My name is Stacy Booth, a Foodways Historian who loves keeping history alive through cooking demonstrations and workshops around New England. Welcome to my website where you can read about historical recipes and cooking techniques or — even better — hire me to do demonstrations, tutorials, talks, or presentations about food in the 17th through early 19th centuries.
About Stacy
I’m a Foodways Historian with a passion for food and cooking throughout history, specifically in the 17th to early 19th centuries. My special interest is open hearth and campfire cooking, and my experience working at Coggeshall Farm Museum and Plimoth Patuxet gave me many of the skills I still use today. I’ve set up several historical foodways displays at museums and events and done presenstations for various South Shore sites including Alden House in Duxbury, Stetson House in Hanover, and Parker Tavern in Reading.
Even in my free time, I love reenacting the Revolutionary War time period with Col. Bailey’s 2nd Massachusetts Regiment alongside my husband and son. Gardening and sewing (both modern and historical) are other favorite pastimes of mine.
Presentations & Topics
I offer the services listed below, with a focus on late Tudor to Early Republic (Georgian) time periods, including Colonial America and European foodways and recipes. I can present in Modern or Historical Dress
- Open Hearth cooking demonstrations/workshops
- Campfire cooking demonstrations
- Foodways displays for museums or talks at historical societies
- Modern displays of foodways techniques (i.e. making butter with girl scouts at Hanover House)
- Presentations and Talks on Foodways topics for historical societies, school groups and reenactments. Examples include “A Bille of Fare” talk I did for Parker Tavern (a powerpoint presentation), as well as modern discussions on Revolutionary War camp rations
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, May 4th
” New England Dairy Practices”
1 pm – 4 pm at the Lafayette Durfee House in Fall River, MA
PAST EVENTS
“Native Corn and the Importance of Bread in Plimoth Colony”
Alden House, Duxbury, MA.
“Puddings, 18th Century Puddings in the Hearth”
Lafayette Durfee House, Fall River, MA
“Baking Demonstration”
Fort at No 4, Charlestown, NH
“Making Butter”
Hanover House, Hanover, MA
Forgotten Recipes Blog
Apple Days at Alden House
This afternoon I had the great opportunity to present several historical apple dishes at the Alden House in Duxbury, MA. I’ve done several presentations there, and I always enjoy meeting people...
What I’ve Learned So Far
Hi Everyone! I hope to find you all well and safe! It's hard to believe that only a week ago the biggest care I had was that my son would make it through his dentist appointment and that I didn't forget to send out a card to family members. Now this past week I've...
Pumpkin Drying Experiment!
So the format for this post is a bit different. Usually I have a certain theme or receipt that I post here and then go through step by step how I created the final outcome, whether successful or not. But this one was done on a complete whim, and with the outcome...
Laura Ingalls Wilder Gingerbread
Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful December and that January has treated you well! With the start of the New Year I decided to start with the new Historical Food Fortnightly challenge for this year... the Holidays! You'd think after all the...
HFF #22: Souffle
Happy December everyone! In my neck of the woods we are just finishing our first snow storm of the year. And though shoveling can be a pain, I have to say I love the quiet contemplation when I'm looking out the window watching the snowflakes fall. It's quite...
HFF #20: Cranberry Sauce
Hello everyone! Hope you are doing well at the beginning of this holiday season! I know it is a bit cliche but I couldn't let Thanksgiving pass without doing at least one beloved side or main course from this holiday smorgasbord! And, as it happens, I'm also catching...