75 supporters of the Princeton Repertory Shakespeare festival enjoy a night of silent auction and a multi-course feast.
By: Pat Tanner
About 75 intrepid supporters of the Princeton Rep Shakespeare Festival, which performs the Bard’s works each summer in Princeton’s Pettoranello Gardens Amphitheater, braved last weekend’s snows to gather for an evening of Elizabethan delights, the centerpiece of which was an authentic Renaissance feast that featured everything short of four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
But that was a real dish, said special guest Francine Segan, author of "Shakespeare’s Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook," whose recipes comprised the evening’s bill of fare. As part of the $75-per-person benefit, Ms. Segan conducted a short slideshow and talk short because, as she quoted the Bard to the group, "brevity is the soul of wit."
The evening also featured a silent auction of items ranging from priceless Shakespeare recordings to Broadway tickets, live performances of food scenes from Shakespeare’s plays by members of Princeton Rep decked out in exquisite period costume, and draughts of ShakesBEER, a special brew developed for the company by Princeton’s Triumph Brewing Company.
By that point the guests, who had gathered at the Princeton home of Carrie and John Pallat, had heartily partaken of a multi-course feast that began with an assortment of "kickshaws" and culminated in "the banquet," the Elizabethans’ term for the dessert course. Chef Carla Fuentes of Duck Soup in New Hope selected and prepared dishes from Ms. Segan’s book, which puts to rest the mistaken notion that food of that period was bland and uninteresting. Ms. Segan herself admitted that when she began researching recipes for the book, she "expected to find over-boiled mutton and gray, overcooked vegetables."
Among the surprisingly contemporary and visually stunning kickshaws were "Pears" in Broth (actually, small pear-shaped meatballs made from ground veal wrapped around a grape), Herb Tart, and Pate with Dates and Homemade Nutmeg Mustard.
"I went with simple recipes," Carla Fuentes explained, "and I was really drawn to the way they used currants and dates. When you bite into the dishes, you don’t even know they’re there, yet they add so much."
Francine Segan complimented Fuentes on how well she executed the dishes.
"It’s interesting for me to taste the food from my book. Carla chose the recipes herself, yet she managed to pick two of my favorites: the pate and the stew."
Ms. Segan was referring to the Olepotrige Stew, a recipe from Renaissance Spain that originally included 15 different meats. Chef Fuentes had put her own touches to another dish: For the book’s Salmon with Violets, she had substituted petals from coral and cream-colored roses and deep blue irises. She graciously gave partial credit for the success of the dishes to the quality of the ingredients that Wild Oats Marketplace in Princeton had donated.
The pate was also a hit with Princeton Rep’s artistic director, Victoria Liberatori. "I’m elated that this many of our supporters came out in the nor’easter they are all troupers. And to see them all having such a good time!"
Among those going for seconds and thirds were Mary Alice and Phil Hembree, who came all the way from Bridgewater despite the foul weather. "We’ve attended their productions for the last three seasons," explained Ms. Hembree, who has a Ph.D. in English Lit. "I just think they do a really good job."
The actors, too, were clearly enjoying the evening. "It’s just a blast to be in a costume like this," said Susan Garrett. Ann Reiss, Princeton Rep’s executive director, had earlier pointed out that the company often sets its performances in other periods, so "this is one of the rare times you’ll actually see us in full Elizabethan regalia." The Shakespeare Festival will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this coming summer.
The troupe delighted their audience with several of Shakespeare’s food scenes, including a spirited performance of the scene from "The Taming of the Shrew" in which a famished Kate is simultaneously offered, then denied, meat and mustard. They laughed heartily as Titania from "Midsummer Night’s Dream," smitten with her donkey-faced lover, Bottom, bid her underlings to "Feed him with apricocks and dewberries, With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries."
Dessert, which was served in the Pallats’ atmospheric wine cellar, included individual apple tarts with candied orange crust, 1610 Rose Cakes, and Cheesecake in the Italian Fashion. Afterwards, her job done, Chef Fuentes lined up with the many guests who had purchased copies of "Shakespeare’s Kitchen," as Francine Segan signed them and answered questions. Ms. Fuentes had purchased four copies to give as gifts, for which a portion of the proceeds went to Princeton Rep.
For information on the summer Princeton Rep Shakespeare Festival, visit www.princetonrep.org, or call (609) 921-3682.