EGN NEWS DESK
On Feb. 22, 1797, whereas George Washington celebrated his sixty fifth birthday at a ball in Philadelphia, his celebrated chef, Hercules Posey, slipped from the meager enslaved quarters at Mount Vernon, the president’s Virginia property. Stepping into the damp night time below the sunshine of a waning moon, he discovered his freedom, solely to be misplaced to historical past for the subsequent 200 years.
In the six years earlier than his self-emancipation, Posey had labored each day to create what would develop into the primary American diplomatic delicacies, cooking elaborate meals for a wide range of occasions: the President’s weekly congressional dinners, socials given by Martha Washington for the women of political society, govt workplace entertainments and conferences, and Washington’s birthday celebrations.
Despite his appreciable ability, Posey’s contributions to excessive American delicacies largely stay unknown due to his standing as an enslaved particular person and since an absence of recipes in his personal hand makes recreating the particulars of Posey’s culinary genius troublesome. A small group of historians are working collectively to painstakingly analysis the compelling story of Posey’s rise, fall and supreme reinvention as a free man.
Exploring the main points of Posey’s cooking is a vital approach to perceive the American story, mentioned Kelley Fanto Deetz, the creator of “Bound to the Fire: How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine.”
“Food is likely one of the most influential expressions of society and tradition. When you add the ability dynamics of enslavement and racism, tracing these expressions turns into a significant lens by means of which to grasp the perseverance and creativity of the enslaved cooks,” Dr. Deetz mentioned. “Their meals is an important component of our nation’s historical past.”
In addition to honoring their resilience, Mary V. Thompson, the historian emerita at Mount Vernon, needs individuals to appreciate the technical ability and expertise of enslaved cooks, noting that some have questioned whether or not a chef like Posey would have been expert sufficient to make sophisticated dishes. Ms. Thompson, the creator of “The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret” about slavery at Mount Vernon, has spent the final 4 many years debunking this delusion by piecing collectively proof utilizing household and interval cookbooks, account books and monetary and farm data displaying components, utensils, livestock and produce.
Although his birthplace is as but unknown, Posey turned Washington’s property — the bond on a forfeit mortgage — across the age of 20. Posey was seemingly apprenticed to older Mount Vernon cooks when he was a younger man. He was 42 years previous in 1791 when he was summoned to Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital, to prepare dinner for Washington within the govt mansion. He labored with eight different enslaved individuals. The Washingtons rotated their enslaved “servants” out of Pennsylvania a number of instances a 12 months to stop them from benefiting from the state’s Gradual Abolition Law that freed enslaved individuals residing there for no less than six months.
While in Philadelphia, Washington allowed Posey some measure of freedom to traverse the town. He additionally let the prepare dinner promote kitchen leftovers, incomes an annual wage that was double the common working man’s. Posey turned recognizable all through Philadelphia for his fantastic garments and gallant demeanor. His distinctive flamboyance was as audacious as the brand new nation.
In his memoir, Washington’s step-grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, portrayed Posey as a Gordon Ramsay-like determine whose was uncompromising and wildly artistic:
“The chief prepare dinner would have been termed in fashionable parlance, a celebrated artiste,” Custis wrote, including “as extremely proficient within the culinary artwork as might be discovered within the United States.”
Washington needed his desk to set precedent for hospitality with out opulence, showcasing plentiful American components and worldwide imports that spoke to the primary household’s wealth and energy. Household accounts present purchases of Portuguese and French wine; Italian olive oil; Indian mango pickles; Suriname coffee; Caribbean coconuts; pineapples; and extra.
Posey mastered these numerous components whereas working 16-hour days, and managing a kitchen workers of free and indentured white individuals. Outside the president’s home, he interacted with Philadelphia’s Free Black neighborhood together with pepperpot ladies, oystermen, bakers, fruit sellers and confectioners. At the identical time he ready easy fare that Washington privately favored, together with hoecakes — a cornmeal pancake that was among the many president’s each day favorites.
Letters, just like the one written in 1795 by Massachusetts Rep. Theophilus Bradbury, reveal the amount of meals produced below Posey’s command, like roast beef, veal, turkey, duck, puddings and jellies.
Washington household and interval cookbooks point out that Posey’s delicacies featured complicated sauces, molded ice lotions, delicate pastries, wealthy black cake, preserved and recent greens, and dishes from the Far East, Caribbean and India.
Cheyney McKnight, a historian who has interpreted enslaved and free cooks on her widespread web site, Not Your Momma’s History, and social media accounts mentioned recreating Posey’s desk was essential as a result of historic foodways are a strong approach to train troublesome tales in regards to the enslaved.
“Conversations about enslavement are onerous, however historic foodways are an immediate draw to many individuals,” Ms. McKnight mentioned. “When I talk about Chef Posey to the general public, the dialog begins with what he cooked however that shortly permits me to go deeper into the cruel legal guidelines that ruled his life even whereas he labored as a high-end chef. This helps humanize him past his standing as property.”
Posey’s journey to freedom started in the summertime of 1796, when Washington left the prepare dinner at Mount Vernon, fearing his chef had plans to flee from the capital metropolis by utilizing its huge abolitionist community. By autumn of that 12 months, Posey was now not adorning elegant platters for top profile visitors however digging gravel for roads. After his escape, Posey headed to Philadelphia the place he remained for some time earlier than settling in Manhattan to work as a laborer and prepare dinner till his loss of life in 1812.
For the League of Descendants of Mount Vernon’s Enslaved Community, revealing histories of, and publicly recognizing, enslaved determine is essential. The League is lobbying to have a avenue in Alexandria, Va., renamed for Hercules Posey, as a part of a venture to exchange the town’s Confederate-named thoroughfares.
“Chef Hercules Posey holds a big place in historical past,” mentioned Arthur Wilson, the league’s chairman, “not just for descendants of the enslaved at Mount Vernon or as a result of he was George Washington’s prepare dinner.”
“He is a consultant of a wealthy neighborhood of enslaved cooks whose contributions performed an important function in shaping the town’s — and America’s — commerce, society and development,” Dr. Wilson mentioned.
