Explore Centuries-Old Cooking Techniques at Foods & Feasts

Long before microwaves, electric stoves and refrigerators, early Virginians prepared meals in clay pots and iron kettles, and preserved food by smoking and salt curing.

This Thanksgiving holiday, dig into the foodways of 17th- and 18th-century America during Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia. Explore centuries-old culinary practices and cooking techniques of early Virginia during a two-day event, Friday and Saturday, November 28 and 29.

Below are events being held at both museums. First are the events at Jamestown Settlement followed by events at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

Jamestown Settlement

Discover how food was gathered, preserved and prepared on land and at sea by Virginia’s English colonists and Powhatan Indians. Enjoy live cooking demonstrations throughout the day in re-creations of Paspahegh Town, a colonial fort and along the ships’ pier.

Paspahegh Town

Watch venison, turkey and other game roast over open fires while stews of corn, beans and squash cook in clay pots. Learn the role of corn to the Powhatan life and the many ways it was used, including corncakes and corn dumplings. Throughout the day, discover how Powhatan Indians made stone and bone tools used to obtain and prepare food.

James Fort

See the English colonists culinary traditions brought to Virginia as historical interpreters bake bread in a Devon oven and demonstrate open-hearth cooking of pudding, pies and pottage, based on historical recipes of the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Ships’ Pier

At the pier, explore how the colony was provisioned. Throughout the day, see the typical fare of life at sea, with salted fish and meat, hard biscuits and dried foods. Discover the fresh provisions that sailors gathered at island stops on the voyage to Jamestown.

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

Step back in time to explore how Continental Army soldiers earned their daily rations and how fresh produce meats from the fields were transformed into stews, pies and breads. Enjoy live cooking demonstrations throughout the day, set amid recreations of a Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm.

Continental Army Encampment

Discover the resourcefulness of who turned very little rations of dried beans, salted meat and hard bread into nourishing soups and stews. Watch daily artillery drills and learn how soldiers earned their food.

Revolution-era Farm

At the farm, watch as 18th-century recipes come to life over an open hearth. See how both the farm’s owners and enslaved people prepared their meals. See the similarities and differences between their dishes. Explore the methods used by farming families to preserve and store goods through the lean winter months.

At Jamestown Settlement, discover how food was gathered, preserved and prepared on land and at sea by Virginia’s English colonists and Powhatan Indians.  Enjoy cooking demonstrations throughout the day in re-creations of a Paspahegh town and colonial fort and along the ships’ pier.

At the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, learn how Continental Army soldiers earned their rations and witness the bounty of produce and proteins fresh from the Revolution-era farm transformed into stews, pies and breads.

Admission

Children ages 5 and under receive free admission to both museums. Free admission for residents of York County, James City County and the City of Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, with proof of residency.

Explore the heart of our nation’s beginnings and discover the stories of America’s earliest adventures with a variety of ticket and package options.

A Combination Ticket – available online only – is $34.00 for adults and $17.00 for ages 6 through 12, offering seven days of unlimited admission to both Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

America’s Historic Triangle Ticket offers unlimited admission for up to seven days to Jamestown Settlement, Historic Jamestowne, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown Battlefield and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

One-day, Single-Site Tickets offer admission to Jamestown Settlement at $20.00 for adults and $10.00 for ages 6-12, and admission to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown admission at $20.00 for adults and $10.00 for ages 6-12.

For more information, call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or visit www.jyfmuseums.org/events/programs-activities/foods-feasts-of-colonial-virginia for more details.

Jamestown Settlement
2110 Jamestown Road,
Williamsburg, 23185

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
200 Water Street,
Yorktown, 23690

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