An Interview with Victoria B. Edwards

Victoria B. Edwards’ delightful and colorful tablescapes and place settings are popular images on her Instagram feed. She was one of our “Blue Ribbon” award winners from the Etiquette Community for both our 1st and our 2nd Annual Etiquipedia Place Setting Competitions. This is Victoria at her lovely, American Gilded Age place setting. 

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Ms. Edwards is a graduate of Marygrove College and the Emily Post Institute. Her firm has provided customized training seminars on anti-bullying, civility, etiquette, and dining protocol to after-school and summer programs throughout the Metropolitan Detroit area for over 20 years.

As a Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan community partner, Ms. Edwards’ firm has delivered badge and petal earning workshops that have provided over 500 Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors with the skills they need to feel self-assured and confident in any situation.

Each the summer, the “Aces, Birdies and Clubs” program authored by Ms. Edwards, introduces children to the fundamentals of golf in a fun and positive environment as part of the week-long Summer Etiquette and Golf Camp, sponsored by Edwards Etiquette. Golf is highlighted as a tool to help children expand and comprehend how courtesy and kindness can be put into use at home, school and everyday life.

Ms. Edwards volunteers her time and resources to children’s causes in and around Detroit through her service in various organizations. These would include the North End Youth Improvement Council, Junior League of Detroit, Detroit Association of Women’s Clubs, and Gamma Phi Delta, Sorority, Incorporated.  Congratulations, Victoria!

I loved the calm and tranquil look of this setting, even down to the lotus-shaped bowl. Victoria’s choice of colors for her American Gilded Age place setting was lovely and it gave the alfresco dining spot a “cool” feel, which was not only inviting, but important during the season with the hottest temperatures of the year. This was the prime peach picking season — from July to September — in which she set her table in. Adding to the cooling feel and look of the setting, was a novel and sweet way of helping one’s guests stay comfortable, prior to air conditioning. Victoria’s menu boasts four different sorbets, served in small amounts, as palate cleansers throughout the meal. Though this is not a traditional Gilded Age menu, the inclusion of the four palate cleansers was ingenious and represents well an era known for its excess. Very impressive! 

The Menu

Appetizer

Spicy Peach Gazpacho (chilled soup) 

Notes: Served in the floral white bowl, utilizing the first spoon to the right 

Palate Refresher

*Cucumber Sorbet 

- usually a bite sized serving (about the size of a grape) just enough to cleanse the palate and make ready for the next course

Salad Course

Michigan Cherry Salad 

Notes: A popular green salad in the Detroit area and other parts of Michigan typically topped with dried cherries, apples, blue cheese {I use Feta cheese crumbles as a substitute for the bleu cheese}, and a vinaigrette dressing) served on the gray plate utilizing the first fork on the left and the first knife to the right

Palate Refresher

*Apple Sorbet

 - another bite sized serving (about the size of a grape) to cleanse the palate for the next course

Fish/Seafood Course

Seared Lemon Butter Scallops Fresh from North Carolina 

Notes: Served on a cream "Scalloped" plate utilizing the fork on the left and the middle knife 

Palate Refresher

*Carrot Sorbet 

- yet another bite sized serving to prepare the palate for the next course

Entrée/Main Course

Cornish Hen w/Kentucky Wonder Green Beans

Notes: Chicken for one and green beans. Who doesn’t love an entire chicken? Cornish are easily baked of grilled and served with vegetable. This course is served on the pink plate and utilizes the remaining knife and fork both of which are closest to the plate.

Palate Refresher

*Lime Sorbet

- the last preparation of the palate for the last course

Dessert

Peach Pie a la Mode

Butter Croissant

Cucumber Lemonade

California Sauvignon

Prosecco

Notes: While Michigan’s cold climate makes our Peach season shorter than most other states, the moderating effect of Lake Michigan, allows peaches (Red Haven, Flaming Fury and Stellar varieties mainly) to thrive along the western shore of the state produces and enjoys a significant amount of peaches during the season. At the time of competition entry, Michigan’s peach season was coming to a close, thus the Peach Gazpacho and Peach dessert.

Both the spoon and fork above the plate are used in the conclusion of the meal, one is used to assist with the other as the pie it typically warmer and ice cream has already begun to melt. While quite delectable, this dessert is rather messy and requires the assistance of both the fork and spoon.

Six Questions for Victoria:

1. How did you choose the menu and various elements you used in your setting and why? Please explain each of the utensils at your setting… For which of the foods on your menu (or course) was each different item intended?
I wanted my entry to reflect what a first time visitor would enjoy and be inclined to rave about it and attempt to recreate once they returned home. At the time of entry, it was still Summer here in Michigan and dining 'Alfresco' which means enjoying a meal outside is what Summer is all about here.

2. Why did you choose this particular period in time to set your table? Please go into as much detail as you can.
I chose the American Gilded Age for this year’s competition as my hometown during the Gilded Age, was the “Stove Capital of the World” and stoves are an integral part of any worthwhile meal. During the 19th century and by 1890, cast iron stove manufacturing was Detroit’s top industry.

FYI: The World's Largest Stove was an oversized reproduction of Michigan Stove Company's popular kitchen cooking stove. The company, founded by Jeremiah Dwyer in 1872, wanted to grab the attention of visitors attending the 1893 Chicago World's Fair so had the replica built to represent what the company manufactured at the Detroit factory.

3. How, if at all, did Covid-related social restrictions affect your choice of setting? Were you ready to celebrate? Feeling in the mood to do something different?  
COVID-19 is STILL raging here in Michigan, so safety is a priority. Besides the aesthetics and benefits (enjoying fresh air, eating in a more relaxed setting and less stressed which aids in digestion and being outdoors helps you sleep better) of dining outdoors, outdoor settings allow for social distancing, yet remaining social. I am always ready to celebrate once the taste of mouthwash subsides from the morning routine. Since COVID-19, everything is different so I guess that make me “always in the mood to something different”

4. Have you always enjoyed a properly set table? Or, if not, was the table setting something you learned to enjoy through your social life and/or business later on in life?
I have always enjoyed a properly set table from as far back as I can recall a setting a table “properly”. My etiquette business and “pivot” enterprise during COVID table scaping company certainly added to the enjoyment of setting a socially distanced weekly table.

5. Did you do any research on table setting etiquette before setting your elements at the table?
The research I did was mainly on what was going on in Detroit during each of the proposed themes for this year’s competition and what would a competitive dinner have looked liked; which what brought me to Peaches, Stoves and Michigan. I never thought Michigan and Peaches had much of a relationship besides pie and cobbler competitions prior to the 2nd Annual International Table Setting Competition – now I know why THAT even is still a thing.

6. Do you plan on entering again next year?
I do plan to enter again next year.

Elizabeth Soos and I would both like to congratulate Victoria on her award winning setting. We are honored that she entered our contest and love meeting others who are so willing to share their talents, enthusiasm for etiquette, and their wealth of knowledge. Congratulations!

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Gilded Age Dinner Etiquette of 1888

A set of oyster forks in the Delmonico pattern, named for the famed Gilded Age restaurant — At each place or cover are arranged the soup spoon, two knives and two forks, a third fork being added if the dinner is to begin with small shell-fish. For the exact arrangement of these articles there is no immutable rule, but the most generally satisfactory disposal is effected by placing the knives at the right and the forks and spoon at the left, the oyster fork being placed parallel with the other forks or at an angle, with its prongs resting upon the handles of the others. 

At each place or cover are arranged the soup spoon, two knives and two forks, a third fork being added if the dinner is to begin with small shell-fish. For the exact arrangement of these articles there is no immutable rule, but the most generally satisfactory disposal is effected by placing the knives at the right and the forks and spoon at the left, the oyster fork being placed parallel with the other forks or at an angle, with its prongs resting upon the handles of the others.

There are many who still adhere to the practice of having this fork placed at the right; there is really no objection to its being placed at the right side, but its position at the left is quite in keeping with the dainty fashion of carrying oysters to the mouth with the fork in the left hand and the prongs turning downward. When the fork is placed at the left hand, the soup spoon may be placed at the right. The handles of spoons, forks and knives are placed a short distance from the edge of the table.

A dinner plate, upon which the oyster plate is at the last moment to be placed, is set directly in the centre between the knives and forks, and the dinner napkin, which is folded square and flatly or pyramidally, with the dinner roll or thick piece of bread beneath one corner, is placed beside the forks and well towards their tops. If the bivalves are omitted, the napkin is placed directly in the centre of the space.

The water goblets or glasses are placed at the right, exactly in line and about seven inches from the margin of the table; the wine glasses are grouped about them, but if several varieties are to be served the glasses for those which come latest are placed upon the side-board until needed. Too many glasses at one's hand are not convenient, and then some of the glasses in vogue for sherry and Madeira are so delicate that they shiver easily.

A small salt-cellar of china, glass, or silver is placed be fore each plate, and carafes or pretty little glass pitchers of iced water, and also such ornamental dishes as contrib ute to the beauty of the ensemble, are placed upon the table before dinner is announced.

Olives and similar relishes in low dishes are not out of place; but sharp sauces are placed in their bottles upon the side-board, to be offered when needed, and so are cheeses, which while often ornamental, are not agreeable to the senses of some people. Such varieties of decanted wines as do not require icing may be placed upon the table, because the handsome flagons provided for them are among the most beautifying of table ornaments. Bon-bons and fruit are placed when the centre decora tions of the table are perfected, as they are among the most effective features. All the spoons except those to be used for the soup, the extra knives, forks, sauce ladles, fish knife and fork, all the dinner plates that will be needed, extra tumblers and wine glasses, and cruets, etc., containing oil and vinegar, are all upon the side board. 

The silver should be handsomely arrayed in uniform rows and the glasses disposed to give a pretty effect. Upon this board may also be displayed as much extra plate and china as the pride of hereditary or ac quired possession requires for its gratification. There is no objection to displaying such possessions in their proper place, and where, if not on table and side-board, have such things a place? Upon another side-board may be placed the glass dessert service and finger-bowls, and also the coffee set. and Madeira are so delicate that they shiver easily.

A small salt-cellar of china, glass, or silver is placed be fore each plate, and carafes or pretty little glass pitchers of iced water, and also such ornamental dishes as contribute to the beauty of the ensemble, are placed upon the table before dinner is announced.

Olives and similar relishes in low dishes are not out of place; but sharp sauces are placed in their bottles upon the side-board, to be offered when needed, and so are cheeses, which while often ornamental, are not agreeable to the senses of some people. Such varieties of decanted wines as do not require icing may be placed upon the table, because the handsome flagons provided for them are among the most beautifying of table ornaments. Bon-bons and fruit are placed when the centre decorations of the table are perfected, as they are among the most effective features.

All the spoons except those to be used for the soup, the extra knives, forks, sauce ladles, fish knife and fork, all the dinner plates that will be needed, extra tumblers and wine glasses, and cruets, etc., containing oil and vinegar, are all upon the side board. The silver should be handsomely arrayed in uniform rows and the glasses disposed to give a pretty effect. Upon this board may also be displayed as much extra plate and china as the pride of hereditary or acquired possession requires for its gratification.

There is no objection to displaying such possessions in their proper place, and where, if not on table and side-board, have such things a place? Upon another side-board may be placed the glass dessert service and finger-bowls, and also the coffee set.— Eliza M. Lavin, 1888

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Gilded Age Dining-Room Aesthetics

“… the notion of allowing the public— one’s friends into the family dining-room was debated vigorously for some time, and was not common in midcentury. It was the existence of new money, of created wealth, that turned the dining-room from a refuge from the world into a place of self-expression and creativity.” — Image taken from the book by Christopher Kimball, “Fannie’s Last Supper”

As the Industrial Revolution elevated the upper middle class in terms of wealth, the dining-room became the domestic showcase. It was a semi-public room, one that could be displayed to one’s peers. This was quite different from the period prior to 1880, when the dining-room’s primary purpose was to reinforce the sanctity of family life. Some dining-rooms featured stained glass and an organ: it was a place for a Christian family to reassert its bonds and its faith.

In fact, the notion of allowing the public— one’s friends– into the family dining-room was debated vigorously for some time, and was not common in midcentury. It was the existence of new money, of created wealth, that turned the dining-room from a refuge from the world into a place of self-expression and creativity. Women, in particular, were interested in being perceived as artists, not just housewives, and thus the home became a blank canvas on which to paint their sensibilities and notions of personal artistry. 

Of course, architects and designers wanted the dining-room to reflect modernity and practicality, hence the pass-through pantry and the sideboard for convenient storage and buffets. In terms of decoration, ferns and trailing ivy were often used in the bay window, paintings of hunting dogs on the walls, fruit on the sideboard, and partially closed blinds on a south-facing window. Many classical motifs were incorporated as well, whether in the wallpaper or through the use of pedestal urns.— From Richard Kimball in “Fannie’s Last Supper,” 2010

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

An Alfresco Italian-Style Luncheon

The company was large, and for the greater part, all of its members were known to one another in long established friendships; so that there was a delightful freedom from the restraints of etiquette in the informality of the feast and the conversation. The luncheon, which was after the Italian manner, was devised with the simplicity of the master, prepared with the skill of an artist, and was served with the liberality of a prince. It was accompanied by both white and red wines.  
—Image of a 19th century pergola, still beautiful in its state. Source, Pinterest 

A Fete at El Quito

One of the chief social events of the past week was the garden party with which E. E. Goodrich entertained his friends on Thursday among the cherry trees and olive groves of his beautiful home, El Quito. The day was propitious to an outdoor fete in the evening. It had been warm at noon, but at the hour when the company began to arrive there was a pleasant coolness in the air and a general sense of freshness, which made it a joy to be out of doors and out of town.

Mr. Goodrich received his guests on their arrival in an arbor of grapevines called “the pergola” and led them to the cherry trees, where the ripe and delicious fruit hung tempting and luscious in great abundance among the green leaves. Orchard ladders were placed beneath the branches for the convenience of the ladies, and perched on them they feasted to the fulness of desire, while the gentlemen bending down the lower limbs of the tree fared not less sumptuously. At sundown a bell from the residence summoned to a luncheon which was spread beneath a natural bow formed chiefly of a huge oak tree, and partly of two pepper trees which grew near it. 

The company was large, and for the greater part, all of its members were known to one another in long established friendships; so that there was a delightful freedom from the restraints of etiquette in the informality of the feast and the conversation. The luncheon, which was after the Italian manner, was devised with the simplicity of the master, prepared with the skill of an artist, and was served with the liberality of a prince. It was accompanied by both white and red wines. 

The menu was written on bits of olive wood which were kept by the ladies as pretty souvenirs of the festival. The time of the twilight had come when the company left the tables and gathered in chairs and hammocks in an other part of the lawn. Here the gentlemen smoked their cigars, while a musical coterie composed of some of the best musicians and sweetest singers in San Jose, tilled the night with the melodies of voice and flute and banjo. 

As the air grew darker with the coming night, Japanese lanterns were lit in the arbors and among the trees, and added their fantastic brilliancy to the beauty of the starry evening. Addresses of thanks to the host on the part of the guests were made by N. J. Haines and Judge Spencer. A quartet of Italian laborers in the orchard closed the evening with a chorus of the songs of Tuscany. The company dispersed shortly after 9 P. M. and returned home with memories of a glad day, a happy fete and an accomplished host. — San Jose Mercury News, 1899

 🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Gilded Age Dining Requisites

The Gilded Age table often required numerous utensils for dining and serving. A souvenir spoon from Baltimore, featuring a turtle, or terrapin, is on the far left of this assortment – The fancy for collecting “souvenir”spoons, one at a time, suggests a way to secure a valuable lot of spoons with out feeling the burden of the expense. Yet, on the other hand, these spoons are much more expensive than equally good plain silver, the extra price being paid for the “idea;” but the expenditure is worth while to those who value historical associations.

China, Glassware, Cutlery, Silverware, etc... 

Chinaware for the dinner service should be of good quality. Fashions in china decoration are not fixed; the fancy of the hour is constantly changing, but a matched set is eminently proper for the dinner table, leaving the “harlequin” china for luncheons and teas. In the latter style, the aim is to have no two pieces alike in decoration, or at least, to permit an unlimited variety; a fashion that is very convenient when large quantities of dishes are liable to be needed. But for a dinner served in orderly sequence, the orderly correspondence of a handsome “set” seems more in keeping. But even with this, the harlequin idea may come in with the dessert; fruit plates, ice-cream sets, after-dinner coffees, etc., may display any number of fantasies in shape and coloring.

Artistic glassware is a very handsome feature of table furnishing. Carafes and goblets for water are always needed at dinner; wine glasses, possibly; and the serving of fruits and bon-bons gives opportunity to display the most brilliant cut-glass, or its comparatively inexpensive substitutes, which are scarcely less pretty in effect. Fine glass is infinitely more elegant than common plated-ware, and though more liable to breakage is less trouble to keep in order. The best dinner-knife is of steel, of good quality, with handle of ivory, ebony, or silver. Silver plated knives are much used; they do not discolor so readily as steel, and are easily kept polished. They answer the purpose for luncheon, but they rarely have edge enough to be really serviceable at dinner or breakfast.

Many people who own solid silverware store it away in bank vaults and use its facsimile in quadruple plate, and thus escape the constant dread of a possible burglar. For the sense of security that it gives, one may value the finest quality of plated ware, but it should be inconspicuous in style and not too profuse in quantity, since its utility, rather than its commercial value, should be suggested. Any ostentation in the use of plated ware is vulgar. But one may take a pride and satisfaction in the possession of solid silver. Every ambitious housekeeper will devise ways of securing, little by little, if not all at once, a neat collection of solid spoons and forks.

The simplest table takes on dignity when graced with these “sterling” accompaniments. The fancy for collecting “souvenir”spoons, one at a time, suggests a way to secure a valuable lot of spoons with out feeling the burden of the expense. Yet, on the other hand, these spoons are much more expensive than equally good plain silver, the extra price being paid other hand, these spoons are much more expensive than equally good plain silver, the extra price being paid for the “idea;” but the expenditure is worth while to those who value historical associations. One may find in the silver-basket salient reminders of all important epochs in our national life, a sort of primer of United States history, to say nothing of the innumerable “souvenirs” of Europe. Its subtle testimony to the intelligent taste of its owner gives the " souvenir collection its chief “touch of elegance.”

The towering “castor,” once the central glory of the dinner table, is out of style. The condiments are left on the sideboard, and handed from there in case any dish requires them, the supposition being that, as a rule, the several dishes are properly seasoned before they are served. Individual salt-cellars are placed on the table, and may be accompanied with salt spoons; if these are omitted, it is understood that the salt-cellar is emptied and refilled each time that it is used. On the family dinner-table the condiment line is not so severely drawn; vinegar in cut glass cruets, mustard in Satsuma pots, and individual “peppers”— in silver, china, or glass, and of quaint designs are convenient and allowable.

A table covered with white damask, overlaid with sparkling china and cut-glass, and reflecting the white light of polished silver, is a pretty but lifeless sight. Add one magic touch— the centre-piece of flowers and the crystallized beauty — wakes to organic life. In arranging the modern dinner-table, when the service is to be à la Russe, floral decorations are almost indispensable. Without something attractive for the eye to rest upon, the desert stretch of linen looks like the white ghost of famine mocking the feast.

The shape of the table, the available space, and the nature of the occasion decide the quantity and distribution of the flowers. It is a matter in which wide latitude is given to individual taste and ingenuity, original designs and odd conceits being always in order, subject only to the law of appropriateness.

For a square or extra wide table a large centre piece, either round or oblong, is usually chosen, with endless varieties in its component arrangement. It may be low and flat, like a floral mat, in the middle of the table, or it may be a lofty epergne, or an interlacing of delicate vine-wreathed arches, or a single basket of feathery maidenhair fern-—in fact, anything that is pretty and which the inspiration of the moment may suggest. —Agnes H. Morton, 1899

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Gilded Age Dining Aesthetics Etiquette

Decorative arrangements of food were the height of fashion at elite tables in the Gilded Age, such as this dish of diced, sugared pineapple surrounded by slices of sponge cake. Henderson recommended this elaborate arrangement not only for its aesthetic value, but also because otherwise she found imported pineapples which often arrived in the American Northeast the worse for wear to be tough and tasteless. From Mrs. Mary F. Henderson, Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving (New York: Harper and Bros., 1877), 339, Special Collections, Michigan State University Libraries

Growing material prosperity meant that some people had the luxury to think more about food's visual aesthetics than ever before. For instance, Mrs. Peter White advised soaking pickles with grape leaves to turn them green, or adding a whopping half pound of turmeric to turn them yellow. Mary Henderson commented that raw oysters served in a block of ice created “a pretty effect in the gas-light.” Food and entertaining writers also obsessed over the importance of a clean, appealing table. “Too much can not be said as to the pleasant effect of a dinner,” Henderson wrote, “when the table-linen is of spotless purity, and the dishes and silver are perfectly bright.” Dietary reformers studying poor American eating eagerly praised one family that, under their influence, began setting their table with a white tablecloth, in contrast to other “slovenly and shiftless” families whose lack of civilization, as reformers saw it, was reflected in their lack of interest “in the appearance of their homes and tables.”

Another aesthetic consideration was noise, and middle-class writers believed the less of it the better. Etiquette writers condemned loud breathing, noisy chewing, and slurping of any kind, and they reminded diners not to clatter their silverware or scrape their chairs. Herrick praised a restaurant for its “noiseless serving,” while Henderson suggested that a thick mat should be placed under the tablecloth to muffle the sound of moving dishes and that servants should wear slippers to minimize the sound of their footfalls. Commentators prized quiet at the table because it indicated that eaters were self-controlled and servants were well trained. — From “Food in the American Gilded Age,” Edited by Helen Zoe Veit

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia