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Eliza Jane Ashley and the Preservation of Arkansas’s Black Foodways
Eliza Jane Ashley, known by those close to her as Liza or Janie, spent more than thirty years as the cook for the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Serving from the administration of Governor Francis Cherry to that of Bill Clinton, she played a central role in the lives of the state’s political elite. Her skill in the kitchen led to national recognition, including appearances on television and a bestselling book. Beyond personal success, Ashley’s career helped preserve and share the food traditions of Black Arkansans, ensuring their continued influence on Arkansas foodways.
To understand Ashley’s legacy, it is important to place her work within the broader context of Arkansas Black foodways. In Southern foodways research, it is commonly noted that these traditions are rooted in the contributions of Indigenous, European, and African influences. Black foodways have been shaped by the ingenuity of African American cooks, many of whom adapted traditional African cooking techniques to the ingredients available in the American South.
Black women have been especially instrumental in passing down culinary traditions, ensuring that recipes and techniques remain integral to Arkansas’s food culture. Ashley’s own journey reflects this lineage. Raised in Lonoke County, she learned to cook from her grandmother, who worked as a cook at Oldham Plantation. From an early age, Ashley assisted in the kitchen, mastering recipes based on locally grown produce and butchered meats—fundamental aspects of Black Southern foodways.
In an oral history, Ashley recalled that during her youth, people had simpler tastes compared to the more elaborate meals she would later prepare at the Governor’s Mansion. She and her grandmother primarily prepared what they harvested from their garden, a practice deeply embedded in Black Southern food traditions. Food preservation was also a crucial skill; Ashley noted that her family canned and froze produce to ensure a steady food supply year-round. These early lessons in resourcefulness and seasonal eating remained with her throughout her career.
Ashley’s path from plantation life to professional cooking reflects a common experience for Black women in the South. Many carried generational knowledge of Southern cuisine, passed down from enslaved ancestors who worked as cooks in plantation kitchens. After emancipation, Black cooks continued to shape Southern cuisine.
Ashley’s tenure at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion placed her at the heart of the state’s political and social life. Historically, Black cooks played a crucial—though often unrecognized—role in Southern hospitality, preparing meals for powerful figures while navigating the imposed racial hierarchies of their time. Ashley’s ability to maintain close relationships with successive first families and dignitaries exemplifies how food functioned as a source of influence. Through her cooking, she fostered connections and shaped the dining experiences of governors, senators, and first ladies (both in Arkansas and in the White House).
Though Black women like Ashley were historically overlooked, their contributions to Southern culinary traditions have endured. Her recognition through proclamations, honorary titles, and her cookbook, Thirty Years at the Mansion, marks a broader acknowledgment of the vital role Black cooks have played in American food culture. Her book stands as part of a larger Black culinary tradition, preserving recipes and histories that might otherwise have been lost.
Ashley’s influence extended far beyond the kitchen. Her annual birthday celebrations at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion and her continued relationships with Arkansas’s first families demonstrate how her work was more than just a job—it was a lasting thread woven into the political and social fabric of the state. Her legacy is further preserved through her archival collection at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System, which contains personal papers, scrapbooks, recipes, and photographs from her life—and even some hats! Among the photographs are personal and professional images taken during Ashley’s time at the Arkansas Mansion in Little Rock and her visits to the White House in Washington DC. Visit the Research Room at the CALS Roberts Libray to explore the full collection. Additionally, an oral history interview with Ashley is part of the archival collection, providing firsthand insight into her life and work.
Through her dedication, she not only elevated Arkansas cuisine but also ensured that the rich traditions of Black Southern foodways would be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.
Read more about Ashley on the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas here.
To learn more about Arkansas’s Black foodways (and enjoy a vegan cooking session with Utopia Deli!), join community outreach archivist Danielle Afsordeh at the CALS Terry Library on Monday, February 24, 6:00-7:30 p.m. for Cooking Up History: Arkansas’s Black Foodways.
(Header image: Eliza Ashley (left) and Mary Ella Jones eating at Tim-Buk-Tu cafe at 1900 South Commerce Street, Little Rock, ca. 1950.)
By Danielle Afsordeh, community outreach archivist at the CALS Roberts Library
