Food Culture at Mount Vernon

The Washingtons' relied on a group of enslaved cooks, butlers, and waiters to serve their guests. 

Washington preferred his hoecakes "swimming in butter and honey." One guest surmised that having the hoecakes softened with honey and butter made it easier for Washington to chew his breakfast.

George Washington had an affinity for this fortified wine, produced on the Portuguese island of Madeira in the eastern Atlantic.

George Washington’s fondness for Madeira wine is well known. Less commonly recognized is his love of good beer.

Among Martha Washington's surviving papers is a recipe written out by her granddaughter Martha Parke Custis, which calls for 40 eggs worked into four pounds of butter, four pounds of sugar, five pounds of flour, and an equal quantity of fruit.