White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen

by Andrew Friedman, Andrew Friedman

"An engaging book about life at the Executive Mansion. . . . Hillary Clinton had charged this fiercely competitive, meticulously organized chef with bringing 'what's best about American food, wine, and entertaining to the White House.' His sophisticated contemporary food was generally considered some of the best ever served there."
--Marian Burros, New York Times White House Chef Join Walter Scheib as he serves up a taste--in stories and recipes--of his eleven years as White House chef under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Scheib takes readers along on his whirlwind adventure, from his challenging audition process right up until his controversial departure. He describes his approach to meals ranging from the intimate (rooftop parties and surprise birthday celebrations for the Clintons; Tex-Mex brunches for the Bushes) to his creative approach to bringing contemporary American cuisine to the "people's house" (including innovative ways to serve state dinners for up to seven hundred people and picnics and holiday menus for several thousand guests). Scheib goes beyond the kitchen and his job as chef. He shares what it is like to be part of President Clinton's motorcade (the "security bubble") and inside the White House during 9/11, revealing how he first evacuates his staff and then comes back to fix meals for hundreds of hungry security and rescue personnel. Staying cool under pressure also helps Scheib in other aspects of his job, such as withstanding the often-changing "temperature" of the White House and satisfying the culinary sensibilities of two very different first families.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, History, Cooking, Food

336 pages, Hardcover

First published December 29, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Andrew Friedman is the author of Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll: How Food Lovers, Free Spirits, Misfits and Wanderers Created a New American Profession (2018), and producer and host of the independent podcast Andrew Talks to Chefs, currently in its sixth year. He is also the author of Knives at Dawn: America’s Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d’Or Competition (2009), co-editor of the internationally popular anthology Don’t Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World’s Greatest Chefs, and co-author of more than twenty-five cookbooks, memoirs, and other projects with some of the United States’ finest and most well-known chefs. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor within the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at the Culinary Institute of America. An avid tennis player, he co- authored American tennis star James Blake’s New York Times bestselling memoir Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life (2007), and was for several years a TENNIS magazine editor-at-large. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the inside look at the white house through unexpected eyes. The logistics of preparing food for so many people at one time is overwhelming, add to that the need to serve it outside at times, glad it's not my job. I was surprised that he would remain through 2 different administrations. I assumed that each new president would bring in their own domestic staff. I would love to have my own personal chef to make me exotic meals even for lunch and keep track of calories etc. for me. It was easy to read and I liked looking at the recipes, however I doubt I would ever try most of them.

[Marian Kvamme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this! Such a fun look into the personal side of the White House. As a lover of history and food, I relished every page, and saved several of the recipes.

[Michelle Smart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was full of inside stories of White House staff life. It was told from the foodies' perspective, naturally, and I ate it up. :)

[Lynette Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself thinking that the extreme stress of his job at times, must have been unhealthy for Walter Scheib, but apparently he thrived in a challenging environment. He has many deliscious looking and very unique recipes included in his memoir, but since I don't have a team to order me the ingredients, or assistant chefs to help with the preparation, they look a little overwhelming. I did save a few to try.

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the content of this book -- seeing the White House from a different perspective, getting to know the First Families' food tastes, learning more about cuisine and picking up new recipes, etc -- but I must say the writing was quite dry at times. The anecdotes were short and seemingly out of place, in the midst of almost list-like writing of what happened and what dinner was next.
I did enjoy the difference in writing style between his descriptions of cooking for the Clintons v cooking for the Bushes. He was very professional and courteous in his explanations of menu choices and personal style of communication, but it was so easy to read through the lines. Here's what I gleaned from his book, in which he TRIED to be un-biased: he loved working for the Clintons and thought they were great, open and healthful minded, conscientious people; he thought the Bushes were bland, boring, and backwards in the way they dealt with food and entertaining.

Long story short: A decent read, but much more for the content than the writing itself.

[Amar Pai · Rating 3 out of 5]

God GW Bush SUCKED. Right down to his shitty taste in food. It's the least of his crimes, but man.
I wonder who the Obamas' chef is... hopefully the menu these days has more curries and less fancy plated 'piece of meat drizzled with sauce' haute cuisine

I like how Clinton would sneak porterhouse steaks and onion rings when Hillary went out of town

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, President Bush, for having the palate of a three year-old.

[Marianne Fanning · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book - the recipes were over the top and very few "normal" people would attempt to make these. The ingredients alone are insane.

The book was incredibly telling on many levels. It is very apparent that the writer preferred the Clinton's - they threw lavish parties - increased the size of the outings to a ridiculous level. George Bush would host a state dinner which would include 125 people ... Hilary Clinton would host the same type of dinner and invite thousands. The Bush Administration would have a military band as entertainment and the Clinton's would invite celebrities in. Every lunch at the Clinton White House was a major production ... George Bush would stop into the kitchen and ask, "what's for lunch" and want a BLT with Lay's potato chips. You realize how elitist the Clinton's were and how down home and normal the Bush's were. Amazing!

The stories around 9/11 were fascinating.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

All you foodies, beware! This book offers a very practical approach to revealing the inside secrets of the first family's dining habits, from teaching Chelsea Clinton to cook vegetarian meals at college to ordering custom-built, military-style kitchen trucks to serve picnics on the White House lawn. It includes some coverage of the decision-making power of Daniel Shanks, the White House Wine Cellar manager (who happens to be a big fan of Ancien Wines!). History, recipes, and personal anecdote all in one. Walter Scheib is a great storyteller, but an even better chef (he served a Food and Wine event in Milwaukee, which is where I scored the book). Try it. You'll be surprised how engaging it is for a "cook book."

[Pam Psboston7 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of you know that I’m in the Food & Beverage industry… of course any Culinary book peaks an interest in me.

A good friend of mine gifted this to me years ago and to this day it’s one of my favorite books to share. This book read like a memoir of sorts and wrapped you up in the details you weren’t cognizant of operating in a historical kitchen.

The whole process of the two different President styles and how the First Ladies chose how visiting countries would experience the various regions of the states. For me as a history buff this was fabulous.

What is also covered (in the peripheral) are the personalities of POTUS & FLOTUS as the White House flipped. Such a good book!

Respectfully Reviewed.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this little peek into the life of a Chef at the White House. Amazing to read all they did and do and yet their main responsibility is serving the family which included 3 many days but thousands on many occasions too. Quite astonishing to see how the Clintons revamped the White House kitchen and how things changed again with the Bush Family(not surprising but intriguing). I can only imagine what the O'Bama Chef is doing these days, I hope he/she writes a book about it too some day. This Chef does divulge many recipes, none of which I tried, but many that sounded delicious but most had too many ingredients for me to even attempt! Quick, fun read!

[nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly interesting and enjoyable! Interesting to hear what the Clinton and Bush families like to eat, how they entertained, and to hear a little bit more what they were like at home. Also get tidbits about the White House and the rooms in it etc.

Also love that recipes were included and will be trying out several.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I loved the writing style. Clean and concise. I find the recipes to be approachable for at home cooks. In the back of the book there is a list of the recipes by category which is convenient.

Walter Scheib kept politics out of the book. The focus was on the White House kitchen and how it was run. It focused on what mattered to each presidential family. The Clinton's loved to throw huge lavish parties. The Bush's did not. The Clinton's invited a lot of Hollywood. The Bush's invited professional baseball people. I looked up the ages of Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush when they were in the White House. Hillary was 45 to 53 when she lived there and Laura was 54 to 62. Hillary enjoyed innovative, new flavors whereas the Bush's preferred good old fashioned comfort food, nothing too fancy. Tex Mex was served often. Food was a priority to Hillary. It wasn't as important to the Bush's. So, needless to say, Walter enjoyed cooking for Clinton's a lot more than the Bush's.

I looked up Walter Scheib to see what he has been doing since he left the White House. Sad to say, he drowned while out for a hike in 2015.

I find it strange that Walter Scheib's name is missing as the author in some of the editions. His name is on mine and it is listed first. Andrew Friedman's is second.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed an "insider's view" of the happenings of the White House from the head chef to the Clintons and Bushes. The section on the Clintons was much more interesting than the section on the Bushes and Walter Scheib seemed to feel that way, as well. Even though I don't think I would prepare any of the recipes (most are fairly complicated, with several steps) they gave a glimpse into the food trends of the White House occupants. The book became a little repetitive (which is why I gave it 3 stars) and seemed to end abruptly at the end with his dismissal from Laura Bush. It also bothered me somewhat that Scheib rarely mentioned his own family and how he missed so much of his kids' growing up as he was attending to the First Family.
I was shocked to learn, when I Googled Scheib to see where his career had taken him after the White House, that he and his wife had divorced and he was found dead after being missing for a week after going on a hike ..a bizarre end to the life of such a talented person.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I worked in a university dining hall for just under a decade, and I had the opportunity to work a special event with Chef Scheib for one day about fifteen years ago. It was the single most rewarding experience of my time working that job, which I otherwise generally hated. I was heartbroken to hear of his passing several years later and I have always thought highly of him since the one day I got to work with him.

I have owned a copy of this book for several years, but had never gotten around to picking it up largely because I am so exhausted by politics at this point that I didn't want anything to do with anything that was even loosely correlated with the political world. Thankfully, despite being the memoir of a White House chef, this book is not that. It is strictly an account of his time as chef during the Clinton administration and the early GWB years. I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Chef Sheib and to peruse his recipes, which I may revisit at some point and try making myself.

[Gale Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a short book because it is a cook book. I embarrassed to put it down as a book on my challenge list. A friend gave me the book and it does give insight into life at the White House as far as entertaining and working for the first family. He was hired by Hillary Clinton and it is obvious they worked together well.
The recipes are creative. He was in his element during the Clinton years. The Bush years, not so much. There was a change in the Social Secretary and some how communications were poor and it didn’t end well. I think 9/11 cause so many changes in the White House and that didn’t help the situation. I gave the book 3 stars-it was a cookbook with a story, what can I say.

This book was an older book. The author did go on to doing cooking shows and teaching culinary skills. He died in 2015 in a hacking accident.

[George Cahlink]

Signed first

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting. Author seems like a decent down to earth guy, in spite of all the crap he had to deal with.

[Emjay · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a talent and expertise to be able to feed two very different presidents, their families, staff and thousands of guests! There's neither political observations ('not my business') nor dirt ('one does not violate the trust of a former employer'). This is a fascinating look at the inside workings of the White House kitchen & the families that headed the House in the 1990s & 2000s. Chef Scheib has respect for the Bushes but his heart belongs to the Clintons. &, yes, lots of good receipes here! Also, Andrew Friedman who has worked on many celebrity chef's books, is listed as the second author.

[Erin Schwane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this 3.5 stars mostly due to the interesting trivia I learned about the day-to-day workings of the White House and political leaders as well as the numerous artifacts included, like Hillary Clinton's lunch menu. Still, I found the writing to be poor at times and the chef co-author was not likable. I also wanted stronger closure, like hearing about what the author did when he left the White House (in addition to writing this) and what he learned from his time there. Instead the book stopped abruptly with the end of his job.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to get an inside peek into the food production of White House events, food preferences of the first family and roles of various support staff at The White House. Many of the recipes sounded delicious but were very complicated with no description of modifications and obscure ingredients. I was left uninspired. :(
I stopped this book prior to getting to part two (Part 1 Clinton Administration, Part 2 Bush Administration) because of my lack of interest in the recipes and having a stronger desire to read other books.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting look inside the kitchen of the White House. The difference between even the eating styles of the Clinton's and Bush's seemed to be indicative of their overall styles (but who am I to talk... I'm sure my taste impresses no one).

There are lots of recipes that are supposedly made a little easier, but still more complicated than anything I make. It is still interesting for the view of how things work at the White House.

[Katie Boston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chef Walter Scheib recently made an appearance at the resort where I work, and I couldn't resist buying a copy and getting it autographed! This book is very interesting to me, as someone who works 'behind the scenes' in the hospitality industry. We host large events, but nothing on this scale. The stories are amazing!
I also bought a copy for my father, who is a retired Colonel and loves to cook. I haven't tried any recipes yet but I love reading about the White House events.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the political inside story, especially the tone set by each of the first families (the Bush family versus the Clintons). Made the Clinton's onion rings, Chelsea's chocolate chip cookies & a pear and chicken salad that was really, really good. Hmmm......wonder if Hillary returns to the White House if she will resurrect her relationship with him as the White House chef?

[Journeywoman · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best memoirs I have ever read.

This was a fascinating look at the Clinton and Bush administrations from the kitchen. I loved learning about this side of them. It made me like the Clinton's more and find something redeemable in the Bush's. (Which I had been having problems with.)

I look forward to trying the recipes and highly reccomend the book.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting anecdotes and recipes; you can tell the author really loved the Clintons and Hillary's approach to food. (And was somewhat less impressed with George W. Bush and his desire for peanut butter and honey sandwiches with chips on the side, heh.)

I was reading this book the night the Penguins won the Stanley Cup!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it was interesting in parts. Overall, the author came across as somewhat whiny by the end. As much as he loved the Clintons, he had to know that his experience with the Bushes would be different. I am amazed he made it all the way through George W.'s first term since he was a much more boring eater than Hillary.

[Dara Tinius · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read this for the recipes (which were beyond my skill!) I love stories about the support people (ushers, cooks, florists) at the White House. The people who often serve several presidents. They have such an interesting perspective. I loved all the behind the scenes details of state dinners and what Sept. 11 was like for the White House employees.

[Jody Shee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter Scheib was the White House chef from 1994 to 2005, serving the Clintons and Bush's. His life in that position is fascinating all by itself, but add to it the insight you get from learning more about the personal lives of the First Families, and it's that much better. Throughout, he includes recipes, which for me, weren't necessary, though others might look at it as a value-added.

[Minnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book doesn't offer the most luxurious prose or all the sordid details you'd like but it's pretty entertaining to learn what Bush has for lunch (grilled cheese sandwiches and hamburgers, mainly) or that he disdains all green food.