Beltway pundits may be tracking the latest polls for the presidential election, but there’s another White House pick the food world will be watching. The question on many chef’s minds right now is: Who will be the next White House Executive Chef? The job not only requires cooking for POTUS and the first family, but also planning elaborate state dinners and a bit of menu diplomacy to satisfy the tastes of heads-of-states visiting Washington, DC.
In late July, Cristeta Comerford (White House nickname “Cheffie”) announced her retirement after almost three decades of service. In White House history, she is the first woman and person of color to serve as White House Executive Chef. And her departure came with heaps of praise from the food world including Ina Garten and José Andrés, who was the first to leak the news on X.
In total, Comerford prepared meals for five presidents—from Bill Clinton to Joe Biden—and 54 state dinners. That’s no small feat considering the average state dinner takes about six months to prepare for the multicourse meal. Recently that included dinners for visiting heads of state from Kenya, Japan, and India working closely with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
“I always say, food is love,” FLOTUS said in a prepared statement to Bon Appétit. “Through her barrier-breaking career, Chef Cris has led her team with warmth and creativity and nourished our souls along the way. With all our hearts, Joe and I are filled with gratitude for her dedication and years of service.”
As chef she has had to toe the line of menu diplomacy. That includes state dinners which balance American dishes alongside country-specific influences. For French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron’s visit in 2022, Comerford and her team created a special French-inspired cheese course spotlighting an American blue cheese from Rogue Creamery in Oregon.
Comerford’s legacy also includes a renovation of the White House kitchen built more than a century ago. She leaves a rather big toque to fill, leaving many to wonder: Who will be America’s next commander-in-chef?
The White House officially says, “no comment,” so let’s stir the pot and speculate on who might be next.
Swing State Chefs
You cannot get to The White House without stumping in a few swing states. We see some obvious choices in battleground states.
Asheville, North Carolina’s Katie Button (Cúrate and La Bodega by Cúrate) has amassed a national following making her one-to-watch. Last year, she accepted an invitation by The White House to prepare the Australia state dinner.
Button also has the ringing endorsement of Joanna and Chip Gaines following her recent Magnolia Network deal. And she’s no stranger to working inside-the-Beltway. Cúrate’s Spanish-style menu was influenced by her earliest days as a DC chef working for Chef José Andrés at Café Atlántico. Will she return to Washington?
We also like the odds for Hai Hai and Hola Arepa’s Christina Nguyen. As 2024 James Beard’s Best Chef Midwest, she brings Minnesota nice to a potential White House chef ticket. Like Comerford, Nguyen has no formal culinary school training. Instead, her dishes are influenced by her family’s Vietnamese heritage and travel throughout Southeast Asia. This lived cooking experience includes bright and bold flavors in dishes like coconut shrimp toast and chicken laab lettuce wraps.