Sam Kass, a private chef for the Obamas while they were living in Chicago, is now working in the White House.
A spokeswoman for Michelle Obama, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, said Mr. Kass will not be the only cook preparing the family’s meals, but “he knows what they like and he happens to have a particular interest in healthy food and local food.” He will work alongside the White House executive chef, Cristeta Comerford, who was promoted to that job by the Bushes and is being kept on in that role by the Obamas.
Mr. Kass’s appointment signals changes at the White House that should please chefs like Alice Waters, who have lobbied the Obamas to set an example for the rest of the country by emphasizing food that is healthy,
local and sustainable. It further suggests that a vegetable garden on the White House grounds, another of Ms. Waters’ dreams, could be on the horizon.
Mr. Kass, one of the new breed of chefs who are concerned about the environment and about poor eating habits in this country, has been quoted as saying people in his profession should take the lead in tackling public health issues. “Not only is there an unconscionable amount of people who remain hungry,” he told “In These Times” magazine last year, said, “there’s even a larger population, mostly poor, who are faced with obesity, diabetes and various other problems from overabundance.”
A Chicago native, he graduated from the University of Chicago and received his formal training at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Europe, then went to work at Avec, a highly regarded Chicago wine bar serving Mediterranean food.
After he left the restaurant Mr. Kass, who is 28, founded Inevitable Table, a private chef service in Chicago, according to its Web site, that is the client’s “link to clean, healthy food.” In addition to cooking and shopping “mainly from local farms,” and purchasing wines from “small sustainable wineries,” the Web site says, the service offers meals for children and for private parties. All sample menus start with salads; all main courses include plenty of vegetables.
Those who have eaten his food say that it is not only delicious but very healthful and beautifully presented.
Mr. Kass was required to sever his relationship with the company when he went to work at the White House.
He was also a programmer and part-time executive chef at the Jane Addams Hull House Museum in Chicago, dedicated to the work of the 19th century social reformer.
One of its projects, Re-thinking Soup, for which Mr. Kass made soup every Tuesday, and served it with organic bread, brings together farmers, activists, researchers to talk about critical food issues.
At one of the sessions Mr. Kass spoke about the high levels of fat and sugar in school lunches and the need for change.
Walter Scheib, former White House chef for the Clintons and Bushes, said the decision to bring Mr. Kass to the White House to fill an open slot is “a master stroke.” It’s a tremendous resource for Cris, he said, a reference to Ms. Cristeta Comerford, the executive chef who became the first woman in that job when she was appointed in 2005.
“This will make her job much easier because she will understand better and faster what they like,” he said. “She doesn’t have to spend months reading the tea leaves.”
Other administrations have found ways to have their favorite foods in the White House. Nancy Reagan preferred the cooking of one of the White House chefs, Frank Ruta, and plucked him from the kitchen to cook in the family quarters. Mr. Ruta now owns Palena in Washington.
The Johnsons brought their family cook of 21 years with them from Texas. The cook, Zephyr Wright, made the southern food the Johnsons preferred and was famous for her tapioca pudding, one of Johnson’s favorites.
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