Taste Trendsetters: First Ladies In The Kitchen

Thanksgiving Precedent

It is usually tradition for the president to be presented with a live turkey on Thanksgiving before it is killed and cooked for that evening’s dinner. In 1971, the Nixons went against tradition by having Pat be the one to accept the turkeys since President Nixon preferred to watch the football game that day.

Pat was not only presented with two live turkeys by the National Turkey Federation, but also two ready-made frozen turkeys by the Poultry and Egg National Board. This had an impact on the rest of America since after that, millions of American families opted to cook frozen birds on Thanksgiving instead of cooking freshly killed ones.

A New Chef

After JFK’s assassination, Chef René Verdon continued to work as the White House chef for the Johnsons. However, he soon had to quit because he couldn’t stand the standard of food that was being produced at that point. When Jacqueline Kennedy left the White House, she took her refined taste with her. So after Verdon left, the Johnsons hired Chef Henry Haller, a Swiss-American chef who would turn out to be the Executive Chef of the White House for over 20 years.

With his skill, a new era of American taste was reintroduced into the White House. Haller’s meals would take on new flair under the direction of whatever First Lady was residing at the White House.