Monticello food was said to be half French, half Virginian.Īny Hamilton musical fans? ME! James Hemings cooked the dinner in “the room where it happened”! That night, in Jefferson’s dining room, a compromise was made for support of Hamilton’s financial plan in exchange for moving the US capitol to DC, on the Potomac, placing it in the south to benefit Jefferson and Madison’s home region. Jefferson returned to America with 86 crates of: copper cookware, a macaroni maker, ice cream making equipment, waffle iron, European wines, olive oil, countless recipes and a vision for French food to inspire American cuisine. This is one of many reasons that Jefferson is such a problematic historical figure. James was 1 of only 2 enslaved people that Jefferson freed in his lifetime…out of over 600. Jefferson inherited the Hemings family in his marriage to Martha. Without going too much into this family tree, it’s important to note that James and Sally were half siblings of Martha, Thomas Jefferson’s deceased wife. James’ sister, Sally Hemings joined them in Paris. He learned French and even paid for a tutor to better learn his craft. After just 3 years, James was running the kitchen of Jefferson’s home in Paris, Hotel De Langeac as chef de cuisine, the highest rank in the kitchen. James Hemings, just 19, trained at the most prominent French catering companies in Paris and even in the royal household of Prince of Conde at Chateau Chantilly. They brought it to the forefront of American attention by bringing it to the table. They tasted noodles with cheese in France and Italy, loved it and brought it back to America. James and Thomas didn’t invent macaroni and cheese. James Hemings spent 5 years with Thomas Jefferson in Paris learning French cuisine while Jefferson acted as United States minister to France from 1784 to 1789. James Hemings was eventually granted his freedom but ultimately met a tragic ending. Unfortunately, it is usually “the hand that holds the pen writes history”, not who holds the spoon. James Hemings, a chef enslaved by Thomas Jefferson did the cooking and in this chef’s opinion, should be the one we attribute the popularity of Mac & Cheese in America to. Did he cook it himself? Absolutely not Thomas Jefferson was known to only enter the kitchen to fix the clocks. Did he bring back macaroni from Europe to Monticello and serve it to many of our founding fathers? Sure did. What exactly is the connection between Thomas Jefferson and Mac & Cheese? Did he invent it? No.
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