One fall day in the late nineties, my friend Susan and I had tickets to attend a taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show so off we flew to Chicago. The celebrity that day was some supermodel I've long since forgotten, but I've never forgotten the good time we had and all the fun dining and shopping we enjoyed. One of the stores we visited -- and thank goodness, for now it's closed -- was the legendary Marshall Field's. Although we didn't eat there that day, I still have fond memories of the store and the trip. So I was especially delighted when my antiquing turned up an interesting bit of department store tea room memorabilia recently, this demitasse cup and saucer set.
I absolutely *love* knowing this set came from the famous Marshall Field Tea Room!
The design definitely looks like something that would have been used in such a tea room, perhaps in the twenties or thirties.
Marshall Field had several restaurants including the Walnut Room, the Wedgwood Room, the Narcissus Room and the English Rooms. This vintage postcard shows a portion of the Narcissus Room. Wouldn't you just love to have enjoyed a meal there? Perhaps some of you did! If so, I'd love to hear about it!
Recently I got a copy of "The Marshall Field's Cookbook" by the Field's Culinary Council, and I enjoyed reading about some of the more famous dishes from the store's restaurants. I immediately knew what I wanted to make, this Chicken Pot Pie that was a favorite for Marshall Field's shoppers. The story goes that a Mrs. Hering, a clerk at the store, shared her chicken pot pie with a tired shopper and the idea for a department store tea room was born. (It's hard to imagine such an act of service today, isn't it!) The recipe appears in the Field's cookbook but it's also available from a number of sites online, and I like the one
here, because it has step-by-step photos that show how things should look as you're moving along in the recipe.
This was not a speedy dish to prepare, but oh my, was it ever delicious!
All those tasty vegetables and the tender chicken, mmm mmm good. I'm having fun researching department store tearoom recipes from the past, so you can probably expect a few more of these in the weeks and months to come!
One fall day in the late nineties, my friend Susan and I had tickets to attend a taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show so off we flew to Chicago. The celebrity that day was some supermodel I've long since forgotten, but I've never forgotten the good time we had and all the fun dining and shopping we enjoyed. One of the stores we visited -- and thank goodness, for now it's closed -- was the legendary Marshall Field's. Although we didn't eat there that day, I still have fond memories of the store and the trip. So I was especially delighted when my antiquing turned up an interesting bit of department store tea room memorabilia recently, this demitasse cup and saucer set.
I absolutely *love* knowing this set came from the famous Marshall Field Tea Room!
The design definitely looks like something that would have been used in such a tea room, perhaps in the twenties or thirties.
Marshall Field had several restaurants including the Walnut Room, the Wedgwood Room, the Narcissus Room and the English Rooms. This vintage postcard shows a portion of the Narcissus Room. Wouldn't you just love to have enjoyed a meal there? Perhaps some of you did! If so, I'd love to hear about it!
Recently I got a copy of "The Marshall Field's Cookbook" by the Field's Culinary Council, and I enjoyed reading about some of the more famous dishes from the store's restaurants. I immediately knew what I wanted to make, this Chicken Pot Pie that was a favorite for Marshall Field's shoppers. The story goes that a Mrs. Hering, a clerk at the store, shared her chicken pot pie with a tired shopper and the idea for a department store tea room was born. (It's hard to imagine such an act of service today, isn't it!) The recipe appears in the Field's cookbook but it's also available from a number of sites online, and I like the one here, because it has step-by-step photos that show how things should look as you're moving along in the recipe.
This was not a speedy dish to prepare, but oh my, was it ever delicious!
All those tasty vegetables and the tender chicken, mmm mmm good. I'm having fun researching department store tearoom recipes from the past, so you can probably expect a few more of these in the weeks and months to come!
Hi Angela, The cup and saucer are Beautiful! I love the greens, pinks, and faded gold. And your chicken pot pie looks delicious. i will have to search out that recipe. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThat Limoges cup and saucer is beautiful - what a great find. I love the pink and green Art Deco look design.
ReplyDeleteThe Marshall Field's Cookbook sounds interesting and the chicken pot pie looks delicious. Thanks for the link.
It was a great trip... I'm glad to hear you still remember what fun we had. I think the supermodel was Kristy Turlinton.
ReplyDeleteThe cup and saucer are beautiful!!!
That's a lovely cup & saucer, and knowing it was part of the famous tearoom makes it even more special!
ReplyDeleteI have had Marshall Field china before...but not this Art Nouveau pattern. The mark date it to 1910-1920s and it's lovely! The pot pie is luscious...one of my favorite comfort foods!
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Ruth
You find the best things! How cool to know the history of that teacup. Thanks for the tidbit of tearoom info. That chicken pot pie looks so....yummy even for breakfast!
ReplyDeleteThe cup is gorgeous! I love it! And the recipe for Chicken Pot Pie, I must check it out. I have yet to find a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie that I love, so maybe this is the one.
ReplyDeleteThat cup is so beautiful and you are making me very hungry!
ReplyDeleteHow cool!!! There is a reproduction of the LS Ayres tea room in Indianapolis (at the museum)...and they run it as a restaurant with chicken pot pie.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful...and nice that it evokes such fond memories. That chicken pot pie looks delish...
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely cup and saucer.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Angela! We're off school this week so we've been running around, doing errands - I have fallen behind on my reading!
ReplyDeleteI love your recipe for the chicken pot pie and that tea cup is beautiful. I would have loved going to tea in that tea room!
Thank you for the photos and the recipe, I can just picture what 'tea' would have been like, back then. Have a great week,
Joanie
Mmmmm... that Limoges cup and saucer are just lovely, a real treasure. And by the way, do you happen to know the name of the silver pattern of the fork in your chicken pot pie photos? It's very pretty.
ReplyDeleteKathleen, I'm glad you noticed my fork! It's a prized possession that I picked up for 50 pence at the Portobello Road Flea Market in Notting Hill some years ago, so it's a vintage piece with no name, but I just LOVE it! (If anyone knows what you happen to call this style of fork, I'd sure love to have more of them!)
ReplyDeleteAs a little girl I went to Tea for Two at the Walnut Room. My Grandmother happened to be the head hostess there for 30 years. I have her beautiful gold watch from fields for that achievement. They used to serve petite fours with tea. It is a sweet memory.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful teacup to own! I remember Marshall fields but not the tea room!
ReplyDelete