Print
Restaurants

Canape Partners With Bellamy Mansion For Antiquity Dinner

By Jessica Maurer, posted Jul 23, 2014
(Photo c/o Canape)
When Canape chef Matthew Gould and Bellamy Mansion executive director Gareth Evans met, it was a matter of minutes before the two came up with the idea to collaborate on a dinner at the Bellamy featuring adaptations of Victorian-era recipes from the museum’s archives.

“I'd been looking to do something based on Victorian Bellamy recipes and got to talking to Matthew in a restaurant one day,” Evans said. “He mentioned pop-up restaurants and an interest in locally sourced, organic food and history. The idea to try it at the mansion was pretty obvious to me from there.”

Before Canape opened last March on North Fourth Street, it operated as a pop-up restaurant for nearly three years, serving a variety of cuisines every Sunday at San Juan Café. Now that it has its own space, Canape changes its menu every day based upon availability of local ingredients.

When Gould began researching what Wilmingtonians were eating in the late 1800s, he realized that they were using many of the same ingredients he’s using today. They were cooking what was available to them seasonally, just as he is. Local and organic food was the norm at that time, and only the well-to-do could occasionally get their hands on items imported from Europe or the Islands.

Gould used the Bellamy recipes as inspiration. While he did not want to replicate them exactly, he wanted to use similar ingredients and cooking methods to highlight the flavors of the time. Much of the food at this time was prepared over a wood- or coal-burning fire, which lent it a very smoky flavor.  Gould’s menu reflects that in the use of smoked vinegar and smoked and grilled vegetables. 

He has also incorporated mustard, which was a trendy condiment at the time, having recently been imported from Europe, as well as coconut, which was very much a treat as it was also imported from thousands of miles away.

“It seems so simple to us now,” Gould said. “But to them it was something really, really impressive and special.”

The dinner will benefit the Bellamy Mansion Museum’s educational programming, and Evans hopes to partner with other area nonprofits for future events.

“The mansion hasn’t been used for a formal seated dinner like this in decades, so this is really something unique,” Evans said. “I like bringing in new audiences to try new things, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.”

Canape’s Antiquity Dinner at the Bellamy Mansion Museum will take place on July 26 at 6:30 p.m. Contact the museum at 251-3700 for details and reservations.

Have a tip for restaurant roundup?  Email us at  [email protected]
Ico insights

INSIGHTS

SPONSORS' CONTENT
Headshots march websized 2

Is Your Commercial Roof Ready for April Showers?

David Grandey - Highland Roofing Company
Screenshot2022 01 06at338 162234623

Food is the Foundation for Prosperous Communities

Girard Newkirk - Genesis Block
Mcwhorter 0005

The Coastal Corridor is Helping Wilmington Startups With Connected Devices for Life Sciences Industry

Heather McWhorter - UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Trending News

Conservation Group Signs $8M Deal To Buy The Point On Topsail Island

Audrey Elsberry - Mar 26, 2024

National Organization Bestows Top Award On Cape Fear Professional Women In Building

Staff Reports - Mar 26, 2024

Engineering Firm Hires Four Employees

Staff Reports - Mar 26, 2024

N.C. Ports Officials React To Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Audrey Elsberry - Mar 26, 2024

NCino's Fourth-quarter Earnings Signal Rebound From Liquidity Crisis

Audrey Elsberry - Mar 27, 2024

In The Current Issue

Hacking Cyberdefense Shortage

A shortage of cybersecurity professionals influenced professor Ulku Clark and her team to slowly evolve UNCW’s offerings to now include eigh...


Berries, A Battlefield And More In Pender

The N.C. Blueberry Festival, founded in 2003, is one of several events in Pender County that have drawn more attention over the years....


Expanding Tastes On Castle Street

As John Willse and Beth Guertin, owners of Wilmington Wine bottle shop and now the recently opened Creative Tastings restaurant on Castle St...

Book On Business

The 2024 WilmingtonBiz: Book on Business is an annual publication showcasing the Wilmington region as a center of business.

Order Your Copy Today!


Galleries

Videos

2023 Power Breakfast: Major Developments