Book
Dinner with the president : food, politics, and a history of breaking bread at the White House / Alex Prud'homme.
"Perhaps the most significant meals in the world have been consumed at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue by the presumptive leaders of the free world. Thomas Jefferson had an affinity for eggplant and FDR for terrapin stew. Nixon ate a lump of cottage cheese topped with barbecue sauce every day and Obama regularly had arugula. Now, Alex Prud'homme takes us to the dining tables of the White House to look at what the presidents chose to eat, how the food was prepared and by whom, and the context in which the meals were served, making clear that every one of these details speaks volumes about both the individual president and the country he presided over. We see how these gustatory messages touch on not only sometimes curious personal tastes, but also local politics, national priorities, and global diplomacy-not to mention all those dinner-table-conversation-taboos: race, gender, class, money, and religion. The individual stories are fascinating in themselves, but taken together-under the keen and knowledgeable eye of Prud'homme-they reveal that food is not just food when it is desired, ordered, and consumed by the President of the United States"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781524732219
- ISBN: 1524732214
- Physical Description: xxviii, 478 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2023.
- Copyright: ©2023
Content descriptions
| General Note: | "This is a Borzoi Book published by Alfred A. Knopf." |
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 451-454) and index. |
| Formatted Contents Note: | Introduction: At the president's table -- George Washington : the first kitchen -- John Adams : the first host -- Thomas Jefferson : America's founding epicure -- James Madison : to Jemmy's health, and Dolley's remorseless equanimity -- Abraham Lincoln : corn, gingerbread, and Thanksgiving -- Ulysses S. Grant : the drunken tanner, the military genius, and the first state dinner -- Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft : two bears -- From Wilson to Coolidge and Hoover : heartburn, hard cheese, and a hail of rotten tomatoes -- Franklin D. Roosevelt : the gourmet's lament -- Harry S. Truman : bourbon, Berlin, and the comforts of fried chicken -- Dwight D. Eisenhower : the president who cooked -- John F. Kennedy : Camelot and clam chowder -- Lyndon B. Johnson : how barbecue led to diplomacy and chili led to civil rights -- Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford : the unlikelist gastro-diplomat and the instant president -- Jimmy Carter : in search of grits and peace -- Ronald Reagan : jelly beans, weight-loss, and glasnost -- George H. W. Bush : the yin and yang of broccoli -- William J. Clinton : torn between renunciation and appetite -- George W. Bush : tee ball, freedom fries, and changing of the guard -- Barack Obama : the president with the global palate -- Donald Trump : the food fighter -- Joseph R. Biden : we finish as family -- Conclusion: Eating together. |
Search for related items by subject
| Genre: | Biographies. Trivia and miscellanea. |
Available copies
- 17 of 17 copies available at Missouri Evergreen. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at North Kansas City.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 17 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Kansas City Public Library | 973.09 PRUD'HOMME 2023 (Text) | 0001012511079 | Nonfiction | Available | - |
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Dinner with the President : Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House
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Summary
Dinner with the President : Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House
A sumptuous narrative history of presidential food--from Washington starving at Valley Forge to Trump's well-done steaks with ketchup--from the co-author of My Life in France . 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is perhaps the most important house in the world, which gives the food on the Commander-in-Chief's table unprecedented significance. What our leaders choose to eat, how the food is prepared and by whom, and the context in which these meals are served speaks volumes not only to the country, but often to the world at large. These gustatory messages touch on everything from personal taste (Jefferson's love of eggplant, FDR's terrapin stew, Nixon's daily lump of cottage cheese topped with barbecue sauce, Obama's arugula) to local politics, national priorities, global diplomacy, climate change, and war--not to mention race, gender, class, money, and religion. In The First Kitchen , Alex Prud'homme explores the fascinating stories of first families through the food they ate and served, and in doing so paints a unique picture of the institution of the presidency--and its place in American history.
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