The extremely high temperatures of the hearth would have been dangerous for the young cook Oliver and other enslaved cooks. The mobile crane was meant to reduce fires and burns caused by the handling of hot cooking implements—particularly considering the flammability of an enslaved woman’s long cotton dress and sleeves. Unable to read or write, these men and women would cook recipes passed down orally in their own families or those they were forced to memorize after being taught by an older enslaved cook or one of the matriarchs who enslaved them. Oliver was an enslaved 15-year-old bought by Samuel Hermann in 1830; he lived with the Hermanns for thirteen years. Upon Mr. Hermann’s 1843 sale of Oliver, now 28, he is described as a cook. This likely meant he apprenticed with the older cooks living on the property.