White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen

This cookbook makes for an unusual and fantastic gift.

Walter Scheib is clearly a man deeply devoted to his metier and the pride that he had working as Executive Chef in the White House for eleven years is very clear on every page of this interesting book. As the Executive Chef at the famous Greenbrier, it is unquestionable that he would have been welcome anywhere in the US food industry but chose to go to the White House for the prestige it conferred-the money is probably not the attraction-- but also because of the challenge he was offered. Hillary Clinton had a definite vision of how the White House would be used for entertaining and Mr. Scheib was clearly thrilled by her concept of using fine American ingredients and an understanding of modern restaurant trends to develop a leading-edge cuisine for the White House.While Mr. Scheib discusses the First Family's food preferences, this is not the most interesting part of his story, although his account of teaching Chelsea Clinton to cook is particularly charming. The Executive Mansion is a tool that can be used to increase the prestige and power of the President. Under the direction of Mrs. Clinton state dinners were expanded from a typical guest list of 130 to up to 700 people. This required impressive organizational skills, a focus on practical cooking, the ability to network and build a responsive team. Mr. Scheib was really running what amounted to an extremely fancy hotel dining room without facilities designed for it. It was surprising to learn, for example, that the White House does not have its own wine cellar.The recipes in the book are fairly simple and not very difficult to make in a home kitchen. They call for an international blend of ingredients and a palate that needs to be more adventurous than what would be needed for institutional food. And in addition to the fusion cusine, there is plenty of American-style comfort food.Several reviewers have commented on the perceived dislike or disdain that Mr. Scheib shows for the Bushes. I believe this overstates the case. As a conscientious professional, he was willing to accommodate the needs of the First Family and the Presidency even beyond the call of duty. It is clear that Mrs. Clinton was very focused on what she expected from him and in turn expected to be challenged and surprised by his ideas. This was a huge departure from the previous cooking at the White House and was part of Mrs. Clinton's desire to showcase the White House as representative of the best in America. Mr. Scheib is very clear that it is entirely up to the First Family as to how they wish their White House to be and the fact that Laura Bush was not as directly engaged in this was her right. Although President Bush's lunch choices are not very eclectic, he was not elected for his eating preferences. I think that Mr. Scheib, who is very discreet and seemingly apolitical, expresses disappointment as a proud and capable staff member that the abilities of his team are no longer really required in a White House where food quality is secondary at state events. The nadir must be the Congressional picnic where everything is brought in boxes from a foodservice supplier and merely reheated.The puzzle to me is why Mr. Scheib stayed on for a full four years after the departure of the Clintons in a work environment that clearly did not challenge him much. He is obviously an organized, serious (he clearly does not suffer fools gladly!) and yet creative person in a profession that is crying for such people so he certainly could have found a terrific position elsewhere. He has since gone on to run his own business giving talks about his White House years, organizing events and teaching.I would recommend this book if you are interested in reading about people passionate about food, mixed with some great behind-the-scenes history. I am only sorry that it does not have more pictures of the food!

This exceptionally fine book on what really goes on in the kitchen at the White House is simply a delightful and fun read. I marvel at how the author managed to satisfy two presidents, their families, and thousands of guests with his culinary talents and management skills.If you enjoy reading about presidents Clinton and Bush and their families up close and personal from an executive chef's experience over eleven years in their kitchen at the White House and other places of interest, you will be pleasantly surprised and delighted - wishing for more! No political motivation here, just anecdotes, plenty of recipes, some pictures, some comparisons concerning food preferences, and plenty of insights.So....what's for dinner? Well, Mrs.Clinton loved to entertain and discuss the menus provided by the author, Walter Scheib - she hired him away from the Greenbrier in W.Va. She depended upon him to provide her with expert advice and tasty American type food that would generate compliments, especially at state dinners. You will be wowed by what was accomplished in the kitchen during the eight Clinton years.When the Bush family moved into the White House, Walter naturally had to adapt to their tastes which leaned more toward Tex-Mex and American comfort food.....Laura Bush asked for menus that contained food that was generous, flavorful and identifiable. She had little contact with the executive chef, prefering to allow her secretary to interact when needed. Walter created memorable meals for this family but missed the innovations eagerly anticipated by the Clintons. After four years, he was replaced by Christeta Comerford, his assistant, whom he greatly admires.Thanks, Walter Scheib for the sheer pleasure you have given to White House readers like me - the recipes are clearly written and your descriptions of state dinners, picnics on the White House lawn, the innaugerations, etc. - just leave the reader wanting to know more!

I enjoyed this book very much and found it completely apolitical. It is well written and quite the page-turner! Chef Scheib's comments about both administrations focus on each First Family's approach to food, not on their politics. He never mentions his own political leanings, nor does he offer political opinions. Those who complain about Chef's political bias may have an ax to grind, but they have obviously not read this book.Several of Chef Scheib's anecdotes about President Bush have to do with Bush's exceedingly narrow food preferences: peanut butter and honey, BLT, or grilled cheese sandwiches and burgers--nothing green, ever--day in and day out. Oh, and steamed hot dogs at ball games. Bush is famously incurious--a word I heard commentators use with increasing frequency during his administration--and Chef Scheib merely illustrates that this lack of curiosity extends even to food preferences. Compare the recipes from the Clinton section of the book to those in the Bush section--the recipes speak for themselves. While I feel sure that Chef's food is always delicious, the playfulness, sense of adventure and love of experimentation so evident in the Clinton section is completely absent from the Bush section.By the way, I am a native Texan, born and raised in Dallas.