James Hemings

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James Hemings (c. 1765–1801) was the first African American to train as a chef in France . Black in ancestry, he was born into slavery in Virginia in 1765. At eight years old, he was purchased by Thomas Jefferson at his residence of Monticello. He was an older brother of Sally Hemings and a half-sibling of Jefferson's wife Martha Jefferson. Martha, Sally, and James shared John Wayles as a father. It was said that Wayles had taken James's mother Betty Hemings, who was his helper, as his concubine. As a young man, Hemings was selected by Jefferson to accompany him to Paris when the latter was appointed Minister to France. There, Hemings was trained to be a French chef; independently, he took lessons to learn how to speak French. Hemings is credited with bringing many French cooking styles to the colonial United States and developing new recipes inspired by French cuisine. This includes crème brûlée and meringues, but most famously, Hemings is credited with introducing macaroni and cheese...

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