The readers who have been following along on Passed Time might remember an article I posted quite some time ago. In fact, I posted The Cook Book from the Oley Valley or The Life of a Cook Book very near Passed Time's start in June. As I said then, the cook book was in bad shape, and you can see it in the pictures. Today, I went to make sure I had not missed any items tucked into it, before putting it away for good. On the day we'd bought the cook book, the air and the book were damp, but the pages seemed to dry up reasonably well. Unfortunately, today when I started thumbing through it there were signs of mold. Luckily, all of the recipes and notes that I posted on Passed Time are safe, as are the title and signature page, so I will save them. Unless a thorough drying and toothbrushing eradicates the mold, the cookbook may have to go. With its fate hanging in the balance, the little cookbook still had one more item to share.

     It is a undated and anonymous newspaper clipping* containing a recipe, but this is a recipe with some history behind it. The beginning of the story had me immediately enthralled, "The recipe for one of Philadelphia's very popular dishes, Shrimps Lamaze, is no longer a secret." Why? What happened? Why are they outing the shrimp?

     Well, according to the article, Shrimps Lamaze was first introduced to Philadelphians at the Warwick Hotel. The dish was so popular with Philadelphians, that forty gallons of the sauce were used daily.  The executive vice president (former executive vice president at the time of this article) of  the Warwick Hotel, Mr. George Lamaze, introduced the sauce to the hotel, and it was their most popular dish. 

   George Lamaze was an esteemed chef born in Rhiems, France. According to an aricle in the Lewiston Daily Sun, he died of a heart ailment at the age of 53. That article ran on May 28, 1940, which dates the clipping from the Oley Valley cookbook. It probably dated soon after the Lewiston Daily Sun's obituary.  

     In addition to researching Lamaze, I had to look up the Warwick Hotel. It is still in existence, but with a slightly different name. It is now called The Radisson Blu Warwick Hotel and right now they are offering a special, "Enjoy breakfast for two with the Pope and the World Meeting of Families offer!" Personally, I am avoiding Philadelphia at all costs during the Pope's visit. As friends have told me, it is a "madhouse," but I am dying to know if the Radisson Blu Warwick Hotel will be serving Shrimps Lamaze to the Pope.  If anyone finds out, you have got to tell me. Best, Pat Earnest Dover, Delaware 19 August 2015

*I tried, unsuccessfully, to find the newspaper that originally ran this article. If it happens to turn up, please let me know. 

Author Pat Earnest, currently lives in Dover, Delaware, with family, both two- and four-footed. I am a published author and history enthusiast, who has great regard for the past and is especially proud of the Pennsylvania German culture. In addition to Passed Time, I am currently working on a project for the German Historical Institutes Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies (http://www.ghi-dc.org). I also contribute to various newsletters and I am working on another book...or two. Feel free to email me at pcsuter@hotmail.com with questions, comments, information, a shared love of history, an idea, because you want to chat or you have an great idea for PT. Please be aware, Files With Attachments will not be opened, but immediately deleted.