List Price: $26.00
Save: $5.77 (22%)

FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Want it Monday, April 11? Order within and choose Two-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Ship to:

Select a shipping address:

Buy Used

$11.84

+ $3.99 shipping

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Berkeley Book Company

Condition: Used: Good

Comment: Connecting readers with great books since 1972. Used books may not include companion materials, some shelf wear, may contain highlighting/notes, may not include cdrom or access codes. Customer service is our top priority!

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

The Thousand Dollar Dinner: America's First Great Cookery Challenge Hardcover – October 28, 2015

by Becky Libourel Diamond (Author)

5 customer reviews

See all 3 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$11.05

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$20.23

$16.21

$11.84

Paperback

"Please retry"

$19.95

—

In 1851, fifteen wealthy New Yorkers wanted to show a group of Philadelphia friends just how impressive a meal could be and took them to Delmonico's, New York's finest restaurant. They asked Lorenzo Delmonico to "astonish our Quaker City friends with the sumptuousness of our feast," and assured him that money was no object, as the honor of New York was at stake. They were treated to a magnificent banquet, enjoyed by all. However, not to be outdone, the Philadelphia men invited the New Yorkers to a meal prepared by James W. Parkinson in their city. In what became known as the "Thousand Dollar Dinner," Parkinson successfully rose to the challenge, creating a seventeen-course extravaganza featuring fresh salmon, baked rockfish, braised pigeon, turtle steaks, spring lamb, out-of-season fruits and vegetables, and desserts, all paired with rare wines and liquors. Midway through the twelve-hour meal, the New Yorkers declared Philadelphia the winner of their competition, and at several times stood in ovation to acknowledge the chef 's mastery. In The Thousand Dollar Dinner: America's First Great Cookery Challenge, research historian Becky Libourel Diamond presents the entire seventeen-course meal, course by course, explaining each dish and its history. A gastronomic turning point, Parkinson's luxurious meal helped launch the era of grand banquets of the gilded age and established a new level of American culinary arts to rival those of Europe.

The Thousand Dollar Dinner: America's First Great Cookery Challenge

$20.23 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently Bought Together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Becky Libourel Diamond

4

Hardcover
$21.29
Simon Winchester

64

Hardcover
$21.14
J. Ryan Stradal

394

Hardcover
$15.75
Marisa Acocella…

15

Hardcover
$25.08
Matt Kramer

11

Hardcover
$13.26
David Pryce-Jones

6

Paperback
$18.98

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Product Details

Hardcover: 231 pages
Publisher: Westholme Publishing; 1 edition (October 28, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 159416231X
ISBN-13: 978-1594162312
Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 5 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #217 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Celebrities & TV Shows
- #226 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking Education & Reference > History
- #246 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Customs & Traditions

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars

5 star		80%
4 star		0%
3 star		20%
2 star		0%
1 star		0%

See all 5 customer reviews

Share your thoughts with other customers

Write a customer review

Top Customer Reviews

An in depth look at how American food culture was born.

By Benjamin L. Clark on October 29, 2015

Format: Hardcover

Microhistories are among my favorite sub-genres of books, and food related micro-histories are easily my favorite sub-sub-genre. A challenge with a tightly focused history however is not to bore the reader, allowing the text to bog down. Becky Libourel Diamond’s Thousand Dollar Dinner is a great example of how to do it right.

In the first couple chapters, the author admits there’s very little primary documentation to work from, however, she delves deeply into gastronomic, economic, and natural history to bring us every bit of delight and wonder as those (largely) nameless diners who sat down to one of James W. Parkinson’s most exquisite dining experiences. This event was an entirely new one to me, and Parkinson was not well known to me either. There were a few moments I think Diamond may have felt she needed to reach a little *too far* back (i.e. caveman days), but I appreciated that desire for a complete look at many aspects of this event as it lead to *lots* of excellent footnotes, a thorough index, and bibliography. I will be adding more than a few books to my food history shelves because of this book. One subject touched upon perhaps too lightly, was in the area of social history -- but that too is a challenge given that who attended the dinner is largely unknown. I found myself thinking not only of the diners and their wealth, but also about the kitchen staff, and others in the supply chain to get these foods to the table. This is a highly recommended book, and one that will sit on my food history reference shelf from now on.

Recommend to: American history buffs, foodies, and people who celebrity watch. And people from Philadelphia.

I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Comment 8 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

Loved this

By bma on January 16, 2016

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

Although no full records exist of this occasion, the writer makes good use of historical material that gives insight to the food of the period and its preparation. I'm always fascinated by how food carries culture.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

A delightful book to read by the fire

By Amazon Customer on January 19, 2016

Format: Hardcover

When I first heard the title of this book, I thought it was something of a joke. In this day and age of golden toilets and private planes at the whim of top CEOs, it would seem almost barbaric to imagine one of those captains of industry having a dinner that would cost merely $1,000. More is spent on liquor at a typical high-style event, and even the most average Joe can save up and enjoy a special chef’s menu at the nation’s hottest restaurants. Good food is still expensive and can be made more so by the way it is disseminated to the general public.

However, THE THOUSAND DOLLAR DINNER is not about our disgustingly crass and money-crazy world. It harkens back to the origins of such living --- to a time when robber barons and other waistcoated fat men decided that they would take advantage of all the riches they could get their hands on and show the world just how remarkable they were, at least in the ways they would imbibe and ingest the things that most tenement-dwelling immigrants were not enjoying in their lesser realm.

In 1851, a group of well–to-do members of New York society life decided to impress a group of equally wealthy friends from Philadelphia with a beyond-belief meal at Delmonico’s, the famous steakhouse. Asking the stellar Lorenzo Delmonico to “astonish our Quaker City friends with the sumptuousness of our feast,” they assured him that no expense should be spared and no greater thing than New York’s honor as a city was on the table. The banquet was like nothing any of the participants had ever experienced.

As reciprocation, the New Yorkers were invited by the Philadelphians to experience a meal by chef James W. Parkinson in the City of Brotherly Love.Read more ›

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

Some day, I shall serve this dinner!

By Jaji on February 16, 2016

Format: Hardcover

Having received this book as a gift from my Father-in-Law (a trencherman of the first order in his day!) I knew I was in for an excellent read. I am only half-way through (just began the "Entrees" chapter) and I, like the New York diners chronicled in the book, must stand an applaud the mastery of the author in encapsulating such an event within the pages of her book. I have not been disappointed in the details noted from each portion of the feast, nor am I wanting for descriptive notes as to the origins of the menu items that a foodie and food professional like myself would wish to read. If I can point out any fault in the book, it is that the copious end-notes would require my stopping to read every few sentences to locate them within their own section! I guess I'll have to re-read and bookmark so that I might not miss a thing as detailed by the notes!

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

Three Stars

By Holly Rockport on March 10, 2016

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

Too many references not enough beef

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

See all 5 customer reviews (newest first)

Write a customer review

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more

This item: The Thousand Dollar Dinner: America's First Great Cookery Challenge

Set up a giveaway