Newest Exhibit Debuts: Hoecakes & Hospitality
Anyone who comes to Mount Vernon can pass through the Mansion’s large and small dining room and out into the kitchen. Tables are set and seasonal faux food is placed about. But beginning Feb. 18, Mount Vernon’s newest temporary exhibit, Hoecakes & Hospitality: Cooking With Martha Washington, gives visitors a fuller picture as to the culinary habits of those living on the estate in the 18th century.
Visitors are greeted by scents of cinnamon, coffee, herbs and warm bread as they take in more than 125 objects associated with the Washingtons and food. Highlights include the Washingtons’ dinner bell, a heart-shaped waffle iron, a vente-sized Chinese porcelain mug, a coffee mill, a three-foot olive jar, presidential dinner invitations and other kitchen items. The exhibit touches on everyone from Martha Washington to the slaves who prepared the Washingtons’ meals. Visitors can also take away recipe cards for some of Martha Washington’s most famous dishes, such as her ragoo of asparagus and great cake.
Hoecakes and Hospitality is included as part of admission to the estate; the exhibit will be on display in the Donald W. Reynolds Museum through mid-August, 2013.
Tags: food, George Washington, george washington wired, HOecakes & hospitality, Mount Vernon
