What is "bean-feast"

n. A variant spelling of '''beanfeast'''.

A bean-feast was primarily an annual dinner given by an employer to his or her employees. By extension, colloquially, it describes any festive occasion with a meal and an outing. The word, and its shorter form "beano," are fairly common in Britain, less known in the United States. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the beanfeast often took the form of a trip to some beauty spot, where the meal was provided. (e.g. ..''I want a feast, I want a bean feast. Cream buns and doughnuts and fruitcake with no nuts, so good you could go nuts. '' - Veruca Salt, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)