You again to the 2017 roosevelt reading festival. Fdr plans for the library to become the premier Research Institution for studying the entire roosevelt era. The librarys Research Room is king thely one of the busiest of all of the president ial libraries. And this years group of authors reflects wide variety of research down here. And if you love the roosevelt reading festival, and want to support this and other programs that question do here, i encourage you to become a Roosevelt Library member. You can join today at the membership table in the hall. Or onis line at fdr library. Org and if you havent already please do go see our new special, temporary Museum Exhibition images of internment incarceration of japanese americans during world war ii. So let me quickly go over the format for the tevels sessions today. At the top of each hour, a session begins with a 30minute talk followed by a ten minute question and answer period. The author then moves to the lobby to sign books and talk with you more if you have more questions. So during the question and answer period today, this session will be taped for cspan so we appreciate it if you could approach the microphone that is over here at the edge of the room to raise any questions. So now it is my pleasure to introduce our next speaker, and this is Adrian Miller who is a food writer, attorney, and certified barbecue judge who lives in [laughter] denver, colorado. [laughter] he is currently the executive director of the colorado counsel of churches and such is first africanamerican and first layperson to hold that position. Miller previously served as special assistant to president bill clinton. And a senior policy analyst for colorado governor bill ritter jr. Hes also been board member of the Southern Food raise alliance. Militarys first book soul food surprising story of ann american quiz seen one plate at a time won James Beard Foundation qeard for scholarship and reference in 2014. [applause] his second book president Kitchen Cabinet story of the africanamericans who have fed our first families from the washingtons to the obamas was published on president s day 2017. Lets welcome. [applause] yes, a friend of mine. [laughter] well good morning its so great to be here at the president roosevelt president ial library to talk about this subject. I want to give you a little bit about my background. How i came to write this book, on africanamerican president ialship and instead of my typical presentation where i would go through clips but focus on those who clipped for president roosevelt and Great Stories there. So i was born and raised in denver, colorado, and as you heard i wrote a book on history of soul food and given where i grew up that was street credit on that subject immediately. But i have two southern parents my mom is from chattanooga, tennessee, and my dad from arkansas, so food i grew up eating while i was researching that book on history of soul food that africanamericans who have cooked for our president s started popping up in my research so i said once i finish that book, if i could find enough stories to cobble together a story about president ialships im going to do and fortunately i was able to do that and write this book the president s Kitchen Cabinet. So im a lawyer by training. And didnt this is not disparage any attorney in the audience but it wasnt for me. And i was going to open up a soul Food Restaurant in denver and then a loyal classmate had of mine from georgetown, law School Called me up out of the blue and said adrian im working on this initiative. And in the white house, do you have any friends who might be interested working on this mission. So im sitting in any office in denver and shes back in d. C. So tell me a little bit more about initiative that was called initiative for one america that was outgrowth of president clinton thirktive on race which had this wild and crazy idea. If we just tacked to one another, and listen we might real that we have a lot more in common than what supposedly divides us so after she told me this, i did the same thing that dick klainny did when george w. Bush caption Vice President and head of the Search Committee only mine went on the list so i did get the job move to d. C. And i boy worked in Clinton White house at the end of the second term expfer after that i started this interest in food writing, and that led to the concern publication of soul food and then to this book. Now what i love about roosevelt presidency it has themes that i found in my book. One is just the idea that we have these africanamericans who are the celebrated culinary artists doing their best to make the president happy. Through food and first family as well. And to keep them healthy. We also have this interplay where president s tend want to play hook key from their diet. And usually its the first lady and the president ial physician who are saving the president s from themselves and then africanamerican cooks caught in the middle so it was just interesting personality so what im going to do is primarily focus on three personalities from the roosevelt and Administration One is guy named elon disco fields. Another woman was named liz subsidy mcduffy primarily a maid in the Roosevelt Administration but she also did a lot to help cook and with food service and then dazey a cook when he would cook for fdr and stay in warm springs, georgia. Now way i organize this book is because im dealing with so many people, i eventually found 150 people who have cooked our president s from George Washington to current administration. Now my book came i finished my book during Obama Administration but there are holdovers from Obama Administration cooking now, in the Trump White House. And i found 150 people, and i decided the best way to tell this story was to create different categories of these cooks. And then tell those stories soy start outside with the ingredients of president ial food ways as i call them. All of the things that are create interplay for the food ways of the white house. And then i started out with the used to be called president ial stewart so these requester people that were in charge of domestic operation of the white house now called chief usher but in earliest days they were the steward so shopping, plan menu and hire cooks and oversee operations and then i moved to enslaved people who cooked in little white house for our president s because they have been slave holders and then i talk the free cooks from the beginning all the way to the president who were part of the white house culture, then i talk about the cooks when the president is traveling. So what happens when the president is on a train, or a boat or air force one what happens when they stay a period of time and then i spend entire chapter on drinks because one of the longest yes one of the longest cat and mouse games is whether or not our president drinks. [laughter] and if i was the press secretary this seems to be strategy one deny that you drink and then u someone prove that you drink say you dont drink that much. And two deny theres even a white house wine seller and then somebody proves that say theres not much in it. Right. And then it is a huge cabinet of shame and fdr ftion probably or bar tender this chief throughout president ial history, and then i end by talking about the future of africanamerican cooks. Theres nothing thats toking africanamerican from being named white house chief executive chef executive chef so a matter of the president ial taste so i go on to that. And thats how i end the book so first let me begin with this cat and mouse game between the first lady and white house physician. So as you know, Eleanor Roosevelt was fundamentally uninterested in food. And yes you know she was a brainy type, in fact on sunday night she would have these scramble egg dinners which staff called scrambled eggs with brains because she would infight intek chuls over to talk about everything. Now theres a little bit of controversy about whether Eleanor Roosevelt actually cooked the scrambled eggs or just stirred them at the last minute before they were served but may she had these scrambled egg salon. So the white house housekeeper henry was one in charge of the food. But the president president rose vement on a diet and want to stray from that diet so white house physician and Eleanor Roosevelt would team up to make sure he would stay on the diet so henry and diary memorialize kind of exchange between Eleanor Roosevelt and the doctor. And im going to read that now he was a Navy Vice Admiral dr. Macken tire what he said to roosevelt is call on me if you need help. Dr. Macken tire said to ms. Roosevelt at the start. Thats what eleanor called it when president could get upset about thing tizzy and tried to get the president appetite back to normal he sent to new york for specialist and finally brought in doctors from the Navy Hospital and had dietitian arrived in uniform four times the president ate everything he was told to eat simply because it was ordered by the navy. The president s reducing diet came from the navy and he was simple list on record cut out all fried foods okay so that was one directive from the doctor. But typically the president is going to get what they want to get and africanamerican staff is caught in the middle and so they often have to help the president out. And so i love this exchange with dealing with livey mcu duffy so lizzy was the wife of o. J. Mcduffy who was president roosevelt long time valet so she eventually comes to the white house an works as the maid. And she would often accompany roosevelt on long trips but really interesting thing about lizzy mcduffy is that she had an outside personality so she would entertain the president by doing puppet shows she had early iteration of the muppets one was called suicide other jezebel and she had have puppet shows and president loved them. And so she was a favorite of the president , and she actually she would campaign for the president. So in 1936, an election that wasnt a gimme for president roosevelt she was actually on the stump major cities across United States so i want to giver you an example ever kind of the campaigning that she was doing. This is from the baltimore afro american aron american newspaper, and says no man is here trough his valet for over 350 years since the prince made above statement, the world has debated on both sides of it. Last week, this is elizabeth h. Mcduffy white house cook and wife for president roosevelt valet taking stump before audience of 7 in st. Louis class roosevelt with lincoln, whose love of fellow men something akin to the define. And heres valet wife to whom her husband employer is hero that is news. But bigger news is the spectacle of the white house cook doing it a swell job as a campaign speaker. This is mcduffy cheered in st. Louis, chicago, and gary, indiana, she went to make one speech. Did make three, and could have made 24 more before returning to washington in order to cook the president s meals. So she went to a lot of cities that had a large africanamerican constituency and campaigned for president. Federal hatch act it was in lace, and for whatever reason nobody tried to prosecute her under that. But she made such a difference that after the election was over, president roosevelt is actually called her into the oval office and thanks her prnlly for what she did for him so that shows relation they have. Another interesting thing about lizzy mcduffy is during one of the white house dinners there was a movie executive from hollywood who was dining at the whowtion and he took one look at her and said i want her in my next movie. Does anybody want to guess what that movie is . Gone with the wind. Yes. She was in consideration that the oscar winning role got, and actually Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a letter on her behalf to director yes. Yes kind of lobbying for that and there were newspaper reports of her getting the part and i think its because walter kind of leaked that without verifying sources. Can you imagine that happening today . [laughter] so a story that she got the part but ultimately did not get apartment but accompany to wells spring g and stay for long periods of time to get treatment for pole owe and her started going to georgia when he was a governor of new york and there he met a woman named daisy bonner and shes one of my favorite characters in this book. So daisy bonner private cook for a local family, irwin family and when she would go to georgia for long periods of time to themselves with the president , the irwin family lent daisy bonner to her, to the pdr and she would stay in a cottage at little white house in warm springs and cook. And she introduced him had to all kinds of specialties like country captain i dont know youve or heard of this dish thats very popular in georgia. But essentially chicken curry dish, and she and president roosevelt would joke about it having a secret recipe with 45 ingredients that wasnt the case but their private joke. But she also cooked a lot of southern dell ka sis but one thing that fdr loved by daisy bonner was pigs feet. The way she cooked them was she would boil them and she would take them out of the pot and then broil them and split them and broil them and butter them and thats how he liked them so stay with me. It is beginning to get divorce for a second. Worse for a second so one of the interesting stories that he served pigs feet in the white house to Winston Churchill. And what he served were sweet and sour pigs feet. Now, elon disco field is who was a long time butler in the white house who starts working in the Hoover Administration and then stays on well into the eisenhower so this is a scene that he paints. It was this type of pigs feet that he requested to be serve at the a luncheon just for the Prime MinisterWinston Churchill and himself. Prince martha of norway who lives in maryland during the war had a duke who often prepared pigs feet and had them brought to the president this dish. And this was sweet and sour pigs feet they had a twinkle like lets have them for the Prime Minister. When the luncheon was served and Prime Minister started to help himself he inquired what is this . He was told sir this is pigs feet he said pigs feet . Ive never heard of them and then he helped himself. After tasting them he said, very good, but sort of slimy. [laughter] the president laughed and said yes they are a bit but im ponged of them sometime well have them fried. Were upon the Prime Minister replied no thank you i dont believe i would care for them fried. Then they both have a hearty laugh. Okay so thats in the whowtion. But oh, interesting dish that daisy made and i have this recipe is that cheese souffle. Now, is anybody here a . Cook anybody cook souffle what is big concern about having a souffle rising and falling im about about to tell you about a miracle to rattle your soul and maybe your belly and one that daisy bonner made for fdr on the last day of his life so the New York Times offers this account at 1 15 mrs. Bonner had it are the and she told valet author get the president to the table. The souffle is ready president said mer put it in the oven until i come over o my room mr. Bonner explained reading atlanta constitution when it was ready. It came late becausefelt bad weather and she was worried about mail. He asked third time for the papers. So he gone right to reading when he came out, the artist was sketching him and he never sit for her he had to catch when she could the cook said. jfk was chronically late. Whae force of plays, he time them at 15 minute intervals hope in th hoping he would arrive on time. Those are the perils of making souffle with our president. He was very moved by the president and had a close relationship. If you ever go to georgia go to the coo kitchen area she wrote n the wall, daisy cook the first and last meal for president roosevelt. Its encased in plastic. You can see how moved she was. She wanted to be considered the first lady a president ial cooking. She had plans of opening a Museum Dedicated to food and president roosevelt but she does died before she could. Daisy is another interesting character in my book. Also want to talk to about drinks. Theres a cat and mouse game about drinks in the white house. Fdr embraced drinking culture. I talk about several alcoholic beverages, talk about wine, cocktails, punches and eggnog. Going to reach a little bit about eggnog. This is from Lillian Rogers who is a long time made in the white house. She gives us an insight on how eggnog plays out in the white house. She observed speaking of liquids, going to give once more the recipe of a drink in my department. Cocktail high balls were served upstairs and i had nothing to do with them. The new years eggnog was traditional in the white house was concerned with its making. The creamy mixture was prepared in the same way in the punch bowl was carried before the president. Each time lifting is cut president roosevelt gave the same toast, to the United States. Lillian declared after tasting some of the wet eggnog that president eisenhower made was very strong but the one that roosevelt had was also very strong. You see strong eggnog not only from the Roosevelt Administration but to the present day. I dont know about in the Trump White House now but the one