Hotel DuPont - Green Room

Hotel DuPont - Green Room

Hotel DuPont – Green Room

Once there was grand dining experience at the Hotel DuPont in the Brandywine, Christiana and Green Rooms.   The décor was elegant, the cuisine was succulent and the service was impeccable.  The Hotel has probably the largest privately owned collection of paintings from every generation of the Wyeth family, starting with NC Wyeth’s famed Island Funeral which hangs in the Christiana Room.   You’re immersed in their cultural soup of the Brandywine Valley.

I was an employee of the Hotel and student at the University of Delaware; working there in order to pay for my education.  I wasn’t the only one working to pay for college.  There were several of us, who were happily employed by the DuPont Company at the Hotel “back in the day.” 

I have fond memories of starting out as a bell boy and ending my career as a bartender at the Green Room “service bar.” I spent evenings serving drinks and listening to the Harpist playing on the balcony right above my head.  Wednesday was a special day for the “Ladies” of Wilmington.  They met for lunch in the Green Room and the cream cocktails were flowing:  Brandy Alexanders, a Pink Lady or two, and the Grasshopper.  There may have been a stratified/layered liquor drink like an Angels Kiss and during the Christmas Holidays it was a Candy Cane.  I can’t even begin to count the number of Gin Martini’s, Whiskey Sours and Manhattan’s, I’ve made to pay for school.

The outstanding cuisine was always the draw!  The menu and wine list were at minimum 4 star.  WOW, the Hotel’s culinary team was the envy of the Delaware Valley and beyond.  They came from around the world:  Austria, Germany, Holland, and France.  Everyone was passionate about their trade.  The kitchen was a magical symphony of food: the saucier, garde manger, entremettier and rotisseur, all adding to your experience.

I remember when Henry was preparing Cherries Jubilee at tableside and used a Napoleon Brandy bottle that was just about empty.   The flame from the pan quickly crept up and into the bottle.   The next thing you saw as a guest’s mink stole on fire.   Literally, “thinking on his feet,” Henry threw the flaming mink on the floor and proceeded to stomp out the flames with a modified Mexican Hat Dance.  I wish there were cell phone cameras back in the ‘70’s because that video would have gone viral.

Service was always exceptional.  From the Coat Room attendant, Reservationist/Greeter, Maitre D’, Dining Room Captain, Wait Staff, Bartender and Manager on Duty who together completed the seamless service sequence.

My favorite entrée was Seafood Christina, which is made tableside.  The recipe calls for a medley of shellfish in a crème sauce and flambéed with Pernod & Napoleon Brandy.    A visual treat and a uniquely awesome entrée only available in the Christiana room. After I moved on into the corporate world I spent many special occasion meals and several Sunday Brunches with my family at the Green Room, over the years.

The Hotel’s bakery may have been the best kept customer secret in Wilmington.  Very few people knew that you could order specialty desserts for any occasion from the Hotel.  One of those specialty desserts was the Black Forest Torte, which is simply a world class confection.  That dessert is built on a rich chocolate cake, layered with a dark cherry filling (if you see maraschino’s cherries, send it back!), chocolate gnash, then entire cake is slathered with whipped cream and covered in dark chocolate shavings.  “OMG, it’s the bomb!”  

The Green Room at the Hotel DuPont was possibly the best restaurant in the Philadelphia metro area in the 70’s and 80’s.  Yeah, I ate well during my college years; thanks to the generosity of the Hotel staff.  Thank you .  .  . I was never a “starving” student.

Keep on Frolicking!