At Mount Vernon

A number of sources shed light on food and food service at Mount Vernon.  Chief among these are George Washington's carefully maintained financial records, his diaries and correspondence, and the weekly reports received from his farm managers and overseers.  Visitors to the Washington home occasionally recorded their experiences and several were thoughtful enough to include some mention of what and when they were fed, although never in the detail one might wish.  Martha Washington's correspondence and the reminiscences of her grandchildren are invaluable for establishing the household routine and her cookbooks and the housekeeping book kept by her granddaughter, Nelly Custis Lewis, give insight into how various foods might have been prepared.

Slideshow photography of hoecakes and fried loin of lamb by Renee Comet.

Breakfast

The first meal of the day at Mount Vernon was breakfast, taken about 7 o'clock in the morning, or about one to two hours earlier than elsewhere in America and two to four hours earlier than in a comparable household in England.   His only variance from this routine appears to have been on mornings when he went hunting; then he ate breakfast before dawn, by candlelight.

Benjamin Henry Latrobe visited in the summer of 1796 and his diary reveals that people seem to have gathered in "the sitting-room," possibly the West Parlor, prior to breakfast, where "all the latest newspapers were laid out."  He was served what he considered a typical Virginia breakfast consisting of tea, coffee, and cold and broiled meats.

Manasseh Cutler had a similar meal in 1802, which included ham, cold corned beef, cold fowl, red herring, and cold mutton, all garnished with parsley and other vegetables from the garden.  At that meal, Martha Washington sat at the head of the table, where the "tea and coffee equipage" was set up, and served Cutler and his friends with those beverages.

Chocolate was also a favorite breakfast beverage at Mount Vernon; Burges Ball requested in 1794 that Washington send him 2 or 3 bushels of chocolate shells, which he had "frequently drank Chocolate of at Mt. Vernon, as my wife thinks it agreed with her better than any other Breakfast."   Apparently no one lingered over this meal, for Latrobe notes that, "It was very soon over.…"

Sargent found breakfast with the Washingtons to be a "very substantial Repast", but noted that "Indian hoe cake with Butter & Honey seemed the principal Component Parts."   Hoe cake, a "typically American" dish thought by some historians to be a reflection of the slaves' influence on Anglo-American cuisine,  is mentioned by both visitors and Martha's grandchildren as George Washington's typical breakfast.  Julian Ursin Niemcewicz, a Polish visitor, reported that Washington had "tea  and caks made from maize; because of his teeth he makes slices spread with butter and honey…."

According to Nelly Custis Lewis "he ate three small mush cakes (Indian meal) swimming in butter and honey," and drank three cups of tea without cream".  Her younger brother described Washington's discipline regarding breakfast:  "...This meal was with out [sic] change to him whose habits were regular, even to matters which others are so apt to indulge themselves in to endless variety.  Indian cakes, honey, and tea, formed this temperate repast...."  On days when he planned to go hunting, however, Washington seems to have varied from his usual custom by substituting "a bowl of milk" in place of the tea.

Dinner

After breakfast, while George Washington made his habitual eight to fourteen mile ride around his plantation and visitors rambled about the grounds, preparations began for the family's main meal, dinner, which was eaten about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.  Late in his life, her grandson recalled that "Immediately after breakfast" Martha Washington "gave orders for dinner, appointing certain provisions, a pr of ducks, a goose or a turkey to be laid by, to be put down in case of the arrival of company; a very necessary provision in that hospitable mansion.  A ham was boiled daily.…" For those who got hungry between meals, snacks were available.

According to both George Washington Parke Custis and his sister, Nelly, George Washington generally returned to Mount Vernon about 30 minutes or an hour before dinner.   Nelly remembered the usual time for dinner as 3 o'clock, which was typical for a Virginia plantation, except on Sunday, when the family ate an hour earlier, in order to "accommodate his servants with a long afternoon."

Others besides errant teenagers and the domestic staff soon found out, sometimes the hard way, that George Washington was serious about timeliness.  A clergyman who knew Washington as president recalled that the commander-in-chief "would allow five minutes for the variation of clocks and watches, and then go to the table, be present or absent, whoever might."

George Washington expressed preference for things good and fashionable, found expression not only in the furnishings of his home, but in food service, as well. According to one young member of his household, Washington "ate heartily" at dinner, "but was not particular in his diet, with the exception of fish, of which he was excessively fond."   Several French officers stopped at Mount Vernon in 1780 to pay their respects to Mrs. Washington, who invited them to dinner.  One of them, Pierre Etienne Du Ponceau, found that "the table was abundantly served, but without profusion".  He was quite taken with the preserved strawberries he was offered, the first time he had ever seen them.   After the war, in the spring of 1788, a Mr. Winsor had "an exceeding good Dinner" at Mount Vernon, "which was served up in excellent order."

While a number of visitors make references to dining with the Washingtons, only a few go into any detail about the contents or progress of the meal.  In June of 1797, Amariah Frost was given what he considered a "very good" dinner, consisting of "a small roasted pigg, boiled leg of lamb, roasted fowles, beef, peas, lettice, cucumbers, artichokes, etc., puddings, tarts, etc., etc."  Diners asked for whatever drink they desired.  The cloth was removed after dinner, as was customary, and George Washington offered as a toast, "All our Friends."

About a year and a half later, in February 1799, Joshua Brooks recorded a number of helpful details about his dinner at Mount Vernon.  The table was arranged with a leg of boiled pork at the head, a goose at the foot, and the following dishes placed around:  roast beef, round cold boiled beef, mutton chops, hominy, cabbage, potatoes, pickles, fried tripe, onions, etc.  Beverages offered during dinner were wine, porter (a dark heavy ale), and beer.  The tablecloth was wiped off before the second course, which included mince pies, tarts and cheese; then the cloth was removed altogether, and port & madeira wine, two kinds of nuts, apples, and raisins were set out.  The eight diners were attended by three servants.   Both Frost and Brooks record that Martha Washington sat at the head of the table, with the General to her right.  While contemporary Americans tend to assign the host to the head of the table, Mrs. Washington's placement there does not appear to have been unusual at this period.  For example, at the dinner table at Monticello, one of widower Thomas Jefferson's daughters or granddaughters was typically at the head, while Jefferson would take a place "near the other end."

Grace may or may not have been said at meals at Mount Vernon.  The English book, The Honours of the Table, suggested that leaving the table before prayers were said was very bad manners, indicating that it was not unusual to offer thanks after eating.   

After Dinner & Supper

According to Archibald Robertson, dinner concluded with a few glasses of champagne, over which people lingered for about 45 minutes, "when the General and Colonel Lear retired, leaving the ladies in high glee.…"   The ladies do seem to have left the table before the gentleman during more formal public dinners in the executive mansion.  At one meal for congressional leaders, "...the Ladies sat a good While [after dinner] and the Bottles passed about....Mrs. Washington at last withdrew with the Ladies....We did not sit long after the Ladies retired.…"

Later in the day, the Washingtons followed the custom of having tea, which, according to Nelly Custis Lewis, was served "at sunset in summer and at candlelight in winter." Supper was occasionally offered later in the evening, but does not seem to have been a regular meal for the Washingtons.  George Washington Parke Custis noted only that Washington "always took a little tea and toast between six and seven in the evening."   The number of accompanying foods might depend, however, on whether one was having tea several hours after finishing dinner, as in the summer, or almost immediately following dinner, which would be the case in winter.  As president, George Washington himself noted in a letter to his household steward that "we never have suppers nor sudden calls for extra dinners," a statement which was probably true for the presidential mansion, and may indicate his general preference.   Martha Washington's grandson recalled that during a typical family evening, George Washington would leaf through newspapers "while taking his single cup of tea (his only supper)," reading aloud "passages of peculiar interest, making remarks upon the same."  At nine o'clock, he would tell everyone good night and head for his bedroom.