Shrinking the Camel
My wife and I took a trip to Nantucket recently to celebrate our anniversary. We walked the cobble-stoned streets, toasted champagne on the beach, indulged in a couple’s massage, and took a sailing excursion around the harbor. It was a very romantic, almost magical return to the place of our original honeymoon.
Ladies and gentlemen, I highly recommend it.
One of the highlights of our dreamy getaway was a magnificent meal at a restaurant called, Company of the Cauldron. Its brick walls, exposed beams, and candlelit lanterns evoked a quaint old world European ambience, bringing us back to the heyday of the Nantucket whaling sea captains.
We asked the manager, an attentive woman wearing a flowing black blouse, where that strange name came from. It turns out that “Company of the Cauldron” is the English translation for “La Societa del Pauilo,” which refers to a hip artists’ club circa 1500 in Florence, Italy, run by the eccentric sculptor, Giovanni Francesco Rustici. These exclusive soirees were a sort of cross between an elaborate gourmet potluck dinner party and gallery reception, where the elite artist, architects, goldsmiths and musicians of the day would gather to unwind, free from their business patrons, to talk art, poetry, music and big ideas over fantastic food. The caveat was that each member was required to bring a meal that was also a sculptural creation.
Once she explained, we got it immediately: her restaurant is about bringing people together to enjoy a celebration of food, conversation, and good company.
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Photo by Kostas Pagiamtzis, used with permission.
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