Bringing to Light the Cuisine of Hercules Posey, George Washington’s Enslaved Chef
On Feb. 22, 1797, while George Washington celebrated his 65th birthday at a ball in Philadelphia, his celebrated chef, Hercules Posey, slipped from the meager enslaved quarters at Mount Vernon, the president’s Virginia estate. Stepping into the damp night under the light of a waning moon, he found h...
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| Format: | Non traditional textual works |
| Language: | English |
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New York Times
2024
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| Online Access: | https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/dining/hercules-posey-george-washington-chef.html http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/94488 |
| Summary: | On Feb. 22, 1797, while George Washington celebrated his 65th birthday at a ball in Philadelphia, his celebrated chef, Hercules Posey, slipped from the meager enslaved quarters at Mount Vernon, the president’s Virginia estate. Stepping into the damp night under the light of a waning moon, he found his freedom, only to be lost to history for the next 200 years.
In the six years before his self-emancipation, Posey had worked daily to create what would become the first American diplomatic cuisine, cooking elaborate meals for a variety of events: the President’s weekly congressional dinners, socials given by Martha Washington for the ladies of political society, executive office entertainments and meetings, and Washington’s birthday celebrations. |
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