| University Club hosts White House chef BY MATT GETTY and MIKE UNGER
Photos by Jeff Watts University Club patrons dined like presidents last Wednesday thanks to Bon Appetit’s “Star Chef” program, which brought to campus former Clinton and Bush White House executive chef Walter Scheib.
Colorful dishes ranging from roasted beet salad to carved American buffalo filled tables and hungry stomachs as Scheib signed copies of his book, White House Chef, Eleven Years Two Presidents, One Kitchen. 
Having cooked for two first families and such foreign dignitaries as Boris Yeltsin, Jacques Chirac, and Lady Diana, Scheib insisted that the key to a good state dinner is no different than it is for a family dinner. “It’s a matter of balance,” he said, noting how most of the recipes in his book mingle the three core complementary flavors of sweet, spicy, and sour. “You want to get all three of those flavors in there so that you’re hitting all parts of the mouth. It’s like a good jazz combo—they work together.” With the dishes split between “The Clinton Years” and “The Bush Years,” diners could ponder whether party differences carried over from politics to the plate, but Scheib said that even in the White House tastes divided along gender lines rather than party lines. “Both women were concerned about nutrition, whereas both the guys, I think, would have been just as happy if we had opened up a rib shack in the basement,” he said. “Their philosophy was, if you can melt cheese on it, do it.” Nonetheless, American Weekly couldn’t resist our own side-by-side comparison:
Thai-Spiced Sweet Potato Soup with Gingered Bok Choy (Clinton Years)
The flavor begins as a subtle sweetness and then gives way to a mild, but lingering, heat from the soup’s hint of curry. Scheib said he created the recipe for this rich yet refreshing soup for Chelsea Clinton, who developed a taste for sweet potatoes when she became a vegetarian.
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Scallop and Corn Chowder (Bush Years)
With a broth more milky than creamy, this is much lighter than a traditional New England–style chowder. The plump scallops and crisp corn create an engaging blend of textures and a sumptuous start to any meal.
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Chicken, Organic Apples, and Pecan Salad on Baby Greens with Port Wine and Tarragon Vinaigrette (Clinton Years)
This refreshing salad seems the perfect complement to a nice spring day. The crisp apples, tender chicken, crunchy pecans, and subtle flavor of the greens combine to create a dish with an abundance of textures as well as flavors. Scheib first served the salad during a Camp David visit from British prime minister Tony Blair. “We always tried to use seasonal and local ingredients, and near Camp David we were big on apples,” Scheib said. Originally, the salad was served with quail, but he substituted chicken for the book because it’s much easier to find.
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Roasted Beet Salad (Bush Years)
The salad’s feta cheese and baby spinach leaves provide the perfect bitter counterpoint to the sweet beets. Savory red onions deepen the overall taste, making for a dish that celebrates its varied flavors rather than merging them.
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Oven-Roasted Tomatoes and Maytag Blue Cheese on Crispy Polenta (Clinton Years)
Pleasing to the eye as well as palette, these bite-sized appetizers mix sweet and sour flavors in a playful potpourri. The polenta hits first, laying a mildly sugary base for the other flavors. Then comes the earthy tartness of the roasted tomato, which somehow remains distinct from the blue cheese’s complimentary tanginess with each bite.
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Tomato and Corn Custard (Bush Years)
This comforting side dish’s soft texture seemed the perfect consistency for its mildly sweet flavor. The tomato and corn join to create a whole that seems greater than the sum of its parts.
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Carved American Buffalo with Whiskey-Tortilla Sauce (Clinton Years)
The savory buffalo meat is surprisingly tender beneath a Tex-Mex style sauce that mingles sugary and spicy flavors. First served at the 1997 G-8 Summit in Denver Colo., the steak alternative, said Scheib, gave European taste buds a distinctly American experience. “That was a big hit,” he said. “You don’t get a chance to eat too many buffaloes in England and France.”
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Chicken and Vegetables on Buttermilk Biscuits (Bush Years)
Rich, hearty, and filling, this all-American staple tastes like comfort food at its finest. The fluffy biscuit holds up nicely beneath a thick gravy swimming with chicken chunks, carrots, and peas. “We worked a long time to get those biscuits just right,” said Scheib, who noted that the dish reflected the Bushes’ “more home-style” tastes. |
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Each of Scheib’s dishes were prepared by University Club chefs Rafael Ogden and Alfred Bratten. “That’s been one of my favorite parts of the [book] tour,” said Scheib as he looked over the buffet-style spread. “Not only meeting people at the signings, but getting to meet the culinary brokers who prepare these dishes. It looks like they did a great job.” |
