Taste Trendsetters: First Ladies In The Kitchen

Impeccable Taste

Gallic chef René Verdon was initially hired by Jacqueline Kennedy because of the high demands of hostessing after President JFK was inaugurated into office. He was eventually hired full-time for $10,000 a year and full room and board.

With the help of Chef Verdon, Jacqueline Kennedy implemented higher standards within the White House kitchen. “White House menus were streamlined to three refined courses, including dishes such as poached salmon, rack of lamb and haricots vert aux amandes,” according to an article on NPR. The transition in White House tastes must have sparked a taste for the refined among American households in the 1960s.

Pat Nixon

After Jackie Kennedy abruptly left the White House and following Lady Bird Johnson’s tenure as First Lady, the next woman to make an impact was First Lady Pat Nixon. During her husband’s campaign for presidency, she would try to help by humanizing herself as a relatable First Lady. She took it upon herself to have her recipes printed on fliers and posted on the doors of American citizens during the 1968 Presidential Primary Elections.

She decided to do this after the eighth time supporting her husband, Richard Nixon, as he ran for president. By then she was reluctant to do so because of the reputation Nixon had built for himself professionally.