When President George Washington celebrated his 65th birthday at a ball in Philadelphia, his chef Hercules Posey was an underrated part of the equation, writes Ramin Ganeshram for The New York Times.

In the six years before being emancipated, Posey worked diligently everyday to create what would become the first American diplomatic cuisine, cooking elaborate meals for a variety of Washington’s events.

While considerably skilled, Posey’s contributions largely remain unknown due to his status as an enslaved person.

However, a small group of historians are working together to research his contributions while enslaved and his reinvention as a free man. 

Posey was purchased by Washington around the age of 20, and was 42 years old when he was summoned from Mount Vernon to Philadelphia — then the nation’s capital —to cook for Washington in the executive mansion.

While in Philadelphia, Washington allowed Posey to traverse the city, sell kitchen leftovers, and earn an annual salary that was double the average working man’s at the time.

He also often interacted with Philadelphia’s Free Black community.

His journey to freedom began in the summer of 1796. Posey remained in Philadelphia for a while before eventually settling in Manhattan to work as a laborer and cook until he passed away in 1812. 

Read more about the unique legacy of Hercules Posey at The New York Times.

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