The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Family

Presented by Adrian Miller
Food writer, attorney and certified barbecue judge

It’s a return trip to the Culinary Historians for James Beard award–winning author Adrian Miller, who first spoke to us in 2014 on soul food. Today he’s back to tell us about his just-released second book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas. Mr. Miller will share the stories of the African Americans who worked in the presidential food service as chefs, personal cooks, butlers, stewards, and servers for every First Family since George and Martha Washington. We will learn how these remarkable men and women were simultaneously marvelous cooks, family confidantes, and civil rights advocates.

Surveying the labor of enslaved people during the antebellum period and the gradual opening of employment after Emancipation, Mr. Miller will highlight how food-related work slowly became professionalized and the important part African Americans played in that process. His chronicle of the daily table in the White House proclaims a heartfelt American story.

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Biography: Adrian Miller is a food writer, attorney and certified barbecue judge who lives in Denver, CO. He is currently the executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches and, as such, is the first African American and the first layperson to hold that position. Mr. Miller previously served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton and a senior policy analyst for Colorado governor Bill Ritter Jr. He has also been a board member of the Southern Foodways Alliance. His first book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, won the James Beard Foundation Award for Scholarship and Reference in 2014.

Recorded at Kendall College on February 11, 2017.

www.CulinaryHistorians.com

Culinary Historians of Chicago

The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Family

Culinary Historians of Chicago studies the history of food and drink in human cultures. Why we procure, prepare and serve the food we do has cultural, sociological, geographical, financial and political influences. We encourage participation from all walks of life: from academics to home cooks, chefs to grill masters, farmers to heirloom gardeners, food scientists to students. Our programs, and those of our sister organization Chicago Foodways Roundtable, are supported by research, fieldwork and scholarship, though geared to an informed popular audience. We welcome everyone to gather at our table to share food, drink and their life’s culinary experiences.

If you would like to contact us, please e-mail us at CulinaryHistorians@gmail.com

The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Family

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