01George Washington
Honey-butter hoecakes
Washington’s household remembered cornmeal hoecakes with butter and honey. A hot skillet and a quick batter turn that breakfast tradition into a crisp-edged, golden first bite.
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THEN. NOW.DINNER.
A LITTLE HISTORY. A SECOND HELPING.
Choose a president.
Cook his dinner.
Washington’s breakfast. Roosevelt’s royal picnic. Your next really good meal.
45 presidents · 60 recipes · Your own kitchen
BREAKFAST WITH WASHINGTONHoney. Butter. Hot hoecakes.Make your first presidential breakfast →THE FIRST TEN BITES
10 presidents.
10 dishes worth cooking.
Ten familiar names, ten delicious starting points.
Recorded tastes, family recipes and dinners reconstructed for your kitchen.
01
02Thomas Jefferson
Golden baked macaroni & cheese
Jefferson left notes about pasta, and a dinner guest recorded macaroni at his table in 1802. Our bubbling cheese bake translates that paper trail into an easy home supper.
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03Abraham Lincoln
Corn pone & buttery cabbage
Accounts of cook Cornelia Mitchell connect Lincoln with corn pone and cabbage. These humble ingredients make a surprisingly satisfying plate: golden cornmeal cakes beside buttery cabbage.
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04Theodore Roosevelt
Skillet fried chicken
Fried chicken appears in accounts of Theodore Roosevelt’s tastes. Our buttermilk-soaked, flour-dredged version is made for sharing, with a crisp crust and a juicy centre.
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05Franklin D. Roosevelt
The royal-picnic hot dog
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt served hot dogs to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Hyde Park on 11 June 1939. Warm buns, good sausages and mustard bring the royal picnic home.
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06Dwight D. Eisenhower
Slow Sunday beef stew
Eisenhower’s recipe collection includes his own beef stew. This smaller home pot keeps the slow-cooked beef and vegetables, with plenty of sauce for a piece of bread.
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07John F. Kennedy
New England fish chowder
The JFK Library names New England fish chowder among Kennedy’s favourites. Cod or haddock, potatoes and milk make a gentle, creamy bowl with a clear presidential connection.
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08Lyndon B. Johnson
Texas-style beef chili
The Pedernales River chili tradition anchors Johnson’s Texas menu. Our bean-free home version lets beef, tomatoes and warm spices simmer into a substantial ranch-style supper.
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09Ronald Reagan
Golden baked macaroni & cheese
Macaroni and cheese appears on the Reagan Library’s list of favourite foods. A golden crumb top and a bubbling cheese sauce make it an especially welcoming oven dinner.
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10Barack Obama
Weeknight beef & bean chili
At the 2012 Kids’ State Dinner, Obama said he could cook a very good chili; Michelle agreed. Our beef-and-bean version makes that personal cooking connection a flexible family meal.
Make it at home →PICK YOUR DINNER COMPANION
Every president.
A place at your table.
Explore six eras. Each president brings one to three dishes.
Familiar faces lead the way within each chapter.
1789–1829 · A painted table
The founding table
New republic. Old-world appetites.
NO. 1 · 1789–1797
George Washington
Honey-butter hoecakes & more
NO. 3 · 1801–1809
Thomas Jefferson
Vanilla bean ice cream & more
NO. 2 · 1797–1801
John Adams
Salt pork, cabbage & potatoes & more
NO. 4 · 1809–1817
James Madison
Broiled ham with buttered toast & more
NO. 5 · 1817–1825
James Monroe
Virginia spoonbread & more
NO. 6 · 1825–1829
John Quincy Adams
Garden berries with cream
1829–1861 · A painted table
Across a growing nation
Cornmeal, orchard fruit and a seat by the fire.
NO. 7 · 1829–1837
Andrew Jackson
Green beans with bacon & more
NO. 11 · 1845–1849
James K. Polk
Golden corn pone & more
NO. 8 · 1837–1841
Martin Van Buren
White House kitchen-garden supper
NO. 10 · 1841–1845
John Tyler
Coconut custard pie
NO. 9 · 1841
William Henry Harrison
Golden skillet cornbread
NO. 12 · 1849–1850
Zachary Taylor
New Orleans rice fritters
NO. 13 · 1850–1853
Millard Fillmore
Slow Sunday beef stew
NO. 14 · 1853–1857
Franklin Pierce
New Hampshire apple hand pies
NO. 15 · 1857–1861
James Buchanan
Lemon chicken salad
1861–1901 · The black-and-white years
A nation remade
Family suppers in an age of extraordinary change.
NO. 16 · 1861–1865
Abraham Lincoln
Corn pone & buttery cabbage & more
NO. 18 · 1869–1877
Ulysses S. Grant
Warm molasses gingerbread & more
NO. 25 · 1897–1901
William McKinley
Roast turkey breast with herb stuffing
NO. 19 · 1877–1881
Rutherford B. Hayes
Honey-butter hoecakes
NO. 22 & 24 · 1885–1889 · 1893–1897
Grover Cleveland
A chop, pickled herring & Swiss cheese
NO. 20 · 1881
James A. Garfield
Mentor Farm sausage & vegetable supper
NO. 21 · 1881–1885
Chester A. Arthur
Pan-seared lamb chops
NO. 23 · 1889–1893
Benjamin Harrison
Roast turkey breast with herb stuffing
NO. 17 · 1865–1869
Andrew Johnson
Spiced sweet potato pudding
1901–1945 · The black-and-white years
A bigger American table
From the ranch kitchen to a royal picnic.
NO. 32 · 1933–1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The royal-picnic hot dog & more
NO. 26 · 1901–1909
Theodore Roosevelt
Skillet fried chicken & more
NO. 28 · 1913–1921
Woodrow Wilson
Roast turkey breast with herb stuffing & more
NO. 27 · 1909–1913
William Howard Taft
Skillet steak & sweet onions
NO. 30 · 1923–1929
Calvin Coolidge
Buckwheat pancakes
NO. 31 · 1929–1933
Herbert Hoover
Broiled ham with buttered toast
NO. 29 · 1921–1923
Warren G. Harding
Knockwurst & sauerkraut
1945–1989 · A little vintage colour
The family-album years
Backyard grills, dinner guests and second helpings.
NO. 34 · 1953–1961
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Slow Sunday beef stew & more
NO. 35 · 1961–1963
John F. Kennedy
New England fish chowder & more
NO. 40 · 1981–1989
Ronald Reagan
Golden baked macaroni & cheese & more
NO. 36 · 1963–1969
Lyndon B. Johnson
Texas-style beef chili & more
NO. 33 · 1945–1953
Harry S. Truman
Backyard grilled steak & more
NO. 37 · 1969–1974
Richard Nixon
Glazed family meatloaf & more
NO. 39 · 1977–1981
Jimmy Carter
Eggplant soufflé & more
NO. 38 · 1974–1977
Gerald Ford
Sunday pot roast
1989–today · The modern table
The modern table
Your favourite president. Your own kitchen.
NO. 44 · 2009–2017
Barack Obama
Weeknight beef & bean chili & more
NO. 42 · 1993–2001
Bill Clinton
Chicken enchiladas with red sauce & more
NO. 43 · 2001–2009
George W. Bush
Chicken enchiladas with red sauce & more
NO. 45 & 47 · 2017–2021 · 2025–present
Donald Trump
The make-it-yourself cheeseburger & more
NO. 46 · 2021–2025
Joe Biden
Angel-hair pasta with red sauce & more
NO. 41 · 1989–1993
George H. W. Bush
Lemon-butter baked fish & more
GOOD STORIES. REAL INGREDIENTS.
History is the invitation.
Dinner is yours.
Choose a president. Cook his dinner. We begin with menus, diaries, family recipes, staff recollections and the ingredients of a household’s everyday life. Then we turn that evidence into something you can make at home.
Each story identifies its foundation: a documented meal or preference, a family or White House tradition, or a historical reconstruction from the foods and setting we know. Open “Behind this story” for the source notes.
Our recipes are modern home adaptations, with everyday ingredients and practical steps. They have not yet been kitchen-tested. The pictures are AI-created serving illustrations in the visual style of each era, not archival photographs.
The thirteen-star and fifty-star flags bookend our journey. Every president has a place here; the order within each era is an editorial choice, not a ranking of political success.