WS Chronicle

“American Perspectives featuring Adrian Miller: Black Chefs in the White House” will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Old Salem Museums & Gardens from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Old Salem Visitor Center, 900 Old Salem Road.

The benefit program is part of Old Salem’s American Perspectives Lecture Series and will celebrate both Black History Month and President’s Day. The proceeds will benefit St. Philips Heritage Center and African American programming at Old Salem Museums.

Attendees will dine on foods inspired by presidential recipes and will enjoy a special presentation by guest scholar Adrian Miller about the history of African American chefs who have served the nation’s presidents from within White House kitchen walls.

Miller will offer insight on the relationships between these chefs and their presidents, what the chef’s lives were like and the wide variety of foods that they often prepared.  He also will highlight his book, “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time.”

Prior to writing his book and entering the world of culinary politics, Miller served as deputy director of President Bill Clinton’s initiative for One America and as a senior policy analyst for former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter.

Tickets for the dinner are $50 per person.  Prior to the dinner, there will be a reception celebrating wines of the White House with Carolina’s Vineyards and Hops’ soon-to-be released signature line of wines. The signature line was made at the same North Carolina vineyard whose wine was presented to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano by President Barack Obama in 2009. The ticket price for the wine reception is $25 per person.

For more information, call 336-201-5177 or email  schandler@oldsalem.org.