Adrian Miller: The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families

African Americans have worked in presidential food service as chefs, personal cooks, butlers, stewards, and servers for every First Family since George and Martha Washington. Award-winning author and food historian Adrian Miller explores the lives of these men and women through the lens of his upcoming book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families from the Washingtons to the Obamas (University of North Carolina Press, 2017). Chronicling individuals as well as cooking techniques, Miller shares twenty recipes associated with African American White House chefs, and incorporates the White House experiences of these chefs into the larger history of African American foodways and its cultural impact both at the White House and nationwide. Lecture will be followed by a light reception.

Miller served as special assistant and the Deputy Director of the President’s Initiative for One America during the Clinton administration. He is a culinary historian who specializes in the history of barbecue, soul food, and African American presidential chefs. His previous book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of An American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, also published by UNC Press, won the 2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award.