Cristeta Comerford, White House Chef

Marian Burros reports in today's NY Times:  Cristeta Comerford yesterday became the first woman to be named White House executive chef after a lengthy selection process.

Laura Bush, the first lady, said she was delighted that Ms. Comerford, who has been an assistant chef in the White House since the mid-90's, had accepted the job. "Her passion for cooking can be tasted in every bite of her delicious creations," Mrs. Bush said

Ms. Comerford, who came to the United States when she was 23, received a bachelor's degree in food technology from the University of the Philippines, studied classic French cooking and worked in Austria. She also was chef at two Washington hotels. And she collaborated with the California chef John Ash to promote American game cooking.

Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, representing more than 2,000 culinary professionals in the United States, may want to take credit for Ms. Comerford's elevation. The organization sent a letter to Mrs. Bush last May, asking her to consider a woman for the job because the chef would be a role model for women.

"Throughout our history, women have been at the helm of feeding American families," the organization wrote. "Now is the time to have a woman at the helm of feeding America's first family."

But according to the White House, none of the people suggested by the organization, most of them well-known in culinary circles, were interested in the job. The pay, $80,000 to $100,000 a year with no overtime, for what is essentially a private family chef who occasionally has an opportunity to show off at a state dinner, is well below what top level chefs can earn on the outside.

And opportunities to dazzle at state dinners are few and far between in the current White House; there have been only five since Mr. Bush took office.

"I'm glad it's a woman," said Alice Waters, the noted Berkeley, Calif., restaurateur. "It can't be anything but encouraging to people to have someone at the top, particularly from another country. That particularly makes a beautiful statement that someone has succeeded to the extent that they represent the president."

SuperChefBlog has been covering the White House chef vacancy story. 

Comments

[Cynthia]

The Bush administration seems to have been consistently good at promoting women and minorities. The cabinet has featured many firsts, and now it's nice to see it has moved to the kitchen.

[dc]

Superchefblog has full coverage of this story --
http://www.superchefblog.com/2005/08/complete-coverage-white-house-woman.html --
and predicted Cris Comerford would be chosen two days before the announcement:
http://www.superchefblog.com/2005/08/white-house-chef-close-to-bone.html