Kitchen Cabinet: Who Will Be the Next White House Chef?
Forget Secretary of the Interior or ambassador to Iceland. The job everyone in the culinary world is eyeing in the Barack Obama administration is White House chef.
-- Restaurants & Institutions, December 1, 2008
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| RELATED: CHEF RICK BAYLESS: What I Would Cook for Obama’s Inauguration |
Forget Secretary of the Interior or ambassador to Iceland. The job everyone in the culinary world is eyeing in the Barack Obama administration is White House chef. Days after the election, the media began tossing around a short list of possibilities: Art Smith, owner of Chicago's Table Fifty-Two restaurant and Oprah Winfrey's former personal chef; Rick Bayless, owner of Chicago's Frontera Grill and (Obama favorite) Topolobampo; and Daniel Young, who cooked for Obama at the Democratic National Convention and was personal chef to NBA player Carmelo Anthony.
Bayless calls the speculation “hilarious” but says he feels honored his name is being mentioned. At press time, no appointment had been made—in fact, it's not clear whether current White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, who in 2005 became the first female to assume the job, will be replaced (some previous chefs have stayed through multiple administrations). If there is a change, Bayless hopes the Obamas will break the tradition of tapping hotel chefs and take a chance on a visionary. “We're entering a new era of food in the United States,” says Bayless. “It's time that be represented at the top level.”
Although he dismisses the idea that he may be that visionary, Bayless would welcome the opportunity to spread his passion for fresh, seasonal, local food to Washington. “There are wonderful farms and farmers markets there,” he says. “To be able to bring that into the White House would be amazing, because it would reflect the change that's going on in the rest of the country.” He adds: “That White House lawn is pretty big. As one of my friends said, who needs a Rose Garden? Put in some chiles!”
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