James Beard award–winning author Adrian Miller vividly tells 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. Miller brings together the names and words of more than 150 black men and women who played remarkable roles in unforgettable events in the nation’s history. Miller will share stories about how these professional cooks were celebrated culinary artists, First Family confidantes, and civil rights advocates.

Surveying the labor of enslaved people during the antebellum period and the gradual opening of employment after Emancipation, Miller highlights 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 fascinating new American story.

Adrian Miller is a writer, attorney, culinary historian, and certified barbecue judge. He served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton as the Deputy Director of the President’s Initiative for One America, a senior policy analyst for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr., and a Southern Foodways Alliance board member.

Adrian’s book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time won the 2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Reference and Scholarship.

Free Admission. Free Parking. Book sales/signing and reception follow program.