Thomas Jefferson's Creme Brulee: How A Founding Father And His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine To America (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
I enjoyed learning the culinary details about Jefferson's time in France that exist, but this, in toto, was a bit thinner and more conjectural than what I was hoping for. This'd be great supplementary reading at the high school or college level, but if you've read a lot of food history, it will almost certainly fall short of your expectations. Funnily, the appendix is the most informative - short chapters on Jefferson as wine connoisseur, his love of vegetables, and African foods at Monticello. If the whole book had followed that format, I think it could have been accomplished in half the pages and not have felt so stretched. TJ, would it have killed you to Instagram dinner once in a while? It really would have helped. Thomas J. Craughwell. Thomas Jefferson’s Creme Brûlée Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2012.One of the ongoing requirements when one claims to be a culinary historian is the infamous"survey of the field”. Thus I found myself excited one evening at the local bookstore when I stumbled upon Mr. Craughwell’s “Jefferson’s Crème Brûlée”. Not only am I a lifelong admirer of Thomas Jefferson and have read much about his life and career but I am also in the midst of composing a culinary history. Needless to say, I scooped up the book and walked out of the bookstore beaming and thrilled to have a point of reference for my work. At first though, I was a bit upset as I began to read. A culinary history ? I asked myself. There's hardly anything in here about food or cooking, although the theme of the book is Jefferson's trip to France, his investigation into the cuisine of France and the relationship he had with his slave and cook James Hemings. However as the book progressed it reads like an overall survey of Jefferson's diplomatic trip to France. Now I had already read about all this in numerous works on Jefferson and so was familiar with the basic outline of the time he spent in Europe. Where were the recipes? Where was the chronicle of James Hemings’ training as a cook in Paris? Where was the analysis of Thomas Jefferson's common books regarding which foods he wanted to bring back to America? Mr. Craughwell’s book contained a lot of - well, he probably did this, they probably ate that, they may have used this recipe, he may have had these people over for dinner, he may have bragged about James’ skill in the kitchen, but none of this wasmore than speculation nor verified by any sources. There was little discussion, if any, as to what foods they actually ate and how those foods were actually cooked. Needless to say, I was a bit put off by all of this but then I realized when comparing it to my own work that what my sources produce compared to what Mr. Craughwell sources are, there is not that much actual discussion of food in the records. I was guilty of the same thing Mr. Craughwell presented. My book is based upon probability. However, I like to think that my researches into actual foods present in French colonial Louisiana and actual spices present, as well as what the French normally used in the 18th century kitchen. Also, discussions of smuggling and of markets and of the creation of New Orleans and it’s Creole culture are all based on valid historical sources both primary and secondary. Not to say that Mr. Craughwell did not do his homework but it does not come across as such. So lesson learned - I need to make sure I come across as such. Anyway back to Mr. Craughwell’s book. The main body of the book, the text itself, is a fine account of Jefferson's trip to France. It includes a limited discussion of James’ career in Paris as an apprentice chef. But it is not very detailed. All in all, the text, beyond the trip to France, is a bunch of “probably”. The culinary matter of the work is relegated to a 30 page appendix where Jefferson’s vegetable garden, his wine cellar, and some of his recipes are presented. The recipes are only slightly useful as they are screenshots of Jefferson’s actual common books as well as other works and recipes from the time. Unfortunately, they are all hand written and being scans or screenshots of such documents, can be difficult to read CONCLUSION: if you would like a thorough account of Jefferson's trip to France with a nod toward the foodstuffs and culinary ideas he acquired while there, this is a good read. As a culinary history it falls a little bit short. Even though it does make up for it somewhat in the Appendix. There is no category listed on the dust jacket as on some books but on the cover it says “How a founding father and his slave James Hemings introduced French cuisine to America” and that subtitle does come up somewhat short. It's easy to read but not very informative to anyone who has studied Thomas Jefferson to any extent and certainly not very informative as to the cuisine that it claims to cover.
What do You think about Thomas Jefferson's Creme Brulee: How A Founding Father And His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine To America (2012)?
Enjoyed the book. I found the relationship of Jefferson and Hemings very interesting.
—Ana
Had too much of a history textbook vibe and not enough culinary biography.
—katelynn
