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Culinary Arts
Student Submission
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Chef
Hercules Posey
NYC, New York | 1719-1818
Hercules Posey was the head chef for George Washington. Starting out as a scullion (someone who does easy kitchen work), Hercules Posey was trained by the best chefs on Mount Vernon and worked his way up to chief chef. Hercules Posey was working 16 hour days supervising the kitchen or preparing European and Colonial meals. Hercules was such an amazing chef that he was brought to the presidential house in Philadelphia.
Hercules wore expensive clothes and was free to go wherever he wanted in the day as long as he came back at night. He also supervised white people in the kitchen and made about $200 a year off of selling leftovers. In 1797 on Washington’s birthday Hercules Posey escaped slavery and despite Washington’s attempts to capture him, Hercules spent the rest of his life living in Manhattan as a free man until he died of tuberculosis in 1812 at age 65.
Before George Washington, Hercules Posey was the ferryman for John Posey. John Posey was Washington's neighbor and a gambler. Eventually John Posey’s small gambling debts to Washington built up and John was forced to give up everything he had, including Hercules.
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