Earlier this season, we heard from Adrian Miller. Nicknamed the Soul Food Scholar, the Denver-based researcher has written several books on African-American culinary traditions, including Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue and The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas. His first book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, won the 2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Reference and Scholarship. He also appears in the acclaimed Netflix docuseries High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America.
Adrian visited Florida in February to headline the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival. The evening before the main event, he spoke at Collards After Dark at The Cuban Club in Tampa’s Ybor City neighborhood. In a conversation on stage with Dalia, Adrian shared tales from the latest topic to catch his interest—beverage preferences of U.S. presidents. We’re sharing that conversation here with you on the pod.
Adrian delves into which presidents made their own wine, which abstained and who drank confiscated booze during Prohibition. He also explores how wine is selected for White House state dinners, which first lady favored daiquiris and why all of this matters.
