Unidentified Andrew Jackson Cook 1
Cite this Page
"Unidentified Andrew Jackson Cook 1," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/215.
- Position
- Cook
- Years in President's House
- circa 1834
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- Andrew Jackson
- Biography
- An unidentified French cook worked at the White House for President Andrew Jackson. The length of his tenure in Jackson’s household is uncertain. The only known references to this individual come from two newspaper articles. The first article appeared in the Romney, Virginia South Branch Intelligencer newspaper in 1834, describing an encounter between White House doorkeeper James “Jemmy” O’Neil, President Andrew Jackson, and a foreign minister. After Jackson and O’Neil attempted to have a discussion with the diplomat, but could not understand him, the newspaper stated, “At last the old hero rang the bell with great violence, at the same time despatching Jemmy for the French cook to interpret for him. The Knight of the kitchen came up all sweat and grease, with his arms bare, and a clean napkin folded over one of them, and immediately proceeded to translate the wishes of the minister into a sort of English, and lay it before the president.” (1) However, another article in the Richmond Enquirer several days later debunked this incident, calling it a “ludicrous account.” (2) Although the account may be “ludicrous,” the idea of a French chef at the White House is not. Many French or French-trained chefs were employed at the White House, especially during the early nineteenth century.
- (1) “A Scene in the Palace,” South Branch Intelligencer, Romney, Virginia, July 19, 1834, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84026826/1834-07-19/ed-1/?sp=2&r=-0.074,0.1,1.017,0.706,0.
(2) “Misrepresentations Corrected,” Richmond Enquirer, July 23, 1834, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84024735/1834-07-22/ed-1/?sp=3&r=-0.037,0.824,0.353,0.128,0. - Birthplace
- France