A nationally recognized author and scholar of Southern food history will speak at Berry College next week in an event that is open to the public.

Adrian Miller, known as the “Soul Food Scholar,” will speak Monday, October 5, at 7 PM in the Krannert Center Ballroom as part of Berry College’s Conson Wilson Lecture Series.

Miller is the author of The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families from the Washingtons to the Obamas.

He is also a two-time James Beard Foundation Award winner. Miller received the honor for his books Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time and Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue. He has also been nominated for an NAACP Image Award and received a Colorado Book Award.

Miller’s background extends beyond food writing. He served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton from 1999 through 2001, working on issues involving racial, religious and ethnic reconciliation. He later served as a senior policy analyst for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and currently serves as executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches.

The Conson Wilson Lecture Series brings scholars, authors, artists and other notable speakers to Berry College to engage students and members of the surrounding community.

Monday night’s program is open to the public.