As Long As We Both Shall Eat

Claire Stewart is Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management at CUNY at NYC College of Technology, City University of New York. She was executive chef at the Continental Club in New York City and executive sous chef at the Yale Club of New York City. She worked as chef tournant at Gee's Brassiere in Oxford, England and chef poissonier at Rainbow Room. Stewart was banquet chef at Highlawn Pavilion and a chef at Gracie Mansion in New York City. In her native California she worked as chef tournant at Delta King in Sacramento, and a chef garde manger at the Hyatt Regency. In addition to being chef owner of C to C Caterers, she worked as a server at Capriccio, and at Koya's, both in Rancho Cordova, California. Chef Stewart has been the resident beekeeper for the Durand-Hedden Historical House in Maplewood, NJ.

• Introduction to the MenuChapter 1: A Brief History of Wedding FeastsChapter 2: Famous and Infamous Feasts Chapter 3: The Last HoorayChapter 4: Showers of Food, Showers of GiftsChapter 5: Table Manners MatterChapter 6: Chicken or Beef? Religion and Wedding FoodChapter 7: Jumping the Broom Chapter 8: What Are You? Regional Cuisine Chapter 9: Dating and Dining Chapter 10: Champagne Anyone? The ToastChapter 11: Let Them Have Wedding CakeChapter 12: Do Me a Favor and Get me Some Rice Chapter 13: Honeymoons and Food Chapter 14: The Business of Love Chapter 15: What’s Cooking Now? Conclusion: You May Kiss the Cook

Of all the feasts that people eat, one of the most important, socially, is the wedding banquet. It’s a time for unabashed celebration of the happy couple, as family and friends gather to honor and cherish the duo’s commencement of their new life. Having herself cooked for hundreds of weddings, Stewart has witnessed all sorts of nuptial revelries. Many wedding feasts are shaped by religious and secular folkways and customs. American weddings have evolved over the past 200 years from simple postceremony breakfasts to today’s elaborate culinary productions. Stewart notes that during wartime, brides had to cut back and heed rationing strictures. She inventories myriad religious customs worldwide, ranging from Jewish dietary laws to Mormon, Sikh, and Buddhist customs. A chapter on African American practices moves across time from slavery through the present. Full of history and sociology, Stewart’s book will intrigue even those not tying the knot.