sold Pres. Jefferson’s Glittering Table: He Orders Payment For Dining, Wine
This letter also contains the autograph of Etienne Lemaire, one of America’s great pioneering chefs, who introduced cooking with wine into this country.
President Jefferson’s salary was $25,000, seemingly magnificent for the times, but he was expected to cover not only openhanded hospitality in the Executive Mansion, but upkeep, incidental repairs, furniture, livery, a carriage and feed for the horses, food for the servants, and other outlays as well. No expense account in the...
President Jefferson’s salary was $25,000, seemingly magnificent for the times, but he was expected to cover not only openhanded hospitality in the Executive Mansion, but upkeep, incidental repairs, furniture, livery, a carriage and feed for the horses, food for the servants, and other outlays as well. No expense account in the modern sense existed.
Jefferson loved to entertain and his dinners were usually given in a dining room on the mansion’s south front; generally the company numbered fourteen. The hour for dining was four o’clock; the style was easy and informal. Rules of precedence were abolished, titles ignored. The host, a tall, lean man of distinction and sensitivity in his early sixties, would typically be clothed in a neat though casual manner, wearing twilled corduroy breeches, scarlet embroidered waistcoat under a more somberly colored coat, and satinette shoes comfortably worn—less costly and splendid apparel than the blue livery coats, trimmed with silver lace, worn by his servants. While Congress was in session Jefferson extensively entertained representatives and senators, often holding three banquets a week for them. He also invited diplomats, distinguished travellers, and men of science; he was interested in everyone. When Congress recessed and he had not yet left for Monticello, his guests included plain citizens of every rank as well as writers, explorers, and Indian chiefs. His daughter Martha and other ladies were occasionally in the company.
The portly Etienne Lemaire served as Maitre d’Hotel to Jefferson from 1794 through the end of his presidency (which means he ran every aspect of the kitchen) and was Executive Mansion butler from 1801-9 (so he handled wine purchases and bottling as well). Lemaire acted as chief chef, and like many great chefs, liked to select and purchase the menu items himself. He was often seem in the markets in Georgetown purchasing meats, poultry, oysters, produce, bread, and milk. Jefferson was known for his appreciation of fine wines, and Lemaire would acquire wines for him with labels like Chateau Margaux. Lemaire’s lasting claim to fame is that he is widely credited with introducing the fine art of cooking with wines into America. He made wonderful sauces also, and Jefferson was known for his fondness for meals with his light sauces and garden-fresh herbs. It was Lemaire that received and opened the shipment of artifacts and animals sent by Lewis and Clark in April 1805.
Lemaire’s journal relates that Jefferson loved turkey pies with flaky crusts and venison. He ate beef but particularly enjoyed produce. His kitchen would serve roasted suckling pig to guests, the host not enjoying it himself. And with a very Jeffersonian touch, he invited guests to dinner without regard to their religion, and when the meal was on Friday and Roman Catholics were to be at the table, he made sure Lemaire bought fish. At the end of each week, Lemaire handed his expenses Day Book to the President, who studied the sixty to eighty entries, checked the addition, and translated the Virginia currency of pounds, shillings, and pence (which Lemaire used in shopping) into dollars and cents. At month’s end, after Lemaire had added the incidental expenses to table expenses, Jefferson recorded in the Day Book how his debts for hospitality stood (they were generally between $500 and $600), and then issued to Lemaire an order or orders for payment. These were generally addressed to his private banking agent and advisor, John Barnes, who managed Jefferson’s accounts.
Autograph Letter Signed as President, Washington, April 11, 1803, to Barnes, requesting him to make a payment to Lemaire. “Mr. Barnes, Pay to Mr. Lemaire on order $75.50 for value received on account of your humble servant, Th. Jefferson.” Lemaire then notates in his hand, and signs, that he has received the money. This notation is significant both because it shows that this is the received, original pay order rather than Jefferson’s retained polygraph copy, and it contains an autograph of one of the great chefs in American history. Interestingly, the very day Jefferson wrote this letter to Barnes, in France, French Foreign Minister Talleyrand offered to sell all of Louisiana Territory to the United States. This would prove the highlight of Jefferson’s term in office.

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