By Georges: The story of how 2 Black New Orleanians shaped the culinary world

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George Curry and George Goode are some of the everyday history makers that are often forgotten.

In the early 1900s, the two Georges worked at The St. Charles Hotel, an architectural landmark which, as one of the grand hotels of its era, drew people to New Orleans. They were head waiters — positions more like a maitre d’ today — who oversaw dining room staffs and ran the front of the house. Both men had skills, experience and reputations that put them in demand across the country.

And both were also Black men in high-skilled positions in white-dominated spaces during Jim Crow. But despite the obvious challenges that would present, they commanded respect in the workplace and worked in spaces many Black people weren't able to enter as customers.

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