Bar Harbor innkeepers to host Victorian-era dinner

BAR HARBOR – The shadows of Bar Harbor’s early rusticators seemed to be in the fog-filled air recently as guests gathered for cocktails at Cleftstone Manor, one of the old, towering cottages on Mount Desert Island. Now a bed and breakfast, Cleftstone was once a summer home with an ornate dining room where Victorian statesmen, businessmen and publishing scions from New York and Boston took their evening meals in high fashion. Not that many decades ago, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see a Rockefeller, Astor, Vanderbilt or Blair motor up to the grand front door.

The spirit of that long-gone era will be summoned Saturday, June 3, when members of the Bar Harbor Bed and Breakfast Association will host a Victorian-themed dinner they hope inspires tourists and locals alike to consider the island as a romantic getaway this summer. The dinner, which is limited to 20 guests, is a new component of the association’s annual bed and breakfast tour, which will take place June 3 and 4, with open houses at more than two dozen of the island’s B&Bs. Proceeds for both events will go to Bar Harbor Food Pantry.

Jane Holland, innkeeper at Aysgarth Station, developed the night’s menu, which includes a punch reception, Potage Saint-Germain, Salmon Mousseline with Shrimp and Lobster Sauce, Pecan Crusted Beef Tenderloin, a Nicolaise salad, Berries Romanov with cheeses, and Battenberg Cake with fruit sauce. Holland’s kitchen partner for the weekend will be Mindy Bryant, who works at the Voigt House Victorian Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich., which also holds an annual Victorian dinner.

Robert and Anne Bahr, who own both the Cleftstone and Anne’s White Columns, will be in-character hosts at the dinner, which will be served on a 12-foot oak table once owned by Maine summer resident Joseph Pulitzer, the publisher and originator of the Pulitzer Prize. Robert Bahr is president of the association, but both Bahrs have a background in the performing arts and will put their skills to use, possibly adopting personalities from the family of Charles T. How, the Boston attorney who built Cleftstone and was one of the island’s first real estate developers. Anne, a costume designer as well as innkeeper, will dig into her trunks of period clothing.

Each diner will also receive the name of a character to play, although no one is required to participate in the theatricals. While formal butlers (played by other innkeepers) deliver the food and meticulously tend to the needs of the patrons, the Bahrs will instigate scenarios of local rumor and intrigue.

“We’ll have dinner but we’ll also be learning local history,” said Susan Schwartz, co-owner with her husband Barry of Hearthside Inn. “The Rockefellers, Dorrs, Jessups – eating dinner in this house can give you the feeling of being one of ‘those’ people at a dinner party.”

And, as the innkeepers like to remind their guests, Bar Harbor was not only once the stopping spot for rich summer people but also for distinguished Bangorians and other Mainers. But you don’t have to have a family name or connections to dine like the stars at this dinner. You don’t even have to wear period costumes.

“It’s orchestrated, theatrical service,” said Holland. “It will be like being spoiled after a hard day out rusticating. All you have to do is show up and eat.”

For information about the Bar Harbor Annual Spring Bed and Breakfast Tour noon-3 p.m. June 3 and 4, visit www.barharborbedandbreakfast.org. For information about the Victorian Theme Dinner 6 p.m. June 3 at Cleftstone Manor, call 288-9655. Tickets for the self-guided tour are $15 for adults, $10 for children. Tickets for the dinner are $35. Proceeds from both events will benefit Bar Harbor Food Pantry.

(Pull quote) “It will be like being spoiled after a hard day out rusticating.” Jane Holland, Bar Harbor innkeeper