The Bellamy Mansion Museum will host an Antiquity Dinner, prepared by chefs from PinPoint Restaurant, on Feb. 23 in the formal parlors of the Bellamy Mansion.

The event will feature a five-course dinner themed on local ingredients and historic recipes from the museum archives and will be held at the mansion, 503 Market St. in downtown Wilmington.
 
The idea behind the Antiquity Dinner, said Bellamy Mansion executive director Gareth Evans, is to use archived recipes and period foodways to create a new take on historic foods. Evans said that by definition the foods are local, sustainable and fresh because that's what would have gone into the majority of historic recipes.
 
“The idea for the dinners came to me several years ago as I've seen this done at other historic sites,” Evans said. “Events such as this give insight into how a household like this operated. The enslaved people had to prepare food for 20 people repeatedly during any given day. It was very hard work, of course. The foods made then, cornbread, collards, Hoppin’ John, pinto beans, grits and all the rest of classic Southern recipes often came from this period and remain with us still.”
 
Because the food at the Bellamy site was prepared by enslaved people for a wealthy, white family, Evans said the meals often varied in content and style of preparation. There were likely African influences and undoubtedly an abundance of local produce, fish, poultry and meats. There might also have been hard-to-find foods that came in via the port, which only a wealthy family could afford.
 
The Bellamy has selected chefs Dean Neff and Lydia Clopton of PinPoint Restaurant to prepare the dinner. Evans said that he connected with the chefs via the local food organization 40 Eats and requested their participation in part because of their commitment to showcasing regional fare.
 
Highlights of the menu will include pre-dinner vintage cocktails and hors d'oeuvres; seared tuna with radish, citrus and benne seeds; peanut soup with whipped coconut and harissa; Berkshire pork belly, with Anson Mills 20th-century stewed oats, apples and toasted peanut milk; duck breast with seared turnips, salted fatback, green onions and charred turnip top pesto; and syllabub and coconut cake with paw paw.
 
Wine pairings will accompany each course. Tickets are $150 and must be purchased in advance by contacting the Bellamy Mansion Museum at [email protected].
 
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