Writer and historian Becky Libourel Diamond talks about her book”The Gilded Age Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from America’s Golden Era.”
About the Book:
The American Gilded Age (1868 to 1900) and its extreme extravagance continue to be a source of wonder and fascination, particularly for foodies. The style and excessiveness of this era has ties to modern popular culture through books, films and television shows, including “The Alienist” and the Julian Fellowes TV series “The Gilded Age” on HBO.
“The Gilded Age Cookbook” transports the reader back in time to lavish banquet tables set with snow-white linen tablecloths, delicate china, and sparkling crystal glasses. Cuisine featuring rich soups, juicy roasts, and luscious desserts come to life through historic images and artistic photography. Gilded Age details and entertaining stories of celebrities from the era – the Vanderbilts, Astors, Goelets and Rockefellers – are melded with historic menus and recipes updated for modern kitchens.
About the Author:
Becky Libourel Diamond has had a varied career combining writing and research as a food writer, librarian, and historian. Her previous book, “The Thousand Dollar Dinner,” tells the unique story of a nineteenth-century “Top Chef”-style competition between Philadelphia restauranteur James Parkinson and the Delmonico family of New York. The result was a luxurious seventeen-course feast that helped launch fine restaurant dining in America as we know it today. She is also the author of “Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s Cooking School”, a successful nineteenth-century pastry chef who also ran an innovative cooking school for young women – a Philadelphia first.