By the time of Jefferson’s retirement from the presidency in 1809, the kitchen at Monticello was a state-of-the-art facility for its time, where enslaved chefs Edith Hern Fossett and Frances Gillette Hern prepared meals that rivaled those served in Europe. One visitor described the meals as “served in half Virginian, half French style, in good taste and abundance."I
In this livestream, culinary historian Dr. Leni Sorensen and Chad Wollerton, Monticello's Director of Digital Media and Strategy, talk about cooking in the Monticello kitchen and discuss the enslaved people who grew and prepared the food for Jefferson and his family.
