Talk on Van Cortlandt Manor's Food History Takes Place Saturday

Editor's Note: This article was submitted by Bob Foley of the Van Cortlandtville Historical Society.
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Tastes & Tidbits of Food History: A Sampling of 18th Century Dining at Van Cortlandt Manor will be the topic of a talk by Lavada Nahon, a noted food historian, on Saturday, May 18th,  at 2 p.m., at The Little Red Schoolhouse, 297 Locust Avenue, Cortlandt Manor, New York.  Sponsored by the Van Cortlandtville Historical Society, the culinary program is open free to the public.

A veteran museum associate at Historic Hudson Valley, Mrs. Nahon will focus on the receipt* book of the historic Manor house, using food samples and a power point photo presentation.
   
As a staff member of Philipsburg Manor Upper Mills in Sleepy Hollow, she lectures on and demonstrates 18th century foodways.  And as the owner of Historic Food Works, she brings the taste of 18th and 19th century American food history to life at a variety of venues.

In 2000, Mrs. Nahon began working as a volunteer hearth cook for Historic Hudson Valley and in 2002 she joined the staff as the head hearth cook at Van Cortlandt Manor, where she demonstrated and taught the art of hearth cooking to school children, history teachers, and history buffs.  Her culinary training began early in her life as she worked alongside her mother honing her skills.

Mrs. Nahon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri, and did graduate work in theater at the University of Missouri in Kansas City.  Throughout her college career she worked in a variety of food-related positions in a number of restaurants where her interest in food history began.  In the mid-1980’s, she studied wine at the International Wine Center in New York for five years, followed by her study of distilled spirits in various countries around the world.                                                                                                                                                                                            
For nine years she was senior editor for Penthouse Magazine, in charge of lifestyles columns-- including “Wine & Spirits,” “Food,” and “Travel”--  working with such noted professionals as Alexis Bespaloff and Gael Greene.  For more than 15 years she studied American food history with leaders in the field, such as Andrew Smith, Dr. Alice Ross and Peter Rose.  She has also owned a number of food-related businesses, including the catering company Always Ready, The Kids and Me Bakery, and The Mimosa Tree, a tea salon in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Mrs. Nahon and her husband, David, reside in Peekskill with their two teenage children.

The Little Red Schoolhouse (the location of the May 18th program) is next to Old Saint Peter’s Church and cemetery at the northern end of Locust Avenue, on the hill just south of Oregon Road in the Town of Cortlandt.  For more information and directions, visit: www.vancort.net;or, call (914)736-7868.