Alex Prud’homme’s just-published book, Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a
History of Breaking Bread at the White House

Cornwall, CT – Breaking Bread at the White House, an Historical
Feast with Alex Prud’homme — Saturday, April 15 at 5pm

Alex Prud’homme’s just-published book, Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a
History of Breaking Bread at the White House, is a fascinating, often surprising chronicle of
presidential fare, from the starvation-level meals eaten by Washington and his army at Valley Forge
to Biden’s chocolate chip ice cream. Prud’homme, who is a journalist and freelance writer, is
coauthor of Julia Child’s memoir, My Life in France, and has written or collaborated on
numerous other books. His work has appeared in many publications including The New
York Times and The New Yorker.
A reading by the author and interview of him by fellow Cornwall artist and author Adam
Van Doren at the Cornwall Library will be followed by a book signing.
Dinner with the President is inspired by the first reporting from inside the White House kitchen
by Prud’homme’s great aunt Julia Child when President Lyndon Johnson authorized it. The book
explores the tastes of twenty-six of America’s most influential presidents—what they ate, why
they ate it, how it was prepared, its relationship to the state of the nation, and its effect on people
around the world. Along the way we are treated to tidbits such as Lincoln’s celebratory turtle
soup after the Civil War, Eisenhower’s taste for squirrel stew, and Trump’s relationship with
fast-food burgers. We also learn about overlooked figures like Washington’s enslaved chef,
Hercules Posey, whose meals burnished the president’s reputation before the cook narrowly
escaped to freedom, or pioneering First Ladies, such as Dolley Madison and Jackie Kennedy,
who used dining and entertaining to build political and social relationships.

Attend in-person at the Cornwall Library or by Zoom. Registration required:
https://cornwalllibrary.org/events

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