White House Chef Jokes: Lick Your Plate

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Back in February, when the White House executive chef suddenly left his job, Conan O'Brien reported, "Today, the White House chef announced that he's quitting his job. When asked why, the chef said, 'After a while, you get sick of making Spaghetti O's.' " Last Wednesday night, Conan was at it again with -- you guessed it -- more White House chef jokes. President Bush had the Indian prime minister over for a state dinner on Monday, he intoned. Despite the fact that the President had no chef to actually cook the dinner, he did advise the Prime Minister about how he should eat it: he said that he should lick his plate clean -- because of all the hungry people back home in India. Or maybe you've heard of the latest Haute Cuisine dish coming out of Washington -- the "Coq et la Plame"? What's going on over at the White House? It's been five months since Walter Scheib left, regardless of whose volition. Five months! Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor just resigned three weeks ago, and the White House already has its nominee John Roberts up for Senate confirmation. How hard can it be to pick an executive chef for the White House? Patriotically, superchefblog has gone out of its way to facilitate this process for First Lady Laura Bush since this situation first surfaced. We nominated over 40 women chefs from around the country for the job, held a nationwide online readers' poll, and let anyone in the country vote for their favorite. The we tallied up the votes and announced the results. Fortune magazine covered this story, and NPR -- even Australian radio. Food Network star Cat Cora won. There were rumors of a shortlisting and likely candidates. Just recalling all this hullaballoo sounds more like the Supreme Court justice's nomination than a chef's! The Baltimore Sun became so concerned about who was cooking the Indian PM's supper that they ran an feature article imagining what would be served -- according to Walter Scheib. Americans are not the only ones who have noticed. Bangladesh-based web portal Matamat observed about the visit of neighboring India's PM Manmohan Singh that the Bush family, "non-entertainers non-pareil" hosted a state dinner less an executive chef -- as if the President meant to insult the Prime Minister by dining him sans chef (much to Bangladesh's delight). Even the conservative Washington Times is making fun of the situation: It's the rarest of occurrences in Washington. It happens once in a blue moon. And it's not a Supreme Court vacancy. It's a party at the White House. It's not a "state dinner" because India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not a head of state. Still, they're polishing the china and setting the tables with silk damask and keeping every detail under wraps, unlike previous occupants of the White House who always released gushing accounts of party preparations, from the guest list to what's being whipped up for the occasion. And why the secrecy? Well, in the post-9/11 world, anyone can claim "security," but even The Washington Times wondered if it wasn't related to the lack of a chef. "The White House won't even say who's at the stove... although several chefs have been cooking as 'tryouts' for the position." Washington Life Magazine editor-in-chief Nancy Bagley was quoted as saying, "The president and his wife are sort of our royal family. I wish they were more social." Who is at the helm? Has the White House accepted superchefblog's advice, at least so far as taking on a guest chef? Months, superchefblog began by recommending as guests chefs profiled in the book Super Chef. However, there are plenty of top-notch chefs based locally -- is the White House using any of these as consultants? Nora Pouillon or Jose Andres, or Roberto Donna or Patrick O'Connell? Perhaps this state dinner for the Indian prime minister will expedite the decision making process -- much longer, and we may be looking at a serious "credibility gap"... Either that, or perhaps Karl Rove & Co. could just spill the beans to a reporter...? Superchefblog is still encouraging ordinary Americans to email and "Tell Laura Bush" to pick a woman as executive chef for the White House. At this point, however, we recommend that the White House bring back actor/senator Fred Thompson to help sort things out. Previous articles: White House Chef: Fat Lady Sings? White House Chef Slot: Closer? Tell Laura Bush: White House Woman Chef Results: White House Woman Chef Shortlisting White House Chefs? Vote for White House Woman Chef Results of White House Chef Vote Vote for White House Guest Chefs Wanted: White House Chef Technorati Tags: chefs food restaurants cooking branding cuisine Politics scandal White House India --> back to superchefblog