Product Description''An engaging book about life at the Executive Mansion. . . . Hillary Clinton had charged this fiercely competitive, meticulously organized chef with bringing 'what's best about American food, wine, and entertaining to the White House.' His sophisticated contemporary food was generally considered some of the best ever served there.'' --Marian Burros, New York Times
White House Chef
Join Walter Scheib as he serves up a taste--in stories and recipes--of his eleven years as White House chef under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Scheib takes readers along on his whirlwind adventure, from his challenging audition process right up until his controversial departure. He describes his approach to meals ranging from the intimate (rooftop parties and surprise birthday celebrations for the Clintons; Tex-Mex brunches for the Bushes) to his creative approach to bringing contemporary American cuisine to the ''people's house'' (including innovative ways to serve state dinners for up to seven hundred people and picnics and holiday menus for several thousand guests).
Scheib goes beyond the kitchen and his job as chef. He shares what it is like to be part of President Clinton's motorcade (the ''security bubble'') and inside the White House during 9/11, revealing how he first evacuates his staff and then comes back to fix meals for hundreds of hungry security and rescue personnel. Staying cool under pressure also helps Scheib in other aspects of his job, such as withstanding the often-changing ''temperature'' of the White House and satisfying the culinary sensibilities of two very different first families.
What Others Say
IN THE KITCHEN WITH WALTER SCHEIB, WHITE HOUSE EXECUTIVE CHEF
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.
Wonderful read!! Interesting and well written...a class book!
Anyone who is interested in The White House ...should read White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen! Well done! A classic!
The Wizard in the White House Kitchen
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 ... Read More
Well done and stays above politics
Not only good easy to make receipies and an engaging story on how to be a White House chef, by staying above politics he somehow has more credibility than if this was a tell all. That said, it is appatent he like the Clintons more than the Bushs. A great book for anyone who loves cooking shows.
Lively vignettes and fine recipes.
Walter Scheib provides stories and recipes of some eleven years as White House chef under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, so anticipate a collection which is far more than your usual cookbook - and which will appeal to collections strong in culinary history and presidential trivia. Scheib was hired by Hillary Clinton in 1994 to become White House chef and faced taking an outdated kitchen focused on traditional French cuisine and making it a showcase for modern American foods. His memoir embraces some eleven years of culinary history at the White House under two different administrations and pairs original recipes with accounts of Presidential family encounters, making for both lively vignettes and fine recipes.
