The President’s Kitchen Cabinet and Adventures in Barbeque: a History of African American Chefs

In this event, James Beard award–winning author Adrian Miller will talk with Ligaya Figueras about his recent book The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans who Have Fed our First Families, and his upcoming book Black Smoke: African American Adventures in Barbeque. Black Smoke celebrates the significant contributions that African Americans have made to barbecue culture in the United States, and is the culmination of over a year of research into local, African-American-run barbeque establishments across the country. In The President’s Kitchen Cabinet, 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. A treasury of information about cooking techniques and equipment, the book includes twenty recipes for which black chefs were celebrated. In all of his work, Miller highlights African Americans' contributions to our shared American foodways, and brings that knowledge to your screens in this compelling conversation.

Adrian Miller is a culinary historian and a certified barbecue judge who has lectured around the country on such topics as: Black Chefs in the White House, chicken and waffles, hot sauce, kosher soul food, red drinks, soda pop, and soul food. 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. The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas was nominated for a 2018 NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Literary Work–Non-Fiction.” Adrian also received the “2018 Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame” Award for his work on African American foodways. He also has a long history of working in public office, including working as special assistant to President Clinton and the Deputy Director of the President’s Initiative for One America, and later as a Senior Policy Analyst for Governor Bill Ritter and as Gov. Ritter’s point person on the Colorado Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. Adrian is currently the Executive Director of the Colorado Council of Churches. He is the first African American and the first layperson to hold that position.

Ligaya Figueras joined the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as its food and dining editor in 2015. The Midwest transplant digs biscuits, collards and peanuts — roasted, please. She also writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Atlanta Restaurants blog.

The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans who Have Fed our First Families by Adrian Miller available through local, indie bookseller