Cooking and baking demonstrations of dishes from Abraham Lincoln’s time will be served up starting Saturday as part of the Lincoln Land Community College Community Education program “History Cooks.”
The first demonstration will be at 10 a.m. Saturday during the Downtown Springfield Farmers Market. Chef Michael Higgins of Maldaner’s Restaurant will take the lead on “Local Foods: Then and Now,” demonstrating recipes using ingredients common to Lincoln and Springfield gardens of the time.
Other programs will be at noon Friday at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Those attending will receive a souvenir recipe card so they can re-create the dishes at home.
“History Cooks presented by LLCC Community Education was an amazing addition to the Visit Springfield History Comes Alive program last year,” said Scott Dahl, director of Springfield Visitors and Convention Bureau. “I am thrilled the program is returning to HCA this summer! Local celebrity chefs will provide a taste of the 1800s from Mrs. Lincoln’s Southern cooking to Mr. Lincoln’s first inaugural ball.”
After Saturday’s opening, the lineup includes:
June 2: “Mrs. Lincoln’s Southern Cooking” — LLCC chef instructor Lakesha Jackson will demonstrate some of Mary Todd Lincoln’s Southern favorites. This demonstration also will be given at 10 a.m. June 2 in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum rotunda.
June 9: “Food Preservation in the 1850s” — Peter Glatz, a food columnist who works at chef Sean Brock’s fermentation lab in Nashville, Tennessee, will demonstrate how food was preserved in the Lincolns’ time.
June 16: “Flour” — Bob Bunn and Charlyn Fargo will speak on how flour was being processed, demonstrate how it was used in baking and talk about where Mary Lincoln purchased it: Jacob Bunn’s grocery store.
June 23: “Mrs. Lincoln’s White/Almond Cake” — LLCC Community Education culinary coordinator Jolene Lamb will demonstrate Mary Lincoln’s recipe for this dessert. Mary Lincoln baked the cake for Abraham Lincoln when they courted, after they were married and when she was first lady.
June 30: “The Irish in Springfield” — Hallie Pierceall of D’Arcy’s Pint will prepare traditional Irish favorites of the Lincolns’ time. The Irish comprised a substantial portion of the Springfield population in the early 1800s.
July 7: “Mr. Lincoln’s First Inaugural Ball” — Chef Augie Mrozowski will prepare some of Abraham Lincoln’s favorites served at the ball, including pâté, chicken and veal.
July 14: “Mr. Lincoln in New Orleans” — Chef Howard Seidel, known for his New Orleans cuisine, will prepare traditional dishes from the region. As a young man, Abraham Lincoln traveled by flatboat to New Orleans, where he witnessed the slave trade.
July 21: “Bones Found at the Lincoln Home” — Chef Ty Bergman will provide a cooking demonstration based on animal bones found during an excavation at the Lincoln Home that revealed what the Lincolns ate.
July 28: “Mr. Lincoln’s Gingerbread” — Sarah Adams, curator of collections and interpretation at Edwards Place and a culinary historian, will prepare a gingerbread recipe. Abraham Lincoln spoke about gingerbread during the first Lincoln-Douglas debate, and gingerbread was said to have been served at the Lincoln wedding.
Aug. 4: “Mr. Lincoln’s Diverse Neighborhood” — Sangamo Club sous chef Marcus Holmes will prepare a sample of some of the foods Lincoln’s diverse neighbors would have eaten at the time.
Read More: Program series to look at Lincoln history via foods of his time
