The Hoovers and their guests usually ate their morning and evening meals together in the "Mess Hall" unless the weather was particularly fine, then the evening meal might be served outside or on one of the porches. Meals were informal and served on one or two long wooden tables. One guest described the decor: "The table decorations are a far cry from the massive silver service used for state functions at the White House. There are gay colored dishes. Spritely fall asters or some other flower from the surrounding woods are used for decorations with harmonizing candles. The napkins are sometimes of checked gingham."

Meals, too, were rustic. Dinners usually consisting of roasted or grilled meat and fish and in-season vegetables - the British Prime Minister's daughter had her first taste of corn on the cob at Rapidan. Breakfasts were large - bacon, eggs, hotcakes and coffee. They were prepared by Marine chefs and served by the former staff of the presidential yacht which President Hoover decommissioned. Most the staff were Filipino.