We talked with Dr. Leni Sorensen about her history dinners at Indigo House that give guests the opportunity to explore the past through food.
What is your inspiration for educating through food?
Part of it is that I’ve always cooked and been interested in food -- where it came from, who grew it. I’m from California, and even in my teens and twenties in the 60s was aware of the Farm Movement. When I came to Virginia, I got engaged with historic house museums, going into 18th and 19th-century history. I’ve always been a burgeoning historian and have always been interested in food as a mirror to the broader cultural world. Food is as good a lens to look through as any other. I use that as a way of looking at the broader world.
How do you choose the themes for each dinner?
For a while, I was doing as many as six themes. I reduced it down to three dinners that cover parts of history that I’m particularly interested in, and meals that I really like to prepare and that others have really enjoyed. One of them is Edna Lewis, who is from Orange County and was a great American chef, along with other African American chefs in that same meal. The others are from Mary Randolph’s cookbook “The Virginia House-Wife,” considered the first Southern cookbook. I can look at the cooks [and consider] what did they need to know to do this and what did it mean in a larger picture? The other is Southern Sunday dinner. It’s a long tradition in the South. It’s Southern iconic food -- chicken and greens and mac and cheese. Dishes I like to make, that people enjoy eating, and that I enjoy talking about -- those are my three criteria.
Do you try to stay as authentic as possible to recipes of the time, or do you add modern twists?
All of the Mary Randolph stuff and earlier was on an open hearth, and I’m using modern cooking techniques. I’m also using much smaller amounts because I’m making a dinner for eight. I might add a little cream here or a little butter there, but I try to stay fairly authentic. Some are adapted, but there aren't a lot of modern processed additions. The food is a vehicle to bring people into the conversation. Not trying to be like “this is exactly how they did this in 1805.” The important part is who was doing it, how they were doing it… We’re having a dinner table conversation about the history of sometimes the ingredients, sometimes the people who did it, and the world they lived in.
What do you hope guests take away from one of your dinners?
For them to say, “Oh, I didn’t know that,” or “I didn’t know that I would like this.” That people learn. That’s what I want people to go away with. I would hope that they construct a conversation at the table that is also unique -- and I love listening to it. I like how they interact and make connections, talk about the food, and bring their own autobiographical material into the discussion. It’s a dinner party with kind of a guided topic. Our conversation is about history, and what talking about history sparks in our own memories and minds. I’m listening to them as much as I’m talking. It’s fun -- dinner parties are fun!
Is there a particular dinner or moment that stands out to you as especially meaningful?
I’ve had a lot of fun doing this, and I’ve been doing it since 2019. Filming the dinner with Debra Freeman [for the PBS film “Finding Edna Lewis”] was really a major highlight. It was a beautiful afternoon and evening. The director and cinematographer caught such beautiful moments of my guests at the table. It was a lovely experience. We have a local icon of Edna Lewis, who is getting the kind of attention that she deserves.
Anything else readers should know:
I particularly like to teach canning, and I have three more canning classes for this year in August, September, and October. Go to indigohouse.us to sign up.
I like how they interact and make connections, talk about the food, and bring their own autobiographical material into the discussion. It’s a dinner party with kind of a guided topic
I've...always been interested in food as a mirror to the broader cultural world. Food is as good a lens to look through as any other. I use that as a way of looking at the broader world.