Gilded Age Holiday Cookbook Talk and Tasting

Although most Americans have heard of sugar plums thanks to the famous holiday poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement C. Moore, many have likely never have had the pleasure of tasting one of these luxuries, or even know what they really are. Delighting the inner child in everyone, food writer and historian Becky Libourel Diamond will explain the origin of these treats and other Gilded Age holiday customs. It was during this era that many of the holiday traditions still celebrated in America today began to become mainstream.

The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook features the fascinating history behind each confection, its ingredients and baking methods. In this talk based on the book, author Becky Libourel Diamond will touch on holiday lore of the time, with backstories of now-ubiquitous Christmas customs such as Santa Claus, the Christmas tree and Christmas cards, interspersed with tales of Gilded Age Hanukkah and New Year’s celebrations, holiday debutante parties, teas, and grand balls. Participants will be able to get a true taste of the Gilded Age, including a tasting of holiday cookies from the era.

About the Author

Becky Libourel Diamond is a food writer, librarian, and research historian. Her most recent book, City Tavern: The Founding Table—Colonial Dining, Revolutionary History, and the Restaurant at the Center of it All views this crucial time in America’s history through the tavern’s lens. She is also the author of two cookbooks, The Gilded Age Cookbook and The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook, and two books of culinary history, The Thousand Dollar Dinner and Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s First Cooking School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Rider University and a master’s of library and information science from Rutgers University. She has worked as a business librarian at Rutgers–New Brunswick since 2020. She lives in Yardley, Pennsylvania.