MACARONI AND CHEESE, (aka mac and cheese), a popular dish in the United States and a staple in the average American household, most notably in the Southern states. Thomas Jefferson is often credited with bringing the recipe from Europe to Virginia in the late 1700s. However, it was Jefferson’s enslaved chefs who originally prepared the dish, adding their own culinary influences from Africa. In particular, the enslaved chef James Hemings pioneered the dish in America, though his role in introducing it is generally overshadowed by Jefferson’s.
James Hemings accompanied Thomas Jefferson from Monticello to Paris while Jefferson served as Minister to France from 1784 to 1789. While there, Hemings underwent training with a prominent French chef and eventually worked in the royal kitchen of the Prince of Condé at Château de Chantilly, paying out of pocket for French lessons so that he could better learn his craft. After several years, he rose to the position of chef de cuisine, the highest rank in the kitchen, at Jefferson’s home in Paris. It was during this time that Jefferson encountered the dish that eventually evolved to be called “macaroni and cheese.” Intrigued, he drew sketches of the noodles, took detailed notes on its preparation, and had a pasta extruder shipped back to Virginia. When he and Hemings returned to Monticello, Hemings changed the traditional cooking and preparation processes to suit American tastes.
James Hemings’ role in the creation and popularity of macaroni and cheese—and other southern staples, as well as American cuisine writ large— nonetheless remains overlooked by most historians, despite the fact that so many recipes and techniques were passed down by him and other enslaved persons within Black communities. In 1796, Thomas Jefferson freed James Hemings, and he, in turn, trained his brother Peter Hemings to take his place as chef at Monticello. In 1802, Manasseh Cutler, an invited guest to Monticello, reported that Peter Hemings prepared a pie dish called “macaroni.” Although the reverend was not a fan, macaroni and cheese soon became popular among wealthy individuals, and a recipe circulated widely in an influential 1824 cookbook written by Mary Randolph, a relative of Thomas Jefferson’s. In the Antebellum South, macaroni and cheese quickly became a staple at gatherings and celebrations. Many Black Americans continue this tradition throughout the United States today.