Jeffersonian
Dinners
The
most important published source for the preparation of a Jeffersonian
dinner is Marie Kimball, Thomas Jefferson's Cook Book (Charlottesville,
Virginia, 1976; reprinted 1987). Two introductory essays -- by
Mrs. Kimball and Helen Duprey Bullock -- provide good background
information about Jefferson's interest in French cuisine, his
relish for vegetables, and other aspects of his culinary tastes.
Only eight recipes in Jefferson's own hand have survived; Mrs. Kimball includes these (altered for modern cooks), plus his list of appropriate entrees, on pages 29-38. It should be noted that Mrs. Kimball has altered the wording of most of the recipes to accommodate them to twentieth-century practices.
On pages 41-117 are a number of recipes taken from a manuscript cookbook in the hand of Jefferson's granddaughter, Virginia Randolph Trist (1801-1882). No original Monticello cookbook survives, but some of Jefferson's granddaughters apparently copied from a lost original. Virginia's manuscript is the most complete to survive, but it too seems to be missing some of its parts, as certain food types -- like vegetables and breads -- are underrepresented.
Mrs. Kimball has included many post-Jefferson recipes from the Trist manuscript along with those of the Monticello period. If historical accuracy is desired, ONLY the recipes with the following attributions should be used:
- Monticello
- Martha J. Randolph. Jefferson's daughter, active in running
the Monticello household from 1790 to 1826
- Mary Randolph. Martha's sister-in-law and author of a cookbook,
The Virginia Housewife (1824). There was much contact
between the Monticello family and Mrs. Randolph (in Richmond)
in the ten years before Jefferson's death
- Adrien Petit. Jefferson's butler from 1786 to 1794
- James Hemings. A Monticello slave, trained in French cuisine
in Paris and Jefferson's chef from 1787 to 1796
- Honoré Julien. Jefferson's chef at the President's
House, 1801-1809
- Etienne Lemaire. Jefferson's butler at the President's House,
1801-1809
- Comte de Volney. French visitor to Monticello in 1796
No menus of dinners at Monticello have survived. Visitors to the President's House from 1801 to 1809 did provide some information on specific dishes. These, plus appropriate recipes from the Cook Book, can be used to plan your own menu. A good source to round out the menu is Mary Randolph's Virginia Housewife (1824; reprinted in 1984), which has a helpful glossary.
--Lucia C. Stanton, Monticello Research Department, July 1989, revised August 1994
Photo of Monticello Dining Room by Robert C. Lautman