In this episode, what does the first pre-paid stamp have to do with contract shipping? Let’s connect the dots.

We start our journey in the historical maritime town of Newburyport, MA, center of shipbuilding and trade in the 19th century and home to a number of exceptional folk.

One of these lights of Newburyport was Jacob Perkins. He was one of those classic overachievers, being employed to make currency dies in his early 20’s, inventing a nail making machine shortly thereafter, and managing over his life to secure numerous US and British patents, invent the refrigerator, set up advanced and secure engraving for such things as official currency, and create high-powered, high-pressure steam devices. And a lot more.

I was rewatching José Andrés’ documentary We Feed People (and please consider, if so inclined, a donation to World Central Kitchen) and started thinking about the impact celebrity chefs can have on the world, which sent me wandering down the rabbit holes of connectivity. 

We tend to think the celebrity chef is a creature of modern media, but in fact it goes back much earlier. One of the first modern celebrity chefs was Alexis Soyer, a Frenchman who made a name for himself in London high society. After working for a number of aristocratic families, he became head chef at the Reform Club, where his kitchen was famous enough – with innovations like gas cooking and refrigeration – that he conducted tours for the Great and Good.