ABSTRACT
In June 2011 the National Archives unveiled What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?, an exhibition of records tracing the government’s effect on the American diet. It was the first National Archives exhibition to explore the topic of food and , as we discovered, it was a topic that opened many doors. Due to his personal interest in the subject, we formed a unique partnership with a local celebrity chef, José Andrés. Chef Andrés opened a companion restaurant to the exhibition and participated in the National Archives’ America Eats program series. The richness of the content and the currency of the issues, together with Chef Andrés’s involvement, resulted in unprecedented interest from the media and the public, raising the profile of the National Archives locally, nationally, and internationally. As a result, the exhibition, programming series, and social media initiatives were able to tap into a variety of new audiences for the National Archives.
