Taste Trendsetters: First Ladies In The Kitchen

A Huge Transition

After the Clintons left the White House, George W. Bush and his wife Laura moved in. Apparently, Chef Scheib “was at odds with Laura Bush’s simpler demands of the kitchen: ready-made spare ribs, smoked turkey breast and other prepackaged food,” so he left the White House in 2005.

This required the Bush’s to find a new executive chef and in a totally unprecedented circumstance, Laura Bush hired Filipino-American chef, Cristeta Comerford, the first female and minority chef in American history to head the White House kitchen. Chef Comerford has a taste for healthy foods, which is why she is kept as the White House Executive Chef to this day.

Michelle Obama

When President Obama took office, his wife Michelle decided to keep Comerford, saying “I appreciate our shared perspective on the importance of healthy eating and healthy families.” Michelle Obama has had quite an impact on the White House diet as well, enacting a transition to farm-to-table, conscious eating.

Michelle is famous for advocating healthful eating habits, having publicly campaigned for this cause since her husband took office. While her predecessors Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush had already begun the push for organic foods in the White House kitchen, Michelle Obama took it a step further by planting the White House Kitchen Garden, which is all organic and is the first garden on White House property since the Roosevelts lived there.