Fried clams piled high at Woodman's in Essex, Massachusetts

A YANKEE TRADITION Woodman's of Essex ? A Yankee Tradition since 1914 . . .

IT ALL BEGAN BACK IN 1914 when ?Chubby? and Bessie Woodman opened their roadside clam shack on the causeway in Essex, MA. At that time, the TV hadn?t been invented, the average yearly salary was $750, and a gallon of milk cost 32 cents. WWI was just beginning, Babe Ruth was a rookie for the Red Sox, the fried clam hadn?t been invented, and it took all day and a beach to cook a New England clambake.

A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE THEN . . . while Chubby may lay claim to changing only two of these, he made his mark in culinary history through inventing the fried clam and revolutionizing the New England clambake.

IN 1916 HE INVENTED THE FRIED CLAM presenting his new delicacy?clams from the shell coated with corn meal and deep fried in a kettle?during the 4th of July parade in Essex, MA. This is a great story for another time and more space . . . but from this humble beginning the Woodmans became famous in New England, opening many doors for their expansion into clambake catering.

CHUBBY IMPROVED ON THE ORIGINAL ?INDIAN? CLAMBAKE which required a beach?and digging a hole, heating the rocks, and waiting hours to cook. True to his entrepreneurial spirit, Chubby designed a method allowing him to boast??We come to you and cook.? He loaded everything onto a truck and drove to his customer?s site where he cooked the clambake over a wood fire in large boiler pots. His new clambake system gave him the flexibility to travel throughout New England and serve groups of all sizes at their locations, enabling many more people to experience a New England clambake.