Resort Food

Resort life emerged in the United States during the century following the American Revolution. In upstate New York, gaming, dancing, and dining came together in the communities of Saratoga Springs, Caldwell at Lake George, and Ballston Spa, where hosts laid the foundations for the resort infrastructure, providing a bridge between the countryside and commercialism. The first resorts allowed visitors to socialize on site and visit the “exotic, primitive and noble” Native American communities nearby (Corbett, 2000). While the upper classes could dine in elegance, lodges allowed for middle-class visitors to eat communally at large (100- to 300-seat) tables d’hôte (community or chef’s tables). In the early days, as is much of the case today, the best resorts offered wine cellars and French-influenced haute cuisine, which depended heavily on transportation systems to import ingredients.