ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MENUS

“Nothing is more political than food.  Nothing.”  Anthony Bourdain

The recipes that follow are modern and make use of contemporary ingredients and cooking techniques.  They will not ask you to cook on an open hearth, eschew baking powder or ignore the convenience of your Cuisinart.  Research has been done into presidential preferences for recipe selection, but some presidential “favorites” were chosen by the handlers of candidates to appeal to constituents and bring in votes rather than to reflect a leader’s personal taste. The menus suggested here are intended to provide insight into the role food inevitably plays in American politics.

1. GEORGE WASHINGTON, THE AMERICAN GENERAL WHO LED THE COLONIES TO VICTORY AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN DURING THE REVOLUTION, SERVED AS THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FROM 1789 TO 1797. portrait by Gilbert Stuart

2. JOHN ADAMS, VICE PRESIDENT UNDER WASHINGTON, WAS ELECTED SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 1797 TO 1801. HIS TENURE WAS MARKED BY INCREASING TENSION WITH BOTH FRANCE AND ENGLAND. portrait by John Trumbull

3. THOMAS JEFFERSON WAS ELECTED THE THIRD AMERICAN PRESIDENT FROM 1801 TO 1809.  HE WAS THE PRINCIPAL AUTHOR OF THE DELARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND LED THE UNITED STATES TO ACQUIRE THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE FROM NAPOLEON. portrait by Rembrandt Peale

4. JAMES MADISON, ELECTED FOURTH PRESIDENT FROM 1809 TO 1817, COAUTHORED THE FEDERALIST PAPERS AND WROTE THE CONSTITUTION.  HE WAS PRESIDENT DURING THE WAR OF 1812, WHEN A BRITISH INVASION BURNED THE WHITE HOUSE. portrait by John Vanderlyn

5. JAMES MONROE, ELECTED THE FIFTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 1817 TO 1825, SIGNED THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE WHICH LIMITED THE EXTENSION OF SLAVERY INTO NEW AMERICAN TERRITORIES AND AUTHORED THE MONROE DOCTRINE THAT OPPOSED FURTHER EUROPEAN COLONIZATION IN THE AMERICAS. portrait by George Peter Alexander Healy

6. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, SIXTH PRESIDENT FROM 1825 TO 1829, WAS THE SON OF PRESIDENT JOHN ADAMS AND HIS WIFE, ABIGAIL.  HE LED THE DELEGATION THAT NEGOTIATED THE TREATY OF GHENT TO END THE WAR OF 1812.  DEFEATED BY THOMAS JEFFERSON AFTER HIS FIRST TERM AS PRESIDENT, ADAMS LATER RAN FOR CONGRESS AND SPENT 20 YEARS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. portrait by George Peter Alexander Healy

7. ANDREW JACKSON, SEVENTH PRESIDENT FROM 1829 TO 1837, ROSE FROM AN IMPOVERISHED CHILDHOOD TO BECOME A NATIONAL HERO WHEN, AS MAJOR GENERAL OF THE TENNESSEE MILITIA, HE LED HIS SOLDIERS TO VICTORY AGAINST THE BRITISH IN THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. portrait by Thomas Sully

8. MARTIN VAN BUREN, THE FIRST AMERICAN PRESIDENT NOT OF BRITISH DESCENT, WAS ANDREW JACKSON’S VICE PRESIDENT.  HE RODE ON JACKSON’S COATTAILS TO BECOME THE EIGHTH PRESIDENT FROM 1836 TO 1841. portrait by George Peter Alexander Healy

9. DESPITE BEING BORN INTO A WEALTHY VIRGINIA FAMILY, WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON RAN FOR PRESIDENT AS A FRONTIER INDIAN FIGHTER RAISED IN A LOG CABIN.  HE DIED ONLY 31 DAYS AFTER HIS INAUGURATION, HAVING HELD OFFICE FROM MARCH 4, 1841 TO APRIL 4, 1841. portrait by Rembrandt Peale

10. JOHN TYLER, HARRISON’S VICE PRESIDENT, BECAME AMERICA’S TENTH PRESIDENT FROM 1841 TO 1845 UPON HARRISON’S DEATH.  ONCE OUT OF OFFICE, TYLER WORKED TO CREATE A SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY, WIDENING THE SECTIONAL CLEAVAGE THAT LED TOWARDS CIVIL WAR. portrait by George Peter Alexander Healy