Article by Aimee Guthinger, Consultant, Alfresco, LLC
 
Deeply rooted in tradition, the New England Clambake was developed in the late nineteenth century by restaurateurs and hoteliers looking to offer an authentic taste of New England to the surge of vacationing well-to-do urbanites. Adapted from the Native American tradition of cooking in a stone-lined pit, New England clambakes and shore dinners offered the vacationers multiple course menus highlighted by generous quantities of fresh seafood.
 
Long recognized as the proverbial New England culinary palette, a clambake menu offers a multitude of variations, allowing the meal to be designed according to each couples' desire. Although a clambake can be hosted in any setting, my clients tend to focus this event around the coastal destination they have invited their guests to visit. When preparing for a clambake reception on Cape Cod, whether for the rehearsal dinner, the wedding reception or a welcome gathering amid the long weekend, my initial attention focuses on the location and the caterer. If at all possible, I suggest treating your guests to a location that offers at the least a water view, if water access is not possible and making sure to contract an experienced and reliable clambake company.
 
While a clambake is traditionally a fun and informal menu to offer, please keep in mind that while the presentation can always be adapted to create an upscale reception, you are dealing with foods that generate a lot of left over materials and are generally foods that we consider messy to eat. As previously mentioned, many variations exist but the traditional New England Clambake generally consists of steamed mussels, clams, lobster, onions, potatoes and corn on the cob. Hours of preparation are involved in the creation of a carefully constructed pit heated with hot coals. Each item is strategically layered to cook on top of the next and covered with a generous quantity of seaweed, which helps to generate the one of a kind taste. The resulting meal, described as a delicious kiss of saltwater, is most often served family style with pitchers of sweet butter to offer your friends and family a new experience or a time honored tradition.
 
The Edgar Town Yacht Club on Martha's Vineyard established a protocol of clambakes and old fashioned ice cream parties in the early twentieth century. Perhaps, a traditional dessert of ice cream will be a fitting final course to end your clambake, that is of course, if your guests have any room left for dessert!
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