Guests at the Victorian Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast in Wauconda enjoy a home-cooked meal.
From left to right: Patricia Fulton, Samantha Fulton, Nick Fulton, Ed McCague, and Joyce
McCague. Photo courtesy of Sherry Corder
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Wauconda inn featured in prairie state cookbook By Josh Van Dyke
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Wauconda's Old Victorian Farmhouse and Breakfast makes an appearance in a new cookbook that covers inns throughout Illinois.
The in makes two appearances in the "Illinois Bed and Breakfast Cookbook," actually: A pair of breakfast meals served at the inn made it into the guide. The items include "creme brulee french toast" and "overnight coffee cake," both of which are made and served by owner Sherry Corder.
She said that the two dishes are a big draw for many guests and are frequently praised in reviews of the inn, though she doesn't need to go online to know she is satisfying guests.
"Since people ask for the recipes, that tells me that they like it," Corder said.
The french toast is made with cinnamon bread because it is more natural, while the overnight coffee cake gets its name from the fact that it is readied the previous night. Both meals are served with side dishes like eggs and berries, with the toast being topped with whipped cream.
All of the cooking is done by Corder, who has mostly run the inn on her own since she opened it in May of 2005. Corder also keeps the inn clean, sets up the decorations, and provides help to guests trying to figure out how they should spend their time. She lives on the ground floor of the inn with her husband and their friendly dog.
Corder said that though she was a secretary previously, the work was never her passion. It was after she retired that she was able to open the inn, where meeting new people is its own award.
"This is the real me," she said. "It is just so cool to listen to their jobs, their stories, their lives."
Corder said that the type of people who stay at the inn are those with a desire to escape their hectic everyday lives or an appreciation of history, and the inn itself is an antique. The original two bedrooms were constructed in 1846 as part of a dairy farm, with the rest being added around 1860. Before the Corder family moved in it was owned by local teachers Norbert and Vincentina Zarumba.
The "Illinois Bed and Breakfast Cookbook" is published by 3d Press, a division of Big Earth Publishing. More information about the inn can be found at www.oldvictorianfarmhouse.com/index.htm.