In the second half of the 19th century the wealthy families of Boston, New York, and Newport patronized Fera’s Confectionery and Restaurant in Boston, which had earned a reputation for high quality throughout the East. The business was established in 1853, and after 1876 was located on Tremont Street looking out on the Common. At Fera’s, patrons not only could enjoy dainty luncheons or after-theater suppers but could arrange to have the firm cater their next dinner party, complete with table ornaments. Confectioneries at this time tended to be large establishments which not only created elegant candies, ice creams, and pastries but also provided catering services and ran restaurants. Fera’s was especially popular with female patrons, as was always the case with confectioneries in the days when many restaurants were considered off-limits to respectable women.
Like many Europeans in the culinary trades who came to this country, founder George Fera had traveled a prestigious career path before arriving on U.S. soil in his early 20s. Born in Lübeck, Germany, he compressed a lifetime into a few years. Starting out at a young age he had trained in confectionery in Paris, succeeding so well that he was appointed confectioner to the Czar of Russia, in St. Petersburg, where he remained for a number of years. Upon his arrival in the United States, he went to work at a New Orleans hotel, moving from there to New York City where he was employed by the famed confectioner Henry Maillard. He was said to have made for Maillard’s the first caramels produced in this country. It is hard to verify this claim but Maillard’s specialties in the 1850s did include chocolate, raspberry, coffee, and pistachio caramels.
© Jan Whitaker, 2008
We eat in restaurants several times a week and yet know very little about their history. I plan to dip into my archive of research and images every so often to present a little tidbit that highlights aspects of our American restaurant culture. Let me know your thoughts.
