food history

  • Summer 1795: A James Hemings Dinner

    “Summer 1795: A James Hemings Dinner”

    On Saturday, June 22, 2019 I will be celebrating the early summer 224 years ago when Chef James Hemings cooked at Monticello. Archaeologists have recently uncovered the original hearth and stew stoves on which Hemings taught his brother Peter the…

  • The Challenge of Cooking Over Fire

    The Challenge of Cooking Over Fire

        Fires and hearths are what I’m thinking about this week as I put together my talk for the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello on Sept 21st!                        …

  • Celebrate Black History Month with Dinner at Indigo House

    Celebrate Black History Month this year with a Southern Sunday Supper on a Saturday Night. On Saturday, February 24th, 2018 this dinner for eight will feature iconic African-American and Southern dishes. After a 1st course of “Pot Likker” soup accompanied…

  • Monticello Hearth Cooking at the Heritage Harvest Festival 2016

    This coming Friday (Sept 9th) culinary historian Michael Twitty will join me at the Monticello kitchen hearth for a celebration of enslaved cooks Edith Fossett and Frances Hern; their skills and their lives. We will prepare a menu of recipes…