Rhubarbgate & the great caviar heist

Well we’ve tried to stay above the political fray, but this story by Marian Burros Food Fight: Current And Former White House Chefs Dish On Their Presidential Service, was just too good to pass up. Burros writes about a panel presentation given by former White House chefs at the Association of Food Journalists.

Some of the chefs were notably discrete and only willing to tell stories along the lines that Barack Obama won’t eat beets and while he loves pecan pie (which Bill Clinton doesn’t) he doesn’t like chocolate pecan pie. But Roland Mesnier, a White House pastry chef for 26 years, (check out his beautiful pastry books in the EYB library) spared no victims, being particularly critical of Obama state dinners, as they aren’t “showy enough anymore at the White House.”

So if you want the real dirt on the White House garden (hint: it’s restocked), and need a political fix but can’t take any more speeches, this article is for you.