drove these competitions, including Leonard Jerome (financier and maternal grandfather of Winston Churchill), William Travers (a wealthy Wall Street lawyer and investor), and banker August Belmont (founder of the Belmont Stakes horse race)

See you there, virtually!

*Immediately upon registering, you will receive a separate, automated email containing the link to join this webinar
**For the best possible viewing experience, please ensure you're using the latest version of your internet browser
***A full replay of the experience will be available to all registered guests for up to a week
****If the event has already passed, but it's been less than a week, you can still register for it on our website's active replay section!

About Becky
Becky Libourel diamond is a writer, librarian, and research historian. She has been writing about food since 2008, parlaying her passion for food and history into the publication of The Gilded Age Cookbook (August 2023), The Thousand Dollar Dinner and Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s First Cooking School. Her current project is Process: A History of Processed Food. She lives in Yardley, PA.

Testimonials
"Great content about dining in the Gilded Age, which will help me in my service wing tours at Old Westbury Gardens." -Lauren
"It was a great romp through this era of history, as demonstrated in the dining luxuries of the wealthy. It was fun to learn the cooking methods and implements and also how the competitiveness of these robber Barren types manifested in culinary restaurant battles. Such as the thousand dollar dinner. I’ve never heard of this part of the Gilded Age, but it reveals so much about the social history, as well as the how dramatically the economic contrasts in that era were displayed. Becky gave us so many photos and facts that it was a total delight to watch. Great work, Becky with all of your details and research! I just got the last paperback copy of the book on this from Amazon😊" -Sharon
"Lots of interesting information" -Susan
"Very personable, knowledgeable presenter. Had never heard about the Thousand Dollar dinner amongst all the other lectures I've attended about Gilded Age food, so I learned something new!" -Jacqueline
"Interested connect, well presented by the woman that literally wrote the book. Keep up the great work!" -Jennifer

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Categories: Virtual, Gilded Age