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White House Chef Sam Kass Cooks Up Food and Healthy Eating Policy
Many of the folks in the Obamas' orbit were familiar to the public by the time they arrived at the White House after a two-year campaign: Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel, to name just a few. One of the break-out figures is Sam Kass, the White House chef and food initiative coordinator.
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Now his profile is growing as fast as the White House garden -- one of First Lady Michelle Obama's signature projects -- which Kass helped develop. Last week, he was featured on a segment of "The Biggest Loser." On the show, contestants visited the garden to check out the produce and then make a meal out of it in the White House kitchen, with an assist from Cristeta Comerford, the White House top chef.
Kass has been named one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People. He has golfed with President Obama at Martha's Vineyard and was featured in a White House video on the garden. He's 29, single, photogenic and on an incredible trajectory, in part because of his dual roles -- very rare for a White House chef: he is part of the kitchen team as well as a nutrition policy adviser advocating for locally grown produce, healthier school lunches and ways to battle childhood obesity.
Kass meets regularly with White House domestic policy advisers to discuss food and nutrition issues. And he is partnering with Karen Duncan, the wife of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, to work on getting schools to offer healthy school lunches. Duncan was the athletic director at the high school Kass attended, the University of Chicago Lab School.
I interviewed Kass recently and he said what's cooking in the White House kitchen depends in part on what's ripe in Mrs. Obama's garden. He doesn't have a signature dish or cuisine. "We have this garden that is producing this huge bounty, and I let that shape and determine each plate, based on what is ripe or ready or looking great, and that guides me in the sort of the decisions I make as a chef," he said.
The path to the White House for Kass started with his close relationship with the Obama family. He was the Obamas' personal chef back in Chicago. "I helped make sure they were getting good, healthy food," he said.
Kass has been named one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People. He has golfed with President Obama at Martha's Vineyard and was featured in a White House video on the garden. He's 29, single, photogenic and on an incredible trajectory, in part because of his dual roles -- very rare for a White House chef: he is part of the kitchen team as well as a nutrition policy adviser advocating for locally grown produce, healthier school lunches and ways to battle childhood obesity.
Kass meets regularly with White House domestic policy advisers to discuss food and nutrition issues. And he is partnering with Karen Duncan, the wife of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, to work on getting schools to offer healthy school lunches. Duncan was the athletic director at the high school Kass attended, the University of Chicago Lab School.
I interviewed Kass recently and he said what's cooking in the White House kitchen depends in part on what's ripe in Mrs. Obama's garden. He doesn't have a signature dish or cuisine. "We have this garden that is producing this huge bounty, and I let that shape and determine each plate, based on what is ripe or ready or looking great, and that guides me in the sort of the decisions I make as a chef," he said.
The path to the White House for Kass started with his close relationship with the Obama family. He was the Obamas' personal chef back in Chicago. "I helped make sure they were getting good, healthy food," he said.
My profile of Kass is here; meanwhile, the essential ingredients:
-- Kass first started getting interested in food when he had a side job at a Chicago restaurant -- 312 Chicago -- while a student at the University of Chicago.
-- Kass's formal training was in Vienna, Austria, where he cooked under chef Christian Domschitz in 2003 and 2004.
-- In 2005, Kass was a line cook at Avec, a chic Chicago restaurant.
-- In 2007, he opened Inevitable Table, his personal chef business, running it out of his home in a Chicago neighborhood called Pilsen, a community with a heavy Mexican-American population.
-- As a youngster, Kass wanted to be a professional baseball player. After graduating from the University of Chicago Lab School in 1998, he played ball at a Kansas junior college on a baseball scholarship.
-- He eventually transferred to the University of Chicago, receiving an undergraduate degree with a U.S. history major in 2004.
-- His father, Robert, a fifth-grade teacher at the University of Chicago Lab School, taught Malia Obama last year. White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett knows Robert Kass from her days on the U of C Lab School board. Susan Sher, chief of staff for Mrs. Obama, is a former chair of that board.
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Lynn Sweet
Lynn Sweet is a columnist at PoliticsDaily.com and writes the Daily FLOTUS blog on Michelle Obama. She is also Washington Bureau Chief of the Chicago Sun-Times.... moreRelated Articles
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Comments (10)
garry402
12:00PM Nov 10th 2009
Pass me the tartare sauce for my steak.
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(2) 
MARK
1:17PM Nov 10th 2009
Obama works up an apetite...bringing America down.
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(3)
(3) libslie0066
1:35PM Nov 10th 2009
This is the kind of tripe that the liberal media puts to the forefront to show how well they do investigative reporting. If you disappeared no one would even notice.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (2)
(2) libslie0066
1:36PM Nov 10th 2009
I would laugh at your comment if it wasn't close to the truth.
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(2) libslie0066
1:37PM Nov 10th 2009
oh oh, that wasn't very politically correct. LOL
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(4)
(4) libslie0066
1:37PM Nov 10th 2009
These are websites everyone should use. If you are like me and can’t travel, but want to make a difference and be heard, email YOUR elected and appointed local, state, and Federal officials for FREE and as often as you want. Don't waste your time with the left wing garbage you see on these boards, they are people who don't have a clue, refuse to acknowledge facts, and are totally selective about what they want to hear, see, and discuss. Go to http://www.votesmart.org/index.htm Let them know in no uncertain terms, NO to Obamacare, Thoroughly Investigate Acorn, No Amnesty for Illegals, No Cap and Tax (Global Warming Sham), STOP the attacks on our own CIA, investigate the socialist and communist CZARS, support our troops and win this damn war in Afghanistan and quit making it a political issue, and STOP the incredible string of lies. If you like the site, pass it on.
If you want to get the truth about what is going on in Government with all of the illegal immigration issues from a website that publishes well researched facts, go to http://www.numbersusa.com/content/ This website also allows you to send FREE emails to YOUR state, and federal elected and appointed officials, including the President. If you like the website, use it and pass it on to your friends.
If you want to know the details of all the proposed legislation in Congress ongoing, and who supports and introduces the legislation go to: http://www.civicscience.com/ This site will include your representatives, how they voted on all the issues, and their contact addresses. Get involved and know what is happening.
If you want to get the truth about what is going on in Government with all of the illegal immigration issues from a website that publishes well researched facts, go to http://www.numbersusa.com/content/ This website also allows you to send FREE emails to YOUR state, and federal elected and appointed officials, including the President. If you like the website, use it and pass it on to your friends.
If you want to know the details of all the proposed legislation in Congress ongoing, and who supports and introduces the legislation go to: http://www.civicscience.com/ This site will include your representatives, how they voted on all the issues, and their contact addresses. Get involved and know what is happening.
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(1) moderate
2:20PM Nov 10th 2009
Why can't you travel? Is it to expensive for you to buy 2 airline seats for yourself.
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(2) bob
9:31PM Nov 10th 2009
"food initiative coordinator"?
Is that sort of like a "sanitation engineer".
The guy's a cook. They tell him the grub they want and he rustles it up for them. That's about the extent of it.
Honest to God, who do they think they're fooling with this crap?
I count one person. Lynn Sweet, and I'm not even convinced she'd be buying it if she hadn't drawn the short straw for this assignment and struggles daily for something new to right about.
Maybe tomorrow you could cover the "canine fecal matter disposal facilitator" or someone like that.
Is that sort of like a "sanitation engineer".
The guy's a cook. They tell him the grub they want and he rustles it up for them. That's about the extent of it.
Honest to God, who do they think they're fooling with this crap?
I count one person. Lynn Sweet, and I'm not even convinced she'd be buying it if she hadn't drawn the short straw for this assignment and struggles daily for something new to right about.
Maybe tomorrow you could cover the "canine fecal matter disposal facilitator" or someone like that.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (2)
(2) karella103
3:56PM Nov 12th 2009
Many of the folks in the Obamas' orbit were familiar to the public by the time they arrived at the White House after a two-year campaign: Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel, to name just a few. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~ They failed to mention Bill Ayers, Louis Farrahkan and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to name just a few more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~ They failed to mention Bill Ayers, Louis Farrahkan and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to name just a few more.
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(0) libslie0066
8:42PM Nov 23rd 2009
Fox news is exposing the Global Warming scam, and this journalist is talking about the stupid white house menu. I am sure CNN, ABC, NBC and MSNBC will do follow up stories on this article for weeks to come. LOL
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