Corsets & Lace: Fine Dining

My dad loves sardines. Open his cupboards and you’re sure to find a couple tins of those little slippery fish.I remember eating them as a child, although now, in the “prime of life”, I’m not such a fan. One thing is for sure. We never ever considered them to be high-class. Far from it. We always ate them right from the can. Sometimes with our fingers.

I’ve been studying the Gilded Age (1870s through the 1890s), as background research for my novel-in-progress, GILT. I’ve learned that the right silver utensil can make anything elegant. Take a look:

If you were fortunate enough to be invited to the Astor home in New York City in the Gilded Age, one of the courses in an eleven-course meal just might be sardines. You would be served by the butler or a maid with a most odd-looking silver sardine fork. (Evidently the sardine can stayed in the kitchen!)

Do you like sardines? What do you think? Elegant or not so much?