"Thomas Jefferson", (from life) 1792, by Charles Willson Peale (Independence National Historical Park)
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Author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson voiced the aspirations of a new America as did no other individual of the period. He was also the nation’s first epicurean president. In fact, he considered olive oil and upland rice equally as important as the Declaration in securing the new republic’s success.
Mark the eve of Jefferson’s 275th birthday at an intimate celebratory dinner at Plume, the elegant Michelin-starred restaurant in the downtown Washington hotel that bears his name. Ralf Schlegel, executive chef, and pastry chef Fabrice Leray have designed a four-course menu that interprets Jefferson’s personal taste and his era, paired with wines from Virginia’s Barboursville Vineyards. Jefferson built an estate for his friend James Barbour on the property where the vineyard now produces its wines.
Between courses, Susan Sullivan Lagon, a lecturer at Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute and historian at The Jefferson, Washington, D.C., discusses Jefferson’s contributions to American cuisine. Luca Paschina, winemaker and general manager at Barboursville, shares insights into Jefferson’s passion for fine wine.
Limited to 50 participants
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Other Connections
Thomas Jefferson—who had an extensive kitchen garden at Monticello—made an important impact on the national culinary consciousness, combining food traditions from the old and new worlds to create a uniquely American approach to cooking. Learn more about this Founding Father’s influences as an epicure, and try your hand at a marinated asparagus recipe inspired by the table at his Virginia home.
