was a racist search volume for trump. that doesn't mean everybody who supports strong is racist but it does mean that some supporters were. [inaudible conversations] >> good morning. i am the supervisory archivist and on behalf of the library i'd like to welcome you to the 2017 roosevelt reading festival. fdr planned for the library to become the premier

research institution for the entire resin -- roosevelt era it is with the busiest of all the library's two reflect the wide variety few of the residents of reading festival in one to support this and other festivals i encourage you to become a member for you can join to get the membership table or on line. if you have not already please cozy this special temporary museum about the incarceration of japanese americans during world war ii. at the top of each hour of a session begins with a 30 minute talk with 10 minutes of question and answer. the author will then move to the lobby to sign books and

talk with you more. during the q&a period this will be taped for c-span soties approached the microphone. now it is my pleasure to introduce our next speaker, adrian miller a writer and a sturdy and certified barbeque judge. [laughter] living in denver colorado. he is currently the executive director of the colorado council of churches in the first african-american and layperson to hold the position. previously serving as a special assistant of the president of bill clinton and also for the colorado governor a board member of the alliance his first book soul food won the james beard foundation award for

scholarship. [applause] his second book the the of -- "the president's kitchen cabinet" the story of the african americans who have fed our first families, from the washingtons to the obamas" published on president's day 2017. [applause] with. >> good morning. it is so good to be here i want to tell you about my background and how i came to write this book and then instead of my typical presentation i will focus just on president roosevelt because there are great stories there. born and raised in denver colorado i wrote a book on the history of soul food that gave me street credit really but i have to the

southern parents my mama's from chattanooga and my dad is from arkansas this is what i grew up eating and while i was researching that book on the history of soul food that the president started to pop up in my research so i'd like finding enough stories to cobble together i will do it and fortunately i was able to do that to write "the president's kitchen cabinet." a lawyer by training this is not to disparage any attorney but it was not for me i was going to open a soul food restaurant in denver but then a former classmate called me up out of the blue that i am working on this initiative in the white house to have many friends who would be interested? i said tell me more. the initiative for one america an outgrowth of the clinton's initiative and

race that if we just talked to one another and listen we may realize we have more in common. so then i did the same thing that dictate -- dick cheney did and went to this search committee of my name was on the list so i got the job and worked at the clinton white house at the end of his second term lamented the interest of food writing flaw -- but i love the presidency because that encapsulates so the savings that i felt like the a deity of african-americans that are the celebrated:every artist doing their best to keep the president happy and healthy with an interplay the president tends to want to play hooky from their diet and early their saving

the president's from themselves. batted is the interesting personality. / want to focus on 3e personalities from the roosevelt administration another one was named nick duffy who was primarily a made in the one who would cook for fdr and then would stay in georgia. but i eventually found 150 people who had cooked for our president from george washington to the current administration i finished my book with the obama administration but there are some holdovers now with the trump whitehouse. i figured the best way is to create different categories and then tell the stories.

so the ingredients created a the interplay and then i started off with a presidential steward that was in charge of all domestic operations now they are called the chief usher the shopping, plan menus menus, that i moved to the enslaved people who cooked because a lot of presidents were slaveholders then i talk about the cooks that were part of the white house culture then i talk about when the president travels. what happens when he is on a train or a boat or air force one then an entire chapter on drinks because one of the longest cat and mouse game is whether or not our president drinks so this is the strategy denied.

is somebody presidency you don't drink that much and then deny that there is even a white house wine cellar but then say there isn't much in it. it is a cat and mouse game and fdr was the of bartender in chief throughout history bin i end about talking about the future of african-americans in the book nothing is stopping to be named the chief executive chef it is just presidential taste that is how i and the book proposal let me end with the cat and mouse game with the first lady of the white house so eleanor roosevelt wasn't interested in food. she was brainy but on sunday night she would have the scrambled eggs dinner with the brains because she would invite intellectuals over so

there is a little bit of controversy she actually cooked them were just turned the map the last minute before they were served so henry had been as ben was in charge of the food but president roosevelt was on a diet and a bike to stray from the diet so the white house physician and eleanor roosevelt would team up so nesbitt in heard director -- diary talked-about and exchange and i will read that now. he said colloquy if you need help. at the very start she would call it a tizzy if he would get upset. she would try to get the appetite back to normal. finally he brought in

doctors from in the the hospital and a dietitian arrived in uniform the president ate everything he was told to simply because it was ordered by the navy. cut out all fried foods. bout was one directive but typically the president will get what they want to get so i often have to help the president out. so i love this exchange dealing with mcduffy she was the wife of mr. mcduffy longtime valet so she comes to the white house and would accompany roosevelt on long trips but the interesting thing about mcduffy is she had a big size personality she would entertain the president with puppet shows and $1 was called a suicide

the other was called jezebel and the president loved them. and actually she would campaign for the president. so to give an example from the baltimore african-american newspaper no man is a hero to the valet. the world has invaded double sides. the zero white house cookie and wife of the president's valet to take yourself before an audience of 700 in st. louis . and love that is something akin to the divine.

that is news. the bigger is doing as well job as a campaign speaker. she went out to make one speech made to read and could have made 24 more before returning to washington. so she went to a lot of cities with a large african american constituency so this federal hatch act but to make such a difference president roosevelt called her into the oval office to thank her personally. and another interesting thing a movie executive dining at the white house to take one look is there water in my next movie.

gone with the wind. she was actually in consideration for the role of paddy mcdaniel. eleanor roosevelt wrote a letter on her behalf and there were newspaper reports because walter leaked that they can you imagine that happening today? so there is a story out there that she got the part said she would accompany to warm springs georgia and started to go to george judge as governor of new york but daisy bonner is one of my favorite characters in which she would go to a georgia so

she would stay in a cottage in warm springs and cook and introduce to all kinds of specialties. i dish said it is very popular is chicken curry and she and president roosevelt joke about a secret recipe with 45 ingredients. but also with those other indelicacies the one thing that fdr loved is a big speech. -- pigs' feet. she would boil them then broil them and then butter them that is how he liked them so stay with me it will get worse for a second. [laughter] so one of these and also its

service to winston churchill. now alonso fields started to work in the hoover administration wrote about this in his diary. and then to be served at a luncheon. living in maryland had a cut. this was sweet and sour pigs feet. but have a luncheon tomorrow for the prime minister. so then he said what is this? he said i have never heard of pigs feet betty he

helped himself that he said very good but sort of slimy. the president laughed said they are a bit i am fond of them some time we will have the friday the prime minister said no thank you. that is the pigs feet. glenn interesting dish that bonner may have the recipe in the book is anybody here a coke or cooking souffle? what is the big concern? rising and falling and i will tell you about day miracle to rattle your soul. this miraculous that she made on the last day of his life. the "new york times" offers this account. 115 p and mrs. bonner had

the souffle ready and told the valet give -- get the president to the table and the president said never put it into the oven until i come out of my room he was reading the atlantic constitution and the paper had come late in mr. roosevelt was sorry. but he was being sketched by the artist he would never sit for her but she had to catch him but then just as he went in and he said what a terrific headache then slumped over in his chair and never ate the souffle but it didn't fall until the moment he died which was two hours later. is to not fall over two hours he had is repro have niche negative 1:12 p.m.. it was supposed to combat 1:15 p.m.. souffle making is a strong concern of the white house

cut. jfk was chronically late. and then even hoping jfk would arrive on time. that is the peril to make a souffle. but daisy bonner was very moved by his death if you ever go to georgia and the kitchen area she wrote on the wall dc bonner cut to a first and last meal for the of president it was encased in plastic. she wanted to be known as the first lady of presidential cooking she wanted to open a museum but died before she could put that together.

i also want touche to talk to about drinks but fdr embraced the drinking culture i talk about wine and cocktails and a one to read about eggnog. from lillian rogers park to give us is an insight out eggnog place apart. so speaking of liquid also a recipe of one of the other drinks. cocktail and highballs were served but the new year's eggnog was traditional the creamy mixture was prepared in the same way in the punch bowl was put before the president and then to give the same toast to the united states.

so then they declared that president eisenhower made but the one that roosevelt had was also very strong so you can see a lot of very strong eggnog even at the present day and about the trump white house right now but what obama served would knock you out that is a tradition but roosevelt is most known for the of martini. so then to ravenous with that exact formula working of by a family committee. but that was not as mild. and mrs. a stronger martini.

it was so dry it could be mistaken for some and. and then mixing vermouth and aegean -- gen. he would say he had the power to decide the ultimate taste of the martini but at this point some people were not sure they wanted a martini after all. and sometimes there was an old-fashioned if there was a guest he would mix martinis for everyone and bride he was the best mixer in the east. there are references to a rom based drink called the haitian libation but i cannot find a recipe. by all accounts it was awful but fdr really liked to make.

the presidential tests and believed a non-executive chef was in charge of feeding the animals that though warehouse -- white house but there was the time when the white house that the step up plans and this was the dog weeks that was on the scene firsthand according to white house reports march 9th, 1934, there were fried eggs and ham set out for the resident staff. the cook made this and then stepped away but then all of them were gone. they realized because winks had helped himself. the press had a lot of phone they actually made up picture of him but the cook

was very upset so soon after words it was announced winks was leaving the white house to spend part time with his family. [laughter] but one thing that is interesting is over time it is that three boxes as a culinary artist celebrated at the time. so it was not grey. people would have second thoughts whether to come to a big dinner. i was engaging in a little bit of race pride. how good the food be that nasty? and lillian parks rogers and her diary sheds

light on this of those african-americans would do their things and nesbitt would come out behind them to adjust the seasoning so then invested up and it never worked out. but i do want those african-americans through my research looking in the archives and actually i would look through old newspapers companies are digitizing those and if you could figure out the terms you could find out a lot about the cooks sold milling negative. >> the term white house executive shaft -- after succumbing to existence until jacqueline kennedy was called the first cut or the head cook them also

mr. barnett who worked in the white house and then during the johnson administration was a well-known cater in the washington d.c. area. mrs. blake who was the assistant cook and dc bonner so there was a jimmy carter in the white house before the president. [laughter] and mcduffy. >> in the diary had a lot of praise for teeeighteen and could make anything happen. so the interesting thing bad happens in a way it is segregated so back to the time of president taft there

was a segregationist so with the multiracial white house said to have those segregated eating spaces she had a separate table for the white said in for the blacks by the time roosevelt gets to the white house to rectify this situation to fire most of the white people. [laughter] it is no longer segregation. but overall we cds cut store a culinary artist and the president's go to their funeral and weddings with significant family events that the president is terribly moved with a tradition with the president's staff winds up and goes down the line to thank them all for their service.

and we can see those civil rights advocates to have their humanity accepted and we saw what mcduffy did while campaigning for fdr but the longtime private cook for lyndon johnson pressing for the civil-rights act uses heard jim crow experience to support that bill because the family when drive back and forth from texas is to suffer so many indignities said i will not make the ride anymore. so it is the schaede to suffer this indignity and when that act is passed to give her one of the pens and say you deserve this just as much as anyone. so the big take away is these african-americans

because of their professional excellence gave the of president the window on black lives they may not have had otherwise. they chose not to open the window but if they did the nation has spent much better. thank you. [applause] we have time for questions. >> how does this differ from before? so what happened with african-americans?. >> a great question so there is more openness and a lot more camaraderie.

so it didn't seem to have that the rigidity also with the coolidge administration he would actually cut into the kitchen to say you are eating a lot of food. he was very nosy. >> they still have the segregation that he was a southerner. for him celebrating the southern food cooked by the white house staff. i don't know about the interaction but he loves their food. but the harding administration there was camaraderie there also big

on waffles. intercable is alice how word. >> so did mrs. nesbitt than bonner ever meet? and if that dismissal i don't know if we actually met. it was over something very silly because mrs. truman wanted a stick of butter and mrs. nesbitt refused to give it to her.

[laughter] that was just the final blow and was gone a short time after that. >> that is a great question because after that to become maitre d and another guy who serves to get prominences the white house and then becomes of the treaty later. that was the event over a stick of butter. >> the chief of -- that position is it tenure or is it carried on?. >> day serve at the pleasure of the president so typically in the white house kitchen usually the executive chef for the

pastry chef but what has happened when a president comes in they can decide so most decide to bring in an additional cook for the family but they keep the of first cook and there was a separate dining space she turned margaret truman's bedroom into a small kitchen and pantry because the family thought of us dying room was not intimate enough so that each of the second-floor. lyndon johnson was the have a second coat just cooking for the family must have the white house chief executive chef do anything with negative everything for family and cast -- guess. sometimes they will make a recommendation but typically somebody on the staff may be

elevated or somebody the president knows from their prior life that they bring into the white house kitchen if they're going to make it change the 1960 most have kept the holdover from the previous administration. johnson all the way to reagan and then walter k. the bid with the clintons in the first term of george to be bush. and the assistant chef was elevated to white house executive chef. >> what is the food budget?. >> yes. before you get to ruth trotman the president had to pay for the food out of his

own pocket. driven eventually gets a budget if you order food on an air force one or on the yacht or the kitchen it is building is that it counted is not a free-for-all is allocated by congress. so to give you more history the creation of the white house is a reflection of this because after it is renovated there was more before staff. so true bin would not get any more money from congress it was called a do nothing congress. to make a private kitchen and dining space but that is

the navy operations solana the food that is cooked. >> in to what about the allergic reaction?. >> yes. so the first example was borer nelson mandela and was offered the executive chef job under president clinton. but he turned it down because it was too much of a pay cut. [laughter] he was making well into the six figures at the hotel

across the street from the white house that that time the executive chef salary was only 58,000 so it definitely drop he had several kids and turned it down. with the sesame crested halibut with lemon grass vegetables in there is a recipe in my book to replicate at home at the last second they asked him to be the guest of honor along with nelson mandela said he did not cook a meal but he created it. but george herbert walker bush that is the only one that i know of. is there a presidential tace tester? yes there is it tends to be the opposition leader in congress. [laughter]

it is actually the white house chef. and can you give us insight i know he doesn't drink. >> we don't get a lot of information what president trump likes the what i have seen so far is he does love meatballs with a well done stake with catch-up. -- catch-up but the fast food label is unfair on the campaign trail that is when you get a lot of times but i do know that he loves me balls that we don't get a lot of information.

>> 8q so much. [applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] . >> for centuries m