Calendar of Events
Note: Meetings are usually held on the second Sunday of each month, September through May, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Currently we are meeting via Zoom, but in-person meetings are held at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, Maryland, and occasionally at other venues. The meetings are open to anyone. However, certain meetings may require a fee.
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Traveling “Silver” for those Not to the Manor Born: Old Sheffield Plate and Electroplated Silver in Travel Equipage and Cutlery from 1730 to the Belle Epoque
April 14, 2024 @ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Speaker Bio
Carrie Tillie is a culinary historian, artist, and curator. With an MFA in jewelry and metalsmithing from California State University, Long Beach, she also obtained a
Certified Master Chef certificate from Epicurean School in Los Angeles and Level Two certification from the Wine Spirit Education Trust. Combining gastronomic and artistic passions, she specializes in food-themed jewelry and artwork as well as co-founding the Bay Area Culinary Historians.
After the publication of her first book, Oysters, A Global History, she curated several exhibitions in conjunction with the release of her second book, A Feast for the Eyes – Edible Art from Apple to Zucchini. Her current artwork is in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic entitled Mixed Emotions, which entailed a full dining table and kitchen installation of over a hundred individual pieces of vintage cutlery, place settings, and utensils. Her next investigations involve the culinary biographies of both Henri Soulé, the creator of the first and most influential French restaurant in America in New York’s Le Pavilion, and the Victorian occultist, Aleister Crowley. For more information, go to:
www.carolyntillie.com
TALK DESCRIPTION
Did you inherit some family silver with various odd utensils you can’t quite figure out? Why did the Victorians have a different utensil for every course? What is the difference between sterling silver flatware and plated?
In this Zoom presentation, culinary historian Carrie Tillie will take you on an adventurous journey that explains the rich history, ingenious innovations, and market forces that helped shape our modern dining table. From the British invention of Old Sheffield Plate in 1743, through the rise of electroplate, Carolyn will share examples from her expansive collection including intricate designs to functional utensils, from asparagus, anchovy, lemon and oysters forks to bonbon, jelly, mote, and olive spoons.