About this Event
Alex Prud'homme, culinary historian and author of the forthcoming title,The First Kitchen: A Culinary History of the White House (Knopf 2023), which traces the central role food has played in American political history, will be on hand to sign his Foreword to The White House Family Cookbook by Executive Chef Henry Haller with Virginia Aronson, his book The French Chef in America: Julia Child's Second Act, and his article "Julia Child Goes Behind the Scenes at the White House" in the White House History Quarterly issue on Queen Elizabeth II: The Royal Visits.
As executive chef from 1966 to 1987, Henry Haller was not only a participant and a witness to White House history, but also a master chronicler. With this cookbook, Chef Haller shares an extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at daily life in the White House through the lens of how five first families dined privately and how they approached formal hospitality publicly. First released by Random House in 1988, this book was popular in its time, but for the White House Historical Association it is perfectly timed for another look, hence this special Association edition updated with images from Chef Haller's own archive menus, photographs and ephemera, and set in the context of White House history by Alex Prud'homme, culinary historian and author.
The French Chef in America: Julia Child's Second Act. Julia Child is synonymous with French cooking, but her legacy runs much deeper. Now, her great-nephew vividly recounts the myriad ways in which she profoundly shaped how we eat today. He shows us Child in the aftermath of the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, suddenly finding herself America's first lady of French food and under considerable pressure to embrace her new mantle. We see her dealing with difficult colleagues and the challenges of fame, ultimately using her newfound celebrity to create what would become a totally new type of food television.
White House History Quarterly 64, "Julia Child Goes Behind the Scenes at the White House". In this issue of the quarterly about Queen Elizabeth II, Alex Prud'homme goes behind the scenes to the White House Kitchen during the Bicentennial visit when his great-aunt, Julia Child, spent the evening reporting for PBS.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
White House History Shop, 1610 H Street Northwest, Washington, United States
USD 0.00