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Members of the Historic Foodways department prepare food in the kitchen of the Governor's Palace.

Members of the Historic Foodways department prepare food in the kitchen of the Governor's Palace.

Foodways

Dining experience important in colonial times

Food played a very important part in the social lives of 18th-century Virginians. Aside from providing basic sustenance, dining was also one of the most important ways that colonial Virginians exchanged information. The dining process might last for two hours in some upper-class households. It wasn't unusual for a conversation that began at a dinner table to continue well into the night. The taverns of Williamsburg also provided the food, drink, and atmosphere the helped propel the American Revolution. On numerous occasions, the Burgesses retired to one of Williamsburg’s many taverns to continue their political discussions with food and drink.

Governor's Palace served finest foods

The foods and preparation techniques used by colonial Virginians varied depending upon the wealth and social standing of the citizenry. Meals at the Governor’s Palace served those at the pinnacle of social standing. The last two Royal governors employed professionally trained European cooks. Known as "principal cooks," these men were the highest paid servants on the property. They served an apprenticeship in Europe and had a level of training and skill unmatched in Virginia. The Governor was able to provide these cooks with the best-equipped kitchen in the colony. The governor’s cuisine reflected the French influence popular among upper class English society.

The household inventory for Governor Botetourt listed numerous copper pots, a spit jack, and an eight-day clock. Based upon the inventory, Colonial Williamsburg added a charcoal-burning stew stove to the Palace kitchen in 1994.

Gentry served food in English fashion

The Virginia gentry were next in wealth and status. They demonstrated their social standing by providing a wide variety of meats and sweets at each meal prepared in a more traditional English fashion. The Virginia gentry employed slave cooks who were less formally trained than the governor's cooks, but they were extremely skilled nonetheless. Highly skilled cooks were expensive and prized possessions. One slave cook who was known for her skill was Lydia Broadnax, who developed her reputation cooking for the Wythe family for many years and was eventually granted her freedom.

Middling class provided less variety

Next in social standing in the18th century were the middling class, who were less able to provide the variety and choices that the gentry could. They probably emulated the gentry when entertaining but ate more basic foods on a daily basis. The upper middling classes may have employed slave cooks, while the less well-off relied on the cooking talents of the mistress of the house.

Lower class prepared one-pot meals

Most colonial Virginians fell into the bottom rung of the social ladder. The poor were very limited in cooking equipment, often having only one cast iron pot. The wife of the house prepared basic soups and grain porridges. The most common type was hominy, made from corn, often flavored with salt-cured pork and vegetables. This basic diet was supplemented with whatever meats and vegetables they could obtain.

About the Department of Historic Foodways

The Department of Historic Foodways was created in 1983, with the purpose of researching and recreating the foods of the 18th century. The department currently operates daily in the Governor’s Palace kitchen and the Peyton Randolph kitchens. In addition to the kitchen cooking programs, Foodways also offers these special programs:

  • "From Hog to Ham" – the butchering and curing of hams
  • "The Arts and Mysteries of Brewing" – the world of colonial brewing
  • "Secrets of the Chocolate Maker" – the processing and use of chocolate

The department runs demonstration kitchens at the Governor’s Palace and the Peyton Randolph House. Historic Foodways is currently involved in research on food-related topics including food preservation, brewing, dairying, and military foods. Another research project involves the creation of a cookbook, which will have 200 to 300 colonial "receipts," or recipes, in the original language and a contemporary adaptation allowing the recipes to be prepared at home. The Department of Historic Foodways is now led by Frank Clark.

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