1903 Stag Dinner

A family heirloom menu from a great grandfather's Stag Dinner.

A desire to recreate a memory.

But all you need is a chef...or two!

Here is a little look into the backstory of a very special event we recently put on. I moved back to Kansas City in late August from Australia. At the same time, my good friend, Raquel Kramer was returning to KC after a 2 year adventure as sous chef of the Houston Country Club. We met in culinary school in 2012 as we prepared for our first ever competition hosted in Seoul, South Korea. I have been blessed to work with, befriend, and remain in touch with so many talented people over the years.

We reunited again in 2016 for another big competition. The IKA Culinary Olympics hosted in Erfurt, Germany. Late one night while we were meant to be "napping" as we had an all nighter ahead. This is a hard one to explain to anyone who has not been involved in the production, dipping, and display process of a cold platter. However, I am happy to explain to you...just not here in this article. Anyways, Raquel and I were sent back to rest up and come in as the clean up team or just a burst of energy to push through that last leg of a grueling process. As things would go, we are blessed with the opportunity to sleep, and couldn't do it if we tried. As we laid there full of energy and a laundry list a mile long of what we needed to do the next morning (at our 3am arrival to the prep kitchen), we decided it was useless to force anything. So we went to the local pub for a beer and a chat. As we walked in, every head turned. Some small town local pub in Germany and we were the only females, and clearly not from around there.

We sat in the corner sipping on some pilsner, and discussed how we were tired of the grind of working for everyone else. The conversation revolved around ways in which we could make that happen.

Fast forward to to 2021. Raquel is down in Houston pondering the concept of a change. I am stuck in a small town of Ulladulla, NSW Australia with about 9 straight days of down pouring rain. As that crushed my camping trip, I had free time to catch up with an old friend. Raquel and I had a FaceTime session and yet again said how much of a desire we had to finally work for ourselves. Rather than at a small pub over beers, this time we discussed half a world away but with our minds still set on the same path.

September 2021. We had both just moved back to Kansas City. I received a contact of a man who was looking to host some wine dinners and called up my partner in crime, Raquel. We went to have a chat over the details. In the midst of organizing, his wife walks through and he introduces us as chefs. To her surprise, she asks a few questions and then says, "do you think they could do 'THE DINNER'?"

We look at each other and question what 'THE DINNER' could be.

"Ahh, yea...the dinner." He states. As you can see the wheels of his mind start turning.

"Let me see if I can find the menu." As his wife hurries off into a back room. She returns with a yellowed and old paper stapled to another. It is a Stag Dinner from 1903. She tells us this was her great grandfather's stag dinner or old time 'bachelor party'. Her father has wanted to recreate it for years. We perused through the menu. It looks amazing. 9 courses. All french food, paired with wine, Trou Normand, dessert tables, coffee, cigars, and Cognac. Of course we can do it. Challenge accepted. We did our research. We chased up frog legs, we researched classic cocktails, made the french peas, modernized the Jack Snipe course and recreated the most authentic meal possible.

The family of 21 was blown away. They gathered in full spirits and everyone of them dressed in 1900s apparel. There was a three piece violin set playing throughout the evening. Everything about the event was spot on.

This was one for the books. Cooking side by side with friends. Making memories for families. And gathering around the table. This is what life is all about. Very lucky for an opportunity such as this to unfold. We look forward to many more memorable moments together!

Cheers to turning back the clock.