![]() Records reveal her skills in the preservation of ham and other meats were highly prized by Jefferson. Purchased at the request of Jefferson’s wife, Martha, Ursula Granger worked as a cook, pastry chef, cider maker, washer woman and field hand from 1773 to her death in 1800. Edith Hern Fossett, Monticello’s head cook from 1809 to 1826, followed in the footsteps of three enslaved head chefs before her. ![]() ![]() The records rarely mention that the preparation, cooking, serving and cleanup for the meals enjoyed by Jefferson, his family and his guests was made possible by Monticello’s enslaved cooks and their families. Jefferson’s records, his daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph’s household accounts and family recipes preserved by his granddaughters attest to the remarkable quantity and quality of food and wine served at Monticello. Jefferson's granddaughter Anne Cary frequently recorded buying eggs, chickens and other produced from members of Monticello's enslaved community
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