“Redolent with savory details . . . Casts new valuable insight on the complicated legacy of our founding father and the institution of slavery” (Michaela MacColl, bestselling author of Prisoners in the Palace). Philadelphia, 1793. Hercules, President George Washington’s chef, is a fixture on the Philadelphia scene. He is famous for both his culinary prowess and for ruling his kitchen like a … ruling his kitchen like a commanding general. He has his run of the city and earns twice the salary of an average American workingman. He wears beautiful clothes and attends the theater. But while valued by the Washingtons for his prowess in the kitchen, and rewarded far over and above even white servants, Hercules is enslaved in a city where most black Americans are free.
Even while he masterfully manages his kitchen and the lives of those in and around it, Hercules harbors secrets–including the fact he is learning to read and he is involved in a dangerous affair with Thelma, a mixed-race woman, who, passing as white, works as a companion to the daughter of one of Philadelphia’s most prestigious families. Eventually Hercules’s carefully crafted intrigues fall apart and he finds himself trapped by his circumstance and the will of George Washington. Based on actual historical events and people, The General’s Cook, will thrill fans of The Hamilton Affair, as they follow Hercules’s precarious and terrifying bid for freedom.
“Brilliantly suspenseful . . . The General’s Cook offers a swift ride in the company of fascinating characters. Readers will never again see the first president in the same way, nor should they.” –Elizabeth Cobbs, New York Times-bestselling author of The Hamilton Affair
“A skillfully observed historical fiction debut.” —Library Journal
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The General’s Cook is redolent with savory details. Ganeshram brings Hercules, President Washington’s cook, to mouth-watering life! This novel casts new valuable insight on the complicated legacy of our founding father and the institution of slavery, while showcasing the heartbreaking choices Hercules is forced to make.
Hercules (I wondered how he came to be called Hercules), is an amazing chef whom George Washington acquired as payment for a debt. Hercules had more freedom than most slaves since he was able to go out every evening, roaming the streets of Philadelphia wearing his dapper clothing.
He’s able to afford his clothing because he can sell the leftover food from his kitchen and keep the monies – about $200 a year, which is quite a sum.
This book is a fictional account of Hercules life and the author uses real people, as well as fictional people, in this story. This novel touches upon so many things, slavery, free Blacks….Hercules lives in Philadelphia, in a free state, yet he is enslaved. You see him interacting with both slaves and free Blacks. The issue of mixed race Blacks passing as White is also addressed in this story.
The story is good and well-written and also shows how hard it is to work in a kitchen, a professional kitchen, and not get paid for your labors. Hercules is not your ordinary Black man and after reading this novel, I longed to know more about him.
The food! I loved how the author mentioned all of the different foods that Hercules and his staff prepared for President Washington. Hoecakes, carrot pudding, chicken pudding, fish, oysters, roasts….I found myself stopping to research the foods which I’d never heard of, like carrot pudding. I noticed in the author letter that she mentioned some colonial cookbooks that she used for research. I’d like to make some of these meals myself!
The family dynamic is also addressed in this tale. Hercules doesn’t get to see his children very much and this hurts him. Slavery is so wrong – tearing apart families…abuse…Slavery is such a shameful part of US History. Makes my heart sad to read about it.
I highly encourage all readers to try this incredible secular novel. You’ll learn a lot and enjoy an amazing story!
This book is the true juxtaposition of food and history, taking us back to the days of George Washington and into the world of his chef, a slave named Hercules. Told with vivid and delicious description about a little known part of our American history, The General’s Cook is a book that food lovers really should not miss.
A talented master chef yet at the same time the slave of an exacting master, the shadowy and intriguing figure of the historical Hercules, George Washington’s cook, springs to life in this compelling fictional portrait. In The General’s Cook, Hercules is a complicated, forceful, gentle man whose passions reside in the exquisite dishes he produces for the first President of the young American republic and with his beautiful biracial lover who is passing for white. A chef and award-winning journalist of the culinary arts, Ramin Ganeshram offers us a deeply-researched story of a life erased from history, a man whose last name is not mentioned in the record books. As Hercules ushers the young people in his kitchen out of slavery’s shackles, you’ll find yourself cheering for him to throw down his chef’s hat and make his own bid for freedom.