Dining with the Washingtons
A Culinary History

"Sargent found breakfast with the Washingtons to be a 'very substantial Repast,' noting, 'Indian hoe cake with Butter & Honey seemed the principal Component Parts.'" – from "Served up in excellent order: Everyday Dining at Mount Vernon."











To read about the protracted Revolutionary War, we come to see Washington as the center point of virtually all activities, from its inception at Bunker Hill until its finale in South Carolina – all action, trudging and strain. There were, of course, no assurances that it would end well for the hodgepodge Continental Army. Against this backdrop of action and struggle, we begin to see another side, that which was being protected, when we see life at Mt. Vernon, an idyllic estate functioning by slow time, slow food, and a daily routine that would have served as a stay against the surrounding chaos (speaking strictly of the Washington family, not servants or slaves. It is hinted at that both were treated very well here, but a relative assessment). When thinking about modern notions of the slow food movement, we might ask how would we live and how would we eat if we created our own daily rhythms in which the body and mind followed its own cues and hungers instead of the sometimes seemingly unusual modern habits of a rushed cereal breakfast, a processed lunch on the go, and an over portioned supper sometimes to be eaten at 7 in the evening? At Mt. Vernon there was a balance between the need for work – staying busy and productive through the daylight hours – and eating portions and at times that worked well within this daily farm cycle.  Both Mr. and Mrs. Washington rose early; for George, this might have meant reading the dailies and taking notes by candlelight as early as 4 or 5 in the morning, then maybe a light breakfast by 7 a.m. standard, in order to prepare for an 8-14 mile ride around the property of the sake of management. For Martha, this might have meant either an early assistance with the preparation a light breakfast or a long walk along the piazza for exercise.  The breakfast could have been as light as hoe cake, butter, honey and three cups of tea for George, or as heavy as "ham, cold corned beef, cold fowl, red herring, and cold mutton, all garnished with parsley and garden vegetables," for a visitor such as Massachusetts Congressman Manasseh

Cutler. Breakfast wasn't typically a lingering affair as dinner would be later that day at 3 p.m., a standard plantation hour for dining. Breakfast was the farmer house preparation time, waking with tea, coffee or Chocolate ... "at Mount Vernon, as my Wife thinks it agreed with her better than any other Breakfast." The hours after were spent in preparation for the larger daily meal. "For those who were hungry in the meantime, snacks, both sweet and savory, were available." And finally, in a sort amusing image, if the small snacks were not enough to counter the early to mid day hunger, George might have very well carried along with him on his jaunts around the property a 'Farmer's Lunchbox,' with sandwich. At fifteen minutes to 3:00, the grounds bell would ring and all comers were notified that it was time to freshen and descend at the dining table for the more substantial feast, always shared with visitors, then followed by the round of desserts, madeira and conversation sometimes lasting into the evening. This particular day would have rallied around prideful work, reading and writing, slow food, family and visitors, and a relatively early bed time, in essence components that modern culture has lost touch with but are trying restore through a variety of subtle practices such as home permaculture, homemade pantry stock, work schedules with flexibility, some homeschooling, and a rising interest in re-learning folk crafts. It seems that culture is necessarily taking stock in the idea once again that Time is of the essence: either we create it, or somebody else does for us.