The Gilded Age Cookbook Author Talk and Tour

Step back in time and savor the culinary history at Lyndhurst as we delve into the opulent world of The Gilded Age Cookbook by acclaimed author and food historian, Becky Libourel Diamond. The afternoon will start with a tour of the Lyndhurst mansion, focusing on the lavish dining room and innovative kitchen, followed by the author’s talk and book signing. Guests will have the opportunity to purchase Becky Libourel Diamond’s books and have them signed.

The Gilded Age Cookbook transports the reader back in time to lavish banquet tables set with snow-white linen tablecloths, delicate china, and sparkling crystal glasses. Cuisine featuring rich soups, juicy roasts, and luscious desserts come to life through historical images and artistic photography. Gilded Age details and entertaining stories of celebrities from the era—the Vanderbilts, Astors, Goelets, and Rockefellers—are melded with historic menus and recipes updated for modern kitchens.

Becky Libourel Diamond has had a varied career combining writing and research. Her second book, The Thousand Dollar Dinner, tells the unique story of a nineteenth-century “Top Chef”-style competition between Philadelphia restaurateur James Parkinson and the Delmonico family of New York. The result was a luxurious seventeen-course feast that helped launch fine restaurant dining in America as we know it today. She is also the author of Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s Cooking School, a successful nineteenth-century pastry chef who also ran an innovative cooking school for young women – a Philadelphia first.

Check-in at 12:45 pm at the Lyndhurst Welcome Center for your 1 pm - 2 pm guided tour of the Mansion's first floor, including the opulent dining room, kitchens, and butler's pantry.  Return to the Carriage House at 2:30 - 4 pm for the book talk and signing.