At the table with
James Monroe.

THE HISTORICAL TABLE

A Virginia dinner from the Oak Hill tradition

The Monroe family’s food story leads back to Oak Hill. Later presidential culinary histories associate Elizabeth Monroe’s kitchen with chicken and rice, while spoonbread and other hot corn breads belong to the household’s Virginia setting.

The useful connection is the family kitchen rather than a grand diplomatic menu. We cook chicken and rice in one covered pan, keeping the savoury juices with the grain. A soft spoonbread makes an equally welcoming side, especially when carried to the table straight from the oven.