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Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House
| Title | Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House |
| Writer | |
| Date | 2024-10-08 08:43:26 |
| Type | |
| Link | Listen Read |
Desciption
A sumptuous narrative history of presidential food--from Washington starving at Valley Forge to Trump's well-done steaks with ketchup--from the co-author of My Life in France.1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is perhaps the most important house in the world, which gives the food on the Commander-in-Chief's table unprecedented significance. What our leaders choose to eat, how the food is prepared and by whom, and the context in which these meals are served speaks volumes not only to the country, but often to the world at large. These gustatory messages touch on everything from personal taste (Jefferson's love of eggplant, FDR's terrapin stew, Nixon's daily lump of cottage cheese topped with barbecue sauce, Obama's arugula) to local politics, national priorities, global diplomacy, climate change, and war--not to mention race, gender, class, money, and religion. In The First Kitchen, Alex Prud'homme explores the fascinating stories of first families through the food they ate and served, and in doing so paints a unique picture of the institution of the presidency--and its place in American history. Read more
Review
Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Review An Amazon Best Book of February 2023: In the US, many have participated in the great American pastime of awkward conversations around the Thanksgiving table. Arguably as much a sport as flag football, this occasions people of different faiths, political bents, and philosophies, to break bread together, but not break each other. After bonding over the superiority of canned cranberry sauce compared to homemade (the suction that emits as it exits the can is the sound of Thanksgiving!), you really don’t care to. A feeling of conviviality overtakes, and you find that you actually have a few things in common with the person you enthusiastically trolled on social media only a day before—things you can build on. Dinner with the President is a gripping gastronomic history that explores this non-trivial phenomenon on a grander scale, revealing the ways in which savvy POTUS have harnessed the political power of culinary communion. Prud'homme, who co-authored My Life in France with Julia Child, also sets the table for an important discussion about the perils of not having a coordinated food policy in this country. Echoing Mark Bittman and Michael Pollen, he warns that this deepens economic disparities, contributes to the climate crisis, and fuels the divisiveness that makes for awkward holiday meal fodder. While Dinner with the President might not whet your appetite for squirrel stew (Lincoln, Garfield, and Eisenhauer were fans), it does provide fascinating food for thought. —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor Review "A deeply researched and beautifully written book about how the presidential palate has helped shape America. I found it fascinating." —Stanley TucciDinner with the President is a splendid and captivating book about the power of food in American politics. “Breaking bread” around the table creates a unique and powerful setting to bring conflicting people together and achieve positive outcomes." —Jacques Pépin "Mr. Prud’homme has come up with a slew of entertaining believe-it-or-not tidbits...Dinner With the President opens with an epigraph by Anthony Bourdain: “Nothing is more political than food.” Mr. Prud’homme’s fascinating book drives the point home." —Moira Hodgson, The Wall Street Journal ★ "With much insight into human behavior, Prud’homme has confected an appealing, panoramic history of power dining for both foodies and students of politics and statecraft." —Mark Knoblauch, Booklist; starred review"An entertaining, well-researched, politically tinged gastronomic history." —Kirkus Reviews About the Author Alex Prud'homme is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other publications. He is the coauthor of Julia Child's 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. Read more
