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Founders of the Feast
What a collection of century-old Masonic menus tell us about a fraternity at its gastric peak.
By Ian A. Stewart
The chicken or the fish? How about the fois gras en gelée? Or perhaps the grass plover on toast? For years, Masonic banquets have brought members together for elaborate, over-the-top culinary gatherings. Here, Joe Evans, manager of the Henry W. Coil Museum and Library of Freemasonry (and a trained expert on the anthropology of food), walks us through a few menus from Masonic feasts of yesteryear and explains what they say about a fraternity at its gastric peak. (Click on each image to zoom in.)
Knights Templar Triennial
PHILADELPHIA, 1889
“This is an example of what they’d call in the 19th century Russian service. That’s where you’d have these elaborate place settings, where people get intimidated by the number of forks. Footmen walk around with platters of food, rather than plate it for you. This was an expensive meal. The Knights Templar were often people of wealth—captains of industry. This gives you a little taste of that.”
FAIRMONT HOTEL, SAN FRANCISCO, 1941
“The Grand Lodge has had a long relationship with the Fairmont Hotel. It’s not a coincidence we still have our annual banquet there. As for this menu, remember, the French had been taken over by the Nazis at this time, so they’re really holding up their French culture here in San Francisco, which has always had a large French population.”
Shriners' Theater Party Banquet
TECHAU TAVERN, SAN FRANCISCO, 1900
“This is unusual for a lot of reasons. The Shriners were really about mimicking the Orient, which was so mysterious and exotic. So the program is in the shape of a fez, and the menu is nuts. We’d consider it sort of Egyptian meets Greek. In the corner, there’s a little translation of the menu for the ladies. This would have been a fun thing to do.”
FAIRMONT HOTEL, SAN FRANCISCO, 1910
“Again, this was held at the Fairmont. And it wasn’t an officer’s installation, just their annual party. California Nº 1 was a very wealthy and influential lodge. There were roughly 600 members in 1910. You can see, you’re getting French cuisine, which was desired for these kinds of formal events. And you can see the program of speakers and performers on the right.”
El Dorado Nº 26 Masonic Ball
EL DORADO HOTEL, 1853
“This is 1853, so just a few years after the Gold Rush began. (And just after the Grand Lodge of California was formed.) That they would have all this stuff available is crazy. You can see at the top, the cost is $10 per ticket—that’s about $400 today. And at the bottom, it looks like champagne and calvados are $150. That’d be thousands of dollars. They were probably paying in gold dust. This menu was actually printed on silk, which I’ve seen other examples of from that time.”
Photography by:
JR Sheetz
Top image courtesy of the Henry W. Coil Museum and Library of Freemasonry
More from this issue:
For Building Social Capital, There’s No Place Like Lodge
Groups like the Masons offer a way to strengthen community, combat loneliness, fight polarization, and maybe even save democracy.
The Order of Quetzalcoatl, a Brotherhood of Fire and Feathers
Shrouded in mystery and symbolism, the Order of Quetzalcoatl serves a decidedly philanthropic end.