OP: The White House Family Cookbook

Random House, 1987. Hardcover. Very Good Plus.

Swiss-born chef Henry Haller (1923–2020) served as the White House executive chef for two decades. Succeeding Rene Verdon, Haller worked under the Johnsons, the Nixons, the Fords, the Carters, and the Reagans before retiring from the position.

Haller describes the particular challenge of cooking for five different families with distinct geographical, cultural, and personal preferences, while at the same time representing the nation as a whole and also maintaining appearances of sophistication and elegance. A complicated dance, no doubt.

Organized by administration, The White House Family Cookbook (1987) emphasizes recipes but drops in just enough detail of the first families’ predilections to give us the sense that we’re privy to a secret inner life in the White House.

The Johnsons, for example, had a habit of beginning the day’s work in bed where they would also take their breakfast. Thick cut ranch bacon was a favorite of the Texans, as were fresh, hot biscuits stuffed with ham or deer sausage—recipes for bacon, biscuits, and sausage included.

The Fords’ youngest son, Steve, often prepared his own breakfast and lunch in the White House kitchen, a favorite being a cold chicken sandwich with mayonnaise and dill pickles on Betty Ford’s homemade bread. Jack Ford, however, preferred a reuben on pumpernickel. Recipes for both sandwiches (and Mrs. Ford’s bread) follow.

A serious cookbook, all around. The stories and photos are a charming bonus. Our copy is a Very Good Plus later printing, showing wear only to the jacket.