The Food Timeline--Presidents food favorites
- ️Lynne Olver
Distinct, direct, non-negotiable & quick.
"Because food wasn't much of a priority for the Bushes, whenever a dish met with Mrs. Bush's approval, the inclination among her
staff was to have it served as often as possible. There's no better example of this than a fresh pea soup with mint we served one
day...President and Mrs. Bush didn't eat only Tex-Mex food...One of their favorite things was warm biscuits...They also appreciated a
rich, homemade chicken pot pie...For all the differences between them, Mrs. Bush seemed to quite enjoy the repertoire of lunch dishes
...created for Mrs. Clinton--the healthful salads, soups, wraps...Like Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Bush enjoyed a one-course lunch, relatively low in protein
and fat...Of course, there was tweaking to do. Mrs. Bush loved beets...She favored spicier food over mild food, so we livened
up the dishes with chiles and hot sauces whenever it made sense. And, of course, she liked to be served Tex-Mex and Southwester
food as often as possible...There was a handful of things that the President wanted for lunch, and her almost never deviated from
that list. There was a BLT...He liked his grilled cheese sandwiches made with Kraft Singles and white bread...He also enjoyed peanut
butter and honey sandwiches, and occasionally a burger, cooked between medium and medium rare, on a bun with lettuce and tomato on
the side...There was one more thing the President insisted on: he wanted his food to be prompt. President Bush does not like to be
kept waiting, and is legendary for this...Not only did the President like to start right away, but he liked to finish his meals
quickly as well...On most Sundays, if the Bushes weren't at Camp David...the President wanted the same thing for lunch: A
post-church meal of huevos rancheros...Another popular weekend snack for the President, according to Mrs. Bush herself, was deviled
eggs..."
---White House Chef, Walter Scheib and Andrew Friedman [John Wiley:Hoboken NJ] 2007 (p. 215-236)
What does our 44th president like to eat? We're just beginning to find out!
"Every president has his favorite stuff. And it doesn't take long for the nation to become enamored with a president's pet things and habits, particularly a celebrity president such as Barack Obama.
With Ronald Reagan, it was jelly beans. Jimmy Carter munched peanuts. And George W. Bush is a pretzel lover. The election of Obama will bring a new cadre of often-upscale brand names to the White House.
For marketers, it's the chance of a lifetime. Among the brands Obama has worn, sipped, eaten or driven in public: Hart Schaffner Marx suits, Black Forest Berry
Honest Tea, Fran's Chocolates, Planters Trail Mix and the Ford Escape hybrid SUV.
He also drinks lots of bottled water...
Key Obama family brands:...
*Snacks. Obama tries to snack healthy. He likes Planters Trail Mix: Nuts, Seeds and Raisins. Planters has White House links dating to former president
(and peanut farmer) Carter, as a sponsor of the Plains, Ga., Peanut Festival, says Laurie Guzzinati, a Kraft Foods spokeswoman.
For sweets, the Obamas eat Fran's Chocolates, an artisan chocolate brand from Seattle. The president-elect prefers Fran's Smoked Sea Salt Caramel in Milk
Chocolate ($24 for a 16-piece box); wife Michelle prefers dark chocolate, says Sean Seedlock, Fran's marketing chief.
*Drinks. Obama is a fan of Black Forest Berry Honest Tea. "It raises the profile of our brand and all organic products," says Seth Goldman, CEO of Honest Tea.
"We'd love for it to be the official drink of the new administration.""
---"Obama family favorites likely to get brand boost," Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY Nov 6, 2008 (p. B4)
"We believe that a candidate's taste in food is a more reliable indicator of character than the carefully strained statements issued in this atmosphere of gotcha and
gotcha back. So we have worked our sources and come up with the names of the candidates' favorite restaurants in their home states...The Obamas' favorite spot for a night out in Chicago is the alta cocina Mexican restaurant Topolobampo, said Michelle Obama spokeswoman Katie McCormick Lelyveld.
Chicagoans know Topolobampo as the quieter, slightly classier sister restaurant of Frontera Grill, both owned by award-winning chef Rick Bayless. Sun-Times restaurant critic Pat Bruno has praised its "creativity and quality."
For a simpler bite, the Obamas turn to RJ Grunts, a cartoony Lincoln Park emporium of burgers, ribs and Tex-Mex standards, the spokeswoman says. On her
own, Michelle Obama has favored the more cutting-edge food at Sepia in the West Loop neighborhood...Obama's idea of a fast meal is to order from a scruffy
minimall pizza place near his South Side house called Italian Fiesta Pizzeria...Much more interesting on the Obamas' dining list is Topolobampo, Rick Bayless' superb little shrine to the full panoply of Mexico's cuisine. We have eaten there
happily for years, enjoying its authentic, even scholarly versions of classic dishes such as chilaquiles and Yucatecan roast pork. Topolobampo is one of the reasons we think Chicago is arguably America's top eating city, with fewer high-end addresses than New York but a more stellar, dramatic pantheon.
From its diverse and creative menu, Topolobampo says, Obama often orders sopa azteca, a dark broth flavored with pasilla chilies, grilled chicken, avocado,
Meadow Valley Farm handmade Jack cheese, thick cream and tortilla strips."
---"McCain and Obama's favorite restaurants: What McCain and Obama's favorite
restaurants say about the candidates," Raymond Sokolov, Chicago Sun Times, July 28, 2008
Barack Obama's Inaugural luncheon menu is said to have been inspired by Abraham Lincoln's 2nd inaugural menu (scroll down for menu).
Looking for favorite foods of other famous people?
FoodTimeline library owns 2300+ books, hundreds of 20th century USA food company brochures, & dozens of vintage magazines (Good Housekeeping, American Cookery, Ladies Home Journal &c.;) We also have ready access to historic magazine, newspaper & academic databases. Service is free and welcomes everyone. Have questions? Ask!
About culinary research & about copyright
Research conducted by Lynne
Olver, editor The Food
Timeline. About this site.