Walter Scheib: ScallopGate?

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Let's call it "Scallopgate." Did President Bush's former top chef Walter Scheib feed scallops to the Commander-in-Chief despite his requests that scallops not appear in the first family's meals? Or is Walter being slandered by some East Wing mischief maker? Can the President's stomach effect world affairs? What is wrong with scallops anyway? What is wrong with this story? David Letterman had this say: And President Bush fired the guy, the former chef, for serving scallops. I'm thinking, well, gosh, is this the guy he should be firing? What about those guys who got us into Iraq? Why didn't he fire those guys? [source] The Wall Street Journal reported in an article on Laura Bush: A hint of the steel behind her smile was evident early this year, when the White House ushered out longtime head chef Walter Scheib. One East Wing official, breaking months of silence on the issue, cited a "level of arrogance" Mr. Scheib displayed in preparing dishes the Bush family detested -- scallops in particular, which kept appearing on menus despite repeated complaints. Mr. Scheib declined to comment. Now The New York Daily News got into the act, quoting Walter: There was never any request to take scallops off the menu. If there had ever been any request like that, I can assure you there never would have been a scallop in the building. The chef reckons that the bivalve found its way onto the presidential table only about 11 times - and every time, "The First Lady approved the menu."... Besides, Walter told NYDN, "It was an amicable parting" and that he was pleased that they hired one of his staff members to succeed him -- Cristeta Comerford. Maybe Walter is right and Mrs. Bush wanted to put her own stamp on the White House kitchen. Maybe 11 orders of scallops was one too many. Broccoli, scallops -- maybe food is just that powerful. Related news: New York Daily News Philadelphia Inquirer Wichita Eagle weblog Previous articles: White House Woman Chef: Thanks Kitchen Chat with Walter Scheib Wanted: White House Chef [White House - complete coverage] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, food blogging, Walter Scheib, Cris Comerford --> back to superchefblog