James Hemings was Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved chef who trained in France.
Hemings traveled with Jefferson to Paris in 1784 and studied French culinary techniques while Jefferson served as the American minister to France. He learned enough to become a professional-style chef and later prepared French-influenced dishes for Jefferson.
Hemings is associated with introducing or popularizing foods and techniques in Jefferson’s household, including macaroni and cheese, crème brûlée, and pommes de terre à la maître d’hôtel. The exact history of some recipes is debated, but his French training is well documented.
He negotiated for his freedom and was freed by Jefferson in 1796 after training his brother Peter as a replacement chef. Hemings’s story is important to the history of American cooking because it shows how enslaved cooks shaped elite and national foodways.