Presented by Alex Prud’homme

Podcast

Links to Recipes:
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Reverse Martini
Lady Bird Johnson’s Pedernales River Chili
Martha Washington’s Preserved Cherries

You all probably know of Alex Prud’homme as co-author of Julia Child’s best selling memoir, My Life in France. Come join us as Alex takes us into the White House to talk about his latest book, Dinner with the President. Alex will serve us a capsulated history of American food and politics, from the grim meals eaten by George Washington and his starving troops at Valley Forge, to Donald Trump’s burger banquets and Joe Biden’s “performance enhancing” ice cream—what they ate, why they ate it, and what it tells us about the state of the nation.

“At the White House, every meal, every bite, has consequences – some intended, some not,” Alex says. 

“Some of the most significant moments in American history have occurred over meals, as U.S. presidents broke bread with friends or foe,” Alex says. “Thomas Jefferson’s nation building receptions in the new capitol, Washington, D.C.; Richard Nixon’s practiced use of chopsticks to pry open China; and Jimmy Carter’s cakes and pies that fueled a détente between Israel and Egypt at Camp David.” 

Alex will also detail overlooked figures, like George Washington’s enslaved chef, Hercules Posey, whose meals burnished the president’s reputation before the cook narrowly escaped to freedom; and pioneering First Ladies, such as Dolley Madison and Jackie Kennedy, who used food and entertaining to build political and social relationships. 

“Food is not just fuel when it is served to the most powerful people in the world,” Alex says says. “It is a tool of communication, a lever of power and persuasion, a form of entertainment, and a symbol of the nation.”

You may purchase his book from your local bookseller or directly from his publisher.

Alex Prud’homme is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and many other publications. He coauthored with his aunt, Julia Child, her memoir, My Life in France, and has authored or coauthored: The French Chef in America, France is a Feast, Born Hungry, The Ripple Effect, Hydrofracking, The Cell Game, and Forewarned. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

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Wednesday, July 12, 2023
7 p.m. Central Time
Presented Via ZOOM

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