Who is Susan McLellan Plaisted?

Susan McLellan Plaisted MS RD CSP LDN, is the owner/operator of Heart to Hearth Cookery, a food history business based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She offers demonstrations of 17th century through 19th century Colonial American and European cooking methods, practices, and receipts (recipes), as well as pre-European-contact and post-European-contact Native American foodways. Her repertoire ranges from open pit, through down hearth, raised hearth, and cookstove cooking. She conducts hands-on workshops and classes for both children and adults at several historic sites and museums in the Delaware Valley region and provides slide presentations and lectures on a number of different food history topics. The “Hearthside with Susan McLellan Plaisted” educational DVD series is her newest venture.

With her research having spanned the United States, Canada, England and Scotland, she has amassed an amazing inventory of receipts, techniques, attire, and equipment to correctly interpret and demonstrate Scottish, Welsh, English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Colonial, and Native American foodways practices from many periods of history. She also provides programming in late 18th century English and American ship-board cooking.

As the director of foodways at Pennsbury Manor, the recreated 1680's home of Pennsylvania’s founder, William Penn, Susan directs a skilled team of foodways volunteers in the accurate presentation of 17th century food, ranging from cheese making to the sugared delicacies of the banquetting table. She also developed and now directs the hands-on German foodways program at Rittenhouse Towne, the home of Wilhelm Rittenhouse, the first Philadelphia paper maker.

She is a founding member, Past President, and past newsletter editor of Historic Foodways Society of the Delaware Valley, a member of Culinary Historians of New York, Culinary Historians of Washington DC, The Historic Foodways Guild of Maryland, Past Masters in Early American Domestic Arts. In addition, she is Chairperson of the Food History Committee of ALHFAM (Association of Living History Farms and Museums), and the moderator of the IACP Food History Teleforums for the Food History Committee of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. She is also a Board Certified Pediatric Dietitian.

Contact Susan at FOODHXSMP@aol.com