Alice Waters (Evan Sung for The New York Times)The first “kitchen cabinet” was President Andrew Jackson’s team of close but unofficial advisers. Now the chef Alice Waters is leading a campaign to persuade President-elect Barack Obama to create a literal kitchen cabinet.
In a letter to the president-elect, Ms. Waters — joined by Ruth Reichl, the editor of Gourmet, and the New York restaurateur Danny Meyer — urged Barack and Michelle Obama to set an example for the nation on culinary issues like the naming of a White House chef and growing organic vegetables in the White House garden.
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“A person of integrity who is devoted to the ideals of sustainability and health would send a powerful message that food choices matter,” the letter said. “Supporting seasonal, ripe delicious American food would not only nourish your family, it would support our farmers, inspire your guests, and energize the nation.”
Earlier this month Ms. Waters joined 90 prominent food and agriculture leaders to suggest candidates for secretary of agriculture.
I spoke with her today about why an Obama kitchen cabinet should focus on issues involving the kitchen.
Why is the selection of the White House chef important to you?
We hope to see that position redefined and just broaden the perspective of what could be done in that place, both for the nourishment of the family but also for the meaning and deliciousness of meals for guests. The symbolic impact is something profoundly important. Even if you don’t taste the food, if you’re hearing this idea that good food should be a right and not a privilege, then that message is getting across. We’re talking about local seasonal food supporting the people who are taking care of the land. You’re inviting the guests to dine on the very best of what America has to offer. This could inspire a rediscovery of our gastronomic heritage and biodiversity.
What qualities do you want to see in a White House chef? Should you be a candidate for the job?
It’s not a job I could do, but I could certainly help to find someone or evaluate who is there. I want them to consider somebody who thinks about food as being connected to nature, to time and place, who understands where food comes from. I’m not thinking of someone who is a celebrity chef. Sometimes the celebrity gets in the way of a focus on real food. I think it should be somebody who just really understands the philosophy.
Is it really practical to grow food on the White House lawn?
I’d love to see a garden sprout up that’s positively and beautifully connected in some way to what happens inside those kitchens. That’s not something that can happen overnight. It takes time to develop. How do you utilize a kitchen garden properly and engage with historic societies? There are so many considerations. I think we could be an invaluable resource for whoever is there, and add and help define priorities.
Why do you think this administration would be willing to consider your proposal?
I think this is an unusual president. I think it’s somebody who cares about what he eats and what his family eats, somebody who understands the issues of obesity and understands the issues of the environment. We’re trying to bring food out of that place of fueling up and into a place of nature and culture.
How do you think the culinary decisions of the White House change our views of food in this country?
Americans don’t have deep gastronomic roots. They wanted to get away from the cultures of Europe or wherever they came from. We stirred up that melting pot pretty quickly. Then fast food came in and took over. We have to bring children into a new relationship to food that connects them to culture and agriculture. I think the demonstration of that idea at the White House could be profound. I can imagine the people who work there eating there. The whole idea of making a sort of democracy within that kitchen is of great interest to me. It would be a team of people, not just a head chef handing down orders. I can’t tell you how influential it could be.
For more from Alice Waters, read this story in the San Francisco Chronicle. The Associated Press also explored possible chef candidates in “White House Chefs Look for Sensitivity, Not a Star.” And finally, read this charming Q&A from IndyStar.com to learn about Ms. Waters’ most memorable food experience, must-have foods and other interesting facts about the popular chef.
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From 1 to 25 of 90 Comments
When does a president decide when to eat? Is this something scheduled by the Chef or Chief of staff? How does that work? Benigna Marko is curious.
— Benigna MarkoOh, boy! Overpriced organic produce for everyone! Locally grown foods only! Forget about your morning orange juice, your morning banana, and your morning coffee! Grow your own in your backyard, you fat, lazy slob! It’s good for you! It is even better for Alice Waters’ public profile and national stature! Now we are getting somewhere. I want a snooty, overpriced gourmet restaurant on every corner! This will help feed America! Vote for me!
Hey, Barack, what about my pet project? Over here, Barack!
— Rob L, N Myrtle Beach SCThank you for bringing Alice Waters into the National Conversation concerning health and wellness and the food that we consume. Local and fresh seems to be healthier for the environment and us.
The New Guy, Family and Staff may give a voice to learning more about our roots.
How is the Chef determined?
— Kathleen Walsch ShelliLast I heard, the president picks the chef (or his wife’s staff does).
Another reason Kucinich would have shaken things up in this country! I think it would be terrific to have a vegetarian or vegan president. Americans might then finally start bypassing meat for something healthier. (espcially healthier for the animals!)
— michelleI want to see a chef, who can turn out the best soul food, Southwestern and Tex Mex food, Creole food, Southern Barbecue in all its variations, and all the other regional foods in the U.S.A.
When world leaders come to state dinners, I hope the chef brings out really great, regular American dishes (maybe even including a good macaroni and cheese dish, from time to time), to let the world know that we don’t need to serve psuedo-European fare to put out a good spread.
Time to stop feeling apologetic about our food, and start celebrating everything American. Sure, the recipes can be wholesome and healthful, and the food can be grown in the back yard. But having endured Europeans bragging about their food and wine throughout most of my adult life, this is a fantasy of mine.
Or maybe I’m just hungry right now…..
— WesleySomehow, A. Waters always has a timely, and flavorful, suggestion for our consideration.
The proposal sounds like a great way to reorient the presidential kitchen!!! I think that White House Chefs are hired or retained by the President’s wife, and often stay for multiple administrations. I seem to remember that the current chef is a young woman (!!! a first!!!), who focuses on American cuisine.
— BettyI like Nicholas Kristof’s idea of replacing the Dept of Agriculture with a new Dept of Food.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/opinion/11kristof.html?_r=2
A Department of Agriculture made sense 100 years ago when 35 percent of Americans engaged in farming. But today, fewer than 2 percent are farmers. In contrast, 100 percent of Americans eat.
Renaming the department would signal that Mr. Obama seeks to move away from a bankrupt structure of factory farming that squanders energy, exacerbates climate change and makes Americans unhealthy — all while costing taxpayers billions of dollars.
“We’re subsidizing the least healthy calories in the supermarket — high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated soy oil, and we’re doing very little for farmers trying to grow real food,”
— DRAll well and good, but try to remember that there are also two young girls who will be living in the White House, too. I’d say that if this super-yummy organiz/local/gourmet cook wants to hit it off with them, h/she better know how to make a mean mac and cheese, tuna sandwich, things with “sauce on the side” and nothing, nothing green touching anything else on the plate. It will be hard enough for Sasha and Malia - don’t add “food victim” to their heavy load.
— BenitaThis is something I call ‘overprojection” that I saw a lot of when I answered phones at Obama HQ during the primaries. So many people believed that he could represent their particular passion and get it into the national spotlight and turn everyone around to their way of thinking, but if you added all of them up at the end of the day, no one person could focus on all those things. Alice needs to watch the old 60 Minutes interview where he makes lunch for his kids. He appears to be a very practical guy who doesn’t fuss: a can of tuna, mayo, dijon, and a chopped pickle. I’m sure he appreciates great food, but can we let the guy get in office and focus on the economy, Iraq and restoring our relationships in the world first? They’ve already been told what kind of dog to get, now we’re going to tell them what to eat and where to grow it?
— FrancoisAlice Waters is right on! Hooray for her! The first family could set an example of eating wholesome food, not the fake food that comes in packages, filled with chemicals, manufactured in a laboratory and passed on to the public as ‘nutritious’ when it is anything but.
Having a garden on the white house grounds, with Michelle and the girls planting, caring for, and harvesting the veggies could be an inspiration for families everywhere.
The time is right. Best way to fight the obesity epidemic. Let’s go for it!
— Linda AlbertLinda
Why can’t the Obamas decide for themselves what they want to eat and serve?
— SusannaAs an Italian, I personally think that slow food is a scam for rich upper west side bored ladies.. a bit like yoga in the earlier years. With a planet in peril and the global economy in the gutter I find overpriced food a blasphemy.
— paolo di nolaIt’s my understanding that the White House chef is guided by what the First Family wants; he/she is not there to lead or to make changes in their dietary habits. Additionally, I don’t think what the First Family eats has much influence over how Americans eat.
Change needs to come from those who can show Americans how to get quality food on the table in a timely manner — without breaking the budget. The food has to be available at the grocery store, whether it’s in the inner city or in the middle of America.
— SSKHmmm? Did these people send George W and Laura and similar request?
— Dr. QThis is getting to be too much.
Someone who writes to the president to say that he must adopt her pet-project to prove that he is a forward-thinking president is arrogant beyond belief.
It’s clear Alice Waters doesn’t have a clue what goes on in the rest of the U.S., where people simply don’t have access to farmers’ markets and can’t afford organic.
What a thoughtless elitist. Enough of this organic BS. Enough, enough, enough.
— ShanaAh, kill me–now this guy is going to recommend foods or require certain eating habits. I have lived too long.
— StarMaybe people should have access to farmer’s markets and access to decent living wages so they can afford organic, edible produce? maybe that would make your miserable lives a little bit nicer?
BTW, I bought 2.5 lbs of organic kale at my farmer’s market a couple of weeks ago for $5. Simiarly, 5 lbs of cabbages for $10. I buy giant Local (not organic) Asian pears for $1/each. For less than $2/day I can eat my five servings of fruit & veg. Seriously, it’s not that expensive where it is available. In New Enlgand, it is. I do cook though, and my freezer is now full of yummy stuff.
Admittedly, cabbage in the grocery store is usually $0.79/lb, but the organic tasted a lot better and they were little heads, more suitable for someone cooking for one person most of the time.
— Stephaniei am sorry, but i, for one, am so sick of having alice waters and her acquired/borrowed views about organic food being shoved down our throats by the nyt as though she’s some sort of humble oracle of food. for those of us who grew up alongside of beautiful rivers with nearly black earth in which to grow all of the foods that can be grown in western mass, even as we composted- and all way before alice waters came along, we really don’t need her as our national spokeswoman for the connectedness of eating well, good health, and doing right by the earth. alice water’s restaurant in berkeley is profoundly expensive, with a clientele of rich, posturing dilettantes and an aloof, sone times sniffing staff (not all, but some for sure) who serve tiny plates of good food. so what? its prices are way out of the reach of the average american, yet the woman who owns it is spoken of breathlessly by the nyt and others. anyone can and should do at home what alice waters has done with her restaurant and culinary empire, without spending the literally hundreds of dollars it costs for two to eat a meal at her restaurant. they could use the spare, say $180.00, to make a donation to a worthy cause, instead of putting into alice water’s pocket. give me a break!
— fcSlightly off topic, and slightly self-promotional, but I’ve written two mysteries:
STATE OF THE ONION, and
HAIL TO THE CHEF
about a fictional White House executive chef who gets into trouble as she feeds the First Family and saves the world in her spare time.
Based on my research, the AP article about the White House needing “sensitivity, not a star” most accurately reflects the First Family’s needs when it comes to hiring a chef. Personally, I would love to see Cristeta Comerford retain the position. Not only is she the first female White House executive chef, she’s been a good model for my character, Olivia Paras ;-)
FYI - From what I’ve learned, there is a small garden on the White House roof where the chef grows some of her own produce.
— Julie HyzyThank you Commentator #18 for that information. For those interested in what she serves at her restaurant, and how much it costs, go to http://www.chezpanisse.com. Check out the menu.
And while I don’t disparage her at all for making a good living at this, and while the menu sounds delicious - the prices in her restaurant are clearly beyond reach for the majority of Americans. I’m not sure I would her hold up as a pillar of democracy in the kitchen - I could not afford to!
Mary V Clark
— Mary V ClarkSuperior Twp, MI
Growing one’s own food is not practical for most people. I have tried for seven years to grow my own tomatoes while working full time as a college professor. By my estimates, each tomato I harvest from my garden costs $5 or so in terms of water, fertilizer (even organic), and my time and effort.
I still do it because I like garden tomatoes. And I have had better success with green beans.
But to tell people that their health and obesity problems can be solved in part by growing their own food is kind of ridiculous. What about the year possums ate my tomatoes? What about the year we had a sudden heat spell that killed the beans? If I were depending on growing my own food to feed myself, sure I wouldn’t be obese - I’d be dead, of starvation. Growing one’s own food is a full-time job and then some.
And forget farmer’s markets. The nearest one is a 40 mile drive for me, and I’m sure Alice doesn’t want me having that kind of carbon footprint on my conscience. (No, no, I know the solution: start my own farmer’s market, on top of everything else I do)
It irks me when someone who has enough money to hire “minions” (like Alice Waters) sets themselves up as having the one-size-fits-all solution for everyone.
Most Americans work hard at jobs with long hours. Many of us live in climates not amenable to gardening. To tell an already-overloaded populace to take on additional tasks in the name of enhancing health and food is not going to make people happy.
Oh, and bacon? Eat it if you’ve got it. I expect to see attempts by people to push for food-bans or extreme limitations, figuring Obama’s big-government talk makes him amenable to allowing people to dictate what others are or are not allowed to eat.
— rickiwe really don’t need her as our national spokeswoman for the connectedness of eating well, good health, and doing right by the earth. alice water’s restaurant in berkeley is profoundly expensive, with a clientele of rich, posturing dilettantes and an aloof, sone times sniffing staff (not all, but some for sure) who serve tiny plates of good food. so what? its prices are way out of the reach of the average american, yet the woman who owns it is spoken of breathlessly by the nyt and others. anyone can and should do at home what alice waters has done with her restaurant and culinary empire, without spending the literally hundreds of dollars it costs for two to eat a meal at her restaurant.
Wow–my hat is off to ya! Excellent rant and belileve me, I love a good one!
— StarIf I ate more organic veggies maybe I would not make typos. Being able to see would also help.
— StarStar, you’ve got a good eye…
It’s an epic masterpiece of a rant. My favorite: sone times sniffing staff. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
And, it even makes sense!
At the risk of earning my label of “reverse snob,” (add that to pot-of-gold chaser), I think Chez Panisse gets a bit precious. Alice has a good thing going.
— WesleyDoes anybody have any idea what George & Laura Bush eat now? Not me! I can’t imagine how anyone could believe that the presidential chef will make any difference in the organic food debate whatsoever.
— Lindsay